The Poultry Keeper

Viv · Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Posts: 264 Location: Northumberland

I put a large stone trough to side of my back french doors last year with climbers in and noticed last week a load of earth dug up under it and kicked out. My back door was open today and one of the hens was startled. When I looked there was a mouse/rat pinching a peanut I had dropped on way to bird feeders. It was about same size as a mouse but darker and had pink feet. Please tell me this is a mouse and not a baby rat. They don't scare me but I don't like them especially so close to the house and the nerve of it considering I have a dog and cat so close !!! To lift the trough is going to be a pain all my climbers are well established and I would loose them as they are attached to wall frame. Any suggestions ?? My trough is slightly raised about 2" off ground which is why I thought it wouldn't be a rat it sends shivers down me Sad

kated · Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 1821 Location: norfolk

Not an expert but earth moving is definitely more rat than mouse......
Is it possible to put a piece of drainpipe down behind stone trough and put rat bait in that?

Kate

mcleod-girls · Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 2:47 pm Post subject:

rats have hairy tails, mice have pink, and are more timid, rats a bit more brazen, good luck, poisen in pipe sounds good idea

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1349 Location: Leicestershire

Rats are definate earth movers.

drain pipe - poison, put poison well down the pipe (not with your fingers!)to stop anything else getting it, 2 - 3 feeds usually kills, keep baiting till it's no longer taken, may take a few days before it is first eaten as rats are very suspicious, but it's the best way to deal with it, the poison will also kill mice so regardless of what they are they will be gone.

Itsybitsy

Viv · Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Posts: 264 Location: Northumberland

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions, appreciated. I fear it's probably a rat so the deed must be done but not by me as I am a real softie Embarassed

I know they are vermin and not good for poultry keepers and humans but the thought of anything suffering by poison quite upsets me. If it wasn't so close to house I would prefer shotgun as my chap is quite accurate and as long as he is, not too much suffering for the rat Sad

sasha.p · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 479 Location: gwent

rats are very destructive we had some a few years back i watched the things burrow into my neighbours foundations through the cement on the wall!i dont like my neighbour on the one side but they got into his back of his open fireplace we ended up trying everything i watched them by setting the camcorder up they could hear us coming from the other side of our house and would be gone like a shot!even when we were sneaking down the stairs supersonic hearing,in the end we used glue traps because we caught them on camcorder picking up the poisen carrying it into their hole and obviousley not eating it as they were still running around we caught two in a snap trap but then a robin saw the tube we put it in and went in i was so gutted as he was really tame so i refused to use the trap again so we put glue traps in our shed drilled a hole big enough for a rat so no birds or anything else could be caught and well we caught all the babys and a few adults and some mice too never had a problem since but always keep glue traps handy just incase

CP · Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:50 am Post subject:

They are great diggers & can tunnel quite a long way. My Mum knew someone who had a nest of them under the front step but had tunneled all the way under the property to the back! Evil or Very Mad

kated · Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 1821 Location: norfolk

Had to Google glue traps - how do you dispatch the rat?

mojo · Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 8:34 pm Post subject:

drown it