Single hen

[MariaB]

Noticed last night a rather fat rat helping itself to food in the run. I let the girls free range in a part of our garden all fenced off and so the run is open for them to be able to do this. Does any one have any suggestions as to how I can get rid of Mr Rat or should I expect that this is part of having chickens in the garden? Don't like the thought of them roaming around the garden very much. Thought about getting a cat as the dog is not that good at catching things.

[ted]

Maria,

 

I have just found rats and found Kates FAQ section quite clear about whether we should tolerate or not...

 

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=25900

 

I have bought a trap which I have learnt you are best to nail to a piece of wood and weigh down with bricks. try and blend into surroundings. Obviously only put out at night when birds etc have gone. Downside is you may catch something else unless you try and build up around and over it to reduce chance of anything bigger getting hurt.

 

I am also looking at putting poison down but again have to be absolutely sure that nothing else can get at it...

 

good luck. i will let you know how I get on with poison. The one I got was from "Growing Success". Its called Natrobix Rat and Mouse Killer.

[Kittycat]

I strongly suggest you buy rat bait stations rather than traps. We had rats before we even got the chickens but got some bait stations that look like plastic rocks and which are impossible for other animals to gain access to. This way, you also don't have to dispose of bodies - the rats take themselves off to die somewhere. We found one dead one in the garden, but other than that, they all disappeared. We top up the bait regularly and have had no further problems.

 

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find who sells them (I've just done a quick internet search) although this previous thread referred to the same product...

 

Ebay, they don't seem to have any on ebay at the moment. Company is Pest Control Superstore (http://www.pestcontrolsuperstore.co.uk web-page doesn't work yet, they say in April). Telephone: 01790 752825 , price was something around £15.

 

Good luck!

[Guest]

Hi I agree the rat boxes are best(the hole in the side is not big enough ie for a hegdehog and inside the box are sections where the bait goes so birds etc cant peck at it.

The loose granule bait is good its about £17 approx for quite a big tub of it. You can buy sachets of poison but we found a whole load of those were used by rats to line their nests in a barn which was not the idea

Mine is from Rentokil its plastic

Good luck

indie(ps I have found drowned baby rats in half buckets of water many times..?? this has happened a lot and i dont really know how they ended up in their ie i can have 3 in one go)