[primrose1]

We have a lot of rats around our chicken sheds, and i have now lost three chicks in total to them. The first two were about two weeks old in a stable with mother hen and the other was taken last night from a coup. The rat had burrowed underneath the run and taken one of the chicks which are quite a substantial size. I am struggling to control our rat problem any ideas of what poisons really work??

[joyfull]

Poisoning can also poison other animals that find the dead rat. You can buy a rat poison called Eradibait which just works on rodents, but not everybody thinks it works that well.
Personally I would either get a couple of fen traps or put weldmesh on the ground of your run so that the rats cant get in it - the rats have managed to tunnel down over 12 inches to get under my run walls so the new mesh floor is being done this weekend.
Darn feral cat isn't catching any of the little blighters 

[Craigx]

hello

u could try a few of the ideas on this page...  http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-keep-rats-out-of-a-home-

for some reason html a href= isnt working here..lol so posted full link, sorry if this upsets neone..

Craig

[Anndee]

Can you tell me whereabouts I can buy welded mesh in sheets? I also am wanting to put some down on the floor of my run to stop these damn rats digging in.
 I would like a piece about 6' x 9' then it will go under the frame work with a bit of a skirt on the outside. I'm just not sure what gauge I want or where to buy a sheet of it as I think a roll will be too lightweight. Can anyone advise me as to what I actually want?? We've put 2 traps down and we still can't catch the blooming things!! I have stopped putting the chickens food in there until I can put some mesh down so at least there is nothing in there for them. Are my chickens safe,  they are Pekin & Wyandotte bantams, full grown!!?? They have to go up a ramp to bed. I'd hate to think they were cornered in their house by a rat!!!
Many thanks
Anne

[grinling]

Close the pop hole when they've gone in. I bait the live trap with mixed chicken corn and the spring with peanut butter or a lump of meat(really heavy trap). Mice can trigger the live one and escape which is a nuisance.

[Sassy]

Can you tell me whereabouts I can buy welded mesh in sheets? I also am wanting to put some down on the floor of my run to stop these damn rats digging in.
 I would like a piece about 6' x 9' then it will go under the frame work with a bit of a skirt on the outside. I'm just not sure what gauge I want or where to buy a sheet of it as I think a roll will be too lightweight. Can anyone advise me as to what I actually want?? We've put 2 traps down and we still can't catch the blooming things!! I have stopped putting the chickens food in there until I can put some mesh down so at least there is nothing in there for them. Are my chickens safe,  they are Pekin & Wyandotte bantams, full grown!!?? They have to go up a ramp to bed. I'd hate to think they were cornered in their house by a rat!!!
Many thanks
Anne

Anne

You will be able to get it on the roll from Sam Turners in Northallerton.

[dugless]

I posted about rats some weeks ago, they were in my compost bins.

 now  I take my kitchen waste up the allotment.

I used Neosorexa gold found on e-bay.  I made up some boxes 450mm long x 150mm

square with a mesh on one end  stategicly placed about 4 mts apart partly hidden.

 Put the bait at the bottom near the mesh. so far I have found dead rats but thankfully no

other wild life.

You will need to check reglarly as when you clear one lot out anothe lot moves in.

I would sugget if your huts are on the ground pick them up on bricks our something.

[Mrs Bee]

Do be really careful if you are going to use fen traps.
We were thinking of using these but after a guy in our local  farm shop shop showed us how to use them we wimped out of getting them.

Any mishaps with these traps and you could loose a finger.
We are sticking to the ordinary snap rat tramps.

[Anndee]

Hi. Well we managed to catch & kill the blighter!! I expect there will be some more though 
Re the weld mesh, I really don't want to buy it on a roll. I would prefer the panels. They are more heavy duty. I have found some 3' x 2' panels at Wickes and B & Q, but would like if poss. some larger ones. If I can't get them locally then I'll have to use these small ones and tie wrap them together.
Re the pop hole. I could close it and, we have been doing when there is a trap in the bigger run section, but I prefer to leave it open all the time so they can come and go as they want to. I believe they are safe on a  night from foxes getting in as there is  mesh, big sheets, all around the outside of this pen on the floor.
well they've been safe so far!!!!!
I think it helps that the run is outside our bedroom window with a PIR light that comes on as soon as anything triggers it, so we can investigate straight away.
thanks for your help

[joyfull]

look on yell etc for steel stockholders - we buy welded mesh in 8 x 4 sheets (2.5 x 1.25 ish im metric)). They will sell it in various thickness's - it will be in SWG (standard wire gauge) and the lower the SWG the thicker the wire. Ask if they have one that has holes of about 1/2 inch   

[Bev]

Hi, I was in my local poultry centre yesterday buying a rat proof bin! I asked how they keep rats away as they obviously have a lot of food in their barn. They said they find the sticky glue traps very effective.

I am tackling my rats with poison and traps but the rats are very good at taking the peanut butter off my traps without getting caught! Think I might try the sticky traps if the poison doesn't get them.

Sad you lost chicks!
Bev

[primrose1]

Thank you for your suggestions, we are gradually culling them. I will have some wire put on the bottom of my run to stop them burrowing underneath!!       

[Anndee]

Many thanks Joyfull for that advice. I've looked on Yell and now found several steel stock holders near to us!!
What would I do without this forum 
I will give them a ring tomorrow and see if I can get what I'm looking for. Thats the size I'm looking for 8' x 4' sheets.
we haven't seen anymore rats but I can't believe there was only one.
thanks again. Anne

[Oliveview]

Hi, I was in my local poultry centre yesterday buying a rat proof bin! I asked how they keep rats away as they obviously have a lot of food in their barn. They said they find the sticky glue traps very effective.

I am tackling my rats with poison and traps but the rats are very good at taking the peanut butter off my traps without getting caught! Think I might try the sticky traps if the poison doesn't get them.

Sad you lost chicks!
Bev

We have a rat problem here too- it seems to be never ending.  We take the food in every night, so there is no food for the rats- except they like oranges    We can´t pick all the oranges because of the rats.  Our neighbour´s bantam had hatched out 5 chicks, yesterday 1 was taken by a rat, during the day too.

We tried the sticky trap- we never caught a rat, we caught a bird- so we gave up on the sticky traps. Mercedes had a sticky trap with 2 mice caught on it, she was just leaving them to die slowly so I knocked them both on their heads  

I do not like killing animals- but rats I make an exception of, I am pleased to see a very dead one!

Pamela

[8doubles]

Do be really careful if you are going to use fen traps.
We were thinking of using these but after a guy in our local  farm shop shop showed us how to use them we wimped out of getting them.

Any mishaps with these traps and you could loose a finger.
We are sticking to the ordinary snap rat tramps.

Fenn traps do have safety catches to stop fingers being caught.......
most snap traps do not ! 

I would however agree that Fenns do need more strength to set .