3 Days Ratting - Day 3

[RemyBolt 420]

Day 3.

 

Set up in House 10, ready to bust more rats. IR system ready, all my gear loaded up, ready to roll, not a single thing could go wrong. And, well, it didn't (don't get your hopes up no story of major tragedy or camera smashing sorrow).

 

I sat out on my usual steps, looking left, right, and straight ahead, down the egg belt.

 

The light dropped and I had my fleece ghost costume on. The farmer wasn't coming around, so I knew I would be undisturbed all night.

 

Silence and darkness. The first hour passed with the sound of a single rat running through the ceiling. I could see where there was a slight sag with it's weight. Pellet through the ceiling, and I had my first kill of the night...I think. I wasn't in a position to rip down the ceiling and check.

 

About half way through the second hour of near silence I head a commotion down the egg belt. I didn't know what was going on. Night vision gear on, and I was looking down the egg belt at the weirdest looking eyes ever! They seemed to absorb the light and they were moving around very erratically. What the hell was this? I pull my camera to the side, position my head for the scope, and squeeze the front mounted light. Before me was a sight I had never seen! Something very wrong was going on. It was not a creature from the dark void, climbing out of the darkness to steal my soul. Instead it was a stupid chicken that had managed to find it's way through the nesting box and onto the egg belt.

 

Now, I'm pretty certain chickens do not have super powers. However, this one was more than capable of warding off rats. I did plan on enjoying the chicken's appearance as a kind of bait, like a computer game I was going to have to pick off rats trying to eat the solitary animal. But alas, nothing could be further from the truth. This chicken seemed to repel rats and keep them well away! Nothing. For around an hour I must have watched this thing just sit there and be a chicken.

 

After realising the 'guardian of the egg belt' was an ample deterrent, I concentrated my efforts elsewhere. The outcome....I drained all my batteries and finished the night with just one shot, of which I'll never know if it was a kill shot.

 

That was it. One shot, in around 5 and a half hours of sitting in the dark with my overactive imagination, and a rat removal chicken. In all, from the sounds I heard, I would put the estimate for rats in that area of House 10 at around 5 or 6. The truth is, I don't have a clue how many. I definitely heard 2 rats fighting, which could well mean that my kill count was equal to that of one of the rats...one a piece. But at no other time did I hear more than one rat moving. It very well could be that there was 2 rats, one killed the other, and I'm estimating my 5 or 6 very generously, based on the possibility that I heard one rat multiple times.

 

And that's it for day 3. Boring, yes, but I'm really pleased I went out for the 3 day session.

 

One thing I know for sure, the first 2 days were brilliant fun. This weekend the farmer said he's still not seen a rat in House 10, and he's hardly lost any eggs at all. He's VERY pleased with how well I've done. The one major benefit to this monster ratting trilogy, the farmer said to charge him for a few sets of batteries, some pellets and CO2 canisters. As long as I can get the VAT receipt for him, he'll get the money back for them. Obviously I have to check the legals for this, as I don't want to screw up my insurance. So, as uneventful as the shooting from day 3, that had the best overall outcome of all the days!

 

Sorry it wasn't more exciting. If you want I could pretend I got attacked by pirates?

[treecreeper 1,136]

Insurance should be fine, you don't charge him, the farmer provides them for you.

[j j m 6,630]

good write up mate

[The one 8,600]

Good write up mate and at least your out there doing a bit , If the farmer classes the battery's etc as a gift will that affect your insurance ? i think not