i seem to have more rats then i do hens and ducks
iv got taps and bait down i have my hen house build up on legs and the duck house,my hens have to jump up to get into their house.but cant do that for the ducks,,i put food away at night but still lots of rats,,,
but still the good side of keeping hens and ducks,,egg eggs and more eggs my lot are still laying them even when it was -10 out side and snow a foot deep,,,do you think am giving them to much layers pellets
the rats would worry me alot, but not getting eggs, what your feeding them has nothing to do with the amount of eggs you are getting x
Mo, I think Gazzaroo might be asking about the food in relation to the rats being there.....
no i think hes wondering if hes over feeding and is that why they are still laying
be very careful about poision though, live traps would be better, could you remove the duck ramp at night allthough that dosnt protect them in the day either
i lock away the ducks and hens at night, i found duck egg shells in the garden,
iv been locking them away around 5/6pm at nights and seen a groop of rats runing around and nowt in the taps, its an allotment site with lots of hen and pigeon keepers and loads of sheds, grate place for rats iv got hen keepers on both sides of me,
as for eggs its 4 a day of my 5 ducks and 4 from hens ,iv got more than i can eat ,,,iv been giving the away ..i feed them on layers pellets and mixed corn
shoot them!
Great answer PP, but not sure it is allowed .Don't think many people have guns these days . Wonder if the council would do anything about the rats ? mama
Humm, I suppose on an allotment-not in the middle of nowhere like me. I had a big rat trap, like a mouse trap but big (mind your fingers!) And I got a few rats like that at our old house, I could see where their little route was so I just shoved it in the way of their path-away from my chickies!! and then I got 2 that way, then no more problems with rats, if there is lots it will probably take a while, Maybe speak with you allotment buddies and get lots of traps to eliminate all of them in a month or two, then everyone will benefit, because im sure if just you kill them on your patch they will keep breeding elsewhere and invading?? x
the council won't do anything, if there so many of you maybe you could club together and pay rentokil to sort the problem
if they are taking duck eggs they are getting into the hut and that I really wouldn't like
No me neither, be very careful where you put the traps too. what I did also was put a length of drainpipe outside their enclosure with poison in it, so no cats/dogs, poultry could get at it, just the rats. I would maybe club together and get rentokil as they will be able to find nests and stuff! x
Hi Garry, I have a similar problem but with crows and magpies eating all the duck food so as I have my ducks in my garden, we only now feed them when they come to the back door. I know you can't do this, so could you only just feed them the amount they will eat at one time? - so there is no food lying about?
You must be very careful with the poisons. The only safe place would be in a rainwater pipe like Laura suggested.
Sarah
I have many ways dealing with rats no.1 is using my terriers this ok as long as hens are shut away as the odd hen can be chomped in excitement. no2 is shooting with my air rifle i am able to do this from a house window as hen huts are with in range but i can only do this as i live in the middle of now where and no one going about. No3 is using fen traps you find out where the rat runs are set a fen and make a tunnel over the trap just big enough for a rat to go through i have also used live catch traps but rats take a long time to go near them they are very clever and are suspect of anything new in the area, if using live catch you should have a method of dealing with the rat once caught letting it go somewhere is else is no good and just shifting the problem on
Hi there
Just read your post and have copied a posting from Yahoo on what should not feed pet rats, if you do not call out Rentokil, it might make sense to leave some of these foods out at night and eradicate the rats this way.
Hope that helps - it has worked for me as I had one living under an enclosed chicken shed and it had eaten its way in, but putting out the cheese has seen an end to it.
Caroline
Foods NOT to feed to your rat
Blue Cheese - Contains Toxic Mold
Green Bananas - Inhibits starch digestion
Green Potato Skin and Eyes - Contains solanine, a toxin
Licorice - Contains a suspected neurotoxin
Orange Juice - May contain d-limonene which can cause kidney cancer in male rats see also this post
Poppy Seeds - Can cause neurological damage, or may cause death!
