Your thoughts on the safety of Drop In The Bucket rat trap, around chickens?

[aart]

This chap

...is great!

 

[Wot The Flock]

But wait, I watched (many) more!

This design would be easy to make, large enough for rats, and as long as it was braced against something or put in a hole - would be SAFE for chickens!

The only thing I would add, put a sleeve around so the chickens do not see the mice/rats (because chickens will eat mice). And make a lid that sits in securely, is easy to remove to empty the rodents (remember too, do not throw the dead rodents around, that will attract predators like foxes).

I am so going to make this for the rats, but I don't know where to get the empty water barrel - or perhaps I just modify a regular trash/rubbish bin

 

[arizona_chicken_noob]

That's a good point @Wot The Flock about leaving rat carasses to "go back to nature" in the yard... we don't have foxes but we do have raccoons and coyotes, and I will put all of them in the trash from now on. I'll look into these other trap styles too, anything to get the job done!

 

[Ridgerunner]

When I get mice this way, after they are dead I toss them in with the chickens. They have a great game of keepaway and eventually one wins and gets to eat the mouse.

When I catch larger critters that I consider vermin I cut them open so the chickens can get to the body cavity and put that in the run. I let the chickens enjoy all that fabulous protein they love and then dispose of the remainder before dark so I don't attract predators.

 

[mowin]

But wait, I watched (many) more!

This design would be easy to make, large enough for rats, and as long as it was braced against something or put in a hole - would be SAFE for chickens!

The only thing I would add, put a sleeve around so the chickens do not see the mice/rats (because chickens will eat mice). And make a lid that sits in securely, is easy to remove to empty the rodents (remember too, do not throw the dead rodents around, that will attract predators like foxes).

I am so going to make this for the rats, but I don't know where to get the empty water barrel - or perhaps I just modify a regular trash/rubbish bin

Gotta love marketing. Do you really think wild rats are going to be following each other to there doom..

 

[chicknmania]

Wouldn't the rats get wise to the bucket trap eventually?