Old Speckled Hen Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Yesterday I caught a glimpse of a very fat rat ambling away from the chooks food in their run They free range all day and I leave the run open. I know the sparrows have been helping themselves but .............. So I am now feeding them a smaller amount and leaving them shut in till lunchtime. What they don't eat I will put back in the evening when I shut them up again taking it away when they go to bed. Oh it's all my fault, leaving food for them which they don't eat because they are out all day. The thing is do I try to trap this little horror or presume it will go elsewhere once there is no food. The run is on slabs and nothing can get in at night and I am still tempted to leave something overnight for the chooks to eat when they get up. Otherwise I will have to shut the pop hole and feed them when I open it in the morning. Does any of this make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Oh dear . How horrible . There was a vermin-proof feeder on another thread - did you see that? Although if it's a fat rat, it's probably heavy enough to open the feeder . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busybird Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I have 3 enclosed bait boxes against the walls near the chicken run all the time. When I see rat activity (tunnelling or bait taken) I also put down traps either side of the Eglu (it is on slabs and the rats run under it for cover). We have trapped 3 rats so far this year and used about 400g bait. I leave pellets in the grub overnight in summer (Eglu door left open overnight) but not winter (Eglu door closed) as I do not want to be woken by my girls shouting for breakfast at 4am. Obviously it is important that any rat traps are removed before the chickens (or other animals or children) are allowed to free range in the day as they are pretty powerful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atsw Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Yesterday I caught a glimpse of a very fat rat ambling away from the chooks food in their run. The thing is do I try to trap this little horror or presume it will go elsewhere once there is no food. Unfortunatly, it won't go away now it knows where the food is. Worse still, it's unlikely to be on it's own as rats are prolific breeders, so take action, and quickly. I had to deal with a rat problem last autumn, a combination of traps around the garden and poison bait in the compost heap eventually resolved the problem. It took almost four weeks and two tubs of poison before signs of their activity stopped. In that time we trapped four and uncovered another five bodies at the bottom of the compost heap when I turned it all out . Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Article on rats **here**. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Ive had trouble with rats and put god knows how much poison down and they didnt seem to be eating it and now i think they have gone and had babies so i went and got my self a air rifle and now when i see a rat i shoot them so far between me and my neighbour we have shot 4 i dont like doing it but when i see them drinking from my ducks pond it makes me feel sick knowing they have deseases so they have to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 Article on rats **here**. Excellent. Thanks No signs I must admit save that one glimpse. It took a slow insouciant look at me over its shoulder before ambling into the bushes. Grrrrrrrrrrr I now have one of these electronic traps There is a clip of one in action on Youtube. Seems quite peaceful really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 Caught a shrew and a MEGA slug Come on Ratty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I like the new avatar, DA . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 I like the new avatar, DA . Thanks I like a change now and again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 Nothing caught in trap BUT I found a tunnel in the compost bin this morning. SO I have put two layers of chicken wire underneath an empty one elsewhere in the garden and fortified by a glass of wine for lunch ( well, there was a bit of blue cheese wasting away in the larder) I'm going to move the contents of the parasitized bin. I may move the contents ............ I might wait for hubby to come home from work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCoop Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 We had rats a few months ago. I bought some of those blue blocks of poison (a pack of from Ebay and put those down underneath our oil tank. I saw there waere rat holes around there, so I skewered thm into the ground with tent pegs. I used all the blocks and seem to have caught it in time. I'm still vigilant though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 It was my compost that attracted the rats that we had rather than our chickens. They visited the chickens after they had had their first course in the compost. We shot one and a neighbour shot the other with an air rifle, the poison didn't work and the trap just caught 2 robins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joegg Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Just a note rats can cause damage to eglus. The drain hole in the nest box of our eglu has been chewed through and there is evidence of some damage to the door. Rats are residing in the compost heap but there was aperiod a few weeks ago when i did not move the eglu as was very busy just cleaned them out i assume this is when it occurred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
