Rat Stories

When we had a nice big flock of happy and healthy chickens, we didn't have rats living in the hen house.  The 15 hens roosted on their ladders or slept in their nesting boxes.  Lord Byron stood watch on the ladder while Calvin roosted on the edge of one of the laying boxes, with his hens.  There wasn't room for rats.

Now, we have two shell-shocked hens and Calvin.  They all roost on the ladder, huddled together for safety and warmth.  The Araucana, who was one of Lord Byron's hens, sits next to Calvin and leans into him at night.  The Lagenvelder (who is very independently minded, thank you very much) roosts one rung over.  None of them use the nesting boxes.

So, the rats have moved in and built themselves a cozy nest of chicken feathers and shavings.  I've poked the nest a few times.  When I do, three or four rats come racing out; scurrying up the walls to the rafters; past my feet and out the hole they chewed in the door; or past my feet and into their hole that goes under the hen house.  It gives me the creeps.

cartoon by RA Studio

I'm afraid one will drop from the ceiling and land at my feet or, worse, on my head.  One dropped from the rain gutter on the garage last summer and landed a few inches from me, before scurrying behind my garden shed.  I still shudder when I think about that.

Did you see the movie Willard?  I saw trailers when it came out and that was enough to scare me to death.

I've been researching and learning about rat traps.  I have a few low-tech, but supposedly effective, methods I'm going to try.

In the meantime, we are letting the chickens out of the hen house and into their run on sunny days when we are outside working.  Brett has more than half the run covered in chicken wire but it is a slow, tedious process.  Meanwhile, we are in the midst of three wild, windy and wet storms so he hasn't been able to work outside at all.  This morning, he opened the hen house door during a break in the storm.  The chickens came running outside -- followed by the rats.  He said that the chickens immediately chased the rats.

Yes!

But, I wonder why they chase them when outside but tolerate them in the hen house.  We need to be rat free before our new baby chicks arrive in May, and before the two remaining chickens start laying eggs again.

The List is Growing

The list of projects around the ranch was overwhelming when we moved in.  We methodically got to work, starting with the most pressing issues and working our way down.  We had finally reached the point of "would be nice" projects; instead of "urgent" such as water leaking through the ceiling.

And then the storm hit.  Although, our property held up pretty well with the streams filling, but not rising above their banks, we did sustain some damage.

And, of course, there was already the issue of having to do something about predators getting into the chicken pen.  Here is our little flock of three: two hens (you can see the tip of the tail of one behind the back post) and Calvin, the rooster.

And, then there is the family of rats that built a nest under the hen house and have now moved inside -- making a big nest in one of the nesting boxes.  I poked the nest with a stick and three rats ran out, up the walls, and into the rafters -- where they watched me destroy the nest.

We finally got a break in the rain -- four days of cold sunshine.  Brett has been busy putting chicken wire over the entire chicken run.  Saturday we worked outside all day -- I was busy pruning the orchard and my roses while Brett wrestled with chicken wire.

Of course, there is the matter of the fallen oak tree.  Brett put up new fence rails and we moved the girls back into their pasture.  Pistol has been picking her way through the twigs and brambles to get to the big limbs, where she nibbles on the moss that covered much of the tree.  Lucy followed her in but didn't like the feeling of all the branches around her legs -- and didn't seem to like the taste of moss as much as Pistol.  Mostly, they have been enjoying the sun.  All the animals are doing a lot of this.

The rain also made a mess of our driveway, which was on the "list" but under "would be nice" and not urgent.  It isn't urgent now, but its definitely made its way up the list.  The driveway is paved with asphalt and is full of dips and mended holes.  It looked... shall we say, rustic.  Now, it is missing a chunk, the sides have eroded and there are pot holes.  So, this summer we will have to have that fixed.

The biggest damage, other than losing the trees (the oak took out two trees when it fell, plus pushed another partway over), is our bridge.  The bridge crosses the stream and connects the house and barn side of the stream to the girls pasture and compost piles.  We cross the bridge with the horses, going back and forth to the barn.  Brett crosses the bridge with his tractor when he moves compost.  And, there are times when he needs to take his truck across as well.  The bridge has always been narrow, with room for the tractor but not really wide enough for his truck.  Now, the sides have eroded -- on both sides of the retaining wood sides and there is a deep hole dead center.

Brett spent most of last night, awake, thinking of the best way to re-build the bridge. He is hoping to finish up the chicken coop before the next storm hits on Wednesday.  The next dry spell after that will be dedicated to the bridge.

Project Priority List:
1. Chicken coop
2. Bridge
3. Upstairs bathroom (already gutted, we decided to remodel it before the big storm hit)
4. Tree removal (this will take years)
5. Driveway

Lucy is interested, as always, in our activities.  Nosy thing that she is.

Lost a Chick

God damn rats.

There, I said it.  I don't swear, as a rule, but I am angry.  It was irritating when the rats ate the fruit in my orchard, and maddening when they took up residence under my tomato plants and took every single tomato.  Now they've gone too far.

Yesterday, when Brett went to the chicken pen to collect eggs, there was only one chick.  He couldn't find any sign of the other one anywhere.  I looked when I got home, as well.  This morning I found the chick's feathers scattered around the mouth of the hole the rats dive down when I catch them in my tomatoes.

We have shown the rat hole to Passage.  She is unimpressed and promptly slips through the garden fence and returns to the barn.

Brett is buying traps today.  I hope the remaining chick survives while we work on eliminating the rats.  I don't know how successful we will be; rats are notoriously difficult to eradicate.  I really thought that with two roosters and an attentive hen, those little chicks were safe.