Solitary chicken - need advice

[lolomimi]

Hello to everyone

 

I've just signed up tonight.

 

We became the proud custodians of 3 lovely girls in April, and we have been enjoying so much getting to know them, experiecning the first egg from each one etc etc. Their personalities are a hoot, and we've had lots of fun.

 

We have a problem though... (Trouble in paradise)

 

We have a wooden run round the house, and after a few days we noticed that a rat had been trying to burrow underneath, so we re-located everything onto slabs, with a wire skirt all the way round to deter burrowing.

 

Then 'Chummy' as my DH calls the rat was spotted tryng to chew through the wood on the frame of the run, so we put an extra layer of chicken mesh all round the perimeter.

 

We got hold of some bait boxes which are placed on the other side of the garden fence - where there is evidence that the rats burrow through from, and we placed a sonic deterrent near the run.

 

All seemed much quieter and we were quietly optimistic that Chummy had got fed up / or, well, died.

 

However this afternoon there he (or his big fat brother / son/ cousin) was again larger than life.

 

What alarms us a lot is that we are going away on holiday for a week on Saturday ( already an anxiety believe me leaving our lovely girls)

 

We have got an experienced chicken lover and owner coming in everyday to take care of them, but they won't be free-ranging as they do a lot of the time when we are here. Instead they will be in their sizeable, but now slabbed-over run.

 

So my questions for all of you fellow chookie-lovers are really -

 

anyone got any other ideas about how we can deal with chummy and co before Saturday?!!!! I'm frightened that with very little human presence next week they will just gnaw away at the wood somehow and breakthrough into the run.

 

Also on a nicer note, any ideas on what extras we can add to the run to keep the girls happy? They have a mirror, they'll have a bucket with sand / earth for dust baths, and some logs, and wood shavings to scratch at.

 

Any advice much appreciated, as I'm now beginning to feel like a bad 'parent' leaving my girls with such threats around!

 

Many thanks

 

lolomimi

Edited May 22, 2008 by Guest

[Egluntyne]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

Rats are a real pain. The slabs are a good idea.

 

If you bring the hens food in at night it will deter them a little although that will not really be an option till you come back off hols.

 

Here are a few suggestions:

 

Tidy up any hiding places such as under sheds and decking, behing log piles etc.

 

If you put food in the compost bin, cover it with a shovel ful of soil to disguise the smell. If you see tunnels in the compost bin, get the hose pipe going.

 

Keep any foodstuff in metal bins with a secure lid. Weigh it down with something heavy or use a bungee cord.

 

If you have the stomach for it, set traps, but remember to get them out of the way before the hens free range.

[lolomimi]

Thanks so much Egluntine. There are some really helpful suggestions there which we will try.

I'm not sure I can face the trap thing, but maybe DH will be bolder!

[Egluntyne]

I know what you mean. It can be pretty grisly.

[peanut12]

we had a rat in our garden a few months ago. We laid bait boxes and also plugged any holes under fences with large rocks etc. We found one big hole where they had been digging so I filled it with postmix concrete that sets in 10 minutes. We've not seen him since.

[lolomimi]

Mmm - thanks for the concrete tip - I think we will try that.

 

DH has spent the morning reinforcing our underground wire mesh defences - honestly it's like a war here!

 

I was thinking about Hugh F-Whit's approach with mice - didn't he have a new age type lady come in and kindly ask the mice to leave - and they did!! Trouble is I don't think that chimes well with bait boxes - like 'please leave, Oh and while you're at it, eat this poison....' Somehow I don't think the 'universe' will know quite which message to respond to!!!

Edited May 22, 2008 by Guest

[Jane and Martin]

We have just had a similar problem. At one point OH saw three rats in the eglu run. Rat man from the council came (free of charge) and put down bait. He advised us not to put fill in their runs in the first instance as his bait boxes were along the "rat run". They have consumed the bait and seem to have gone. This has taken 10/7. I have also bought a treadle feeder to replace the peanut feeders. Basically the girls have to stand on a large lever which opens the access to the food, when they step off the door closes, so this stops open access to the rats to the food source. Still having some difficulty getting the girls to step on the lever, however we are making progress

[Tara.F]

rats cannot abide steel wool (you know, brillo pad stuff).

Is there a way of stuffing some, perhaps between the wire mesh and the wood?

 

I'm told it's the one thing rats will not gnaw

[lolomimi]

Thanks again for your suggestions - this forum is fantastic - so much experience to draw on! Now where can I find a bulk purchase of brillo pads..... Just off to B&Q! Failing that Lidl

[Ain't Nobody Here]

No experience of rats, I'm afraid, but for hentertainment, you could get some seedbells (from a garden centre, but with honey rather than fat as the "glue"). That keeps them entertained for a few days.

 

I understand that peckablocks (sp?) are good too but I don't know where you'd get those other than off the internet .

 

You could also get your friend to chuck in an apple a day or hang up a corncob?

[lolomimi]

Thanks for the suggestion of things to do in the run.

 

It's proving quite stressful getting ready to leave the girls for a week, but I think we're almost ready, and they have met their surrogate carer who seems very knowledgeable and competent. We shall be phoning to get regular updates (Honestly it's worse than going away for a weekend without the kids!)

[Gallina]

I am interested in these treadle feeders: but as rats are supposed to be so intelligent, aren't they going to work out how to open them faster than the hens do?

 

If anyone needs to persuade an OH to upgrade to a cube, I can state categorically that the fact that the hen-house is off the ground seems to solve the rat problem.

[lolomimi]

Yes - re the treadle feeders, they do sound interesting, and thanks to Jane and Martin for the suggestion.

 

Our rat 'problem' was in the run in which the cube stands, but I agree totally that the height is an advantage.

[chickensathome]

Very interested to read about your problem with rats as we are experiencing something similar. Wire wool will be purchased forthwith. We've set a box with bait but "Monsieur" seems to be by-passing it . Our problem is that he is getting into the run every night from under the egglu. I've tried sitting it on slabs but he always finds a way in. It's a real chore having to bring in the feeder every night. Next door's cat is a very good at catching rats, but he will also attack the girls so he is a mixed blessing.

 

Our girls enjoy a branch wedged across the bars of the run.

[lolomimi]

Yes - they're a real pain aren't they. We have found that the sonic deterrent seems to have an effect, although it's a battery operated one as it's sited a long way from the house, and the battereis are quite pricey, but we feel it's worth it.

 

Our problem is that we are surrounded by overgrown woodland where there is no access for people and which is a haven for nesting rats, so I guess we are going to have to live with this issue and try and keep it at bay rather than eliminate it....

 

Anyway, we have done what we can, the girls have their run all jazzed up (including brillo pads in the cracks!), and we are off on holiday at midday - so fingers crossed all will be well when we return. (My daughter wondered if they might like a Nintendo DS to play with! Sweet! She's little obviously.)

 

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions over the last week.

 

lolomimi