Rat’s Nest Invaded My Girl’s Run!

Al Gerhart

Crowing
10 Years
Sep 29, 2011
936
884
251
Oklahoma City
Do a forum search on rats and chickens and you will find a wealth of info. But the short version, stop feeding the rats and they will leave. A natural territory will support very few rats with natural food until humans start setting out buffets. As one post already said, moving the feed in at night just teaches the rats to feed during the day.

I like to copy and past an old post from Howard E. who has done probably the most research on BYC on dealing with rats and at the bottom my short version of his info. These are the essentials to deal with a rodent problem.
Here is Howard E.'s past post:


"To the OP (and others like them), if you will spend the time, everything you need to know about rats and how to get ride of them will be found in the links below......

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-the-video-series.1337456/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-101.1283827/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-proof-feeder-review.1180514/#post-18610285

This last one is a review of a rat proof chicken feeder built and sold by a BYC member, who is a staunch advocate for the plan of getting rid of rats by starving them out. Remove all sources of feed and they will be forced to move on or starve to death. If you are firmly against the use of poison bait blocks......for whatever reason.......then this is one of the best actions you can take. Bulk food in metal trash cans.....chicken feed in metal rat proof feeders. Can't get to the feed and birds do not spill and waste feed that the rats can survive on."




And the short version of Howard's post? Sanitation, exclusion, elimination.

Sanitation, bulk feed in metal cans or barrels with tight fitting lids, a treadle feeder, clean up the avenues of movement so the rodents have no cover to protect them from their natural predators. In my opinion and experience this is the quickest, surest, and cheapest way to solve a rodent problem.

Exclusion, plugging the holes and building a Fort Knox chicken coop and not leaving an opening for free range. Tough to do and expensive but it could work for rats.

Elimination, poison and traps. Problem is that rats are smart and will quickly learn to avoid both traps and poison bait. Were you to clean them out, the lack of sanitation would mean a new population of rodents would move right in. And there is risk and no end to the process, keeping fresh bait out. However, if you have done your sanitation using poison becomes effective as the rats are starving and will likely try the poison bait. Not needed though, they will leave in a few days as long as you are not feeding the rodents with a compost pile or other animal feed. Not all will leave, your area will have a natural carrying capacity for rodents, natural feed, but that natural ability to sustain rodents is quite small and the natural predators keep them in check and under cover as the rodents hustle to find this natural food.


Do a forum search on "rats chickens" and you will find most of the old wives tales exposed and read of long epic battles against the rodents. Sanitation, exclusion, or elimination all have associated costs but you are already paying for the feed and will recover the initial costs quickly with the first method.


Good luck and remember, it isn't just the stolen feed, disease and predators come with rodents.
 

Mr Spot

Songster
8 Years
Apr 19, 2014
71
283
166
Mexia Texas
Comrade, I feel your pain. I too am in a waged war with rats. I don't know if you've ever seen Ratatouille, but I am an eyelash distance from becoming that crazed old woman in the introductory scene that shot gun blasts her ceiling to kill the darn things as they swarm out of the house. I HATE rats. (They destroy my feed bins, eat holes in the SIDES of my coops, kill my baby chicks, and leave their filthy trail of germs and diseases everywhere.)

We have tried EVERYTHING to stem the tide in my wet Northwest, rat infested, territory. Rats are notoriously thick in our neck of the woods.

What you can do, in order of attempt (with rising level of frustration):
1. Pick up food at night. Be sure to store in metal garbage cans with firm lids. (Beware that the rats, at least the street fighters in my area, will simply chew through the sides of your coops through 3/4 inch plywood to get to scraps if anything is left in the coop). They also began to come out during the day to the feeders....so

2. Set snap traps with peanut butter. This will stem the tide briefly...until they figure out how to avoid them and still get the peanut butter. Pour hubby and yourself some sweet tea (or a glass of wine) and sit on the back porch listening and resetting traps. Makes for a cheap date night.

3. Try every manner of "herbal" deterrent. You can try the cougar pee (we never did...didn't want stinky stuff) or plaster of paris with bird seed balls which is supposed to harden in the rat and kill them (rats just pooped white turds). Herbals were laughed at. Be forewarned that a lot of the essential oils are dangerous to birds.

4. If you are red necked enough, and a good shot, you can try air soft rifles. My son and hubby have plunked a few that way. Makes for a cheap video game (if you have the steel, which is easy to get after you've seen a baby chick mauled by a rat).

5. Get yourself a rat terrier, preferably feral in its first year of life. My Dobby has 30 kills under his paws. Stems the tide some. He goes out hunting with me every night on lock up. May I mention some of the rats in our area are HUGE! He still wrestles them down with his 15 pounds of fury and might (then after a swab down from mom, cuddles for a Netflix movie). My personal favorite solution.

6. Finally resort to generation 1 rat poison, the blood thinner type. Generation 2 poisons are the ones you want to avoid (neural poisons that drop the animal with first bite and are dangerous to anything else that eats the rat). Generation 1 poisons take time to work as it takes several feedings to thin the blood enough. Much, much less dangerous to other animals. Place in over turned milk crates that allow rats in but keep other animals out, or place deep in wood pile, or in one of the specialized rat baits. Amazon or Home Depot are great places to get them.

That's what we've tried. The only thing that holds the flooding wave back is first generation poisons.

LofMc
When I got my hens back in May this year, I was reading the traits of each before I decided what I wanted and what it said about Buckeyes is they would kill rats, mice, and snakes so I got two of them, I have gophers and so far, I have found two dead gophers in the run, so it looks like someone is working on the rodents.
 

Lady of McCamley

Free Ranging
11 Years
Mar 19, 2011
8,183
6,858
582
NW Oregon
When I got my hens back in May this year, I was reading the traits of each before I decided what I wanted and what it said about Buckeyes is they would kill rats, mice, and snakes so I got two of them, I have gophers and so far, I have found two dead gophers in the run, so it looks like someone is working on the rodents.
I got Buckeyes a few years back for just such reason. Unfortunately mine just watched the rats run by. Lol.

LofMc
 

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