Raw Artichokes - Inhibits protein digestion
Raw Bulk Tofu - May contain bacteria (packaged tofu is safe)
Raw Dry Beans or Peanuts - Contain antinutrients, causes red blood cell clumping (note: the peanuts that you buy in stores are almost always roasted so are okay. Frozen beans from veggie mixes are okay because they have been pre-cooked)
Raw Onion - Can lead to anemia and an upset stomach
Raw Red Cabbage and Brussel Sprouts - Contains an antinutrient that destroys thiamin
Raw Sweet Potato - Contains cyanide-forming compounds
Rhubarb - Contains high levels of oxalates which bind up calcium
Wild Insects - May carry parasites
Foods to be used with caution when feeding to your rat
Apples - Apples are fine, except for the seeds. Apple seeds contain a cyanide derivative that is deadly.
Avocados - Avacadoes are high in fat and are a good treat to feed rats that need to gain weight quickly (make sure the fruit is ripe). However, the pit, rind, skin and leaves of avocados are toxic. The part of the fruit in contact with the pit has a higher concentration of toxins.
Carbonated Drinks - Rats Can't Burp!
Chocolate - Contains stimulants that can lead to heart failure or neurological poisoning in high quantities. A very small bit of chocolate is okay and can actually temporarily alleviate respiratory distress.
Dried Corn - Can have high levels of fungal contaminates which can lead to liver cancer. Make sure to inspect commercial seed mixes with dried corn. A little fresh corn is fine.
Iceberg Lettuce - Full of water (which can be good), but has no nutritional value
Peanut Butter - This can cause choking in rats. If you want to give your rats peanut butter, mix it with jam or something liquid to make it less sticky, or spread it in some bread.
thanks for that am going to give them all that
hi caroline,
to me thats very worrying,do you know how it effects other wild life ?,i feed the birds,squirells,hogs,rabbits,and yes i have seen rats,we give them pellets,the shiny ones, as there not welcome,i cook extra dinner every day for the birds,i know about apple pips as i have a african grey and have to pick them out,but i let my chickens rome my hubbys veggi patches and let them eat what they want including brussels
I agree with lubyloo, gary please don't put these foods down in an attempt to kill wild rats, i'd think all it would do is encourage more vermin to your plot, I still think your best option is to club together with others and get rentokil in to the alotment before more damage is done than the loss of duck eggs, imagine the outcome once they start to nest and breed
Hi
Mo has a good point. We lived in a village which had allotments in a field on the edge of the village. Rats invaded, and by the autumn there were holes all around the edge of the field, with rats bobbing in and out. If you went up in the evening, it was like watership down, but with rats, everywhere.
Hi Gazzaroo, The council should sort out the rats as allotments are council property. Give them a call. Failing that, if you check with your allotment neighbours, I cannot see why you cant use an air-rifle and sit up one evening popping them off. I use fenn traps in the garden and also an air-rifle. No point trying to overfeed them with semi toxic foods as they won't take enough to kill them so you will just have ill rats about for a bit. The rat bait traps I use cannot be accessed by anything bigger than a rat/mouse and are clicked shut so nothing else can get into them. These would be perfectly safe to use around the hens and ducks. Just keep baiting them until the bait is not taken then keep an eye out and rebait if the problem returns. Safest way by far.
Sallie.
Hi Garry
Just a thought, if you had an outdoor cat or cats at allotment that would maybe help, the cat I have which lives outside killed a rat near a stream last night, I was so proud of her. She was all pleased with herself too. That is one less rat to cause trouble.
Regards
Lorna
Yes Lorna, We have a few cats and we have no mice or rats but do find skeletons . Not sure how or if it would work on an allotment as we feed our cats twice a day, but they live outside and do not come in the house . Well not when we are looking !! Mama.
hi guys ...well iv put loads more rat bait down under the sheds and in the pile of wood there runing around in...also put 5 mean looking traps down,,that some one set up for me,,havent seen that many rats the last day or so and only got a back bird in the traps,,,
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