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If rats get into the chicken coop, they will cause irreparable damage to it. Rodents drag eggs, strangle chickens, scare chickens. But the main danger is that they are carriers of dangerous infections. Knowing how to get rid of rats in a chicken coop can eliminate this problem forever.
The difficulty of dealing with rats in a chicken coop lies in the fact that not all means can be used in it. Traps and poison are also dangerous for chickens, so you need to choose methods that are effective against rats and harmless to birds and other domestic animals.
Signs of the appearance of rodents
The presence of rats can be determined by some characteristic features:
- traces laid on the dusty floor, along which the routes of their movement pass;
- the presence of rat droppings;
- teeth marks – they gnaw everything that comes in their way;
- the appearance of an ammonia smell;
- the appearance of small holes at the junction of the walls and the foundation;
- egg shell pieces.
Harm from rats
The chicken coop is a haven for rodents. There is always something for rats to profit from here:
- bird food is often stored in the chicken coop;
- animals strangle chicks and even attack young hens;
- they also carry eggs.
There is an interesting legend about how rats steal eggs from a chicken coop – clasping the egg with all four paws, the rodent lies on its back, and the second rat drags it by the tail into the hole. Despite the intelligence and ingenuity of these animals, this theory does not yet have actual confirmation, except for images on art canvases. Most likely, the rat pushes the egg in front of him into the shelter, and there he gnaws it and eats the contents.
Building a chicken coop
It is necessary to provide for the appearance of rats in the chicken coop already during its construction. Rodents are able to get into the room through small cracks in the foundation or roof. Therefore, the base of the chicken coop should be deep, in advance it is necessary to outline places for laying baits that are inaccessible to birds. The floor is covered with a mixture of broken glass and rubble, which will prevent rats from visiting. Before settling the premises with birds, it is fumigated with sulfur.
Traditional recipes
If traces of rats in the chicken coop are noticed, they should be disposed of immediately. To do this, there are many folk ways, time-tested.
Wood Ash
Ash is considered an ancient remedy against these animals. It must be scattered on the floor in the chicken coop at the rate of one bucket of ash per several square meters of area. Sticking to the paws and wool of rodents, the ash will irritate them due to the alkalis contained in it. When licked from its paws, the ash enters the stomach of animals, causing ulcers on the gastric mucosa. Rodents will quickly leave this place.
Lime and gypsum against rats in the chicken coop
Lime, flour and sugar are mixed in equal quantities and laid out in secluded places. Place a container of water next to it. Rodents eat such a treat with pleasure and get a mucosal burn from exposure to lime.
An effective remedy is a mixture of gypsum and flour in a ratio of 1: 1. Next to it you need to put a bowl of water. Once in the stomach of a rodent, the mixture will harden and cause the death of the pest.
other methods
A barrel is placed in the chicken coop, filled to the middle with water, and pieces of meat, cheese or lard are thrown into it. Next to the barrel, they build a kind of ladder from old boxes so that it is easy for rodents to climb it. In the morning, all “night visitors” will be in a barrel.
The following method helps to get rid of rats in the chicken coop for at least a year. Douse the carcass of a dead rat with alcohol or kerosene and set it on fire. Having placed it on a shovel, it is necessary to go around the chicken coop, fumigating the entire room. Pests will bypass this smell.
A simple and affordable way to deal with rats in a chicken coop is vodka. Having crumbled bread crumbs into it, pour it into a saucer and put it inside a box with holes. Usually a few days of application of the product is enough for the rats in the chicken coop to disappear.
Poisonous plants
In the fight against rats in the chicken coop, many homeowners use poisonous plants. It must be remembered that some of them can harm chickens, so you need to carefully lay them out.
- The seeds of the tropical chilibukha plant contain poisonous alkaloids.. After mixing them with sugar and raisins, you need to grate stearin into this mass and spread it around the corners of the chicken coop, and sprinkle boiled beans around. The tool allows you to remove the problem with rats within a few days.
