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Do Rabbits attract rats??!!

beckiboo186

Warren Veteran
Aaaaaargh!!! Happily going about my business in the garden last night when I disturbed some rats :shock: I'm absolutely petrified of them, Feel sick at the thought :x Do rabbits attract rats? I know "they are everywhere", but not many people really see them. Every single house where we've kept buns, we've had rats. Every single house we havent, No rats! :? I'm guessing its probably the hay & stuff they come for? Ick!!! My Poor Jen, they were right in the place she plays :x ... and thats probably the answer to her 'mystery illness' where she wont eat, wont come out of the shed, acts strangely :cry: I cant bring them to live indoors either, cos Jeni is just phobic of being so 'people orientated' and Rhia cant be shut in anything or she goes mental, which is why we wanted her free range in the garden (put away at night) Guess that cant happen now? :(
 
I wouldn't have thought the rabbits would attract the rats if their foods not left out? :? I had rats in my garden but they were just passing through to get to my neighbours!!!
 
The best thing to do is ensure the food is in a secure container, clean up anything dropped on the floor every day [food is one but yes they will nick hay or straw for their nests] and make sure they can't get into the hutches [you'd be surprised what a small space a young rattie can get into!!

We had the same problem but with mice when I was younger, we ended up having to get rentokil to come in - which is obviously a hard decision to make with buns/little animals around and having poison put down - you just have to be extra vigilant and ensure your animals can't get to it.

I love rats but wild ones are vermin >_<
 
The best thing to do is ensure the food is in a secure container, clean up anything dropped on the floor every day [food is one but yes they will nick hay or straw for their nests] and make sure they can't get into the hutches [you'd be surprised what a small space a young rattie can get into!!

We had the same problem but with mice when I was younger, we ended up having to get rentokil to come in - which is obviously a hard decision to make with buns/little animals around and having poison put down - you just have to be extra vigilant and ensure your animals can't get to it.

I love rats but wild ones are vermin >_<

Food is kept indoors, but up until y/day morning there was quite a lot of hay & straw around (Tidied the shed out y/day would you believe?!) Im going to move jen out of the shed, as I think its either under or behind there that they are living :censored: so i'll just split Rhias hutch into two seperate hutches rather than double storey :) Thankfully Rhi's hutch has v.close together, strong wiring on it. Definately going to look at getting someone out to try and sort it (Not easy w/out mum finding out, she's worse than I am and will more than likely put the house up for sale if she finds out :roll: :lol:) and will just keep the buns locked up or in the run, they'll hate it but having watched a rat attack my dog, and really, really injure him, :)evil:) despite me whacking it with a broom :oops: it'll be definately worth it rather than endanger their lives. Wouldnt really mind mice, but rats?!!!!!! :censored:
 
Food is kept indoors, but up until y/day morning there was quite a lot of hay & straw around (Tidied the shed out y/day would you believe?!) Im going to move jen out of the shed, as I think its either under or behind there that they are living :censored: so i'll just split Rhias hutch into two seperate hutches rather than double storey :) Thankfully Rhi's hutch has v.close together, strong wiring on it. Definately going to look at getting someone out to try and sort it (Not easy w/out mum finding out, she's worse than I am and will more than likely put the house up for sale if she finds out :roll: :lol:) and will just keep the buns locked up or in the run, they'll hate it but having watched a rat attack my dog, and really, really injure him, :)evil:) despite me whacking it with a broom :oops: it'll be definately worth it rather than endanger their lives. Wouldnt really mind mice, but rats?!!!!!! :censored:

It's definitely a good idea to nip it in the bud - the weather is milder this time of year so they'll be breeding a lot - and they can have litters of 20 at a time!!

You'd think mice are ok but they aren't when they can get into the *tiniest* of spaces, are underneath your floorboards and chewing up wires everywhere.. plus it's not nice when they die under your floorboards :-/
 
It's definitely a good idea to nip it in the bud - the weather is milder this time of year so they'll be breeding a lot - and they can have litters of 20 at a time!!

