Are these rat droppings? Please advise and help!
- Thread starter KelleyBee
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RabbitsOfTheCreek
Netherland Dwarf Breeder & Well-known Member
Yes, those seem to be rat droppings
https://www.google.com/search?q=rat...&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on
https://www.google.com/search?q=rat...&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on
Yes, those sure look like rat droppings to me ... and we've had a few infestations here over the years. Some cats will kill rats but rats can be vicious and not all cats can handle that.
I recommend setting down a 50/50 mix of plaster of Paris and either cake mix or icing sugar. Rats are very fond of sweet things and the plaster of Paris will kill them. One of our members. Truckinguy, used this method and the rat population dropped to next to nothing within a week.
The heavy-duty pedal-style rat traps work quite well too, and it's always a good idea to have a few set. I bait them with peanut butter mixed with brown sugar, but dates also seem to appeal to them.
Please be careful that pets and children do not have access to these methods. Putting the plaster mix in a container with an entrance just large enough for a rat is a good idea.
Rats will take rabbit kits if they can get into the cages. Any wire larger than one inch is an open invitation. They can also get into the cage through open-topped J-feeders or a loose-fitting cage door. The larger the population, the bolder they become, so do not delay.
There are quite a few old threads with details about how to exterminate rats. Use the search feature to find them. If one method doesn't work or is unsuitable to your set-up, there are plenty of other ideas there.
I recommend setting down a 50/50 mix of plaster of Paris and either cake mix or icing sugar. Rats are very fond of sweet things and the plaster of Paris will kill them. One of our members. Truckinguy, used this method and the rat population dropped to next to nothing within a week.
The heavy-duty pedal-style rat traps work quite well too, and it's always a good idea to have a few set. I bait them with peanut butter mixed with brown sugar, but dates also seem to appeal to them.
Please be careful that pets and children do not have access to these methods. Putting the plaster mix in a container with an entrance just large enough for a rat is a good idea.
Rats will take rabbit kits if they can get into the cages. Any wire larger than one inch is an open invitation. They can also get into the cage through open-topped J-feeders or a loose-fitting cage door. The larger the population, the bolder they become, so do not delay.
There are quite a few old threads with details about how to exterminate rats. Use the search feature to find them. If one method doesn't work or is unsuitable to your set-up, there are plenty of other ideas there.
RabbitsOfTheCreek
Netherland Dwarf Breeder & Well-known Member
Another way to get rid of them is buy using rat poison, but you would have to make sure that no other animals or people have the ability to get to it
CanineWild
Well-known member
I'd be wary of poison, not only for others getting into it straight up, but the then poisonous rats then get picked off by other animals and birds, and they too get poisoned. It can be pretty tragic for birds of prey for example.
Rabbits by Accident
Well-known member
Wow, glad you posted this, it entirely slipped my mind. We have a lot of rats/mice because we are surrounded by planted fields. My cage wire is not rat proof, for sure. Thanks for making me aware of this 
Liz
Liz
MnCanary
Well-known member
Mousetrap Monday – Shawn Woods | New Mousetrap Videos Every Week Shawn Woods has a LOT of trapping systems, some are very good and some are junk and he will tell you that.
I stick to good rat snap traps (check before buying, I've seen quite some differences in spring quality). I also use those traps for mice, it's necessary to fine tune the trigger by bending the sear wire. Wood mice just run off with the toys that are sold as "mouse trap". Worst are those "easy set" plastic ones, I keep finding them in my patch of forest (without tiny bones in them) where they were dragged to from neighbours.
I built one snap trap with the spring from a bicycle luggage rack, this thing is a monster and can break a finger, but good commercial ones work perfectly too. Sometimes I use the marten live trap I built, trigger is sensitive enough to even work with mice, also use it for escaped rabbits. Downside is that I have to shoot the rat.
When I have to place traps outside I put a wooden box with 3 rat sized cutouts, close to the trigger on each side, over it, otherwise birds get killed. Which I absolutly want to avoid. I also have to take care to not harm any snake that live in and around my barns, they do a great job.
Shawn Woods has a good, interesting and quite entertaining channel there, worth checking out.
I built one snap trap with the spring from a bicycle luggage rack, this thing is a monster and can break a finger, but good commercial ones work perfectly too. Sometimes I use the marten live trap I built, trigger is sensitive enough to even work with mice, also use it for escaped rabbits. Downside is that I have to shoot the rat.
When I have to place traps outside I put a wooden box with 3 rat sized cutouts, close to the trigger on each side, over it, otherwise birds get killed. Which I absolutly want to avoid. I also have to take care to not harm any snake that live in and around my barns, they do a great job.
