How and what to deal with rats in a chicken coop, the best means and methods of struggle
When raising chickens, unexpected problems can arise. This applies to the rules of general maintenance, various diseases, as well as the appearance of rodents, which can reduce the number of chickens. There are several ways to deal with rats in or around the chicken coop. The owners use chemicals, while taking into account the rules for dosing and taking.
Reasons for the appearance
Rodents appear next to chicken coops with the onset of cold weather. This is due to the deterioration of living conditions, harvesting crops from fields where rodents fed during the warm summer.
The chicken coop attracts rats for several reasons:
- heat source;
- food source;
- the presence of the smell of young chicks, fresh eggs.
Most chicken coops are sheds with caulked log holes built on the ground. It is not difficult for rodents to dig a hole under a building or find a gap in the strengthening of a wall.
The appearance of rats on the territory of the hen house is indicated by pronounced signs:
- theft of eggs, the presence of parts of the shell next to the perch;
- traces of droppings;
- the appearance of an ammoniacal odor;
- teeth marks on wooden perches.
Can a rat attack a chicken
Most often, owners are afraid of stealing eggs from hatched nests, but sometimes large hungry rats attack chickens. Predators are able to eat small-sized chicken whole.
Mice often strangle chickens, but do little visible harm to adult chickens.
How to get rid of rats in a chicken coop forever
Getting rid of rodents is an important condition for keeping a chicken coop. Rodents are dangerous for many reasons:
- They are often the source of infectious diseases, which are found in the trash heaps of decomposing waste and carried on their paws.
- The constant presence of rats near the hen house has a negative effect on the general condition of the chickens, and subsequently affects productivity - they stop laying.
- Regular stealing of eggs leads to a complete decrease in the reproductive capacity of some layers.
- Rats can be a source of plague, rabies, salmonollosis, toxacorosis.
To get rid of predatory rodents, use different means. Many owners note that they achieve the best results through an integrated approach.
Biological
Biological methods of combating the rodent population are considered to be the effect of odors, to which individuals are not tolerant, as well as the protection of the territory by cats and dogs.
To spread the smell, take mint or black elderberry.Mint is brewed with boiling water so that the infusion is dark and strong. Pieces of fabric are impregnated with this liquid and laid out on the territory of the hen house, plugging the holes they have made.
Leaves, branches and berries of black elderberry are crushed and laid out near the supposed or visible manholes. In addition to black elderberry, they use burnt and smoldering wool - rats cannot stand this smell and leave their inhabited burrows. The disadvantage of this method is that the rats come back again after a while.
Sphynx cats are capable of destroying small rats on condition of constant stay near the territory and the presence of the possibility of hunting rodents. For this, they also have dogs and hedgehogs. Rat hunters are such dog breeds as: dachshund, bull terrier, fox terrier.
Advice! Turkeys and geese, which are specially added to chickens for these purposes, are capable of warn of the invasion of mice. They raise the alarm and are able to repel the attack of small mice.
Mechanical
The mechanical method involves the use of traps. They are arranged in such a way that the caught rat can be quickly detected and destroyed, preventing decomposition of the carcass. This option is dangerous in that the trap created for the rats can catch the chicken and harm it.
Mechanical traps are distinguished by the type of device:
- Traps. Various traps that are often triggered before the rat steps on the part of the device that can grab and hold.
- Mousetraps. These are bulky devices with a closing mechanism that cannot be placed in the chicken coop in order not to catch the chicken. In order to attract a rodent, a bait is used.
- Glue baits. One of the most common types. Suitable only for mice and small rats, as it is not able to hold an adult.
Folk remedies
Throughout the existence of the national economy, there have been many effective ways to get rid of rats, for which they use available means at hand.
To combat rodents, they take wood ash and generously cover the approaches to the chicken coop. The mechanism of action is based on the fact that ash remains on the limbs of rats, begins to eat them away, and when trying to lick it gets into the stomach and acts on the rat from the inside. The disadvantage of this method is that the process takes a long time. During the period while the ash is exposed, the rat is capable of causing significant damage.
Wheat flour is mixed with stucco in equal parts. The mixture is left in a conspicuous place, water is placed next to it. The combination of the mixture and water in the rat's stomach leads to the formation of a hard-to-dissolve lump, which causes instant death.
