The Poultry Keeper

MagicBaz · Joined: 11 Nov 2006 Posts: 42 Location: Newcastle

I cough a rat today
i have lost a few hens in the last couple weeks they had no heads
could this rat be the culprit
are do rats not do this

CP · Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 3:05 am Post subject:

Sorry you lost your hens MagicBaz. Crying or Very sad

Rats can be pretty evil & have been known to kill chickens. Not sure if they're known to just take the heads off though??

If you've caught one, there's bound to be more. Have you got poison and/or traps set now?

Loudmouth Schnook · Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:32 am Post subject:

shudder.... rats.... heeby jeebies...

CP · Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:22 pm Post subject:

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2243 Location: North Cornwall

MagicBaz · Joined: 11 Nov 2006 Posts: 42 Location: Newcastle

I've put poison down and left some traps out but only thing about poison is you cant tell if you have got anything

Loudmouth Schnook · Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 1:38 pm Post subject:

Aren't Jack Russell terriers really good for getting the rats?

MagicBaz · Joined: 11 Nov 2006 Posts: 42 Location: Newcastle

lol Jack Russel i would love one but its bit of a sore spot me and the child are trying to get the wife to say yes to a dog
a friend has a one he has been down the the allotment a few times with it and has never caught anything with it we didn't think it was a rat we where trying to get i thought it was a ferret are a Stote even a hawk

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7370 Location: isle of lewis

yes jacks are good but not all and you have to be really carefull
having lost a vacinated dog (troy)to a rat desiese she bleed out in the back of the car Crying or Very sad

,never want to go though that again ,it's taken years to get over it i will not discribe what happened needless to say it saw horrific ,if you get a dog to do the job have her or him blood tested to make sure the vacine has taken ,
posion is by far the best way if the bait is disapearing then you can be fairly sure ,you are killing rats,

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2623 Location: South Cumbria

I have just got rid of 1/some in my compost bin tried Eradirat first they didn't take it so got a rentokil product from Wilkinsons no activity now for 2 weeks Smile

however we did find an egg on top of 2feet of compost on 3 occasions and there is now way the hens could get in there as there is a heavy weight on the lid !! the rats must have taken the eggs whilst the hens were freeranging as when they are shut in the run is rat proof , we have checked and double checked even the floor is wired as we live on a Limestone pavement and cannot put wire into the ground nowhere can we find a hole big enough to get an egg through ! I suppose it is just possible they were laid in the garden ! anyway fingers crossed they are deceased !

Tony Sirett · Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:10 pm Post subject:

i have seen some rats running across the bottom of my garden, i dont want to put poison down as i have very young children, may have to invest in an air rifle or air gun Rolling Eyes

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2623 Location: South Cumbria

You can get bait boxes that are screwed together and solid blocks of bait on a metal rod the rat eats the bait inside the box then disappears to die, I have never seen one in my garden but know they have been in the compost bin , you cannot shoot what you can't see !

mojo · Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 4:33 pm Post subject:

stoats and weasils are both egg thiefs too

Loudmouth Schnook · Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 9:26 pm Post subject:

related to MINKS... Evil or Very Mad

chicklet · Joined: 01 Oct 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Hampshire

We too sadly found rats this year in the compost bin and they seemed to thrive on the rat poison. Fortunately they never seemed to get near to the chooks, but their droppings alone are cause for concern as they all carry infectious diseases.
Our solution was to lift the compost bin (its one of those large plastic types with a fitting lid) and to place it on concrete slabs so that the rats could not burrow under and up into the compost.
I hope this helps.