[spizanne]

Have had a rat problem for a few months now, only in one run though, coop on the ground,  the other coop is 2' off the ground so no probs, they come in at night for food I guess, the dog got one when I moved the run ( done weekly) and guess who just earned his keep? Bruno the Brave!  my blue cochin cockerel, he's the best

[slowef]

I have an ongoing battle with them.  We have tried everything and still have loads.

They got into my garage the other night and killed my baby gunea pig , ripped it to bits :cry:

The battle goes on - if you have 1 you have a ton of them

[Jellyhead]

When they killed some of my loverly chickies last year I resorted to poison. I dont like killing anything but when you see the devastation rats leave behind it changes your mind aye :evil: Anyway, apart from little pink rice looking poison grain stuff we got bars of poison, about 1/2 size of mars bar, left in its wrapper you put it down where the problem is. Fortunately one of the access points was behind the coop and inside our old barn. In that corner there is a table with stuff on top and underneath so didn't think it was too much of a problem with dogs and cats. The other thing we did was put it in a tunnel and then fill that bit in so the chooks couldnt get it. 1 week and they were all gone. Every now and again i put the stuff down especially if I see mouse droppings. I work on the theory that if there are mice there could be rats. I found the traps didnt work and certainly not quick enough. We havent had a problem (touch wood) since then. Good luck and soooo sorrry to hear about your baby piggies Sandra.XX

[chicken soup]

I can sympathise slowef. When I was a young girl we use to breed rabbits (New Zealand whites) anyway we had just had a litter of about 8 and they were all furred up and hopping round their hutch.  Then one morning I went in to give them their breakfast and all the babies had been ripped to shreds and mummy rabbit was cowering in the corner.  Not a pleasant site at all.

I have never liked rats since.

[NanaJune]

We live in North Texas, USA. Some developers have bought up all the land next to us and put in a subdivision of homes at the end of our road. Now, we are being BOMBARDED with field rats who have no place else to go. I've fought a few mice before - but nothing like I've seen this winter. I mean RATS - big ones. My cat and dogs handle the smaller mice, but I think my cat is afraid of these bu99ers! I have 20 hens, 3 roosters, and lots of quail. Consequently, we have lots of feed around.

I have been afraid of the poisons because of my birds, cats, dogs, etc. I have one hen who had a poisoned rat and the next day was blind (coincidence? - I don't know for sure). Anyway, I am afraid my cat or dogs or birds might eat a poisoned rat. We have put out traps, made "feed barrel traps" as my husband calls them, and secured all feed in metal bins. But the population doesn't seem to be dwindling as much as we had hoped. Our feed room floors are off the ground, and our brooding house is completely secure. But the hen houses and chicken runs are not.

Are the poisons truly safe to use around all of my animals?

[Foxy]

Eradibait is available in the UK not sure if it is in the states? - it is recommended by the Owl Trust here so is completely safe as is specific to rodents only. It works on their digestive system.It isnt as quick as the second generation poisons though.
I use a peice of drainpipe  alongside where they normally run or in their tunnels and pop the poison(in clingfilm) in there and make sure there is no feed anywhere else so they have to take the bait. I also use traps and so far have no rats or evidence of them -touchwood!Hope this helps they are awful! :x

[Lost in France]

We had a problem with rats coming into the aviary...bold as brass during the day in front of us! We put a rat box down and keep it baited. It has done the trick but you need to keep poison down and check regularly. The rat box is good as it secures the poison away from other birds etc and we put it in a rat run under chicken wire to be doubly sure. I read that only the young ones venture out during the daytime so you catch the parents at night.

I also remove the feed s from hen runs at night so as not to encourage them in there. We know that we must remain vigilant and...touch wood..so far we're in control!

Judi

[Stree]

Few rats here too, but its a rural area and they will come from miles around looking for food..When we moved here a few months ago they had established a nest in a hard to get to place, I was reluctant to use any form of poison but have found an effective way of reducing their numbers and discouraging them to come around here...22 rifle with telescopic sights and laser sights for night time Rats are very intelligent and soon learn  so will leave quickly if there are easier pickings elsewhere.

[naturesparadise]

I can sympathise slowef. When I was a young girl we use to breed rabbits (New Zealand whites) anyway we had just had a litter of about 8 and they were all furred up and hopping round their hutch.  Then one morning I went in to give them their breakfast and all the babies had been ripped to shreds and mummy rabbit was cowering in the corner.  Not a pleasant site at all.

I have never liked rats since.

are you 100% it was not mummy rabbit that killed the babies as i used to breed rabbits and one time mummy rabbit killed all her babies and was in the corner just like yours

[PJM]

I have had 2 visits from Rats, and both were poisoned. I live in a city centre and would imagine there are lots around me, due to people dropping food waste on the streets etc. I purchased from Rentokil a specialist bait box, and some bait. This is kept behind a plywood box, I made from some waste wood so that the chooks cannot reach it, and the bait does work very quickly. Once the Rats have taken the bait, they become very dozy and can be boshed with whatever you have to hand, and binned. You do need to keep the box filled up though, and check it regular.

[Wildeone]

:shock: I couldn't bosh anything      I'd much rather they went off and died in someone elses garden!

[naturesparadise]

you want to see the size of the rats that live under your feet

they are bigger than cats i know i have seen them  :shock:

they look like sumit out of a sci fi horror movie