How to get rid
There are several ways to protect chickens from rats. The most common of them are setting traps and using chemicals. Poisons and traps often pose a threat to the birds themselves: they can be harmed by a trap or eat poisoned food.
For this reason, people are increasingly resorting to modern methods of solving the problem: installing ultrasonic repellers, breeding certain breeds of dogs and cats .
Let's take a closer look at how to get rid of rats in a chicken coop.
Other methods
Goose
Reliable protection against rats can be achieved by the presence of a goose in the chicken coop. These birds sleep quite lightly and wake up at the slightest rustle. If the rats squeak and rustle too loudly, the goose will wake up and scare away the parasites. The goose is also quite strong, so it can easily fight the threat and protect the laying hens. Instead of a goose, you can have a turkey. Their abilities are approximately equal, so there is not much difference.
Singed wool
Singed wool will also drive away uninvited guests. To do this, just set fire to a small bunch of wool and stuff it into a rat hole, or fumigate the room with it. The smell of burning wool can scare away any predator.
Cat
If rats steal eggs from the chicken coop and try to run into the house, then you can get a cat. Cats have long been used to remove rats. However, not every cat is suitable for such responsible work. Many modern four-legged friends have become lazy and are not eager to chase some rats, because the owner will always feed and water on demand. Therefore, if you decide to use cats to catch rats, then you need to buy specially trained animals of hunting breeds so that they definitely do not let you down and are always ready to pounce on an uninvited rat.
Rats can also be poisoned with various poisons and chemicals, you can read about this in this article.
Watch a useful video about how a man invented a rat trap for his chicken coop.
Folk remedies
Since ancient times, people have been faced with the problem of rodents settling in their households. There are many ways to control rats in a chicken coop.
Wood ash
The product is used as a rat repeller. Ash is sprinkled throughout the entire perimeter of the chicken coop and the cracks in its walls. Rats enter the poultry house at night, not paying attention to the scattered ash.
The substance causes severe itching and irritation to the skin of rodents. When cleaning the fur, some of the ash enters the rat’s digestive system, thereby provoking its poisoning and death.
Individuals that survive after consuming ash look for a new habitat. Ash does not harm chickens even if accidentally ingested.
The substance also helps cleanse birds' fur from harmful insects.
Lime and gypsum
To destroy uninvited guests, a mixture of gypsum, lime, boiled eggs and sugar is used. Poison prepared in this way is placed further away from the birds.
After consuming the sweet mixture, the rodents die immediately. Lime and gypsum, in contact with gastric juice, release a large amount of heat. The rodent dies instantly from multiple burns to internal organs.
Glass and crushed stone
If there are glass items in the house for recycling, then you can use them to make a repeller for uninvited guests in the household. It is necessary to mix crushed stone and glass in equal proportions.
Pieces of glass hidden under rubble will fall into the paws of animals, injuring their skin. Individuals, taught by bitter experience, will no longer climb into the chicken coop. Similar materials can also be added to the mixture to seal holes.
Precautions for rodent control:
- You can prevent the appearance of rodents in the chicken coop even at the construction stage by laying out a concrete foundation or installing metal sheets around the perimeter with a recess of at least 30 cm;
- laying out the poison should be done exclusively with gloves, otherwise the smell of a person will scare away rodents;
- dead pests should be collected in bags and buried in the ground to a depth of 0.5–1 m to avoid poisoning of non-target animals and birds.
By wisely combining different means of controlling rodents and maintaining a good sanitary and hygienic atmosphere in the chicken coop, you will deprive pests of the opportunity to cause harm.
Rat poison
It is recommended to poison rodents in the household using quick-acting chemicals. The drug Krysin (in ampoules) is effective against rats.
Even small dosages of the drug are fatal to pests. You can get rid of the problem with the help of a toxic substance in 1-2 weeks. It is advisable to disguise the Rat under a piece of lard or fish.
It is important that the product is slightly spoiled: this way cunning rats will not recognize the smell of poison. Another way to use poisons is to add them to odorous drinks, such as beer.
Other poisons intended for pest control in the household include:
- Goliath;
- Ratid-1;
- Bromed;
- Brodifan.
How to protect birds and animals when using poison
Rodent poison is dangerous for birds and other animals living in the household. To prevent their poisoning, it is necessary to place baits with poison under heavy wooden boxes, where only rodents can get into.
Rats can carry the remains of poisoned food around the chicken coop, causing mass poisoning of birds. For this reason, when using poisons, it is advisable to move pets to another room for several days.
Mechanical rat traps
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Among the effective folk remedies, mechanical traps stand out. You can buy these or make them yourself and catch the “scoundrels” devouring chicken eggs.
Catching rats photo
- The rat trap is placed in a box with holes (so that rats can enter). A very tasty treat (the same eggs) is placed inside. They place such traps higher so that hens or chicks do not get caught in them and wait. Rat traps are cleaned daily.
