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

[hilda-and-evadne]

Made me jump this evening - watched the hens go into the eglu and locked them in for the night, put the grubs in the dustbin for the night, as usual - and then, when I moved the tub trug/dust bath that usually sits in one place in the WIR, for about a 100th of a second I saw four or five muscular-looking young rats snuggled together in the aubiose - they all fled out of the run in different directions (two through the small holes I cut in the weldmesh to hold the grubs, holes that I thought were too small for adult rats, and I didn't think about baby rats at all).

 

So that's a new part of the evening routine: pick up dust bath and store it overnight on the "mezzanine" shelf.

 

I'd feel worse about this, if I hadn't already - two days ago - started a rat extermination programme by putting down a baited rat bait box. The discovery that rats are living under the neighbour's shed which is very near the chicken run is what finally made me take action. After reading other people's experiences, this seems likely to be the most effective way of killing them.

Edited April 25, 2009 by Guest

[Christian]

The bait box worked for me! Hope you get rid of them!

[C&T]

Good luck getting rid of them!

 

Poison worked for us too!