4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[sharon539]

Hi pretty new to all this chicken keeping and have a few questions

 

I have my eglu and run on a permanant site I use wood shavings in the run and shredded paper in the nest box, what is the best way to clean the run out, it is quite difficult to move the eglu and run about as the grass grows thru the skirt and I have bricks around it

any suggestions appreciated

 

I also wanted to know if the chooks get fleas the same as cats I seem to have a bit of a flea problem at the moment but do not seem to have any on the cat just me and my children getting bitten (they obviously don't like the taste of hubby)

 

Last question I have just spotted a rat and it was huge

 

Do you reckin this is due to the chickens and food or would they have been around anyway we do live in the countryside with open fields behind us

 

Any help would be appreciated

 

For anyone who followed my last post regarding a practical joke played on me about an rspb visit I still do not know who did it whats the point in that

 

Thanks for any help you can give me

 

 

Sharon

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Hello Sharon

 

I've never heard of chickens getting fleas . Maybe someone else will confirm/deny this!

 

I reckon your rats were there already. Chickens don't really "cause" them but if you don't already, I would take in your grub/glug every night and make sure any feed is securely stored in metal containers. Try not to leave any food in the run either.

[sharon539]

Hi

 

I don't remove the water and food at night as I did not think it would be a problem if the run was shut as the rats would not be able to get in to it

 

I am thinking maybe I need to remove it when I have the run open for free ranging which is when I saw the rat

 

I keep all the food in the garage locked up but y girls do like to feed the chooks corn and as they are only young they do spill most of it so I guess I need to stop them doing that

 

Thanks for the reply

 

Sharon

[Ain't Nobody Here]

It could be encouraging the rats if they can smell it, even if they can't get at it . They may start to dig into the run if you leave food there (sorry, don't want to panic you, I've just read about others having this problem .)

 

I keep an old coffee tin in the kitchen with corn in it, and use a small plastic cup to throw it for the hens. Could you try something like that for your girls?

[Egluntyne]

For advice re rats, have a look **here**.

[sharon539]

I didn't think about them smelling the food even if they cant get to it so will start removing the feed

 

I have an icecream tub with two small yogurt pots for the girls to give them corn from but they usually spill it outside the run

 

I will have to start being a bit more careful about cleaning up I think I just sort of thought what the chickens did not eat any wild birds would I did not really think about rats etc

 

Thanks for our comments

 

Sharon

[Gallina]

The fleas will be coming from the rats. I have suffered in this way too.

 

it's the spilt food that is attracting the rats: you need to take the food in at night.

 

And you need to deal with the rats quickly, as it is no trouble to them at all to burrow into the run: they are much brighter than foxes. This is particularly important if your Eglu is not on slabs, as they will try to gnaw their way into it from underneath.

[Olly]

I have considerable experience of cat-fleas, I'm afraid to say!

 

It may be that your cats had them, and you've treated them and they are now flea-free, but your house (especially carpets) can be infested with them.

 

I had a problem like this, and eventually I had to get the Council pest-control man round to spray the house - there's a charge, but it works like magic. The stuff you can buy in pet-shops and supermarkets just doesn't cut it if you've got a bad flea infestation. I'd suggest this, if you're getting bitten in the house.

[purple hen]

Having had pet rats in the past i suspect a rat would be able to squeeze itself through the run mesh quite easily. I bring the feeder inside every night.

[Gallina]

A grown rat is not able to get through the run mesh, but a young one might. And of course mice can just run in and out without any problem.

 

With feed the price it is at the moment, it is advisable to bring food in at night. It is quite a shock to go out in the morning and find that something has cleaned the grub out during the night.

 

Something that needs to be said loud and clear on this forum is that if you have hens, you WILL get rats.

 

Rats are really gross and are covered with fleas. I acquired a little problem from dealing with the bodies in the traps I set.... (i don't think it was chicken fleas, because (1) I have never seen fleas on my hens and (2) chicken fleas don't live on humans, while rat fleas do.)

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Something that needs to be said loud and clear on this forum is that if you have hens, you WILL get rats.

 

But is that true even if you keep your feed in a secure metal bin, take the grub in every night and never leave food lying in the run ?

[Gallina]

If you bring the food in every night you probably won't get rats: but people generally seem to leave it out. (I did myself, until I learnt the hard way.)

 

And if your Eglu is on slabs, that stops the problem too.

[Troy]

Chickens do have a flea of there own I'm afraid called the 'stick-tight flea' Its the smallest 'known' flea.

They are much smaller than the cat flea (which is much smaller than the dog flea.) Just double check the girls, because they can easily pick them up free-ranging and look around the head area for tiny black flecks. There would be head shaking and scratching going on too!

Troy

[sharon539]

Thanks for all your help

 

If I put my run on slabs would I then put wood shaving or aubiose on top

 

Would we have any problems with the chickens hurting their beaks by pecking about and hitting their beaks on slabs all the time

Sorry if this is a thick question but I have head about chickens breaking/damaging their beaks

 

If I remove the food problem do you think the rats will just go elsewhere

 

I am a bit loath to use traps or poisen as I have a cat and also 2 small children

 

Sharon

[Egluntyne]

The rats are there anyway, they are just more likely to make their presence known if you have got chickens.

[moomin]

If I put my run on slabs would I then put wood shaving or aubiose on top

 

Would we have any problems with the chickens hurting their beaks by pecking about and hitting their beaks on slabs all the time

 

I have my run on slabs and have a thick layer of aubiose on top, they scratch about on it and seem to enjoy it almost as much as scratching around in the earth - they won't hurt their beaks if you put 2 - 3" thickness down ontop of the slabs.

 

Also they peck mealworms and other treats/bugs/stuff off of our patio, their beaks hit the patio slabs but they don't seem to mind and their beaks don't seem to come to any harm!!