- A simple plastic or iron barrel (most importantly a tall one) is filled halfway with water. A ladder is attached to it from the outside. The rats will climb up this ladder into the barrel to drink and simply drown themselves. It is important to clean the water occasionally, otherwise the rats will not be interested in it. And the smell from there will not be particularly pleasant.
Important!
The method with a barrel and water will be effective only if you remove all other sources of water (drinkers from the chicken coop, hoses in the garden or in the yard where rats have access).
- There are boxes available for sale that a rat can enter but cannot exit. They were very popular at one time, but there is one caveat - something needs to be done with the caught rodents. Not everyone will be able to kill, and if so, wouldn’t it be easier to use poison rather than waste money on dubious boxes?
Repellent methods
All methods of controlling rodents can be divided into 2 groups: destruction or repelling. Repellent devices have a negative effect on the animal’s nervous system, as a result of which it soon leaves its habitat.
Scaring can be carried out using the auditory, tactile, and olfactory receptors of rats.
Mechanical traps
The most ancient way to combat the problem is to use homemade traps. This method is not considered optimal for use in a chicken coop: rodents, when trapped, decompose and violate the sanitary conditions of the poultry house.
The mechanical method of eliminating rodents is also dangerous because chickens may suffer as a result of such actions.
Therefore, the use of traps inside poultry houses is strictly limited.
Let's consider safe options for catching rats in poultry houses:
- Using a 3 liter jar with pre-lubricating the walls of the container with vegetable oil. The animal will not be able to get out because its paws will slip.
- Using a flower pot with a pre-installed wooden guard. The container is fixed upside down on a “guard”, which falls when the rat bites off a piece of bait. It is advisable to place a sheet of iron under the pot so that the animal cannot chew its way out of the trap.
Biological
The classic way to control rodents is to have cats. Rats are afraid not only of cats, but also of dogs: dachshunds, bull terriers, fox terriers. The listed breeds are capable of injuring rodents due to their hunting instincts.
To eliminate pests, it is better to get Sphynx or Siberian cats. The fact is that not all felines can cope with a rat infestation in a chicken coop. Many pets are afraid of rodents and do not attack them.
Important information! You cannot use a biological method of exterminating rodents together with a chemical one to prevent poisoning of hunting animals.
Chemical
Large poultry farms use chemicals and aeration techniques to kill pests. In the latter case, rodents are poisoned by spraying toxic substances into the air.
When using poisons yourself, you need to remember some safety rules: lay out the bait using rubber gloves; After the procedure, wash your hands thoroughly with soap.
To achieve a greater effect, it is necessary to alternate the drugs each time, since rodents develop resistance to certain types of poisons over time.
Ultrasonic
A modern method of removing rodents from a poultry house is the use of ultrasonic repellers. The method is considered the most humane, since during it not a single living creature is exposed to harmful effects.
Ultrasonic devices generate waves that are not perceived by the human or bird ear. In rats, the device provokes a feeling of anxiety, as a result of which the pests leave the room within 24 hours.
The most popular models of rat repellers:
- Typhoon and Typhoon 800;
- Grand A-500.
The difference between the devices lies in the power of impact and the radius of the area covered. Modern devices are equipped with sensors that automatically turn the device on and off.
The main advantage of ultrasonic repellers is the constant change in the frequency of the generated sound waves.
Because of this, rodents do not have time to adapt to new living conditions.
Precautionary measures
When dealing with rats using chemicals, do not forget to take the following precautions:
- Wear protective gloves when preparing and handling the product.
- Do not use near other foods, children, or pets.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap after completing procedures.
- Remove poisoned corpses in a timely manner.
Use chemicals with a mummification effect to avoid breathing in the smell of decomposition, as the rat may die in a hard-to-reach place.
How eggs are stolen
Rats pose a danger to chickens and other inhabitants of nurseries due to the spread of infection and parasites. They reduce the offspring of birds by destroying young chickens and eating eggs.
Let's take a closer look at how rats steal eggs. The animals take the egg with their front paws, moving on their two hind limbs.
With its prey, the rodent is able to move not only along the floor, but also along the walls and ceiling. Most often, pests steal birds' eggs in groups, rather than individually.
How to get into the chicken coop
Rodents enter chicken coops through cracks in the building, open manholes, and clay floors. Rats can also enter a poultry house standing on stilts: the animals are good at climbing walls and vertical planes.
Rodents are especially attracted to the smell of eggs and warmth.
Let's consider other reasons for the appearance of rats in the chicken coop:
- sufficient feed and grains;
- suitable microclimate.
In winter, rodents escape the cold in heated chicken coops. Especially often, unwanted guests appear in those rooms where there is no foundation, but there are clay floors.
Signs of appearance
The following signs will help you recognize the presence of rodents:
- paw prints left on the floor of the chicken coop (usually rats move along the same paths);
- presence of rat feces;
- teeth marks left on wooden objects;
- the smell of ammonia in the poultry house;
- broken eggshells on the floor;
- passages gnawed into the walls and floor.
