What did you do in the garden today?

[gtaus]

We use the battery powered ones too. FUnny though, but the hens won't touch the fried mice. But the trapped ones, yes, we toss them to the hens. (No poison here, just peanut butter.)

Interesting. I wonder why they won't touch the fried rats? Good to know someone else thinks it's OK to feed dead rats to the chickens. I don't have a rat problem, but I think I'd trap them and feed them to my chickens.

I used to live in a house shared with mice... I found peanut butter on the traps worked the best. Cheese never worked as well as the peanut butter for us. Too bad I did not have any chickens at that time. Could have fed them some good fresh meat.

 

[Brown Chick]

Pulled weeds and watched things grow. Planning a chicken free section.

 

[jonalisa]

While my seeds are sprouting in trays under lights in my basement, I'm building a huge compost pile with chopped leaves and coffee grounds. I have several coffee shops where I drop off 5gal buckets and they fill them with spent coffee grounds.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I've only seen 2 rats in our barn. One was dead. During the cold snap in February, it must have fallen off a rafter and into a water bucket I had filled for the horses. It was a popsicle. The other was alive but also acted impaired. It didn't run away from me and was acting funny... I ended up kicking it across the room because I didn't see it.

Mice, on the other hand, are another story. I have TONS of mice in the barn. I hate mice. They've also taken up residence in my garage....

I would NOT be upset in the slightest if a rat snake took up residence in the barn... I wouldn't have killed it if it had. But eating my chick was a death sentence.

Speaking of the barn, I have a broody game hen who has been sitting on eggs in my hay manger. I checked on her this weekend and noticed a BUNCH of eggs had been knocked out of the nest and were smashed. Didn't know what happened. She had 2 eggs left under her. Then another game hen showed up and the two of them began a violent squabble over the nesting location. I think the eggs are getting knocked out of the nest during the fighting.... But I really have no way to move her, especially right now because I won't be back home until next Tuesday. Hoping she doesn't lose ALL the eggs in the meantime.

 

[WthrLady]

My problem is mice. MICE mice mice.
Not so bad this year. knock wood

 

[pennyJo1960]

No, rats here funny had cheese in few. They went to the peanut butter..

 

[BReeder!]

I pulled some weeds. A load of pea gravel came today so I moved a bunch of it into our new mini patio for the fire pit. I need to pull up a bunch of pavers behind the sunroom and move the rest of the gravel there. The places are all shifted up and down because of the roots of a massive maple tree the paves were laid around. So out with the pavers and in with pea gravel for that patio.

Here's a pic of the fire pit mini patio:

 

[WthrLady]

Lovely ! Any news on your plague du'jour?

 

[chickengr]

Just wondering if anyone traps/kills these rats without using poison and then feeds the dead rats to their chickens? I know that may sound gross to some people, but I have visited many third world countries that the people will hunt, kill and eat field rats that feed on their rice and grain crops. I don't think I would want to eat a rat, but if I trapped or killed one that had not been eating poison, I think I would throw it back into the chicken run and let the birds tear it apart and eat it.

I don't need to feed my chickens mice. they help themselves my chickens are better mousers than cats, lol.

 

[chickengr]

I've only seen 2 rats in our barn. One was dead. During the cold snap in February, it must have fallen off a rafter and into a water bucket I had filled for the horses. It was a popsicle. The other was alive but also acted impaired. It didn't run away from me and was acting funny... I ended up kicking it across the room because I didn't see it.

Mice, on the other hand, are another story. I have TONS of mice in the barn. I hate mice. They've also taken up residence in my garage....

I would NOT be upset in the slightest if a rat snake took up residence in the barn... I wouldn't have killed it if it had. But eating my chick was a death sentence.

Speaking of the barn, I have a broody game hen who has been sitting on eggs in my hay manger. I checked on her this weekend and noticed a BUNCH of eggs had been knocked out of the nest and were smashed. Didn't know what happened. She had 2 eggs left under her. Then another game hen showed up and the two of them began a violent squabble over the nesting location. I think the eggs are getting knocked out of the nest during the fighting.... But I really have no way to move her, especially right now because I won't be back home until next Tuesday. Hoping she doesn't lose ALL the eggs in the meantime.

a friend of mine has the same problem with broodies. he puts cage tops or makes something to cover the broody so that other hens cannot disturb them. he lets them out once a day.