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Rat poison

Alison Marie

Wise Old Thumper
Does this pose a risk to my rabbits if it is left in next doors garden? My buns have their own shed and run with a bit of grass, am I just being overly paranoid? What steps can I take to make sure it doesn't harm them?

I am not sure how mch will be left - the old lady next door is convinced she has rats but we haven't seen any !! Apparently the council is coming to leave some in the garden.
 
Problem is that the rats (and other animals) do not die instantly and so may carry the poison around a bit first (ie the grain or even the blocks it is in). This can be the case even where the blocks are in supposedly 'unmoveable' plastic containers - I have had it happen!!!!!

If they insist on laying it then get some Vit K from the vets in stock for emergency treatment.
 
As parsnipbun said, the risk is that the rats will carry it back to their nest (in fact some poisons are designed for them to do this) and drop it in the rabbits' run on the way. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about that, so I would just take some precautions and also read up on the symptoms of poisoning so you can spot it - most poisons are slow-kill so that the rats don't realise it is poison, which is good for pets as it gives the owner a chance to notice if they accidentally eat a piece.

As for precautions, what I would do (and what I have done myself) is simply make the rabbits' area unattractive to rats. If they have no reason to go near it, the risk drops significantly. So basically, keep the rabbits clean and food-free. I feed all pellets, veggies etc at particular times of the day when I am about and I remove anything not eaten after an hour or so - they only have hay when I'm not about. I keep all food bags etc inside as well, so that they don't attract rats. I'd also make sure that the shed doesn't have any gaps or holes that the rats can get in through.
 
Thank you guys i will keep an eye on them. A rat techmically cant even get to the buns as its fully attached to the front, their food is inside the shed and theres no gaps. Just the risk of the run...
 
I've put rat poison (pellets) down in my garden where neither rabbits nor birds can get at it. It saw off the rats but neither rabbits nor birds were harmed.

It will be fine providing they don't chuck any your side of the fence - which they won't. The council will provide traps which contain the poison pellets so it is highly unlikely any will get into your garden.
 
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