OMFG!!!! :censored: OMG OMG OMG, I think they were babies I saw last night, too big to be mice but smaller than most rats ive seen :? Also, it might've been the light, but they looked like a lighter brown colour than others - can they be this colour? :? X
 
Get a couple of cats :D Or entice any neighbours young cats in?! They will have a field day!

Agree with what everyone already said though.

Rats are more of a health risk to you than the buns though (which is a small risk anyway) just make sure you wash your hands after touching stuff they could have pee'd on:)
 
Eek, wild rats do scare me a bit, and we get them coming down from the fields in winter, along with mice! :shock: They like eating bunny poo as well, so try and make sure there are no poos that are kicked out of the hutch lying around, my dog usually sees to any poos that fall out of the shed when I am cleaning litter trays!:shock: :roll:

Thats the problem with decking and sheds, thankfully we haven't had a problem with our shed, but that may be because we have cats around the place and our next door neighbours dog flips any rodents she finds, breaking their necks!:shock:

My main concern would be if they carry fleas your rabbits could become infected and that puts them at greater risk of myxi and Vhd.
 
OMFG!!!! :censored: OMG OMG OMG, I think they were babies I saw last night, too big to be mice but smaller than most rats ive seen :? Also, it might've been the light, but they looked like a lighter brown colour than others - can they be this colour? :? X

If they're young they'll most likely be a bit lighter than adults :) But yeah those'll be babies.
 
I get rats where I leave the bin bags waiting for the tip, so I space them out so that a cat can get in there and scare away the rats - have had rats run over my foot when getting bags to the tip :shock: Anywhere secluded, rats will make a nest, so just make sure it's got room to let cats prowl and they'll keep away the rats - unfortunately they'll also scare your bunnies :roll: which is why I cover my hutches at night even in summer.
 
Ick!!! Poor Jeni, we just put her down as a strange rabbit with problems, my baby was probably just scared to death. Elve if a rat ran over my foot, my foot would be running straight back over the rat!!! :shock: Going to start some 'renervations' now so that I can get Jen as far away from the shed as possible. Also going to try and entice some big strong men to shift my huge hutch down onto the patio near the door (As if mum wont wonder whats going on!! :lol:) Ewwww God they're awful!! What good do they do for the world?!! :evil: X
 
steal one or two of those kittys at the animal shelter overnight, let em loose where the ratsys are, then take them back in the morning before anyone notices that they're gone... they'll be happier and fatter the next day ;)

just kidding... but seriously, try and entice a stray in and he'll keep on coming back, so you won't have to worry about rats too much anymore!!!

good luck!!!
 
I live right by the water so rats are a given, and there is nothing that I can do to get rid of rats, even my cat just stares at them and would never go after them. We have just taken extra measures to secure the house so rats don't get inside, but having them outside there is nothing we can do and have gotten used to seeing the occasional waddle along the sand at night. I know it's terrifying and they do carry disease that is life threatening to rabbits. As far as the rabbits outdoor run, we have decided to keep it in the center of the yard where we think it might be less likely(as opposed to beside hedges and bushes)to hop over wild animal droppings and possibly get a disease, or worse eat the tainted grass. I wasn't going to let the rabbits out at all after a mysterious death a few months ago, but they love it outdoors so much my compromise is to let them outside sometimes on weekends & in a smaller outdoor open area.
 
Just dont like seeing animals killed.
Surely if it was a case of wild rabbits bothering someones farm you wouldnt want them killed?
 
I have to say I wouldn't put down rat poison even tho I hate them as much as you do Becki. Apparently poison can spread thru the food chain, i.e. a bird eating the carcass of a rat. I absolutely hate rats, and wouldn't blame you tho, because your rabbits come first, and infected rats can spread both VHD and EC. I'm sure I would give in and do the same if the rat population seemed too much at our house.
 
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