CluckyBucks Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 (edited) Morning all Woke up this morning to let the girls out, and under the eglu leading into the run is a rat sized hole. Under closer inspection, its tried to dig various holes into the run. So what i have done is put a large rock infront of said hole, will this work?? Anything else i can do? and should i be worried? Any suggestions welcome Thankyou xx xx Edited October 29, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 It'll just make another hole I'm afraid. It's best not to ignore rats because a couple soon become a plague, so I'd start thinking pest control if I was you, before someone else does. Neighbours always seem to blame chicken keepers for rats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 **Article about dealing with rats** from the FAQ section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 Thankyou Jools, i may give that a go if it gets out of hand. And thankyou Egluntyne, i found that very useful xx xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I thought I'd got rid of mine as I'd seen no activity for about four months then about a week ago I spotted two INSIDE the run after I'd shut the girls up. It's a Flytsofancy run and coop and they were getting in through the small gap in the netting where the pop-hole is closed. I've closed this up and put a baited flower pot on its side at the entrance of a run a I found. The bait was taken for four days then nothing so I presume they've gone off to bleed to death somewhere. I've also got hubby to move our three compost bins onto a mesh floor. I saw one rat disappear into our wood shed but there's no way I can deal with that as it's full of logs so I'm hoping the poison did for him. HORRIBLE things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaireG Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 You've got me singing now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 We had a problem the other week with an Eglu on the lawn. There was rat poo in the droppings tray & the Aubiose was all scuffled about - I changed it every day to moniter it. Anyhow,as there were no signs of burrowing or digging,I suspect it was squeezing in through the little gap above the poo tray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter S Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 My biggest worry would be that, if a fox came along and saw the rat hole, it would simply start digging to make that hole larger and eventually (over the course of the night) dig its way into the run. In my view, killing the rat won't work - yes, you will get rid of that particular rat, but there are plenty of others to take its place. The only thing that will get rid of rats is to remove the reason they are coming in the first place. I suggest removing food from the run overnight (possibly even the water), along with any treats the girls have not eaten. The rats will therefore have no reason to dig into the run, as there is nothing there for them. Another thing that might work is to place some gravel boards or similar lengths of wood down the length of the run, dug in. Then, when the rat tries to dig under the run, it will hit the wood - will slow it down (not defeat it entirely). What will probably happen then is the rat will simply dig underneath the house itself. Personally, I think some form of wire mesh covering the floor of the run and extending under the house is the best option - also prevents foxes digging into the run if you get a strong enough mesh. Peter PS - it's not just rats that will dig in - we had a huge problem with a squirrel doing exactly the same thing, only with a bigger hole. P PS - what's the difference between a squirrel and a rat? Good PR... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I have had this problem twice when the eglu was on grass, but only if it was left in the same place for a week - moving every 4-5 days was fine. I have also stood the actual eglu on the patio with just the run over the grass and that was also no issue. Most of the time my Cube & Eglu are on patio areas and they just freerange on the grass - again no rat problems like this. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Shirl Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I agree with everything that has been said. They are indeed nasty little critters. We had them when I used to leave food in the garden all the time. They dug under the shed so I put broken class in the hole and back filled it as advised by my father -in- law who is a wise old man. We never saw them again. I also changed the way I fed the chooks. They are fed three times a day and all excess is removed when they are done. I know that is not possible for everyone to do, but it is the food they are after. Hope you manage to get rid of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&T Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I have had this problem twice when the eglu was on grass, but only if it was left in the same place for a week - moving every 4-5 days was fine. I have also stood the actual eglu on the patio with just the run over the grass and that was also no issue. Most of the time my Cube & Eglu are on patio areas and they just freerange on the grass - again no rat problems like this. Tracy We do something similar - in that we put four paving slabs in a square, and sit the eglu on that, and then the run goes out onto soil (it used to be grass once upon a time...!) This stopped the rat getting into the run. Also we then used poison to get rid of the nest that was either in the compost heap, or under next doors shed - or both!! Year later and we are still rat free - but I do keep an eye open. You just know they are never far away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 It is pretty difficult to completely remove all food sources for rats because they're such disgusting creatures. Taking the food in at night and making sure all spillages are cleared up is a no-brainer, but if you feed the wild birds, you need to do the same with their food. If you have a compost heap, they'll be munching away in there and iff all else fails, they'll happily feast on dog poo so dispose of that promptly too. They also procreate incredibly quickly, which is one of the reasons they're so successful. If you don't take action to control them as soon as you discover then, you WILL be dealing with a huge problem before long. Control has to be ongoing because you'll get rid of them for a while, but you can guarantee that more will find your rat restaurant before long...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 Thankyou for all your suggestions, i like the glass idea, but thats just me being sadistic Ive put a used sock under the eglu because they dont like the human scent. If my smelly sock wont deter the little nasties then poison it is. xx xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Bet they munch on the smelly sock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 Bet they munch on the smelly sock! Chuffing hope so!! It would be rat suicide to do so, saves me a job! xx xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Clucker Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 If youre anywhere near mk you could borrow my cat; he's a bruiser who's kept my garden rat-free for years (a rat killed one of my rabbits once) he'll even take on foxes if they're not quick enough lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyhole kate Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 You've got me singing now Not just me then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 "You're gonna catch that rat, that's what you're gonna do You're gonna catch that rat" Nope, not just you . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 Right, the sock idea failed epically. So did the rock idea, it just pushed past it. SO TONIGHT!!!! I shall set my rat trap and catch the little monster I couldnt harm a fly, but because this beast is jeopardising my chickens safety, i have no other choice. I feel like elmer fudd but im catching wats xx xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I hope he is not as clever as our rats. We had four traps out and never caught a thing but the poison seems to have done the trick. Kate Humble complained about rats around her chicken coop on Autumn Watch and that daft Chris Packham pulled that even dafter face of his and said we should learn to live with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 Chris Packham pulled that even dafter face of his and said we should learn to live with them Learn to live with them They carry diseases and are vicious. Id like to see him live with that!! xx xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Shirl Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I hope he is not as clever as our rats.We had four traps out and never caught a thing but the poison seems to have done the trick. Kate Humble complained about rats around her chicken coop on Autumn Watch and that daft Chris Packham pulled that even dafter face of his and said we should learn to live with them OMG really Silly man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 We've been free of rats until the weekend when OH found a big tunnel in the compost heap. Bearing in mind they have been around long before the girls lived here, I am relatively happy that they waited a year and a half to get back to us again (just before the girls arrived a neighbour had to get them sorted as they were living happily under her decking). So we have put poison in the tunnels - well it's the sort that expands and totally unpleasant and I don't like doing it - but a lot has already disappeared. We added more on Tuesday - don't want them and give people a reason to have a go at us because we don't have conventional pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 OMG this rat is so clever. I took out the grub and set the trap. I put an almond and some feed on it and went to bed. Got up, went to investigate, the trap hadnt gone off but all the bait was gone How do they do it? Why are they so clever!?? xx xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 That's exactly what happened with me many times over. That's why I resorted to poison bait in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
