*sad and angry* Evil rats!

My sister has four bunnies. All outdoor. Two girls who live together and two boys who live seperatly. Well next door has a cat. And as you know, cat's like to bring "presents" home. Well both homes are connected and now there's rodents in the roof of the house and rats roaming the garden...

Well Sperminator kinda ate a hole in the side of his hutch so he had to be brought inside. Anyway she cleaned out the other three last friday and went inside. She's not been getting them out because it's so dark and Bugsy and Lola are prone to running and hiding. Her in the trees, him under her hutch. She doesn't want to loose them.

Well this Friday just gone she went to clean them out again. And Bugsy was funny. He didn't run to the scoop like he usually does and was laid in his bed. So she picked him up to look... Skin and bones and his ears are so badly bitten!

He's inside too now, but her theory is that the rats have been helping themselves to the bunnies food and now Sperminator's inside there's less food to go around so they've been attacking Bugsy for it.

My sister makes me so mad. There's so much I could say as to what she's doing wrong with the bunnies.I know she's a terrible bunny mommy but there's nothing I can do to get it through to her head. She loves her bunnies so much but lately she's just been off of them. But that's a whole other post for another time, so please don't comment on it.

So anyways she's getting a new hutch and a fine mesh to protect against the rats. But by her reckoning the girls are the rats next target as they're still out there and the food supply has now been halved. I'm really worried for the girls. So I'm asking those of you with outdoor buns. What do you do to keep the rats away?

My sister lives in the countryside (deepcar) so rats are always around. But is there any way to deter them from the bunny cages? I love her buns and want them to be as protected as possable, but my bun is indoors and I have no idea how to keep rats away from outdoor buns.

Any suggestions? Or is she doing the only thing by buying fine mesh?

well.... when peanut was a single bun, he had a hole in his hutch on the side, i thought he had bitten a hole in it, but as it was summer i knew he wasnt cold and kept meaning to fix ir but didnt get around to it for about 2 weeks. one morning i went out there and y beautiful little peanut had had his tail almost biten off. it was hanging off and e was covered in blood.

Sounds very similar and to be honest,dont be too hard on her bcus it can happen to any of us. Poor peanut nearly had 2 have his tail removed! its kinda bent now tho

How are the rats getting into the hutch? I have rats and they are no way small enough to squeeze through the mesh or anything :?

You can buy humane rat traps x

oh I'm hard on my sister for numberous reasons. My biggest one being when I went last week and Sperminator was in my what used to be bedroom/come store room and he had no food, water or hay. When I gave him some he couldn't drink fast enough. I swear he'd not had water all day. Her reply when I confronted her. "I gave him water last night" The water bottle is so small I filled it before I went to bed and it was empty when I woke up the next morning... It's just things like that. She does so many little mistakes it adds up and makes me very angry at her. So I told our mom who returned with "Well I had to do her pigs this morning" So now she's keeping an eye on the indoor buns too.

And Bugsy's not eating properly so she's just feeding him babyfood... Which has no fibre...When my mom sells science recovery and has a stock of it in the room with the rabbit she's told my sis to use.

Just small things make me angry with her. The fact that she didn't notice the state Bugsy was in for a week... I mean literally he's skin and bones. *sigh* Yeah, so totally another rant for another time.

I don't know how the rats are getting in. I think maybe the mesh on the front of the cage is too large and the rats can get in through it?

The rats aren't evil - they're doing what's natural to them.
Rats are attracted by food, water and shelter so you need to remove these to get the rats to move on. Cover the hutch with mesh if that's how they're getting in, make sure any spilt food is cleared up straight away, and if your garden's got places rats could be hiding and living, clear them away or tidy them up.
I'd get all the rabbits checked out by the vets though as wild rats can carry and transmit diseases (like any wild animal)

Jayms_fallen_angel said:

he had no food, water or hay. When I gave him some he couldn't drink fast enough.

Click to expand...

Im sorry but I would report her x

*sigh* I've honestly thought about reporting her. But it's only since she's got this new job. She's comming out with "I work full time. I don't have time to...." Which makes us angry because hello... I work full time...12 hour shifts! Which is a damn site longer than she does and my bun and piggies are always looked after. My mum works full time and all hers are looked after.

