Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Roughlee Handled on June 25, 2009, 13:41
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Yes I pick up the feed every night. But I think they are coming in the day.
Time for the blue corn or that other owl friendly stuff, I forget the name of.
Last night I was moving my small run and coop on to fresh grass.
I moved the coup. (was in the area in pink)
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l389/Roughlee_Handled/chicken%20stuff/rat%20under%20small%20coop/IMG_0726-2.jpg)
As you can see a run and a blob in the middle of bare earth. Its not bare eart but poo/food.
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l389/Roughlee_Handled/chicken%20stuff/rat%20under%20small%20coop/IMG_0727-2.jpg)
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l389/Roughlee_Handled/chicken%20stuff/rat%20under%20small%20coop/IMG_0728.jpg)
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l389/Roughlee_Handled/chicken%20stuff/rat%20under%20small%20coop/IMG_0729.jpg)
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l389/Roughlee_Handled/chicken%20stuff/rat%20under%20small%20coop/IMG_0732.jpg)
I think these are rat droppings.
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l389/Roughlee_Handled/chicken%20stuff/rat%20under%20small%20coop/IMG_0736.jpg)
Also this dead mouse was found. Wonder if it was killed because it was encroaching on territory?
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l389/Roughlee_Handled/chicken%20stuff/rat%20under%20small%20coop/IMG_0735.jpg)
So do you think I am correct in thinking they are rats poo poo?
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We have rats, or rather we did have rats, not seen them for a while.. Pest Control buddy of mine brought round some bait stations.
To be honest, Ive never seen any rat droppings so I cant tell you if its rats or not..... I'll copy the picture onto another forum that i use and see what they say ;)
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Yes sorry Roughlee, its dem vermin. Rats will eat anything including their own dead, so it may have killed the mouse or just found it and dragged it in. If you are going to put bait down, not wanting to teach you how to suck eggs, but handle with care, make sure its not accessible to any other animals, hens, pets or good wildlife (a bait station will help and can be got off the shelf from B & Q). If its going your rat is going down the pan too. It will leave blue coloured droppings as well.
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It's rats.
BTW I've now taken to cutting two small holes into the sides of the empty 3kg tubs that the poison comes in and putting a rat trap (baited with something different) into the bottom to turn it into a pet proof out-door rat trap. Haven't caught andy non-target species.
SS
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I have my own rodents stations
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l389/Roughlee_Handled/chicken%20stuff/28082008.jpg)
I also have the plastic ones but the food tends to go from this type more.
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>:( Nasty things >:(
Could you set up a humane trap at the end of the blue bit near the chuck run? They have obviously been using that way for a while >:(
Make sure it's completely covering the rat run so they will continue to follow their own scent :)
I use the eradibait and it's worked well but I used the humane traps first to get rid of as many as possible before going down the bait route :)
Sarah :)
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.................Haven't caught andy non-target species.
SS
You may need to may your hole bigger to catch that elusive Andy then.
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.........Make sure it's completely covering the rat run so they will continue to follow their own scent :)............
To late moved the run and coop about 18ft away. Just will get me bait out. I will try the owl friendly stuff and see what happens.
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Bit late but yes, farmer mate of mine has confirmed it as Long Tails >:(
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.........Make sure it's completely covering the rat run so they will continue to follow their own scent :)............
To late moved the run and coop about 18ft away. Just will get me bait out. I will try the owl friendly stuff and see what happens.
Sorry to disagree, but rats like the staus quo in their environment. If something has been disturbed or moved they will be very wary and not go back. They are constantly on the look out for food, so will find it wherever you place it
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The key with rats is their scent.
When using the eridibat (sp) I use a small sandwich bag, put that whilst it's empty in your corn/layers bag and give it a good swirl around.
Then using gloves carefully pop the bait in the bag but handle as little as possible :)
Follow that run back towards the wall, which they will be using as cover if not living in there >:( where run and wall meet pop the bag in a gap, there will usually be a poop on or near the stone that they come out through, pop it as near to that as poss :)
Sarah :)
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Bit late but yes, farmer mate of mine has confirmed it as Long Tails >:(
...........Last night I was moving my small run and coop on to fresh grass.
I
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So do you think I am correct in thinking they are rats poo poo?
(http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00471/SNN1833B_471637a.jpg)
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OK so I looked up the picture for "Oh Dear"
(http://www.guy-sports.com/fun_pictures/turkey_oh_dear.jpg)
Where did I put that turkey?
(http://www.guy-sports.com/fun_pictures/christmasturkeyf.jpg)
Make up your own quote in your head please.
(http://www.guy-sports.com/fun_pictures/turkey_duo.jpg)
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Ha Ha Ha (regarding the Andy comment)
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when i got my chickens about 14 months ago i had some problems with illness that stopped the chickens laying , after the chickens got better i still got very few eggs {5 months later } , so i moved their 6 compartment nesting box that was freestanding on the floor and the rats had eaten their way into the shed in about 4 places all under the nest box and had been terrifying the hens or stealing the eggs .
once i relocated my nest boxe's 30 inches off the ground and wired all the holes the eggs finally stared to appear and the chickens have been happier and on song ever since.
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I used Eradirat successfully. I hate using poison because I worry about the other animals, but Eradirat say it's harmless to other animals. Even so I use minimally and keep it well covered.
We live next door to a small sewage farm and I have found tunnels running under the fence. I know that they regularly put poison down to keep on top of the rats, so don't worry about those too much. Our chicken pens are a good 200 yards across open mown field from that fence.
Have just persuaded our friendly builders working next door to move the large chicken shed for me and found old rat runs beneath it (they were there when we took over the place and were where I used the Eradirat). The shed stands on pallets and they have a forklift prong on the tractor. Firmly believe that the best way is to keep the house up on bricks or on wheels and keep moving it around. Also need to keep the grass cut so they have nowhere to hide! Oh, and the terriers help too. Keep trying to get OH to make me some concrete staddle stones. Now there's a project for you Rough (as if you're not busy enough). ;)