Author Topic: rat proof feeder? (Read 6786 times)

little blue · « **on:** October 10, 2010, 07:19:09 pm »

can anyone recommend a good rat - proof feeder (& supplier!) for use inside the chicken sheds please?

we are plagued by the b***dy things!
and our girls aren't the neatest of eaters, so I, and my cats need all the help we can get!

daddymatty82 · « **Reply #1 on:** October 10, 2010, 08:18:03 pm »

invest in an air gun. have you tried mole valley or your local feed merchants? unfort where there is poultry/ducks there are rats but my JRT and cat does the job for me atm

little blue · « **Reply #2 on:** October 10, 2010, 08:24:46 pm »

our 4 cats, GSD and neighbours JRT are doing their best!
There seems to be a nest under the big chicken shed... we've trapped, poisened, flooded it out and still the s**s come back!
I accept they need a place to live... but dont see why I should provide their food as well

our feed merchant has only plastic feeders

knightquest · « **Reply #3 on:** October 10, 2010, 11:19:01 pm »

We use the galvanised feeders that we stock in our pet shop. They seem to be fairly widely available from our suppliers so if you do struggle, let me know and I'll try and sort one or more out for you.

I cover the front of ours at night so that the little blighters can't get to it. Hope that helps,

Ian

andy harris · « **Reply #4 on:** October 11, 2010, 06:58:31 am »

I use windowsill plant pots as feeders for my girls so they have to put there hole neck in to feed and there is no mess what so ever and we have had no problems with rats .

manian · « **Reply #5 on:** October 11, 2010, 08:44:24 am »

hi little blue
i think you're not far from me
which merchant do you use?
a wood/feed merchant we get our wood from has galvanised feeder

OhLaLa · « **Reply #6 on:** October 11, 2010, 10:35:42 am »

In my experience the best thing to do is remove or cover the feed. Best thing to do is remove temptation and don't allow the birds 24 hour access to food, although I appreciate ad lib feeding is easy and convenient. If you do have to leave feed out during the day, cover/remove feed overnight. $:-\$

I remember one afternoon watching the rats from the house of a friend, he had a barn with the big sliding doors. The door was wide open and he had one of those galvanised hanging feeders for his chickens. The rats were queuing up to leap up into the feeder to help themselves. None stop. But that is another story.....

Please be careful folks when poisoning rats as cats will eat a poisoned mouse/rat/bird and will then be poisoned too. Best not to use poison in that instance.

Sharondp · « **Reply #7 on:** October 11, 2010, 10:41:55 am »

Hubby's a nifty shot with the air gun and has killed a few but not enough. Our neighbours have just demolished an old out building and the rats have migrated to us

.

I was going to ask about rat poison. I take the food in at night, and I was going to put poison down whilst the chickens were all safely locked away, then remove it before I let them out in the morning. Trouble is, if a rat dropped down dead in their pen they'd probably eat it

I have set a couple of traps but it feels like the opposite of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Bloomin things!

OhLaLa · « **Reply #8 on:** October 11, 2010, 10:54:45 am »

...but please remember folks that not only a rat will walk onto a trap - if you have cats etc about PLEASE don't use traps.

And yes, chickens will eat mice etc so therefore are also in danger of eating the poison.

daddymatty82 · « **Reply #9 on:** October 11, 2010, 05:06:42 pm »

is it possible to raise the house up on bricks so they cannot get under there and the birds can and will kill any intruders and worse comes to worse the jrt can get under there. I had a rat nest under my shed and they were there the cat cought them alive and brought them into the house and let them go so i put the shed on pallets so far touch wood i got nomore problems as the cats and dog can get under there easier

little blue · « **Reply #10 on:** October 12, 2010, 07:19:41 pm »

our rats must have teeth like beavers... they will eat their way into or out of any shed, coop, pen, either they or mice chewed through the lawnmower cable, a dog harness, and a watering can that were in the shed!

we have water butts on pallets at the side of the goat shed - the rats just run under it to dig the tunnels, and have come up through the floor (its not on a concrete base)

I want hen feeders that wont get filled with muck as well as being rat proof - the disease aspect concerns me most

OhLaLa · « **Reply #11 on:** October 13, 2010, 09:50:03 am »

Galvanised metal feeders is the way to go. The rats won't chew through those.

Maybe you should consider the feeders that hang from the ceiling - set the height so the birds can reach the food easily without having to reach up. They won't get filled with muck but you will get some spillage on the floor, although you will get that with any feeder.

You will however, have to remove the feeders each night and give the floor a quick dustpan and brush up to discourage the rats from scavenging. If left out the rats will jump up to get at the food (see my previous post).