Rat hunt again OT

We're going to have another rat hunt tomorrow, the rat population has
exploded again sigh they are once again eating more chicken food than my
chickens are.
It's a real nuisance to have a rat hunt. The chickens that are in safe
foxproof huts have to be shut in until its over otherwise the terriers try
to get them, which means the chickens cannot eat or drink until it's all
over.
The cats have to stay in the house while it's all going on, which they hate
as they are used to going in and out as they please.

And it has to take place very early in the morning on a day off :-(
Unfortunately this is something I am unable to deal with on my own, but it
needs to be done. I used to use poison, but it's not nice. Death by
terrier (one shake, instantly gone) must surely be better.

Tweed

Christina Websell wrote:
We're going to have another rat hunt tomorrow, the rat population has
exploded again sigh they are once again eating more chicken food than my
chickens are.
It's a real nuisance to have a rat hunt. The chickens that are in safe
foxproof huts have to be shut in until its over otherwise the terriers try
to get them, which means the chickens cannot eat or drink until it's all
over.
The cats have to stay in the house while it's all going on, which they hate
as they are used to going in and out as they please.

And it has to take place very early in the morning on a day off :-(
Unfortunately this is something I am unable to deal with on my own, but it
needs to be done. I used to use poison, but it's not nice. Death by
terrier (one shake, instantly gone) must surely be better.

Purrs for the hunt to go off well and cats and chickens to not be too
put out by being kept inside.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.
Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

Christina Websell wrote:
We're going to have another rat hunt tomorrow, the rat population has
exploded again sigh they are once again eating more chicken food
than my chickens are.
It's a real nuisance to have a rat hunt. The chickens that are in
safe foxproof huts have to be shut in until its over otherwise the
terriers try to get them, which means the chickens cannot eat or
drink until it's all over.
The cats have to stay in the house while it's all going on, which
they hate as they are used to going in and out as they please.

And it has to take place very early in the morning on a day off :-(
Unfortunately this is something I am unable to deal with on my own,
but it needs to be done. I used to use poison, but it's not nice.
Death by terrier (one shake, instantly gone) must surely be better.

Tweed

Purrs for a successful hunt, and your flock and clowder aren't too put out.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

"Marina" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell wrote:
We're going to have another rat hunt tomorrow, the rat population has
exploded again sigh they are once again eating more chicken food than
my chickens are.
It's a real nuisance to have a rat hunt. The chickens that are in safe
foxproof huts have to be shut in until its over otherwise the terriers
try to get them, which means the chickens cannot eat or drink until it's
all over.
The cats have to stay in the house while it's all going on, which they
hate as they are used to going in and out as they please.

And it has to take place very early in the morning on a day off :-(
Unfortunately this is something I am unable to deal with on my own, but
it needs to be done. I used to use poison, but it's not nice. Death by
terrier (one shake, instantly gone) must surely be better.

Purrs for the hunt to go off well and cats and chickens to not be too put
out by being kept inside.

--

5 men plus 3 terriers = 14 rats. A spectacular success this time. It was
all very fast and furious. I was kept busy administering antiseptic and
plasters. One chap got bitten through the thumb trying to take a rat off a
dog before she'd quite finished with it to her satisfaction, another cut
himself on some wire and a dog got bitten in the mouth by a particularly
large rat.
Tea, biscuits and cake put it all right ;-)
The terriers were so happy, doing the job they were born for. I'm pleased
that more of my chicken food will actually feed my chickens instead of the
rats and all the lads enjoyed themselves, so win-win all round. Except for
the rats, of course..
Boyfie was a bit peeved at not being allowed out at first, but after they'd
gone he went out to check the garden which is well trampled.

Tweed



Tweed

Christina Websell wrote:

5 men plus 3 terriers = 14 rats. A spectacular success this time.

Oh my! The number of men and dogs just keeps increasing, doesn't it!
Glad it was a success. Hope the rest of the rats (if there are any left)
take the hint and pack up and move,

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.
Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
We're going to have another rat hunt tomorrow, the rat population has
exploded again sigh they are once again eating more chicken food than my
chickens are.
It's a real nuisance to have a rat hunt. The chickens that are in safe
foxproof huts have to be shut in until its over otherwise the terriers try
to get them, which means the chickens cannot eat or drink until it's all
over.
The cats have to stay in the house while it's all going on, which they
hate as they are used to going in and out as they please.

And it has to take place very early in the morning on a day off :-(
Unfortunately this is something I am unable to deal with on my own, but it
needs to be done. I used to use poison, but it's not nice. Death by
terrier (one shake, instantly gone) must surely be better.

Tweed


When I went to my office storage locker, I saw that the warehouse it is in
has been having quite a rodent problem. There are rat bait boxes every
twenty feet or so outside the building and smaller boxes inside the
building.

The bait boxes look like fishing tackle boxes make out of heavy duty black
plastic with holes on two ends and a maize that leads to the bait in the
center, so it is very unlikely pets or small children could get into them.

I do hope the dogs have cleared yours out for the season.

