We have rats. How do we get rid of the rats?

Question

Ok, so here is the scenario... We have a chicken coop.  And beside of this chicken coop is a really, really big field.  Well, apparently rats lived in the field and they decided that our chicken coop was a much better home.  So now there are DOZENS if not HUNDREDS of rats that swarm out at night and eat the chicken...stuff....We need the rats gone WITHOUT hurting the chickens.  And with out leaving a bunch of carcasses laying all over the place for our dogs to eat...and get random diseases and die....Can anyone help us? It's really gross and I just do not do rats....I can deal with many rodents but NOT rats....

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

You could get a pest control person to come take a look at it and they could tell you the best thing to do.

jean ann j · Answer

2 or more fixed female cats will be best unless you want kittens.  Cats in the shelters have been fixed. You have to pay for them. 

There are too many rats for one or 2  cat.  Putting the cats in the chicken coop would not be fair to the cats.  Too many rats.  Rats will bite.  They need to work around the house. The cats can be taught not to kill the chickens if they try.  There are so many rats to eat I think they will leave the chickens along.  A mother hen with babies will attack the cats if they get close to the babies.

? · Answer

First off you have to control the food source which is the chicken food. Then depend on how the chicken coop is designed you can design preventative measure from the rats getting in the coop. If the coop is on the ground you can screen the coop with three fence having the middle one connected with electricity for shock.  If the coop is on the stand then you need funnel to prevent the rats from climbing up

T.Vance · Answer

A cat will keep them away, if you do not feed it.  But it sounds like you have tooo many for a cat to handle.  Rats are smart. They watch your routine and work around it. Move the chickens, tie up the dogs and hire a exterminator for the immediate time being. (3 or 4 days) Save a adult cat from the shelter during this time and keep it in a carrier box for the duration of the poisons, allowing the other animals to get used to it's presence. Chickens are usually to large for a cat to bother and usually the rooster will keep it in line.

catlovershadygardener · Answer

The best thing you can do is go to your local animal shelter and get a cat. If your chickens are not baby chicks, the cat won't bother them. You might want to start with a kitten though if they have one. We have had a similar problem here. The field mice get in the chicken feed. Those rats will spread bacteria that will harm your chickens. You'll have to be careful about the dogs though, they might want to kill the cat. Good luck.

Anonymous · Answer

2 or 3 bigger cats no kittens,would be good if you could get a hold of a few wild cats,i had the same exact problem i know i spent hundreds of dollars on poison's and its like there would be more,and of course i tried the pest control and it did start to work but it got very very expensive,plus allot  of dead rats lying everywhere,so if i were you id settle with the cats,and you will see a big big change,i went to my aunts she lives in the woods and she has so many wild cats that come to her house and eat bc she leaves food out for all of them bc she has chickens as well and she doesn't  want the cats to get hungry and try and settle for her chickens so she keeps food out there for them all,and they haven't so far messed with any of the chickens,but i took a big cage down there we opened the entrance of the cage and tied the door up with a string that would hold the door open,bc most wild cats will not have anything to do with anyone or ive never saw one that does,at any route we put like 4 cans of tuna into the cage,it took less then 15 Min's and we caught 4 cats but u have to be really fast at shutting the cage door,bc they r very fast .i pretended to be washing the patio bc if they have ur attention they wont come near so u have to pretend their not there,but my aunt has a house that has a really up high patio,that u can actually stand up under it well we tied another string tied to the door where it was ran from the cage door to under the patio,so one of us could pull it shut really quick,but the first string we had on their was about 10 inches long,and it was tied to the umbrella on her patio table,to where she could release her string when i needed to pull mine,we actually had a good time as well,bc everyone said we would never catch them cats.sorry its so long but if your like me someone has to write word for word on directions or ill never figure it out,but good luck,oh and 1 more thing,this probably wont eliminate them all but youll see a  drastically change,every now and then we might see a few but  that's  pretty much expected,oh and ive had the same cats for 4 years they have never bothered my chickens i guess bc they have to much fun with all the feild mice,anyways hope this helped.and good luck to you!

We have rats. How do we get rid of the rats?

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