jak Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 We have been taking in the grub at night as we had seen a rat in the Eglu run. It is digging in under the Eglu - easy as the lower sides of the Eglu are curved (design issue??) through the Hemcore/rape bedding. It still keeps getting in despite us adding some pieces of chicken wire under the Eglu. My son has just gone to take in the grub bowls and one side is all gnawed away - yuk! Does it work to put the Eglu on paving stones? Where do you buy rat poison from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomaxsmith Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 The rats in my garden are rampant at the moment, They dug a hole under the railway sleepers which are next to the eglu run and the chickens go mad whenever they see a rat coming or going. They've also hollowed out a den under my compost bin (the bin has wire under it so hopefully they can't get into the bin but they are under it I'm taking in the grub at dusk but I'm sure there's enough spilt mash and treats for the rats to go into the run at night. I always have rats in the garden in the winter but this year they seem to be about much earlier. I've just bought a pre-baited poison box from Screwfix Direct which I'll be putting out tomorrow. I have two small boys so I can't use other methods of poison. I don't know if this method is safe to leave around when the hens are free ranging though. It's horrible, isn't it? Not something to admit to - my son had a friend over to play yesterday and I was about to point out the chickens until I realised they were all standing to attention watching a rat gambolling past Cats are supposed to be a good deterrent but I'm allergic and I also hate the way they poo everywhere! Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 We have 2 rubbish cats! We have a stream in the garden so rats are always a possibility Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Does it work to put the Eglu on paving stones? Yes. The rat will attempt to burrow under the paving slabs, but will not get into the run that way. I had to resort to this last year. Where do you buy rat poison from? B&Q, Tesco Sainsbury's, garden centres, Homebase etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatedog Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Forgive my ignorance, but how can you tell if you've got a rat? (Apart from actually seeing one, that is?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Signs of digging.....narrow tunnels for rats....wider with claw marks for foxes. Gnawing of plastic ie feeders. Droppings. Food being eaten faster than usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatedog Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Do they get in during the day as well? As I never leave food in the run overnight - I always bring in the glugs/grubs/grit bowls every evening after putting the girls to bed - but I had noticed they seemed to be hungrier than before - I just assumed that was because the weather is colder..........and there are several neighbourhood cats too...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Do they get in during the day as well? Sometimes. They do tend to be more nocturnal. If they come out in the day it is usually because they are having to compete with others in the same territory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatedog Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 So I possibly may not have a rat? Do you think hens are hungrier when the weather is colder? They certainly seem to get through their food far more on the days I'm out at work from 8.30 to 4.30, so I suppose that may just account for it? There doesn't seem to be any sign of the plastic being chewed at all......I've just inspected the grub thoroughly...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Do you think hens are hungrier when the weather is colder? I imagine so....they will need extra calories to generate heat. You will soon realise if you have got a rat problem as they make themselves pretty obvious., so don't worry too much. If you have a compost heap they may live in that, so make it inaccessible by placing it on a paving slab or some weld mesh so that they can't tunnel in. Keep all hen food in metal bins too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 My hens eat a lot less in winter, as they are not having so many eggs and don't get so much exercise. If you leave your food out at night and it is disappearing remarkably fast, then you may well have rats, I am afraid. This is how I found out that I had a nest under the Eglu. The run holes are quite small and can be hidden by fallen leaves, which is why I didn't notice mine for about a week, while I was congratulating the hens on their excellent appetites. I had one each side of the Eglu, and another running straight out under the centre of the Eglu into the run. The rats work very fast and can have a network in full operation overnight on our soil, which is very light. I imagine that you would be safer on clay soil. I would say to everyone with an Eglu on light soil to take the food in every night, especially in winter, because you will eventually get rats. It doesn't happen right away (it took eighteen months before I had them), but you can't be complacent. If you do not have the two extra squares of mesh that Omlet have been supplying with Eglus for about a year now to cover the weak point where foxes have been known to dig in, I would recommend getting them, as they obviously keep rats out too. But I don't think this is enough. I have put strong welded mesh under the Eglu itself so that there is no chance of digging in anywhere, and this does the trick. Paving slabs under the Eglu would probably be even better. The Cube does not have the same problem, as it is off the ground so there is nowhere for rats to make a nest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatedog Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 My 3 girls are still busy laying away!! they don't seem to understand the concept of stopping laying for winter (but then they are hybrids......) so