Everything You Need to Know about Getting Rid of Rats
New flock owners usually don’t think about rats until they are overrun with the beasts. Then the normal process is to try traps and poison rather than doing some housekeeping and purchasing a feeder that prevents the rats from stealing the feed. This article does go though the available methods of rat control but it really boils down to keep the feed away from the rats.
Stopping the Wild Birds from Stealing Your Feed
Sometimes a flock owner is faced with hundreds of starlings, sparrows, or other wild birds stealing feed instead of the more common rat problems. The first thing most will try is bird proofing the coop only to find that when their birds go out side during the day to eat the wild birds come inside . Unlike rats you can’t clean up an area to prevent hiding places
Preventing Squirrels from Stealing Your Feed
Squirrels are by far the toughest creatures to stop when it comes to vermin stealing feed. Most people aren’t going to poison them and relocating a squirrel from a live trap will probably lead to the death of the squirrel. You can’t remove their nesting and spots without cutting down the trees so all you can do is remove the food source so how do the hens eat?
Keeping Pets and Farm Animals Out of Your Chicken Feed
One thing farm kids learn quickly is that dogs love horse feed and horses love dog feed. And both animals love chicken feed if they can get to it easily. While a laying pellet isn’t going to immediately harm a pet or farm animal it certainly isn’t the best feed available and the larger animals can do some real damage to the feeders if they get to the feeder.