Must Chickens = rats?

[New York Hillbilly]

First off, I will admit to having an extreme level of uneasiness for rats, and to a much lesser degree, mice. This comes from several childhood experiences/encounters with rats that haunt me still today if I think about them. I won't go into them now, although a few of you might get a kick out of the stories. I get the shivers when I think about my past run ins with rats. 

After years of talking about it, me and my wife finally took the plunge and bought two Brahmas, two Wyandotte already laying, and a  Marnan Rooster to live in the little elevated coop I built last July 4th. Things have been going great and these chickens are now spoiled. They come running to the gate every time we go out, and eat from our hands. Happy chickens! Meal worms! :  )

We were getting as many as 3 eggs a day but wife wanted more eggs, and thus the need for more chickens. So, I just finished building her a much bigger coop and purchased two more Maran hens that just started laying, and three Wyandotte hen pullets. The new coop is an 8x8 building. Judging how all five new hens are choosing to roost on the same roost at night, it looks like there is actually room for as many as 15 or 20 chickens .  But we agreed we are at our maximum number of chickens for our flock. We are keeping the original 4 hens and rooster in the small coop for now, and the new chickens separate from them until they all can become familiar, and as a precaution for chicken health reasons. By Winter we will have them all together as one flock living in "The Big House". 

So, I'm asking my fellow, much more experienced chicken keepers here. Do chickens have to equal rats or do any of you have success in remaining, rat free? Aside from the obvious, like keeping the area clean, feed secured in metal cans with lids, and as rodent secure a coop as possible, what other actions might I take to avoid having rats show up and ruin my life? 

I have a Westie that loves to kill mice, but she is a senior citizen now and would not likely be a good match for a rat. And, while my my little old Sadie would have the heart to tackle such a challenge, she is a member of our household and I would not assign her guard duty at this stage of her life. Out door barn cats maybe? What say all? 

 

Edited July 9, 2023 by New York Hillbilly
punctuation

[airedale]

Staying on top of the situation year around is key, do not let things get out of hand.

My Rat arsenal includes just about everything that is available, if things start getting bad my main defense is traps and poison. I actually have a bigger problem with Chipmunks.

It is all about getting into your feed, that is what draws them. So a good feed storage system is a good starting point. For traps I like the old fashioned wood base rat traps they work great on rats and chipmunks. The water bucket traps also are a winner, there are online videos showing how to set them up.

I do not like using poisons but I will if numbers rise.

I have also shot them and used dogs.

I have kept on top of things and knock on wood I have not seen a single chipmunk or rat in a couple of years.

Al

 

[New York Hillbilly]

22 hours ago, airedale said:

I have also shot them

Thanks for the tips Al. It sounds like I'm pretty much on the right track. I have kept poison in my garage for years, but always a bit nervous about it because of my dogs. I don't think either one I have would eat a dead rat (maybe roll on it..lol), but did lose a Cairn terrier many years ago to what I suspected to have been poisoned by a former a$$hole neighbor. 

The shooting method was one of my creepy experiences. I had gone to visit my father when I was about 13 years old, and had a bright idea that me and my younger stepbrother were going to go sit in his "coop" at night to shoot "a rat". The plan was; at night we would sit up on top of a couple steel drums, me holding my .22, and him holding both ends of the light and extension cord. When I nudged him he would plug the light in and I would quickly shoot "a rat". 

Well let me tell you; after sitting there in the dark quietly for a while, I gave him the nudge and he plugged the light in, and all hell broke loose! The reality was there was no one specific rat. Instead the room seemed to be filled with rats that went scurrying in every direction when the light came on. As me and my stepbrother launched ourselves from our perches making a frantic retreat, the rats appearing to me at the time to be as big as piglets all seemed to be giving me the angry, evil, stink eye. I was all but certain they were going to tackle and teach us a lesson before we could escape. 

I retrieved my .22 from the floor of the coop the next day, in full day light, and never had the urge (or courage) to try the same experiment again. :  )

[mowin]

I've been rat free for yrs.  My coop and run is 100% predator proof. Well, maybe except bears.. 

I have my ventilation and windows, on the coop covered with hardware cloth(HC). My run is covered in HC. The entire perimeter of the coop/run has a HC apron that extends out 18" to stop digging predators, like rats. The only thing getting in is a baby mouse, and that's just a snack for the gals.  

I also use a bucket feeder.  It keeps the gals from wasting food and kicking it onto the floor.  

I've never had to use poison or traps.  

Edited July 10, 2023 by mowin

[New York Hillbilly]

13 hours ago, mowin said:

I've been rat free for yrs.  My coop and run is 100% predator proof. Well, maybe except bears.. 

I have my ventilation and windows, on the coop covered with hardware cloth(HC). My run is covered in HC. The entire perimeter of the coop/run has a HC apron that extends out 18" to stop digging predators, like rats. The only thing getting in is a baby mouse, and that's just a snack for the gals.  

I also use a bucket feeder.  It keeps the gals from wasting food and kicking it onto the floor.  

I've never had to use poison or traps.  

I like the idea of an apron to prevent the digging under. I will give that some consideration. We actually had that at our beagle clubs when I was into running beagles.