Jo

"Adrian A" wrote in message
news
Christina Websell wrote:
We're going to have another rat hunt tomorrow, the rat population has
exploded again sigh they are once again eating more chicken food
than my chickens are.
It's a real nuisance to have a rat hunt. The chickens that are in
safe foxproof huts have to be shut in until its over otherwise the
terriers try to get them, which means the chickens cannot eat or
drink until it's all over.
The cats have to stay in the house while it's all going on, which
they hate as they are used to going in and out as they please.

And it has to take place very early in the morning on a day off :-(
Unfortunately this is something I am unable to deal with on my own,
but it needs to be done. I used to use poison, but it's not nice.
Death by terrier (one shake, instantly gone) must surely be better.

Tweed

Purrs for a successful hunt, and your flock and clowder aren't too put
out.

Boyfie caught two more baby rats today after the lads had gone, bringing the
grand total for the day to 16. I'm very pleased.
It hasn't totally eliminated them as I saw a biggish one this evening when I
went down to give the chickens some green food. There are always one or two
that get away (or were visiting relatives in nearby gardens at the time of
the action!)
Rats are a perpetual problem for poultry keepers. The chickens need access
to their food/water all day so it's accessible to rats too and once they
discover this they move in.
One of my neighbours also keeps poultry and he has ongoing rat problems too.
His are less than mine as he owns a Border Terrier.

Tweed

Christina Websell wrote:
"Adrian A" wrote in message
news
Christina Websell wrote:
We're going to have another rat hunt tomorrow, the rat population
has exploded again sigh they are once again eating more chicken
food
than my chickens are.
It's a real nuisance to have a rat hunt. The chickens that are in
safe foxproof huts have to be shut in until its over otherwise the
terriers try to get them, which means the chickens cannot eat or
drink until it's all over.
The cats have to stay in the house while it's all going on, which
they hate as they are used to going in and out as they please.

And it has to take place very early in the morning on a day off :-(
Unfortunately this is something I am unable to deal with on my own,
but it needs to be done. I used to use poison, but it's not nice.
Death by terrier (one shake, instantly gone) must surely be better.

Tweed

Purrs for a successful hunt, and your flock and clowder aren't too
put out.

Boyfie caught two more baby rats today after the lads had gone,
bringing the grand total for the day to 16. I'm very pleased.
It hasn't totally eliminated them as I saw a biggish one this evening
when I went down to give the chickens some green food. There are
always one or two that get away (or were visiting relatives in nearby
gardens at the time of the action!)
Rats are a perpetual problem for poultry keepers. The chickens need
access to their food/water all day so it's accessible to rats too and
once they discover this they move in.
One of my neighbours also keeps poultry and he has ongoing rat
problems too. His are less than mine as he owns a Border Terrier.

Tweed

I'm glad Boyfie didn't let the d*gs get all the glory. I know what you mean
about rats, last year I saw one eating the food I put out for the birds. A
few weeks later I found it dead in the garden, I don't know if it was Baggy
or Shadow that got it. I just looked out and there's a hedgehog eating the
apples I put out for the birds.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

"Jo Firey" wrote in message
et...

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
We're going to have another rat hunt tomorrow,
[big snip]
Tweed


When I went to my office storage locker, I saw that the warehouse it is in
has been having quite a rodent problem. There are rat bait boxes every
twenty feet or so outside the building and smaller boxes inside the
building.

The bait boxes look like fishing tackle boxes make out of heavy duty black
plastic with holes on two ends and a maize that leads to the bait in the
center, so it is very unlikely pets or small children could get into them.

I have some good bait boxes. One is made of galvanised steel, a very clever
design. There is a tip-up lid for you to bait it, which goes into a little
trough inside only accessible from underneath. I have another that is like
a drainpipe with a hole bored in the top with a little chimney thingie with
a lid going down into the pipe half way along. You pour the bait down the
chimney and put the lid on to stop the bait getting wet.

There are several reasons why I don't like to use poison. It takes a while
to take effect, as it causes a blood clotting disorder. Sometimes rats who
have eaten it over a period of days will appear in the garden lurching
around, easy prey for cats (and owls at night). I wouldn't put it past
either of my two to catch and eat one or more and be poisoned by secondary
poisoning. I don't want the owls feeding their young poisoned rat either.

I do hope the dogs have cleared yours out for the season.

They can never catch them all. If four rats bolt and there are only three
terriers, one will get away. And did despite us all standing by with big
sticks that we imagined we might be able to dop them with if any got away.
Impossible, they are far too fast.
Rats are one of the most successful species on earth. I remember watching a
David Attenborough documentary in which he said something like "You are
never more than a few metres away from a rat, whether you know it or not"

Tweed

Jo Firey wrote:


When I went to my office storage locker, I saw that the warehouse it is in
has been having quite a rodent problem. There are rat bait boxes every
twenty feet or so outside the building and smaller boxes inside the
building.


Another reason why most US military aviation units turn a blind eye to
all the cats living in the hangars. Cats are better pest control than
all the traps and poisons that could be used. I also suspect that the
crews just like cats anyway, as they usually are sneaking food and
snacks into them.

Pam S.