How to deal with rats in the chicken coop: the best means to get rid of pests

Unexpected problems can arise when breeding chickens. This applies to the rules of general maintenance, various diseases, as well as the appearance of rodents that can reduce the number of chickens. There are several ways to deal with rats in or around a chicken coop. Owners use chemicals, while taking into account the rules of dosing and administration.

Reasons for appearance

Rodents appear next to chicken coops with the onset of cold weather. This is due to the deterioration of living conditions, the harvesting of crops from the 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 barns with caulked holes between logs built on the ground. It is not difficult for rodents to dig a hole under a building or find a gap in a wall reinforcement.

Pronounced signs speak of the appearance of rats in the chicken coop:

theft of eggs, the presence of parts of the shell next to the perch;
traces of litter;
appearance of ammonia smell;
Teeth marks on wooden perches.

Can a rat attack a chicken

Most often, the owners are afraid of stealing eggs from their nests, but sometimes large hungry rats attack chickens. Predators are able to eat a small chicken whole.

Mice often strangle chickens, but do little visible harm to adult hens.

How to get rid of rats in the 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 a source of infectious diseases that are found in the garbage dumps among decaying waste and carried on their paws.
The constant presence of rats near the chicken coop has a negative effect on the general condition of the hens, and subsequently affects productivity - they stop laying.
Regular egg theft leads to a complete reduction in the reproductive capacity of some layers.
Rats can be a source of plague, rabies, salmonolosis, toxacorosis.

To get rid of predatory rodents, different means are used. Many owners note that the best result is achieved through an integrated approach.

Biological

Biological methods of controlling rodent populations include the impact 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. They impregnate pieces of fabric with this liquid and lay them out on the territory of the chicken coop, plug the holes made with them.

Leaves, branches and berries of black elderberry are crushed and laid out near the intended 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 return after a while.

Sphinx cats are capable of destroying small rats, provided they stay near the territory and have the opportunity to hunt rodents. For this, dogs and hedgehogs are also bred. Rat hunters are called dog breeds such as: dachshund, bull terrier, fox terrier.

Advice! Turkeys and geese are capable of warning about the invasion of mice, which are specially placed with chickens for this purpose. 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 the decomposition of the carcass. This option is dangerous because a trap created for rats can catch a chicken and harm it.

Mechanical traps are distinguished by the type of device:

Traps. Miscellaneous traps that often go off before the rat steps on the part of the grab and hold device.
Mousetraps. These are bulky devices with a closing mechanism that cannot be placed on the territory of the chicken coop so as not to catch the chicken. In order to attract a rodent, use bait.
Glue baits. One of the most common types. Only suitable 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 improvised means.

To fight rodents, they take wood ash and generously fall asleep approaches to the chicken coop.The mechanism of action is based on the fact that the ash remains on the limbs of rats, begins to corrode them, and when you try to lick it, it enters the stomach and acts on the rat from the inside. The disadvantage of this method is that the process takes a long time. Over the period that ash exposure occurs, a rat can cause significant damage.

Wheat flour is mixed with building gypsum in equal parts. The mixture is left in a conspicuous place, water is placed nearby. The combination of the mixture and water in the stomach of a rat leads to the formation of a difficultly soluble 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 infecting the bird.

One of the options is to lay out the carbide holes. After a while, it starts to release gas, which helps to get rid of rats.

A medicinal plant is planted near the chicken coop - black root. One option is to hang freshly cut blackroot around the chicken coop. Thorns grow on the stems and branches of the black root, which cling to the animal's fur. The rat is not able to get rid of them on its own. Over time, the thorns cause the maximum harm to the rodent. This herb is called "rat rat". She is able to make small rodents avoid the chicken coop.

Ultrasonic

For chicken coop holders, special tools are recommended that act at the level of ultrasonic frequencies and help to remove rodents where it is possible to create a connection. These sounds are not terrible for a person or a chicken, but they affect rats, causing panic and provoking them to escape from dangerous territory.

The disadvantage of this method is forcing predators to leave the territory, and not the destruction of individuals. In addition, it is impossible to track the result immediately after a single application.

Popular and sought-after products: Typhoon 500, Grad 300. The principle of operation is based on connecting to an electrical outlet. It is enough to place these devices at a distance of 1 meter from the floor and direct them towards the intended hole.

Chemical

Methods of treating rooms with chemicals can damage the he alth of not only mice, but also chickens - this is the main drawback of the method. Chemicals are recommended for use when absolutely necessary, when the number of rats is a concern.

Gassing is carried out using special devices that spray chlorine or carbon monoxide inside the chicken coop. The procedure requires special protection for hands, face, use of a protective suit.

Poisonous pesticides are mixed with food and left so that the rats eat part of the mixture. The danger of this method is attracting pets to the feed, the likelihood that some chickens may be poisoned.

Precautions

It will take some time to fight the rats inside the chicken coop. When carrying out procedures, one should not forget about precautionary measures. They include the use of protection when treating the area with chemicals and following some rules besides this:

Food traps are laid out with protective gloves (rats are suspicious of human smell and will not approach food if it smells of people).
Pesticides mixed according to folk recipes are not stored near household chemicals or food.
After a corpse is discovered, it is immediately destroyed to prevent decomposition.

Advice! If the risk of death of a rat after exposure to 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 carcass of an animal can decompose over a long period of time and emit a strong odor. The main problem is the ability of the smell to spread up to 300 meters, so it is almost impossible to determine where the corpse is by smell.

To remove the smell, use proven tricks:

Smell absorbers. These are substances that are used if they know approximately where the decaying rodent is. Most often, hard-to-reach places for carcass removal are chimneys, pipes, narrow passages. They buy special adsorbent bags, which are placed near the source of the smell and left for several days, provided that the doors and windows are closed.
Chemicals. For processing take concentrated chemicals, such as formaldehyde. They treat adjacent surfaces, using protection for hands and face.
Ionizers. Devices that absorb odors. Devices work in limited areas, help to cope with mild odors.
Converters. These are substances that are released in the form of sprays that get rid of a strong smell, provided that the place where they are distributed is treated.

Prevention

When keeping a chicken coop, preventive measures are provided to protect against rodents. Rats are not afraid of water - they swim well, they are not stopped by the absence of large manholes for penetrating inside the chicken coop - they are able to get inside through holes that are 2 times smaller than the carcass of a rat. 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. If there is a wooden shed without a solid foundation, broken glass mixed with rubble is used to scatter around the perimeter.It is scattered in a dense high layer - from 15 to 20 cm. Broken glass is not dangerous for chickens, but it can prevent rats from entering. The layer is constantly updated.

Advice! When filling holes in walls, it is also advised to use broken glass.

In order to prevent the theft of eggs, perches are arranged on a hill. Inside the nests, constant cleaning is carried out. Leave no food that might attract rodents.

To combat rodents use different methods. They are chosen depending on what result they plan to achieve. Biological and ultrasonic methods force animals to leave their holes, while mechanical and chemical methods completely destroy individuals.