pixi-dust

nah! you don't make it! you buy it from RD1 or Wrightsons or somewhere like that. They can't escape once they're in as the door shuts behind them.
They can't run away once they're in it.
Next rat issue we have I'll send them down to you!

Also poison - we found some that is not dangerous to pets but will kill rats - I can't remember the name of it but it worked ( slowly) want me to try find the name for you?

crap coffee

That's a very good idea. eh?

THANKYOU!!!!!!

we believe it's better not to use poison (at my parents place in particular) - because as I said, they drink rain water and rats usually go up to the roof and drink water or poison/contaminate our water when they get thirsty. so we just can't use them unfortunately. dunno.

I'd definitely use at my small place in Welly... but. my parents place is too huge... really.

jennifer45

Hate rats with a vengeance ever since they bit my sister on my grandparents farm.
My grandfather and some of the farm workers used to shoot them or set ferrets on to them. My grandmother used to burn them on the fire and then toast bread over the flames --- Ugh!!!! I was considered a 'townie'!
It was the corn that attracted them- there seemed to be hundreds of them- ugh! my worst nightmare.
That is really the only thing that I have any concerns about in NZ but they say the UK is far worse. No-one lives beyond 8ft of a rat.
Ugh!
Rentokil estimates there are 65 to 80 million rats in Britain compared to around 66.6m humans.
Ugh!

There are three species of rat in New Zealand; the Norwegian Rat or Brown Rat, the Black Rat or Ship Rat and the Kiore or Pacific Rat.
The Black Rat is the more common in New Zealand,but the Norwegian Rat is increasing and may come to displace the Black Rat as it has done in other parts of the world.
The head and body of a Norwegian Rat can be up to 30cm long. The tail is usually shorter than the head and body and an adult can weigh up to half a kilogram.
The Norwegian Rat will build nests in any suitable enclosed, safe space but naturally digs burrows into the banks of rivers but it will often nest in the walls and roof voids of homes and other buildings.
The Black Rat is smaller and more agile than the Norwegian. The tail is usually longer than the body and head. It is a better climber than the Norwegian and often finds its way into buildings via poorly sealed eaves. New Zealand buildings are susceptible to infestation by Black Rats because of gaps under roofing in the eaves. Rats may find their way onto the roof by climbing over-hanging trees. The Black Rat does not build burrows and will nest in trees or in the voids of homes and other buildings making it a prime candidate for rat control in New Zealand.

I intend sealing every darn thing when I get there. Air conditioning- Forget it!

The Black Death, otherwise known as the plague, ravaged Europe and Asia between the 14th and 17th centuries killing hundreds of millions of people. It was the Black Rat that transported the fleas infected with bacterium causing the 'plague'.
The fleas fed on the blood of the rats and of the people that they came in contact with, spreading the disease as they sucked. Ugh!

Why am I going on about rats? Because they increase in numbers where 'chooks' live!
My father kept chicken in the war and the fox killed a lot over time but the rats were drawn to the site nightly due to the feed- I didn't mind the fox but the rats! Ugh!

The local county council brought in a bylaw prohibiting the 'keeping' of chickens within a certain distance of a dwelling house because of the problems with them attracting rats- I can't see it matters now-a-days as they seem to be attracted by humans and their waste.
Jack Russells and some other terriers are fantastic at catching and killing rats but it can affect their temperament.

Let me know when you pick up your first beautiful warm egg- it's magic!
I love 'chooks' and goats and sheep and would love to have some BUT....

Wiz'n'Ton

Wow guys! I never knew so many folks were 'living the chicken dream' when it comes to fresh eggs in the morning! Thanks for all the input. We'll hook up with Teamembo sometime soon to check out their set-up, and decide where to go from there. Main concern for us is cost, but for a couple of birds it shouldn't be that expensive should it? We were thinking something like $10 a week or so on feed and we're away....?

I'll get busy with some scrap wood and a drop saw and am sure we'll have a respectable coop for the little fluffy fellas - or should I say lay-dehs?

We are in a suburban set-up, so rats and cats could be an issue - we'll have to see how things go on that front. We've got a great area down the side of the house to use as a run, and the coop will be almost by the back door so real easy to nip out and get the eggs. To avoid rodent probs our cat should help (though he has yet to catch a cold, let alone a mouse!) and we figured we'd keep the feed inside.

Let's see how we go!

pixi-dust

Just for 2 $10 would be more than enough, probably nearer $5, if even that! so you're laughing.

crap coffee

ah. just one thing - we used to buy chicken foods - just last year. $80 per pack - lasted a few months. because we had 14 chickens and we didn't have enough food for all chooks. Having chickens at home - The good thing is - you can dump most of leftover from your table or old veggies (ex - pumpkin) from your garden. The chickens eat ANYTHING really. they love loooo~~~ng thin pasta/noodles and when I throw it (I usually call them with a loud yucky voice... then they turn up......), two chickens pick it (a piece of long noodle) up and play/fight togeter - you know what I mean. I just thought it's utterly funny.

