My birds are inside at night and free range during the day. They lay at all times but production has been down recently. i have seen evidence of rats - one dead just outside barn after putting poison down outside barn where chickens can't get it. I'm sure there are more.
2007-01-10 00:52:27 · 8 answers · asked by doganjo 1 in Pets ➔ Birds
Yep...get a breed of cat that gets big. And.....might think about a snake. We had helpful snakes back on the farm....and they never bothered the chickens....only the rats.
Good luck!
2007-01-10 01:02:52 · answer #1 · answered by TexasRose 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you SEEN the rats removing the eggs or have you seen the rats eating the eggs?
Poison for the rats is too risky and not good for the environment.
Consider building nests that the rats cannot access. This can be done MANY different ways.
By the way, egg production is low this time of the year anywhere. Pretty soon you should see more production.
Get the kitties and get creative with the boxes and make sure your chickens are very well fed and are young. Many types of breeds don't lay well beyond three years of age.
Good luck!
2007-01-12 19:17:53 · answer #2 · answered by poecilia.r.lvr 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get bucket half full of water. Get an X-Ray film or some other material like that, big enough to be used as a lid of that bucket. Make a cut in the shape of letter U, big enough for a big rat to fit inside the "U". Stick some nice smelling bait inside the "U" at the tip. Keep this inside your barn.
Rats will jump on the film and will move towards the bait and will fall down in to the bucket half full of water and will drown to death. This way you can catch multiple rats at a time and you dont have to kill them.
2007-01-10 01:08:08 · answer #3 · answered by ByTheWay 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can buy poison in a "putty" block form that the rat will chew on, but the chickens will not eat it. This has worked for us in the past. Have you determined how the rats are getting in? You can't believe how small of a crack or hole they can squeeze through!
Good luck!
2007-01-10 01:05:26 · answer #4 · answered by diney2u 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can buy rat poison that comes in black plastic containers with holes that chickens and cats can't get into. The rats can, though, and so can mice. That's one solution, and could be used in conjunction with cats.
2007-01-10 01:03:53 · answer #5 · answered by Joseph J 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A cat. Really. I have supplied feral cats that needed relocation to many farms for just that very reason!!!!! Works very well and you avoid the poison around!!!!
2007-01-10 01:00:00 · answer #6 · answered by ARE YOUR NEWFS GELLIN'? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
rat traps
2007-01-10 00:59:57 · answer #7 · answered by forest lover 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get you some cats!!! They will take care of this for you.
2007-01-10 01:00:49 · answer #8 · answered by dragonlady 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