We're thinking that this whole rat attack on Bugsy plus my constant nagging is beginning to work as she's started paying a little more attention. Rest assured though, now I know that she's being lax I have taken steps. I'm making sure people are constantly checking on them all. My moms turned my old bedroom into a stock room so she can check on Bugsy discretly and the back bedroom has both moms and sams pets in so she's always had an eye on them.

We've decided on giving her a little time with us helping her. But I will call someone if she doesn't get back to being a good mommy.

We think the rats may be under the hutch itself. But I don't know how messy it is. I know she used to sweep everything away because mum goes ballistic at too much mess in her garden.

I've been telling my sis to take every bun to the vets since the myxi scare, but *sigh* I'm persevering with it.

My dad wants to put poison down but my sister won't let him. Is there any kind of... thing... that scares rats away but not buns? I know cats urine scares mice away. Just... don't ask me how I know that...

There are rats everywhere, everyone has them, but I for one have never had ANY problems with rats or mice despite being surrounded by fields. I think the hutch and run set-ups need to be sorted out asap, rats can carry fleas and other nasties, so please ensure all her buns have been vaccinated properly, myxi within the last 6 months and vhd within the last year.

To be honest, if she didn't notice her rabbit was skin and bones, do you honestly think she should have them? When on earth was their poo corner last changed? Rats will gorge on rabbit poo as well, and the smell will keep on attracting them.
Theres no excuse for finding a rabbit without food and water either, especially if they are indoors, prehaps your sister has too many animals for her to care for properly?:?

She cant put poison down if the rabbits are in the garden. The rats arent going to be scared away by anything. If they have access to food they are going to stay there. I think the only way she can do it is by setting lots of traps and taking them far away from the house so they wont find their way back. I might be wrong though.

The first thing she needs to do is make sure nothing can get into the hutches

I did say, they are cleaned out every friday...

I honestly only know what she's told me. I'm only there for 1 night every week and I'm kept busy with my parents. As I say, now I know that she's laxing on it, I've made sure our rents keep an eye on her and keep me informed and they're giving her just a little bit longer to sort herself out. I'm fairly confident that now I'm pointing out all her flaws she'll go back to being good. I'm already starting to see her change. this weekend when I went everyones food and water was ok. So we're thinking maybe it was only a lapse. But I did say I didn't want to get into that right now. I just want to know if there's anything more I can force her to do to make sure the buns are safe from rats.

By putting down poison and traps theres always a risk cats, hedgehogs, birds etc will get injured or killed. I don't use either but manange to keep rats at bay with good husbandry and secure enclosures.

Also, does or doesn't she vaccinate? Something you said in a past post suggests she doesn't.

Thank you. I'll talk to my dad and see about getting some traps down outside.

I'll also see about getting them in the places I think the rats are rather than out in the open so other wildlife don't get hurt.

What sort of food does she feed her buns on? The rats seem to be more attracted to bunny/pig museli type mixes, and don't appear to show much interest in the rabbit pellets.

If the rabbits are only being cleaned out on a Friday I'd say that the level of cleanliness needs to be increased significantly. After one to two days my rabbits need cleaning out and they have loads of space in sheds - I can't imagine what state they'd be in if they were only done once a week.
Even if she only increases her cleaning regime until the rats have cleared off would be a starting point.

I'd replace any mesh that's bigger than 5mm, and pull all the hutches out for an extra good clean inside and out, and check for any gaps, and make sure the hutches are on slabs so there is no chance of rats tunneling underneath.

You've got a difficult task as it's your sister, but sometimes people near to hear the truth to get them to act.
The fact that her rabbit was skin and bone suggests that it was probably more than a week since it was any where near being checked. Poor rabbit (oh, and Im not p****d with you as you're trying to get her to do something, but your sister needs a big toe up her jacksy)

Sounds like your sister has a lot on her plate and although she may love her pets she is forgetting to treat them as they should be. I know you want advise on the rat situ but you really need to get it through to her that she's not looking after them as much as they deserve, and if she can't she needs to do what's best for them and rehome them.

I don't know how old she is but they are obviously her full responsibility and she is not being responsible :? And if she does keep them she really has to get them vaccinated, but you know all this, so I really feel for you and the position you are in.

Sorry, I have no advice on the rats.