Rat hole in the run

[dawg53]

Buy "Just One Bite" rat poison and shove one cylinder down the rat hole and cover it with a paver. Done.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Okay good to know. We would definitely want to rescue a cat or cats. Maybe I can call around and see. Thank you for the information!!

If you google "Feral Cat society or coalition for _________" whatever major city you are close to, you should be able to select the barn cat adoption process from the website.

 

[Alagirl]

Okay good to know. We would definitely want to rescue a cat or cats. Maybe I can call around and see. Thank you for the information!!

do check the shelters.
They often have cats they deem too wild to become pets. They need a home, too. Some run 'barn cat specials' now and then.
You do have to provide the cats with a location to put them up for a few weeks before you can let them out! Preferably with a window.
And of course, all the fixings of cat life, if they chose to: a warm and dry place to get out of the weather, a bowl of food, and at least during confinement a litter box.
And you might find that the 'feral' beast wants to be a lap kitty.

 

[HeidiChickenMomma]

Hello,

We have been having problems with rats in our neighborhood. Today I noticed a rat hole in the coop. We tried to prevent this by putting wire material down on the ground a few inches but they dug under that as well. Does anyone have any ideas to stop the rats or fill the hole?

Thank you.

pour a lot of hot pepper flakes in it and seal the hole - you can also use hot sauce as well - they hate that. But that is only if your chickens can't access it by accident.

 

[Alagirl]

pour a lot of hot pepper flakes in it and seal the hole - you can also use hot sauce as well - they hate that. But that is only if your chickens can't access it by accident.

I think the chickens will be fine with the hot pepper stuff. As far as I know, birds have no receptors for the capsaicin.

 

[Wormhunter]

Yep! I now have a total of 3 Feral cats and they have zero interest in Chickens. I would think that they would go after small chicks but for sure they won't go after adult chickens. I saw one of my poor feral cats trying to cross through my run a few weeks ago and she was charged by 2 full grown hens. She took a meaningless swipe at one of them and ran off as fast as she could.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Hello,

We have been having problems with rats in our neighborhood. Today I noticed a rat hole in the coop. We tried to prevent this by putting wire material down on the ground a few inches but they dug under that as well. Does anyone have any ideas to stop the rats or fill the hole?

Thank you.

You are dealing with the symptoms of a problem rather than dealing with the cause of the problem. Do a forum search for Howard E.'s posts on rat control or read some of the hundreds of other forum threads on rodents by searching for them using the search feature.

Deal with the rats by sanitation, exclusion, and elimination in that order because the first option is the cheapest and best, then the second option, the third option is difficult and never ending as new populations of rodents move into the cleared territory.