Shawn Woods has a good, interesting and quite entertaining channel there, worth checking out.
They are mice droppings. Rat droppings are larger, cylindrical with rounded ends, mice is grain of rice shape, but a little larger, with tapered ends. I get inundated every spring with both species, and have a fat barn cat that takes them both out.
I disagree, Murphy. Those droppings are far too large to be from mice -- look for comparison at the feed pellets. Almost certainly rats. I've seen my share over the years, I'm sorry to say.
KelleyBee
Well-known member
I had never heard of the cake mix or icing sugar, which I assume is powdered sugar. I have only heard of plaster of paris mixed with four, which is what I placed out yesterday, before reading your post here today. I think I will go add the powdered sugar. I don't have a barn, so I don't think cats will work for me, anyway. Thank yu for helping me to discern that thee are, in fact, rat droppings. I've got chipmunks all around, too, so I thought maybe could be their droppings.....no such luck, tho!
KelleyBee
Well-known member
They are way too big for the mice droppings I am accustomed to seeing around here. If I had a barn, I would definitely have barn cats, but my rabbitry is just 3 sides with a tarp on the 4th, and not a barn at all. I don't know how I would keep a cat happy in that. If it is doable, please fill me in! There are mice here, too!
Flour will likely work quite well, but cake mix has a pleasant smell which attracts them and the icing sugar (confectioners sugar? you use it to make frosting, which we call icing here in Canada.) encourages them to pig out. Make sure the mix stays dry so it will not set.
The poop is not likely chipmunk for at least three reasons:
Rats have no sphincter muscles, so poop as they go.
Chipmunk poop is smaller than rat, though larger than mouse.
You will rarely see chipmunk poop. They prefer to use the dedicated chamber in their burrow, probably so they don't draw the attention of predators.
Back in the 1980s I spent ten full summers at a cabin in the woods. We played with the chipmunks, and fed them. They'd jump up on our laps, take feed from our pockets, and were one of our favourite critters. In all that time, I only saw chipmunk poop once. One of our regulars hopped onto the toe of my soon-to-be ex-husband's boot and left him a comment. I laughed my head off -- I agreed with the chipmunk.
Note: There is a potential risk from chipmunks for ticks (never saw even one) and of hantavirus. This was not well-known before Internet days, so did not concern us at that time.
KelleyBee
Well-known member
I'm thrilled to see this morning that the vermin have begun eating my Plaster of Paris mixture! It's taken a while, but they've finally accepted the bait!
KelleyBee
Well-known member
These droppings have shown up in a different location, where my 4 week old grow outs are located. These are fresh, within 12-18 hours, at time of photo. Additionally, it seems as if a sphincter muscle is at play here. Lower right stuck to a piece of rabbit pellet. They don't look pointy and rice-like to be mouse. Any ideas? 
Always, something, eh, KelleyBee.
I don't recognize that poop. I think you need to consider the animals in your area that might be responsible. My guess would be squirrel but whether the grey/black species or the red I don't know. Once the snow is on the ground, you will be able to look for tracks and that will help. If you don't know your animal tracks already, now it the time to learn them. Lots of good sites on the Internet.
Are the rats still taking the plaster bait? Any reduction in the amount of poop you are finding there?
I don't recognize that poop. I think you need to consider the animals in your area that might be responsible. My guess would be squirrel but whether the grey/black species or the red I don't know. Once the snow is on the ground, you will be able to look for tracks and that will help. If you don't know your animal tracks already, now it the time to learn them. Lots of good sites on the Internet.
Are the rats still taking the plaster bait? Any reduction in the amount of poop you are finding there?
If there's a sphincter at work, there's meat involved. Carni or omnivore. Voles, I believe, have canines. Maybe moles too?? If canines, then meat - insects included. I have outdoor rabbits and rodents do visit and steal food. It's a risk, I am betting, but not going to stop me until it's a problem. So far, no problem.
KelleyBee
Well-known member
No more rat droppings so I think the bait worked. I'm keeping it out there from now on. Might as well nip any new exploring vermin the moment they arrive rather than await signs. These appeared overnight in my main rabbitry where the rat droppings originally were. No babies in the cage above, so it's something else:
This one above looks like cecal poops to me.
I agree that it looks closer to squirrel, but it could have also come from your rabbit. I have had unusually large poops that look similar to that. You can see how it almost looks like 6 distinct rabbit berry shapes in it. Both this image and this image may help in distinguishing the different kinds of poops rabbits can have.
Continue to monitor their health. Maybe give some more water and fibre. Perhaps they picked something up from the rats.
