Pests                                           Here is where i could go on for hours about pests, vermin and other creatures that can, and will cause you problems. Here are but a few of the pests that i have come across and how i have dealt with them. Rats;  Despite what people say i think these animals are actually amazing (still a pest) upon getting chickens we had but a few rats which was not a major problem, or so we thought. A single pregnant female rat can produce unto 12 offspring in a short period of time these offspring will also reach maturity and each potentially have up to 12 offspring, can you see the problem with just one rat. I have many ways of keeping the population of rats down to a minimum (although i have yet to find a way of completely irradicating them from my property). The first form of attack is my trusty old air rifle, it is useful only for the odd rat but one down is better than letting it live to multiply. if you do choose this route a few factors must be taken into account, make sure your cat (if you have one) is locked away as you wouldn't want to accidently kill another form of pest control. If you do manage to get a rat into your sights it will only be for a few seconds as they don't hang around for too long in the open, try to aim just behind the front legs, this is where its lungs and heart are. I have rats which have been shot in many places and still run around eating and being a menace. Traps are also another good form of attack but again they are only good for 1 or 2 rats. Rats are clever and will learn to avoid traps if they are in the same place or smell and taste of death. Your trap should be out of reach of children, pets and of course your livestock. Try to move it around often watching where the rats are running and of course putting it in the rat runs is another good place. I try to avoid using bait as this simply feeds the rats and they will figure a way of getting the food off without setting the traps off. My favorite way of pest control is my little friend clayton, he is a 6 yr old jack russel, he is sweet and affectionate, but if he smells a rat he goes mad. How we use clayton is simply to find a few holes (which appear regularily) and find out which one is used most,(the dog will stand at the hole). this may sound boring but the next step is where the magic starts, get yourself an old chainsaw strip off the blade and attach a piece of copper pipe to the exaust, then place a rubber pipe on this and stick it down the hole and fire up the engine. Usually a 2 stroke chainsaw has a mixture of 50 to 1 but as we want thick heavy smoke about 10 to 1 is good. As you fill the hole with smoke it travels along the tunnels to the next hole, as this happens fill the hole with a stone or soil to keep the smoke down the hole. repeat this process until no more holes are found and then its just a waiting game. Some rats will bolt out early and the the dogs may miss these but most rats try to wait it out, as they bolt out the dogs grab the rats and shake them violently, it is your job to kill the rat fully by either, treading on the rats head, or shooting it with the air rifle. ( the dogs will kill the rat eventually but while he is killing it, many could be escaping). Once the engine has been running for a while if no more rats come out it means, there are no rats down there or they have suffocated and are dead. Water is an alternative to smoking them out if you choose not to use machinery to produce smoke, follow the same procedure as the chainsaw method but use a hose pipe fitted to a water supply. Poison is a good way of keeping rats under control although i do not use this method as my chickens are free range and i don't want my chicks getting in the box and eating the poisoned food. Pigeons are also a major pest, they eat large quantities of corn, defecate all over your property and rarely come on there own. The only options to keep numbers low is to cull them as and when they appear using an air rifle. There are other ways, some farmers use a shotgun cartridge in a 45 gallon drum which scares the birds off but they will come back, and have even been known to get used to the scare tactics and carry on eating instead of vacating the premises. On a positive note if the birds are culled the carcasses can be used to make a very a tasty meal.

Site Map