Chickens and rats.

[SKR8PN]

ugh. wonder what changed??? do you have dogs? did you have dogs? new feeding situation? fewer owls??


hum....

let us know what you get in the trap. i'll laugh if you catch a barn cat
;-)

I use the have-a-hart trap for the barn/feral cats.


Yes we have dogs, 2 Labs and a Golden Retriever, but they are inside most of the time. We keep the dog food INSIDE. What I find strange is that I also found one track leading to under our deck. The deck is in the fenced in backyard that the dogs use multiple times per day.....THAT rat must be awfully brave or awfully stupid. I also found a LOT of RABBIT tracks and turds at the OTHER end of the deck.. ....DO rabbits and Rats co-habitate????

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

we use the havahart traps to catch raccoons. then we shoot them. in the trap. hows THAT for having a heart!?! actually we had to do a lot of fast talking when we borrowed it from an 'animal lover' - we realized at the last minute that we couldnt give it back to her all blasted apart. snicker snicker snicker.....it wasnt funny. at all. shame on us.... snicker snicker snicker. we had to buy a new one. snicker snicker snicker...we never did tell her... but we laughed the whole way there. we're bad i know.

back to the subject:

we are being over run by bunnies also. unfortunately i, apparently, taught the dogs not to chase small and fuzzy things... so they dont go after the rabbits. dang. well hey i guess we BOTH need good huntin' dogs!

 

[Farmfresh]

My D1 (the vet tech) was telling me about a new trend to adopt feral cats. People are trapping them spay/neutering them giving a long lasting type of rabies shot and then setting them up shelters and feeding stations on remote areas of their farms. Some of the shelters are like a dog house on a pole then stuffed with straw.

She says studies are showing a strong feral cat population is actually very good for a farm ecosystem. They tend to develop a territory and keep unwanted dump kitties and strays at bay.

 

[SKR8PN]

I am going to high jack my own post, but I have to tell you guys about this.........about 7-8 years ago, my kitty loving neighbor, started feeding feral cats out in her shed. One thing led to another and the next thing you know we have cats EVERYWHERE!!! HUNDREDS OF THEM!!! Since I keep my dogs fenced in, I thought it only fair the SHE keep her damn cats fenced in. Well......in comes the Have-A-Hart trap and with my trusty .22... OUT go the kitties one at a time. I FINALLY got the momma kitty and 2 days later the HAWK got the remaining Tom Cat. Since then it has only been 1 or 2 cat problems per year..... my neighbor across the street has a couple of semi-feral cats that are smart enough to eat the bad critters but leave everything else alone.... so I let them have at it, as long as they leave my hens alone.

I may have to look into that feral cat neutering program...........

 

[ksalvagno]

Since you are in Ohio, here is a Petfinder link to a group in Ohio who traps/spays/neuters feral cats. http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=5071908

I got barn cats from them a few years ago and let me tell you they do their job! No live mice, rats or snakes here, not to mention moles and voles.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

a HAWK got him!?!? wow. i think our barncats are afraid of our hens - but we keep a close eye on any chicks or baby ducks!

and yep FF - having your own healthy colony of barncats is the best defense... we've trapped and released a LOT of them. the problem is that if you get rid of them, more move in...unless you are SKR8PN's crazy cat lady (wait! was that me??!!?)... and if you know yours are healthy you can stop the spread of some diseases.

we fixed so many that the vet finally felt bad and started giving us a tremendous discount... kinda like a frequent flier club
;-)

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

oh hey ksalvagno! welcome over here!

 

[ksalvagno]

Thanks! I'm new to the whole self sufficiency thing so I don't have much to add but plenty to learn.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

well heck, pull up a chair. tons to learn here - and i think we are a little more fun then.. ahem.. that is.. er... 'other' sites. no one will pinch your head off if you ask about using DE for worming here

;-)

check out the thread on 'how did you get to this spot' and 'spring projects' for a quick glance at what there is to learn!

 

[freemotion]

I am having a major rat infestation. I've tried every trap known to man. The rats are smarter, I only catch one or two per trap type then the smarter ones continue to breed. I have a bunch of Einsteins out there now!

I caught 11 when they drowned in the turkey's water pail at night while getting a drink.....none in water pails in a couple of months now.

Next step.....maybe.....portland cement mixed with flour, set in boxes to keep dogs and hens on walkabout out of it. It is supposed to harden in their stomachs, and shouldn't bother the hens or dogs if they find a dead one.

Opinions?

Oh, they knocked two abandoned houses down across the street. The neighbor was piling up his trash in the back of a pick-up that was not working, then he finally got a dumpster and cleaned up his property. That is when the rats showed up in droves in my barn. They even chewed a hole in my garage door!!!!

Cats are not possible here. Big dogs on either side of us, coyotes out back, highway in front, etc. Loose cats last 3-4 days here, tops.