does ferret poop deter rats?

[jdconstruction 0]

i have a rat problem in and around my chicken pen. had no signs of the rats all summer but now the weather has changed they have moved back in. i have traps placed on runs around the perimeter and poison stations. not to keen on using my ferret to bolt them dont like to see them dead in a trap let alone running.i was wondering if ferret poop would deter the rats? i am sure i read that rabbits wont enter a tunnel that smells of ferret.

 

any thoughts welcome

 

jd

[Neal 1,787]

I've heard this too, a bit like using lion poo to ward off foxes. I've tried it in my garden to keep the rats away from my bantams but either my ferrets don't do scarey poo or my rats aint for scaring.

[comanche 2,799]

I think that animals -even if they were initially puzzled or repelled by various scents-soon realise that there is no real danger.

Rats must be used to rummaging about in places that smell variously of anything from human poo to bleach. I've often done rat work in chicken sheds when they are cleaned between batches of hens . Once the digger moves in to shift the manure under the slats the eyes almost bleed from the smell yet as the manure is cleared rats can be found living two or three feet down in blindingly foul conditions

Even something like the old-fashioned Renardine which was breath-destroying enough to completly disrupt a human nose let alone a delicate animals senses had to be refreshed every couple of weeks to retain its full eye-watering effect or it became just another back-ground smell .

As for putting predator poo down ,I can't really believe it is much good certainly not after the initial novelty has worn off . How often have you found fox poo in the mouth of a rabbit burrow when ferreting yet still bolted rabbits from the hole .

How often must a zebra or wilderbeast get a whiff of lion dung as it strolls across the Serengetti without a second thought ?

I think animals noses are tuned to a far more perceptive level when it comes to reading scent anyway. They can surely tell if the poo or scent in the burrow is old and harmless or if the predator is still around .

[salukiwhippet 6]

On the basis that last year I had a rat chew INTO my big ferret hutch, I'd say not! Took me ages to get all the ferts back, don't think ratty had a good day though!

 

James

[comanche 2,799]

On the basis that last year I had a rat chew INTO my big ferret hutch, I'd say not! Took me ages to get all the ferts back, don't think ratty had a good day though!

 

James

Ha there goes my theory of them knowing that the predator is still around ! Mind you I suppose a lot of rats don't actuallyknow what a ferret is so why be afraid of the poo? It may even contain enough waste protein to be considered edible

[ratattack 111]

Errr nope!

 

The only way to get rid of them is to kill em.....either the hens or the rats it's up to you

[yukonite 0]

On the basis that last year I had a rat chew INTO my big ferret hutch, I'd say not! Took me ages to get all the ferts back, don't think ratty had a good day though!

 

James

 

hahaha i bet it got a shock when it got in.had mice in a shed where my ferrets were but they didn't get in their hutch:laugh::laugh:

[pencoed hunter 7]

Don't think so because i have a rats nest thing next to my ferret hutch lol

[stormyboy 1,352]

On the basis that last year I had a rat chew INTO my big ferret hutch, I'd say not! Took me ages to get all the ferts back, don't think ratty had a good day though!

 

James

 

Snap! I had one chewed a small hole under the nest box,big enough to pull straw through and nested underneath! cheeky sod. Didnt last long though.

[Jebus 3]

I use traps when we get Mouse problems but after I have trapped for a while I let the Ferrets have a stroll around and that always seems to work but I don't know about using them for Rats.