I am about to give up

Willowynd · #1 11/06/11, 02:02 PM

I have not bred the rabbits for a year because of issues with rats and then when I got them under control, the hot summer- no one took. Now it is fall again and the predators are back. I lost one rabbit to that I think was a raccoon- ripped one side of its face off after it moved the heavy wood top to the cage. Another rabbit has a wound on its back and is off on its rear end. The wound is healing. A window I just replaced was broken out. I can't keep up with these predators! The peppermint oil apparently is having no effect now. Finding rats in the coops/rabbitry. I can't breed when I fear babies being eaten and not going to keep rabbits just to feed predators. Does anyone else deal with it to this extent ? I am about ready to get rid of all the rabbits and poultry.

Backfourty,MI. · #2 11/06/11, 02:23 PM

We don't have a rat problem but what about moving your rabbits to hutches up off the ground instead of the colony? They would probly be safer at least harder for things to get in & get them.

What about setting rat traps where the rabbits & chickens can't get caught in them?
Do you have any barn cats? Also I'd set a live trap for that coon, he'll be back now that he knows how to get in to the rabbits.

I am so sorry your having such trouble, I'm sure it's r\very frustrating but don't give up just yet.

ladysown · #3 11/06/11, 03:37 PM

A locked/shut shed with no holes in the walls.

A low height electric fence. And then run one higher. Animals don't much like being shocked.

use a one-bite bait station for the rats.

Wire the windows. (as in put a wire mesh over the windows).

If you have a colony on the ground, get them away from where they are and into secure housing.

arachyd · #4 11/06/11, 05:07 PM

A couple of terriers can do an excellent job of rat control and predator deterrent.

MaggieJ · #5 11/06/11, 05:25 PM

If I remember correctly, Willowynd, your rabbits are in those cool indoor/outdoor cages. You can probably trap or shoot the raccoon, but the rats are a harder problem to deal with. We've had two major infestations of rats and were "saved" both times by the local population of mink and weasels. They clean out rats relentlessly and seem to prefer them to chickens or rabbits. We did lose a couple of chickens after the rat supply ran out, but simply patching the chicken house that the rats had chewed up solved the problem. Poison is the next best thing... Keep it coming, even after you think the rats have gone.

You don't happen to know someone with ferrets, do you? I'll bet they'd clean out the rats, given half a chance.

Twist86 · #6 11/06/11, 07:36 PM

Get some Maltese dogs...my little "rat pack" of Maltese/Papillon mixes have caught rats,mice,and moles so far and have scared off coons and possums at night. One is super agile and can knock them down and the bigger one has the jaw strength to kill. I will admit though its disgusting to see him chewing on it like a piece of taffy but its his reward so I don't take it.

Another solution is moth balls.....never seen mice or rats again in my shed since trying it. The critters in my above comments come from my wood piles.

Willowynd · #7 11/06/11, 08:28 PM

Your right Maggie- I have indoor /outdoor cages that are off the ground. I really need a rifle! I have seen the coon 3 times, but no rifle to shoot it with so scared it off. I don't know if we have weasels around here, never seen one. I have all my feed inside the house now. It makes it a challenge to feed but after the rats chewed through the plastic trash can I had to. I do still have rabbit feed out there, but that is a heavier plastic than the trash can was, so so far no chewing through. We are only feeding what the birds will clean up and feeding the chickens outside instead of in their feeders- except for the young turkey who needs food available as it is still growing. I lost 2 young turkeys last week when they flipped over the coon....I would imagine that is how the window broke now that I think of it. I tried a JRT once, I could not deal with the dog- could not contain it, whined constantly in the house and it had no instinct. Not sure I want another small dog. I wish I did know someone with ferrets...I could move all the birds to one coop, let it loose in there then switch. I am considering putting all the birds in one coop and putting down poison in the other. My concern is my one cat hunts in and around the coops and I fear he will get a poisoned rat.
Twist- I feed raw so watching a dog chew on a critter does not bother me

I do keep the coops closed at night....only now they can get in through the broken window (that cost me $30 to get a new one 2 months ago!)- the other coop, I do not close the one chicken door as it is under the rabbit cages (and about the time you reach under to try to close and latch it, or open the next morning- they will pee). I could place a board in front on the inside (solid bottom cages inside), but that would only keep chickens put....a coon could move it easily and a rat would just chew it.

Willowynd · #8 11/06/11, 08:36 PM

Lady, I did put wire over the windows after I replaced the glass a couple months ago....wait...now I need to go look again. How could the glass have been laying on the ground in chunks with wire over windows??? I wonder if coon ripped it off.
I thought of electric as I have a charger and wire, but there is no electricity out there. I have run extension cords before for fans and heat lamps, but somehow they get unplugged often somewhere along the 3 cord, so think that may be a futile effort. Plus, I have chain link or garden fence or privacy fence around coops on 2 sides each ( large pens)...so where would it be run? I have one bite I used before my cat started hanging out at the coops and catching rats. Now fear poisoning him second hand if I use it.

Twist86 · #9 11/06/11, 09:26 PM

If your scared of poisoning him then make a box and weigh it down with 25-30 pounds. Make small holes (about a 3 inches around) and put the poison inside. Cat can't get to it and the rats/mice will prefer it as its hidden with food. This is what I use with the dogs as they will eat ANYTHING....newest item to the list tonight is a moth ball ~_~

BTW there a infestation in your area? I live out in the country and haven't had near as many problems with wildlife as you seem too. My biggest problem is my rabbits don't want to hump ~_~ Neat trick I did to kill a coon was I have inferred cameras and I set 2 up around my huts, when he moved my program triggered and a few minutes later I was cutting him up for dog food

Willowynd · #10 11/07/11, 12:40 AM

I am not worried about him getting into the bait itself...I am worried about him eating a rat that is weak from poison.
OK...how did you kill a coon with infrared cameras? What program?