- Colchicum blooms during the summer months. All parts of it are highly poisonous. To prepare 200 grams of the product, only 10 grams of the plant is required. Finely chopped, it is mixed with seeds or cereals and scattered in the corners of the room. The smell will be more pronounced if the seeds are roasted. You can pour the product directly into holes and holes.
- Rats also cannot stand the smell of bird cherry, mint or broom.. You can use pharmacy essential oil instead of natural mint. Having moistened a cloth in it, it is enough to put it in the rodent’s mink.
- Many lay out branches of black or red elderberry in all corners from rats in the chicken coop., the smell of which the animals can not stand. You can also plant elderberry bushes around. The plant contains hydrocyanic acid, which repels rodents.
- In the fight against rats in the poultry house the burdock or rat race planted around it help, in other words, medicinal black root. Their spines firmly cling to the hair of rodents, so they try to stay away from these plants.
Rats do not tolerate the smell of various chemicals. They are scared away:
- a rag soaked in kerosene or turpentine;
- sawdust mixed with naphthalene;
- the smell of acetylene when water is added to calcium carbide.
Animal help
Cats are good helpers in the fight against rats. Of course, not everyone is able to cope with them. It is necessary to choose the breed of the rat-catcher cat. However, even the very presence of a cat and its smell will scare away the rats in the chicken coop.
Some breeds of dogs, such as dachshunds and fox terriers, are excellent helpers in the fight against rodents. They strangle the animals and pile them up in a heap.
Many experienced poultry farmers keep chickens and geese in the chicken coop. They have a very sensitive sleep, allowing them to react to any rustle. When night guests appear, they make noise, driving away pests. If necessary, the geese can even fight with the rats in the chicken coop and defeat them.
To scare away rats in the chicken coop, it is good to keep turkeys with chickens. At any rustle, they will raise a noise, warning of uninvited aliens.
One of the main enemies of rats is a hedgehog. If you lure him into the chicken coop, there will be no problems with rodents.
Mechanical methods
A simple rat trap is easy to make on your own:
- a piece of cheese is attached to the bottom of the glass;
- the glass is placed upside down on the edge of the coin;
- a rat will crawl under a glass for cheese;
- at this point, he will jump off the coin, and the rodent will be trapped.
There is another option for a homemade trap that is safe for chickens:
- pour a little vegetable oil into the bottle and shake it to lubricate its walls with oil;
- slightly expand the neck so that a rodent can climb in;
- put cheese or a piece of meat inside as bait.
The rat will get into the bottle and, sliding along the walls, will not be able to get out.
If ordinary traps or live traps are placed against rats in the chicken coop, then you need to make sure that they are safe for the inhabitants of the chicken coop. Traps are placed in a special box with small holes on the sides. Through them, rodents enter the box and fall into traps. Now the trade offers a variety of containers in which you can place both traps and baits. However, due to their high cost, they are not popular.
When using traps, it should also be taken into account that rats in a chicken coop often manage to pull out the bait and not get caught in a trap.
Scarers
Today, there is a wide range of devices that generate ultrasonic waves on the market. The human ear does not perceive them, and causes a panic state in rats in a chicken coop.
Exposure to ultrasound puts rodents to flight. Trade offers two types of such devices:
- low-power, battery-powered, have a short range – they are inefficient in the volume of the chicken coop;
- powerful repellers that operate from the electrical network are suitable for large rooms.
It is important to choose the right device. It should have different schemes of work and the ability to adjust the sound intensity. The device operates only in that part of the space where the sound waves are directed, there should be no obstacles in their path. For chickens, the device is harmless, but a person should not be in the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe device for a long time.
If you plan to use poison to kill rats in the chicken coop, it is best to transfer the chickens to another room for this time. After cleaning the chicken coop and disinfecting it, you can return the birds back.
Having got rid of the rats in the chicken coop, further preventive measures should be taken so that the rodents no longer disturb the poultry with their presence.