The disadvantage of this method is that the rat dies in a hard-to-reach place in the chicken coop, where it begins to decompose, after which there is a danger of infection of the bird.
One of the options is to unroll the carbide burrows. After a while, it begins to release gas, which helps to get rid of the rats.
A medicinal plant is planted near the chicken coop - black root. One option is to hang the freshly cut blackroot around the chicken coop. On the stems and branches of the blackroot, thorns grow, which cling to the animal's fur. The rat is unable to get rid of them on its own. Over time, the thorns cause maximum damage to the rodent. This herb is called "rat rat race". She is able to make small rodents avoid the chicken coop.
Ultrasonic
For holders of chicken coops, special means are recommended that act at the level of ultrasonic frequencies and help to remove rodents where there is an opportunity to create a connection. These sounds are not scary to humans or chicken, but they affect rats, causing panic and provoking them to escape from dangerous territory.
The disadvantage of this method is forcing the predators to leave the territory, and not the destruction of individuals. In addition, it is impossible to track the result immediately after a single use.
Popular and demanded means: Typhoon 500, Grad 300. The principle of operation is based on connecting an electric current to an outlet. It is enough to place these devices at a distance of 1 meter from the floor and direct them towards the intended burrow.
Chemical
Methods of treating premises with chemicals can damage the health of not only mice, but also chickens - this is the main drawback of the method. Chemicals are recommended for emergency use when rat numbers are of concern.
Gasification is carried out using special devices that spray chlorine or carbon monoxide inside the chicken coop. For the procedure, special protection for hands, face, use of a protective suit is required.
Poisonous chemicals are mixed with food and left so that the rats eat part of the mixture. The danger of this method is the attraction of pets to food, the likelihood that some chickens may be poisoned.
Precautions
It will take some time to fight the rats inside the coop. When carrying out procedures, one must not forget about precautions. These include the use of protection when treating the area with chemicals and following some rules in addition to this:
- Traps with food are laid out in protective gloves (rats are suspicious of human smell and do not go with food if it smells of people).
- Chemicals mixed according to folk recipes are not stored near household chemicals or food.
- Once a corpse is found, it is immediately destroyed to prevent decomposition.
Advice! If the risk of death of a rat after exposure to a poison in a hard-to-reach place is high, then chemicals with an additional mummification effect are used.
How to get rid of the smell of a dead rat
A dead rat is dangerous. The animal carcass can decompose over a long period of time and give off a strong odor. The main problem is the ability of smell to spread over a distance of 300 meters, so it is almost impossible to determine where a corpse is located by smell.
To remove the smell, they use proven techniques:
- Odor absorbers. These are substances that are used if they roughly know where the decomposing rodent is. Chimneys, pipes, and narrow passages are most often hard-to-reach places for carcass removal. Special adsorbent bags are purchased, which are placed near the source of the odor and left for several days, provided the doors and windows are closed.
- Chemicals. For processing, they take concentrated chemicals, such as formaldehyde. They treat adjacent surfaces using protection for hands and face.
- Ionizers. Devices that absorb odors. The devices work in confined areas, helping to cope with mild odors.
- Neutralizers. These are substances that are released in the form of sprays that get rid of a strong odor, provided that the place where they are distributed is treated.
Prevention
When keeping a chicken coop, preventive measures are taken to protect against rodents. Rats are not afraid of water - they swim well, they are not stopped by the lack of large manholes to get inside the chicken coop - they are able to get inside through holes that are 2 times smaller in size than a rat carcass. This means that rodents are cunning and dangerous.
One of the most effective preventive measures is the construction of a chicken coop based on concrete mixed with broken glass. In the presence of a wooden shed without a solid foundation, broken glass mixed with crushed stone is used to scatter around the perimeter. It is scattered in a dense high layer - from 15 to 20 cm.Broken glass is not harmful to chickens, but it can prevent rats from entering. The layer is constantly being updated.
Advice! It is also advised to use broken glass when filling holes in walls.
In order to prevent the theft of eggs, perches are arranged on a hill. The inside of the nests is constantly cleaned. Do not leave food that could attract rodents.
Different methods are used to control rodents. They are chosen depending on what result they plan to achieve. Biological and ultrasonic methods force animals to leave their burrows, while mechanical and chemical methods completely destroy individuals.