OK Mothballs...use these to deter them or do they eat them? Where would you put them in a chicken coop/rabbitry? Will the birds mess with them?

I am in the country on 4 acres...I have 5 neighbors with about the same amount of property in front (then highway with a bar they put in a few years ago) and on sides. Behind me is a 10 acre abandoned field. A wooded area behind one of the houses with a pond belongs to one of the houses on the side. Where they are coming from- my guess is the neighbor on one side that does 0 property care (or house care), she is now alone with a house full of cats that pee all over her house as her husband divorced her and one kid moved out and the other moved in with dad because she could not tolerate the conditions there. The horse she had is now gone but the barn and stall was never cleaned since I did it when I moved in 15 yrs ago (and then it was hip high with manure) and I am sure the feed and hay was left in there as well. I am sure the food for the 5 dogs she has tied outside all the time is also in the barn. I never had rats until her mower broke 2 yrs ago and she stopped cutting her grass. Yes, we had mice in the chicken feeders which I didn't mind- no damage and they didn't at much, but no rats. I had never even seen a coon till last year. Nor a oppossum. The only thing we had to deal with was the great horned owls that nest in my tree line during breeding season and hawks. Those were dealt with by covering pens with netting and putting birds in coops at night. She did push mow the front yard of her property twice this year, but that is a small amount...the rest is just weeds. My property and the others are kept up. Yes, I have building materials here (fence posts and such), wire rabbit cages (which will be used when the projects are done) and some wire fencing, but that is stacked neatly and the wire stuff is moved when we mow and moved back. I wish I knew where it all was coming from and could do something about stopping it from the source.

GBov · #11 11/07/11, 08:43 AM

Buy or borrow a large 'coon trap and bait it with marshmallows and gram crackers. They are suckers for anything sweet.

Right now I have raccoon vegetable soup in the fridge and its gooooood!

I have a live trap set at all times by my chickens and rabbits. The varmints start by eating the cats food adn then start sniffing round the chicken/rabbit pen and then find the trap and become dinner for us.

So far, in our very settled neighborhood, we have caught 5 'coons and two 'possums, well, it was actually eight 'possums but as six of them were itty bitty and clinging to mama's belly, we can call it two lol. They got to live and go elsewhere, all the rest became meat and hides. And that's only since spring!

I dont know much about rat control, have you tried the chocolate/plaster of Paris method? It makes me cringe at the thought of what they go through but being such relentless predators, you have to get on to p of the population.

A thought about your neighbor, is there somewhere you could report her? If the living conditions are that bad, it sounds like she needs help.

Good luck!

Treewhisper · #12 11/07/11, 11:53 AM

I have a radio in my coophouse set to the talk station on the AM channel. The human voices has scared all the critters away. Perhaps installing a motion sensor turning it on at night may help. Luckily i dont have the rat problem where i live. My neighor has barn cats that keep the mice problem under good control. Plaster of paris works great and it wont poison your cats

Willowynd · #13 11/08/11, 12:47 AM

I have a trap but I am not sure it is large enough...it was a 2 pack from tsc. The small one is rabbit size. How large does it have to be for a coon? Measurements? I am going to see how much I ahve left after I finish with my expenses this week...hoping I have enough to buy a .22. If I can do that, I will spend my evenings visiting coops 5-6 times a night and shooting them.

Plaster of paris...tried last year mixing it with peanut butter before and they ate them up...but if I neglected to refill for one night they killed and ate a bird or rabbit. I never saw a dead or weak rat. So seems it was not killing them, just filling them up enough to prevent attacks. I still have half the plaster of paris in the cupboard.
I could do the radio- would not hurt to try. The rats don't appear to be afraid of humans though...not too concerned when I open the door and see them.
I would rather not report the neighbor. I have a moto of live and let live. Each to thier own. Though the way she lives is not up to most people's standards, apparently she is not bothered by it. I have tried getting her son to come out and help his mom out, but he is pretty low energy and his paper routes is about all he can handle. I have tried asking her if there is anything we can do to help and she says no, everything is fine, the grass being tall won't hurt anything. I tried telling her it is a fire hazard, draws critters, etc and she says there is nothing she can do about it. DH tried cutting her grass when her riding mower first broke down and she would not move anything so he could mow and he kept hitting things, he got upset and came home. I don't want to cause waves. I don't need a neighbor against me and calling the sherriff if a chicken wanders on thier property.
BTW I am not sure I would eat coon. Though if it was ok to feed raw to dogs, I would do that.

Backfourty,MI. · #14 11/08/11, 07:41 AM

Even a 410 will work great for those small critters & you can pick up a new one for around $100.00 or so I think. We keep one right in the barn ready to go & loaded just in case.
Walked in the barn one day & I thought it was just a little pile of fur & wondered why straw had been knocked down all over. Went to kick the fur out of the way & it moved!
Thant's when we started keeping the 410 in the barn. It was a Oppossum.
We also have 2 barn cats now too which are great hunters but they wouldn't take on a raccoon or opposum I don't think.