What do I do about all of the RATS in my coop?

[Katy]

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I tried all the different plaster of paris recipes.....all it did was make them fatter and they pooped white rat turds.

"white rat turds" Sorry for laughing but that's funny.

Good to know, I won't waste my time with that. Glad I haven't had any real rat problems so far. My pump up pellet rifle worked fine and I have larger caliber guns if needed.

I have a 22 and a pellet gun too that I've used, but I'd get one and the others would disappear down their tunnels. I could have sat out there all night waiting for them to pop up again.

 

[shelleyd2008]

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Same thing happened here. I was told the rats were after the quails' food, so I started taking the feed out of the cages at night. That stopped when I went out to feed one morning and found a quail cage full of feathers and bones...they'd eaten all but 2 of my white coturnix!

I lost quail, pigeons, chicks, ducklings, some adult bantams, and a full-grown LF leghorn hen who decided to brood in the wrong nest to the nasty things before I finally decided to get the poison. I won't use anything else from then on.

 

[shelleyd2008]

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A barn cat ( or 2 or 10) would help to keep the population from getting out of control, but something more 'definite' is needed to nip a large rodent population in the bud.

 

[PartridgeRooster]

I find a good solid construction of a coop is key. Barn Cat is also nice. I also use live traps as I have many animals on the place and don't want to risk killing the wrong one.

 

[kimntep]

Motomco Hawk..not the bird of prey, but the bait. Search it online and get it! I used it and eradicated my rats within a week and none have been back. Also, it's one of the safer poisons with a very low chance of secondary poisoning, meaning that if a chicken eats a dead rat, it would have to eat a lot of it for it to affect it at all. I put the pellets where the chickens could not get to it, had no problems at all, and the rats are gone!

 

[deanawo]

RAT ZAPPER. Use dog food for bait, and never have to touch the dead rat. They really work. I have had mine for about 5 years, and not only do I use it the neighbors have borrowed it. Worth every dime.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
A barn cat ( or 2 or 10) would help to keep the population from getting out of control, but something more 'definite' is needed to nip a large rodent population in the bud.

I've got many barn cats and they did get them when they got outside the coops and pens but the cats can't go into the chicken pens so the rats had lots of safe hidey holes.