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PatS

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We have our "bunny barn" outdoors. The cages are hung inside a magnum dog kennel. I have discovered droppings inside the mouth of the j-feeders, which means that large mice or small rats (there are tree rats here, I don't think there are Norway rats) are entering the cages and eating the rabbit's food. I'm less upset about the food than I am about the fact that something is entering the cages while the rabbits are in them. Last night I put out glue traps and a snap trap in each empty cage, but no luck as of this evening.

I'm horrified. We have a doe due in a couple of weeks and I'm afraid whatever is entering the cage will hurt the babies. This must be terribly upsetting to the rabbits!

What can I do? I don't want to use poison, as we have free ranging chickens. Will the glue traps work?

The rabbit food is kept inside a metal can.
 
Well, glue traps worked in my kitchen, within about 10 minutes, but they were baited with peanut butter in a scrubbed kitchen and all the food closed tight. You might want to make sure your rabbits are not leaving food overnight, as the last time I had trouble with rats in the yard, they were eating dry cat and dog kibble left in the bowls. We quit feeding outdoor animals dry food and the rats went away. Now that I have the rabbits, I am very careful to not leave pellets in their bowls after 4pm.
 
I have free range chickens and have used poison on rats without losing any chickens. You need to put the poison where the chickens cannot access it. Secure bait boxes are the best thing to use, but there are lots of ideas on the Internet for other ways to do it more cheaply. When you are using poison, it is a good idea to check the area around the rabbitry each morning for dead rats before letting the chickens out.

Some of the modern easy-set snap traps used on the ground inside the rabbitry should also work well. I baited mine with dried dates. It was easy to push the fruit into the little bait cup but the rats couldn't get it out without setting off the trap.

This is not the exact trap I used, but it is the same easy-set type. You bait the cup before the trap is set and then press down the pedal. No danger to your fingers.
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/trapp ... -p-95.html

Do a Google Image Search for rat traps. You'll be amazed at the ideas you find. There are all kinds of homemade and commercial traps that do not involve using poison.
 
I've lost a duck because it ate a poisoned mouse. If your birds don't eat mice, then it's fine. But if mice are something they see and learn to eat, like mine have, then it's best to trap instead.

Are you putting the feed in the traps or just hoping a rat will wander into it? I'd put food in the JFeeder and then put traps/glue next to/around the feeder. But then you have other cages with food, so unless they get to thinking the empty cages are safe, they may not ever go in.

Also! Wash any reusable snap traps and wash areas where the caught animal was caught! I've noticed the mice in my house will not approach a trap where other mice have died before it. I have to wash them first and then add new bait.
 
Thank you!!!

Yes, I have been leaving food in their feeders overnight. That stops tonight. (They're always happy to see me in the morning, now they'll be more so.) I'll put a glue trap right by a full feeder in an empty cage, too. I like the drowning bucket idea, as my chickens will eat mice, frogs, whatever, so I don't want poisoned mice running around. A member contacted me off-forum about bait traps, I'll look for some that let the critters in but don't let them out because of the chickens.

I think I'll bring Little Miss Mom To Be inside for the next few weeks, too. She'll enjoy being spoiled.

I'll keep checking back for more ideas. I think once I harvest everything in the garden, the problem will be lessened. The last of the summers's bounty is attracting the vermin, too. (They seem to like the tomato forest.)
 
Well this sucks ratts are hard to stop once they find a place with food.
 
Not only should you take away the rabbits food at night you should put food in the empty cages with traps.
 
That's what I have done. No food except hay in the mangers, and I placed the glue traps right under the j-feeders containing food in the empty cages. Do I need to remove hay, too? There's dry grass for acres, everywhere, this time of year.
 
Don't worry about the hay, but,they may be as attracted to your water as they are to your food.Rats are neophobic, which means they have an intense fear of new things. If you moved things around it could make them hang back a few days. They will get used to things in time though, might take a few days. Look for droppings, or "greasy" looking stains on wood or metal, to see their travel routes. They like to stay near walls or clutter, don't rule out things overhead like rafters. Locate glueboards on these pathways, very effective in catching the adults that like to hang back and watch junior "check the water hole for crocodiles."
Sorry, can't help myself, when I'm not a seven year old's back up bunny caretaker, I'm what you might call a "nuisance specialist".
 
Neophobic is right! Since I've put traps around they seem to have disappeared. No poops yesterday morning or this morning indicating their presence. And the rabbits were sure happy to see "Food Mama" this morning!

I have the whole day off tomorrow and was planning to take down all the cages and wash them, separate the big kits by gender into their own cages, give retiring mama back her old cage etc. I'll look closely for signs of rat highways. Thanks!
 

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