Oh rats !

[snohare]

So here I am in Lincolnshire, to dig over a friend's new garden, get it ready to plant up with veggies. But I have found a sudden lack of enthusiasm...
Part of this is undoubtedly that she is concentrating on getting a henhouse and chicken run set up for her forthcoming delivery of hens. All well and good, I love a good challenge and putting up the rotten old shed that she had been given to make a henhouse out of, was certainly that ! (No lack of ventilation for the chooks !)
But mainly I think the lack of enthusiasm is that the tatties that she has planted keep getting dug up and gnawed upon, and she has been told by the neighbours that there is a bad problem with rats here, from the local farm just a few yards down the road.
So what I am wondering is, short of getting in a terrier or ferret (neither of which the cat would tolerate ) what measures can one take against rats and the problems they bring ?
Is it likely to be rats that have been digging up her seed potatoes ? If she plants out lettuces and other leaf crops, will they eat or pee on them ?
I must confess, I had not expected this problem, not one I have any experience at all of, so I am totally clueless here. As usual, all help would be gratefully received !

[binley100]

My first thought was she needs to sort the rat problem out before the hens arrive ....didn;t hink rats dug up tatties (but am probably wrong) ......I hate to say it but think traps or bait may be the only option ..... failing that get Dead Eye Snadge down there .....

[snohare]

Hadn't even thought of danger to the hens from the rats ! Would chicken netting keep them out of the run ? Would it just be the eggs at risk ? I can think of ways to keep them out of the shed...

[binley100]

I'm no expert when it comes to chooks and rats but a friend of mine thinks hers caught an illness off rats getting into the run ......the rats would probably be after any chicken feed thats around rather than the hens ,

[jackyspratty]

I have a beck through my garden so will always have rats they need 3 times more water than food apparantly plus we are on the edge of a wood so have been here longer than me really ( As long as they dont get near to the house its ok! I cant ever erradicate them just keep on top of them as it were....if the number sincreasethen action is needed! The council used to come out free of chage to bait etc but not any more.
My neighbour has an aviary, keeps 3 cockerals, loads of hens and ducks too. She says the amunt of feed she has to buy has doubled....due to the rats getting it first! She is constantly rat proofing her chook houses and runs but they can get in the smallest gap, arereally good climbers (can shin across a washing line!! :0 Plus they cab eat through concrete!!

On a lighter note, re the tattie digging, we have had that on our lotty, plus all my support strings have been bitten through. My old lotty pal says its the local fox that lives in the bramble patch. The guy that had his tatties dug up had just had manure dug in, the old guy says this often attracts?

You can hope that if it is a fox, that the fox may eat the rats!

RE rat pee, yes its nasty stuff, but probably all sorts of things pee on our veg, its just a case of washing it if its a concern.

[snohare]

Oh dear ! Thank you guys, I foresee a busy day scavenging tomorrow...it would help if we had more than a bicycle and a tiny 4x4 to move any finds with ! (I am thinking of a skip I saw in Horncastle the other day, which had some very nice sheets of old ply in it...oh the frustration !)

[OverWyreGrower]

Rats

You can get Weil's disease from rat and mouse urine...

Anyway.... a hungry rat can bite through chicken wire - for the life of me, I can't remember what is recommended instead.

If the run is going to be static, you can sink mesh/wire into the ground and under the run, so any digging is thwarted.

Feeders and drinkers need to be kept off the floor, as high as you can (so the chickens can reach but not the rats). We now have a treadle feeder, which needs at least 500g of pressure to open, so unless the rat is a monster one, they can't get in.

We use Eradibait poison, with quite a bit of success. It is safe for chickens and other animals, but not rats. I take some out with me every morning in case a new hole/bit of digging has appeared. I just push it down the hole and fill it in with dirt.

[binley100]

Weldmesh ?

[OverWyreGrower]

Weldmesh ?

That's it!

[binley100]

See I knew I could remember something useful

[VirginVegGrower]

We get rats on our allotment but I've never had stuff dug up. The only reason I know this is because the fifteen year old on our site, who wants to have his own farm one day, traps them and carries them away by their tail! Hens will only add to the problem if the coop isn't elevated and food not taken up each night.
We use weld mesh although we also have two terriers if only you were nearer

[Two_Sheds]

Weil's disease: The bacteria can get into your body through cuts and scratches and through the lining of the mouth, throat and eyes after contact with infected urine or contaminated water. Farmers are now the main group at risk
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg84.pdf

Bacteria need moisture to survive, and Weil's disease bacteria, leptospirosis, is water-borne.

I'm thinking out loud here: if a rat does pee on the lettuces (and of course lots of animals do pee all over the plot when we're not there) but the urine dries in the wind/sun, the bacteria can't survive.

Anyway, you should always wash your hands after gardening, but especially if you suspect rats are around. Keep cuts covered with plasters; wash veg before eating it. Minimise the risks, but be sensible not paranoid.

[MyLifeWithAndrew]

I know this one.

It is not unusual to see the rats hanging out with the chickens after breakfast is served.
They raise their beady eyes and nod hello before returning to nibbling away at a missed chicken snack.
Bold little creatures.
Last year, our (now dead) Bengal took care of the problem.
This year, target practice has.
(Along with creating a barrier between the bottom of the hen cages and the land. The rats are after the food more so than wanting a spare egg or two.)

[bradlo]

In my experience of chicken keeping....
Chooks = Rats...End of story!

You can control the situation a bit ( trap/air rifle etc) but I doubt you will ever eradicate it !

[veggiechicken]

Its no consolation, Snohare, but I have rats too! We probably all have. They moved into the log store, close to the hen house and the only way they were sorted was by the Council Pest man. He visited so often over the years we're old chums. I haven't had hens for several years but the rats are still around, this time they're taking the fallen bird seed from the feeders. A bit disconcerting when they are a couple of feet from the kitchen. I've moved the feeders away from the house. So chooks, or no chooks, there are rats nearby - sorry!