I suppose that will be why they are eating more to keep their strength up as they're still laying through the cold...... I definitely have never left the food out overnight, but I will go and do a thorough inspect later today - especially also under the nearby shed etc, in case there is such a rodent getting in to eat any food the girls have spilled, although they do seem to have incredibly good eyesight for picking up fragments of meal worms, bits of grain so I expect there won't be much left behind for foragers anyway......in any case, should there be a resident rodent somewhere, there are pub bins overflowing nearby, compost heaps, folk who feed wild birds, fallen apples, people with rabbits out in hutches (and food containers sometimes left with no lids on underneath, so at least no one could point a finger of blame at the girls - I hope! (*crosses fingers nervously*) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Chocolate dog: I am afraid you are wrong.... Chicken food contains an antidote to rat poison, so chicken owners are very responsible for an upsurge in rats if they don't take action fast (or preferably before it happens, which regrettably I didn't, so I am not claiming to be holier than anyone else). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 rat boxes, I got mine, plastic lockable - £4 each. Rat poison, something like about 50 -70p per sachet. I bought my stuff from Quill Productions Ltd - got it online and it was delivered really quickly. But I'm sure there are loads of other places you could get the stuff. It works a treat - but you will always need to be wary and ready to put the boxes out for a couple of weeks when (and it will be when) the rats come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 We had a chap helping out in the garden this week, & he knocked on the door yesterday to say he had found where the rats were. We knew we had some,but,as this is a really rural area & we have streams & woods all around,we were not sure if they lived in our garden or just visited. Anyhow,they had taken up residence in the metal tinder box we had under the car port He opened it & 2 flew out,so he shut it again,borrowed the air rifle & made short work of the rest. A couple escaped, but I am happy that we managed to kill off a good amount of the horrible things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 Yes, as others have said, it's quite obvious when a rat is getting into the run because small rounded tunnels start to appear on the outside of the Eglu (the rat's entrance) and on the door side of the Eglu, into the run. It is easy for them to get through Hemcore/bedding. A few weeks ago we saw one at teatime (not dark at that point) sat in the run with the girls - ugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatedog Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I did a thorough inspection earlier and I can't find any evidence of droppings or any chewing at all - and there is wood planking round the eglu to stop hemcore being kicked out, and obviously plastic (eglu) and our compost bins are home-made out of timber planking too, and there is no evidence of chewing there either.......I don't think there's any tunnelling - I think I'm the one responsible for trampling the hemcore down myself when I open/shut the eglu door in the mornings/evenings. So if pellets contain an antidote to rat poison, how do you kill them??!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomaxsmith Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 A few weeks ago we saw one at teatime (not dark at that point) sat in the run with the girls - ugh There was one wandering around the run this morning while the hens were free ranging. Quite disgusting. I've banned free ranging for a couple of days and have put a poison box down beside the eglu so hopefully that'll do the trick. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 DH has just gone to B&Q and bought paving slabs (not for putting down today, it's pouring down ) and a box of rat poison with trap. That will be going down today/tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 The vitamin K in layers pellets is not in sufficiently large enough doses to have a therapeutic effect on a rat who has ingested an anticoagulant type poison. It is present, but won't make much difference according to a haematologist friend. Even so...I don't want my chicken's food contaminating with rat wee or droppings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatedog Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Are the bait/poison boxes totally safe from allowing wild birds in to them, for example? I thought I once saw a post which said that a robin or something had eaten rat poison from a bait box? Or am I confused? (Well, that goes without saying...... ) And is it worth getting a man from the council to just come out and check for evidence in case I've missed it myself? I don't think I've got them, and I do take in the food every night, but I wouldn't want to be the cause of any problems if I've missed the evidence through just not being experienced enough to spot it....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I seem to remember that a robin was caught in a trap. The man from the council may charge you. Its £40 quid here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatedog Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I thought I'd remembered something about a robin.... - it makes me nervous thinking about putting one down......so I don't really want to put one down unless I really do have rats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 It was a snappy type trap. not a bait box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatedog Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Ah OK - I wouldn't be putting one of those down anyway, because of the dog and girls etc. Poor robin I once had to put one down inside years back to catch a mouse in the dog food cupboard and I cried when I eventually caught it. So if I even needed to catch a rat, the bait boxes should be safe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
