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Rat under rabbit hutch

Annie_90

Young Bun
So today I saw a baby rat poke its head out from underneath the hutch. I chased it off but we later took a shovel to the area to see if it had gone and it was back.

Can we put rat poison down in a box underneath the hutch? The rabbit can't get under there at all - no free roam in the garden and the hutch is too close to the ground anyway - the only possible thing would be the rat brushing past the hutch mesh. I am worried about it chewing the hutch mesh (planning on switching the cheap stuff for something better but not done yet).

There aren't any pellets in the rabbit hutches, only hay and water; I've removed the bowls as they're for supper only. Neighbour is also using poison in their garden so hopefully that will help.
 
The rat won't hurt the rabbit and if there is no food for it it will probably move on. Your hutch is too low by the sound of it. Can you find a table or similar to raise it up? Rats can carry diseases but if your rabbit is vaccinated it should be all right.
 
Hi Toni, thank you, and thank you for your reply to my winter housing post, I've just seen it :)

Yes, it is too low really. We're going to get some bricks to build it up this weekend. It was okay in the summer but with the rain it's no good.
 
Rats don't tend to come in ones, so there are probably others around. They need food, water and shelter - so try to remove any sources of these. They also don't like things being disturbed - so try to keep disturbing the areas you find them in, and have a tidy up if there are areas that normally don't get looked at. I hate doing it, but I put bait down and keep all my animals out of the way until the bait stops being taken. Make sure that other animals can't get the bait (eg birds, etc)
 
Thanks, Shimmer. Yes, that's my thought - if there's a baby, there's a family nearby. We've had rats before but got rid of them. There's likely a nest nearby on another property.

I'm going to shovel it again tomorrow morning. We've put the poison down near-ish the hutch, hopefully in its path away from the rabbits. If it's still there tomorrow we'll have to think about putting it underneath. With the tarpaulin cover, it's probably a lovely cosy shelter under there...
 
It's disgusting that you see a baby rat and instantly want to poison it. Talk about a knee jerk reaction. You're being ridiculous, both of you (toni is the only one talking sense). Why don't you stop and think for a minute.

If a rat can chew through mesh like you're worrying than that mesh must be really weak and so what you should be worrying about is a fox getting in.

It's your fault your hutch is low and attracting a rat to take shelter under it. Fix that and whatever else may be attracting rats and voila, problem solved. No need to use poison at all.

I think people need to realize how awful it is to POISON animals. Can you imagine what that must feel like? You guys are acting like it's an instant death. Or do you just not care?

You're also vilifying an intelligent, amazing animal that is innocent and has no idea that it shouldn't be there. It's not its fault that humans claim everything and get so mad when they find an animal taking shelter in "their" territory, instead of having some actual empathy. All you have to do is discourage them, not kill them.

Not to mention, other wildlife and other people's pets can die as a result of this poison too.
 
Please don't try to poison the rat(s) :( Apart from anything else, you could poison a local cat, hedgehogs, birds, you name it. I would suggest setting a humane trap that doesn't hurt them and taking the rat or rats to a local field to set them free. Then board off the area underneath the hutch so that no other wild animals can shelther under there if you're worried about it. The poor things are just sheltering and don't know they're doing anything wrong.
 
So today I saw a baby rat poke its head out from underneath the hutch. I chased it off but we later took a shovel to the area to see if it had gone and it was back.

Can we put rat poison down in a box underneath the hutch? The rabbit can't get under there at all - no free roam in the garden and the hutch is too close to the ground anyway - the only possible thing would be the rat brushing past the hutch mesh. I am worried about it chewing the hutch mesh (planning on switching the cheap stuff for something better but not done yet).

There aren't any pellets in the rabbit hutches, only hay and water; I've removed the bowls as they're for supper only. Neighbour is also using poison in their garden so hopefully that will help.
I wouldn't poison, as its never good, and hurts other animals.

I'd potentially get traps, humane ones don't work in my experience, but there may be no need, aslong as there's no accessible food source they'll probably move on :)

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
I wouldn't poison, as its never good, and hurts other animals.

I'd potentially get traps, humane ones don't work in my experience, but there may be no need, aslong as there's no accessible food source they'll probably move on :)

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

I've caught mice with humane traps loads of times and they worked great. No harm done to the mice and I took them to a field and set them free :)
 
I've caught mice with humane traps loads of times and they worked great. No harm done to the mice and I took them to a field and set them free :)
Ah I wish I'd been that lucky :)

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Poison not used in the end. To be honest I wasn't really very happy with the idea. The rat has remained, though I didn't see it this morning.

Graciee: That's what I'm hoping - no food, move on. Unfortunately without compromising insulation, while the hutch is now higher, the tarp still provides a dark shelter.

Beapig: I will have to look into those traps. We've had rats in the past but previously it's been easy to avoid them. I'll look into boarding up the bottom of the hutches, that's a good idea.
 
Really glad to hear that! :)

Sorry if I was a bit harsh before. I just feel bad for rats - they get a rough deal in life I feel like.
 
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