Chicken bald back

[KateC]

Hello

 

As yet I don't have any chickens but am toying with the idea. The only thing that is really stopping me is the thought of attracting rats. I hate the idea of them and have read that when you have chickens it naturally follows that you will attract rats. Please could I have some honest experiences to help me decide whether to take the plunge or not. I would hate to go down the road and get attached to the chooks only to find I had extra unwelcome visitors!!! Thank you in advance.

[Redwing]

Its possible you will get rats yes...

 

Siting the run on slabs, using hanging feeders, taking the feed in overnight (if not in hanging feeders) clearing up spilt food and using small mesh on runs will keep the chances to a minimum

 

I dont seem to have rats in my garden but I do have mice - part and parcel of living in the country though, I control them with poison

 

To be honest in the average situation you have as much chance of getting ratty visitors if you have a bird table

 

I do know that chickens are probably the first to blame when rats make an appearance so do my best to stay rat free so I cant be blamed!

[Looney]

Hi there!

 

Rats will be attracted to easy food, whether that is chicken food, wild bird seed, bin bags outside the dustbin etc etc.

 

I have had chickens since 2006. We have had rats in the garden twice, both times when there was excessive rainfall which flooded them out of the stream a few gardens away and led them to search further afield for homes/food. Only once did I see a rat climb into the run and eat the chicken pellets. They were more interested in the wild bird seed that the wild birds had spilt on the ground.

 

If you keep the run clean and store the food in rat-proof containers you shouldn't attract anymore rats than your neighbours that may throw food out for the wild birds. If you do get rats you might have to bring the chicken feeders inside at night.

[Chucky Mama]

This is exactly how I felt about chicken keeping. However, we had a rat or rats in our garden that we had to deal with every year before we had chickens. They were attracted by neighbours bird feeders and our compost heap. Now that we have chickens it is certainly no worse and again we have a rat every year - they come to the compost first

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I've never had a rat in my garden before or since getting chickens. I keep the feed in a metal bin in a shed and bring the feeders in each night. I do have mice occasionally but had them before the chickens too - I put down traps for them.

[Chicken Shirl]

Hello, You don't have to have rats because you have chickens, although there is always the possibility that there are rats around most gardens especially if you have a compost bin, as long as you are careful to bring all food stuff in at night and clear up any spilt food or grain you should not get rats. If you provide your hens with a feeding station on solid slabs that can be swept clean, and metal bins to store their food with tight fitting lids........ That's really all you can do to help prevent them. I do hope you decide to get some chickens they are a joy, and make wonderful pets.

[Forge Cottage]

An Environmental Health Officer told me that the main cause of rats is a ready food source. For example, garden compost heaps or gardens where people are careless and messy with food for birds and animals. Having wet ditches or allotments nearby will not help.

 

We may be lucky not to have ditches nearby, but we have never seen rats here and have made our luck by keeping food sources tidy. As said by others above, just pop the feeder in a metal bin overnight and avoid leaving food scattered about: it greatly reduces the risk.

 

Don't let them put you off!

[sjp]

I've had chickens just over a year I've not got rats. but if I get rats I'll get rat bait down sharpish

that way if the neighbours complain the the council then I'm trying to control the problem ans the Environmental Health Officer is on side from the start

[Egluntyne]

Article about dealing with rats **here**

[chicken bark]

That's a very thorough article Egluntyne. I'm hoping my cats are on the case if there are any rats by me.

[Roobaloo]

That article is quite harsh...

 

Rats are everywhere, you cannot avoid them. However, you can do a LOT to discourage them. Prevention is better than cure.

 

As the article and other posters have said, do not leave feed about...ANY FEED. Rats can and will eat almost anything. Sweep up thoroughly every evening, wherever food has been. They are gnawing machines, so keep all feed indoors and/or in a metal container. The garden shed won't do as they can and will chew their way in...the same with wooden or plastic bins. This will be your first signs that a rat is investigating your property.

 

Keep an eye out for tunnels and hole dug underneath any garden buildings as these make perfect nests...and once made, your problem has more than doubled...a) You'll have a lot more rats and b) Even if you remove one family, another will move it.

 

In regards to getting rid of your rats.....PLEASE AVOID USING POISON. Rat poisons are designed to destroy the rat from the inside out, e.g. multiple organ failure...it is a long and extremely painful death. I don't care what diseases they carry...no living creature deserves that treatment. If you are really heartless that 'vermin' welfare doesn't concern you...be aware that during the rat's prolonged death, there is high risk of it being caught by another animal...including dogs and cats, many of which will proceed to eat the kill and suffer the same painful death.