When we first had chickens 5 years ago - we only bought 3 chickens I think at an animal auction in South Auckland - they are cheap - but you'd better pick a decent/good one - though I have no idea how to choose chickens.. .. One of our chickens were Georgie. then ended up having 28 chickens from just 3 we had too many eggs which we couldn't even handle every day. - also ate a couple of chickens but as you would probably know - they are bloody tasteless - the meat - tough and hard :curse: anyway I woudn't eat them. at that time a lot of baby chickens were eaten by rats every night though - just every morning - we discovered missing one or two. At the end, chickens all dead because they are old. just die itself.

Two years ago, my parents bought three new chickens . - eneded up having 14 but. - from last year they don't lay eggs at all! we fed them hard but NO eggs. just once but we found it out too late so coudn't eat. - I throw them away. Mum wasn't happy with having loads of chooks but no eggs. just annoying. bad things about having chickens are they come to veggie gardens and eat/ruin all your veggies.... :curse: We had loads of cucumbers being bitten/eaten by chickens and mum's dear plant she loves soooo much (12 years with her) -the chooks ate (only) all leaves and just left a branch.! - mum was furious!!!! (first we actually thought it's done by Ducks but hell no! by chooks!) also, it attracts more flies at summer if you have chickens around. In addition, if you go away overseas or whatever - you will loose most of chickens - that happened to us last year. we had 4 before we leave, but when we came back only one alive at home. two disappeared and the other one gone to our neighbour and never want to come back to us again - once they leave home - it's their nature.

kiwinow

We kept chooks for a while, but we were living in the country.
We made sure that we kept the food miles away from the chooks cage and we fed them twice a day, rather than having food dispensers. That way there was no food hanging around to attract predators.

Oddly enough, although we had rats in the sheds and stoats and ferrets running around we never lost a single one of our girls. I left them in their house until midday, because they lay mostly in the morning, and then let them out to range freely over our 3 1/2 acre property until about 5pm. I shut them in at night for safety and to conserve their energy for egg laying in the morning.

If you're only thinking of a few chooks for eggs and the odd one for the pot, I'd suggest getting 3 or 4 in case a couple go off the lay in winter. Will you cull the elderly for the pot or did you want to breed? If you live in town, do not get a rooster! Buy in eggs, but you may need a bantam or something that will sit on eggs. Some breeds aren't keen on that.

We got 10 chooks and sold the surplus eggs to the local dairies (as in corner shops, not milking factories). This way we worked out that we recooped what we spent on chook pellets and had our own fresh eggs. We also gave them loads of scraps. However, we had the room for 10 chooks. You probably don't.

Our cats and dogs never attacked the adult chooks, but when we experimented briefly with breeding, our dogs killed a couple of offspring before we could stop them. I honestly think that if you want chicks you need to keep them in a separate cage until they're big enough to look after themselves. If you have a clucky one sitting on eggs, she also needs to be separated, otherwise all her sisters will lay eggs in her nest instead of in their nesting boxes.

We have thought of keeping garden chooks but personally I think I'd hate the fact that where we are now they couldn't free range, because of low fences, and they might just become labour intensive.

crap coffee

Just found a great pic of mouse this morning- news from Japan.

It's called a "bamboo mouse" in China. the tail is over 30 cm. and thicker than a thumb. Beautiful!

jennifer45

ugh!
and I thought you were nice!
How could you??

Kiwiprincess

I know you said what it was....but seriously....WHAT THE HECK IS THAT????

My cat is smaller than that.

kiwinow

Relax. We do not have them in NZ. That's not a mouse, it's squirrel at least, or an otter.

pixi-dust

http://www.kiwicare.co.nz/index.cfm/...atural-NO-Rats

this is it- it's very good!

crap coffee

yes, it's a Chinese MOUSE. cute, eh?

ukecadet

I had a rat kebab in Gambia
I was three parts to the wind and huge black guy gave me this kebab.He was like the the voodoo man off Live and Let Die.He kept laughing and saying" you like haha haa " Everthing was spining round and the kebab tasted great. "I love it" says me.Then he pulls out this masive rat from behind the bar"your eating bushmeat...it's good yes"At which point it came up out of me a darn site quicker than it went in.
If any ones interested it was a giant pouch rat.
Nearly forgot.With chilie sauce.

crap coffee

found this pic from Korean news tonight. very attractive....

The huge grasshoppers are native to Oz. they attack your chook too.... be careful...