"....my chickens have been getting food piled on the lips on the sides, I looked for a photo but don't have one."
Might be able to help with that if you had a picture.
Might be able to help with that if you had a picture.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
I believe moles can get around most any apron ... buried or above ground. Then, rats can use their tunnels.Rats cannot get inside a coop covered with hardware cloth with an apron around the bottom (buried hardware cloth) You may not have the hardware cloth buried deep enough or have it extended far enough out. The only way the rats can get inside are holes or openings larger than 1/2" .Leaving the doors open during he day can also cause a rat infestation. Rats cannot survive without a food source so if you aren't feeding them who is?
https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/species-facts/moles
Surface tunnels connect with deeper runways that are located 3 to 12 inches below the surface, but may be as deep as 40 inches. Deep runways are main passageways that are used daily as the mole travels to and from surface tunnels and its nest.
Moles are fast diggers and can tunnel at a rate of 15 feet per hour. In favorable areas, shallow tunnels can be built at a rate of 12 inches per minute.
Digging is most pronounced in fall and winter when the soil is moist and easy for moles to work. In periods of dry weather or drought, moles tunnel deeper, near moist, cool areas where insects and worms congregate—along sewer drainfields and under sidewalks, rocky area, and shady fencerows.
The moles didn't dig any tunnels for the rats.The rats were already there.I believe moles can get around most any apron ... buried or above ground. Then, rats can use their tunnels.
Happy for some help! The chickens took to the feeder right away, I used the training settings for the two weeks, but they were in there eating before I'd make it out in the morning to prop it open on the second or third day. Pretty neat."....my chickens have been getting food piled on the lips on the sides, I looked for a photo but don't have one."
Might be able to help with that if you had a picture.
You gotta forgive Al, he gets a little too excited when a rat thread pops up.Wow.....how arrogant, thanks!
FYI....I have only 21 chickens, I give them what they eat in 5 minutes...I DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE FOOD IS ATE OR PICKED UP! They free range the rest of the time. These rats were here on my property, living under my shed, for years before I even got the chicken. EVERYTHING you have said in this post, I have done!
No offense, I hope everyone in this forum is not as mean as you!
Hi @ScorpioHenHi, I was wondering if anyone has any solutions on how to rid rats from the Chicken coop/yard effectively? I have tried for years to get rid of them and they have just grown worse over time. I am sitting here now, watching them run all around the chicken yard....about 20 in total and it just disgusts me to no end knowing these vermin are around my girls! I lost 2 chickens last month and swear it is due to these diseased and disgusting rats. I keep the area clean, pick up every scrap of food and be sure nothing is left out to attract them...including standing water. The chickens feed and water are high enough in proper containers where the rats can not get to them, so I am good there. But I give my chickens little treats from time to time, veggies or even the 5 grain scratch feed and if there is anything left behind, I do my best to pick up every piece. But they still are all over the place casing the yard looking for anything they can get. I have tried on these rats: bait blocks, trap buckets, spring loaded traps, DIY bait killer (such as the flour, yeast mixtures and corn meal etc.), sticky glue runners that were of commercial grade, and all the scents they are supposed not to like (peppermint, vinegar, ammonia, etc). I am sure there are 50 more I am forgetting because if it is sold out there, I have bought it and if not, I have made it! But NOTHING works to get rid of them. I have taken to now heading out at night with my BB gun because they will run run across my feed when I go to lock in the girl at night. It is totally our of control and I do not know what else to do to get rid of them. My yard and the chicken yard looks like Swiss cheese for all the holes and no matter what we fill them with, they just dig around it to make new holes. The hardware wire has not stopped them either. I am at my wits end. If anyone has a solution, PLEASE share. I would be eternally grateful, as would my girls! Thank You.