 

I know of two dogs who have died as a result of this in the last 4 months alone. Both suffered greatly before death.

 

Yes, rats carry diseases and parasites....so do humans.

So long as you wash your hands after handling anything in your garden (which you should do anyway, especially as a pet owner...there are worse things than rats out there!!!) then there is nothing to fear....you will run a greater risk of infection or contamination by involving yourself with them (e.g. direct contact through trapping)

 

Be tidy, clean and vigilant...and you'll have no trouble.

[bessandra]

Well, I've just put a posting on. The rats I have ARE eating the chicken feed - not the compost heaps (3) or the bird feeders (2) and they do not come out just at night. Its ummm, 12.30, and they are in my garden now. They are not accessing chicken feed in my shed, just from the grubs outside. I have dogs but I will be putting poison down! Always have done and always will. If I can eliminate one rat family, thats one less in my books!

I would never let this stop me keeping my girls though, unless I was literally over-run or some such!

[Egluntyne]

I prefer to think that my article was pragmatic .

 

I am tidy, clean and vigilant, and I bring my hens food in at night, and have a rat proof feeder. I am still troubled with rats occasionally. I use bait boxes, but if ever the activity gets too much, I send for a man and his terriers. Job done in an hour and cleanly and instantly.

[Roobaloo]

I prefer to think that my article was pragmatic .

 

Sorry! I was harsh with my labelling!!

 

Don't get me wrong, it was very well presented and helpful...but I found it a little brutal... but my disagreement wasn't really against your article, more the social acceptance of poison as a form of vermin control. I just find it wrong that some animals qualify for "Animal welfare"...and others don't.

 

I was reading a Chicken 'manual' earlier and it the info about Foxes it pointed out that British Law prevents you causing any damage or harm to wild creatures, that foxes must be prevented from gaining entry, not killed when they do....then promptly goes on to discuss the ways in which to kill rats, including poison - which has to be one of the most painful, drawn out methods out there. Just because humans feel the need to control its population, doesn't mean we have the right to cause it suffering.

 

The "dirty, nasty, sewer-dwelling rat" can be treated any old how...but the "cute, fluffy, cheeky fox*" is one step away from being issued body guards!!

*I appreciate this isn't how most hen owners view them!!

 

 

In terms of control - I am in favour of a good Terrier...one good shake and the rat is no more.

 

Though, I have heard that rats cannot tolerate the smell of mint?? Does anyone know if this is true???

[sparkysmum]

Almost 2 years and no rats so far, touch wood, fingers crossed

[Chook n Boo Mum]

In terms of control - I am in favour of a good Terrier...one good shake and the rat is no more.

 

Though, I have heard that rats cannot tolerate the smell of mint?? Does anyone know if this is true???

 

I also find my air rifle has a good record of control....though only if the little blighters come out into the open ...and yes I know this is not a reasonable method for many people and being a good shot is of paramount importance........fortunately where I live it is possible and at risk of blowing my own trumpet ( ) I am a good shot

 

I would never use bait as I have had one die in my garden rather than it's nest due to the council bait organised by a neighbour....... I am not prepared to have one of my dogs or chooks poisoned by a dead/dying rat We have some "snap" traps positioned out of the reach of almost all other creatures & have had a certain amount of success......we live in an area surrounded by fields, with a drainage ditch along our boundary...we are never going to be free of rats, but do try to keep the numbers down as much as we can

 

I've never heard of the mint intolerence..........I am very prepared to try though ........any other planting ideas

 

Sha x

[Roobaloo]

I also find my air rifle has a good record of control....though only if the little blighters come out into the open ...and yes I know this is not a reasonable method for many people and being a good shot is of paramount importance........fortunately where I live it is possible and at risk of blowing my own trumpet ( ) I am a good shot

 

That's how my Dad does it! Their house is also surrounded by field and faces an old farm yard...he was forever getting rats move in under the garden shed. I lost track of the times he played sniper with his air rifle from the landing window!!

 

Now he has Poppy....a Springer Spaniel with a passion for ratting! Now he just opened the backdoor a crack, makes a squeaking noise and she charges!!

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Perhaps Poppy would like to come here for a weekend away with my dogs & have a ratting session ...one of mine is also Poppy, so some confusion would ensue I'm sure

 

I have suggested that we get a JRT or a large cat, but neither suggestion was greeted with anything more than a grunt

 

DH saw a rat out of the bathroom window this morning but combined with the fact he was in the shower & soapy at the time & one of the wild ducks came in to land scaring the longtailed vermin away, he missed his chance

 

Sha x