How Quickly Does Albendazole Work?

[chickencam]

We heard some bok boking and squawking going on at 7am yesterday and ignored it at first thinking it was the older girls having a nesting box row which happens from time to time. It happened again and we went outside and realised that it was the newbies. They were all sitting on their highest perch in a line looking down and there in the corner of the run was a young rat trying to gnaw his way out through the mesh.

 

We let the little girls out of their run and put Scamp in there and whut the gate much to her disgust. The rat then disappeared. We left Scamp in there for about half an hour then put the hens back in because we needed to go out.

 

When we came home we heard a commotion again and went out to find the rat there again. This time both cats were around so we let the hens out andput the cats in, but again the rat disappeared. We eventually found him hiding behind a bucket under the back of the house outside the run. We tried to catch him the cats were useless and ran away

 

He disappeared into the back garden and we found the hole that he had been using to get in and out. We have blocked the hole and have had no trouble since yesterday afternoon. we are hoping that he has decided that this is not a good place to live. I suspect he was a jevenile male looking for new territory. As rats go he was quite cute but i would like him to live elswhere please.

 

I would have thought that the hens would have attacked him, bu they just sat on their perch looking like a group of ladies standing on a chair with their skirts raised waiting to be rescued

[Chook n Boo Mum]

at the image of the raised skirts.....but at the blasted rat and at your mogs!

 

Sha x

[Egluntyne]

Article about dealing with rats **here**.

 

 

Grrrr.

[Chicken Shirl]

Good morning all,

 

We had rats in our hen house a few years ago. My hens were totally spooked by them. They wouldn't go in the pop hole. (This was before they all decided to go in the trees) My OH was away as usual when there is anything going down. So I wrang my father-in-law and he said to break a glass and put it down the hole and back fill the hole. They had dug underneath the shed that had a solid floor. I never saw them again.

 

I did however adopt a new policy of feeding the hens away from the shed on a tiled patio three times a day and sweeping up after them. They are so used to this now and wait for me on the patio to be fed. I know that this is a luxury and I am grateful for it

 

I hope your rat stays away. You could always put the cats in with the chooks at night.