Rats!!

[CharlesHarris]

Scroll down the page and you will see a day's kill from a skilled group of rat terriers:

http://modernfarmer.com/2014/06/rat-terr...erriermen/

And an article on the best dog breeds for rat control:

http://www.offthegridnews.com/how-to-2/b...n-control/

1. Border terriers originated in the hills between England and Scotland. Like many of the terriers, they have a waterproof coat. They also have a wiry outer coat with a soft undercoat, perfect for working outside in the damp wet weather of their homeland. They average 11 to 16 inches tall and coincidentally are usually 11 to 16 pounds. They can be good family dogs if well socialized.

2. Cairn terriers get their name from the Scottish Gaelic word “cairn,” which which means a human-made stack of stones – due to their ability to push through these stone fences while going after vermin. They originated in the Isles of Skye around the year 1500. Also a small, stout dog, they range in height from 9 to 13 inches and weigh 13 to 18 pounds.

3. Dachshunds – a German breed, their name, translated, means “badger dog.” They were used as a scent hound to locate and chase badgers, flushing them out of burrows. There are now three coat types – wire, smooth and long haired. They are typically 8 to 11 inches tall and 11 to 20 pounds. Most believe the original dogs used to hunt badgers were larger than is typical of modern dachshunds.

4. Jack Russell terriers were originally bred for fox hunting, named for the Reverend John Russell, who enjoyed promoting these little dogs for that task. They are agile and athletic, going anywhere their prey will lead them. They are about 10 to 15 inches tall and 15 to 18 pounds.

5. Miniature schnauzers, of German descent, are said to be a cross of the poodle and standard schnauzers bred as a Jack-of-all-trades-type farm dog, helping with herding as well as vermin. The miniature schnauzers are intelligent versatile dogs with the terrier attitude. They typically range from 10 to 15 inches tall and 10-18 pounds.

6. Rat terriers are an American breed bred as farm and hunting companions. Traditionally excel at squirrel and rabbit hunting due to their speed. They were common during the 1920s and 30s on many small farms. They can be 10 to 18 inches and 10 to 25 pounds.

7. West highland white terriers – Westies, as they are commonly called, originated in Scotland in the mid-1500s. They are a cousin to the cairn terriers and used mainly as ratters. Westies have a wiry outer coat and soft dense undercoat to keep them warm and dry. They range from 9 to 11 inches tall and 15 to 20 pounds.

While many people today have farm cats for rodent control, cats are not as reliable as dogs because they hunt only when the mood strikes, whereas most dogs find great joy in the adventure.

The terrier group as a whole is independent, smart and rugged. Their personalities reflect their hunting heritage; many people would call them stubborn.

To enjoy a terrier, you need to provide them with plenty work and socialize them with small pets and children. They can be great dogs, alerting you to anything out of the ordinary. Needless to say, they enjoy digging and exploring, even it is in your garden of prized vegetables or flowers. If you are considering a farm companion that barks at anything amiss and can dispatch ground animals in the blink of an eye, then try terriers.

[Mortblanc]

You guys really take all the fun out of it!

poison? dogs?

Nothing beats a little one on one rat shooting action!

Plus now they have a good wood pidgin, rabbit and squirrel collector that does not have to be housed, fed and groomed.

[MaryN]

Well, I'm not going down the terrier route. I like dogs, but yappy little terriers get on my nerves. Besides, we already have enough mouths to feed. I intend to make sure that any intruders are dealt with quickly by OH. I'm hopeful I may even get a pigeon or two out of his new-found air rifle friend. I may even try to persuade him to teach me how to shoot.

[Stewart]

Old chainsaw with blade removed and rubber pipe on exhaust. Mix oil and petrol thickly.smoke the buggerls out and let dogs catch them.prefer .25 calibre air rifle for short range ratting.fenn traps work well but get the British made ones.bury them for a couple of months and wear gloves when you handle them to keep your scent off them.buy your poison in bulk now as law changes this year on amounts you can buy if not trained to use it

[harrypalmer]

Mary, you won't get rid of the infestation by pinging a few rats, be realistic and set traps and poison, if you don't have the shooting skills now and won't trap and bait then you will have furry friends for years to come.

[Stewart]

With a good team of dogs and lads we have had 300 + a session.poison is the way to go.get proper bait box's and keep poison down all the time.don't think when poison has gone the rats are dead that's how rats build up immunity to it if they only eat small amounts

[MaryN]

Guys, I understand the lure for some of poison and traps, but we tried those with absolutely no result at all. In fact, I think the rats were enjoying our efforts. We don't have a massive problem (we have cats that keep most of the vermin down to a manageable level - hell, our biggest moggy is partial to bunnies), but the lure of the chicken coop draws the little buggers in. If OH can keep rat city down by pinging one or two now and then when they venture into the run, I shall be happy.

[CharlesHarris]

Stewart's plan to smoke them out works to shoot them as well as to let the dogs loose. A combination of both, perhaps.

Train the terriers to chase and bring to ground any escaped cripples, and to bring dead ones to the pile for a tasty treat!

[CharlesHarris]

Finely honed skill in rat catching might be useful in severely hard times. Freddy Spencer Chapman of the British Special Operations Executive, evaded behind Japanese lines in Malaya for 1226 days, cut off from contact or resupply from British forces, being hunted by the Japanese, being afflicted by malaria, scabies, typhus, pneumonia, dengue fever and ulcers before being evacuated to Ceylon by submarine in May, 1945. Rats were among his more conventional sources of protein. The Jungle is Neutral, is a good read for WW2 history buffs.

And for something more scholarly: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewco...text=vpc14

RODENTS AS A FOOD SOURCE
LYNWOOD A, FIEDLER, USDA/APHIS/S&T,
Denver Wildlife Research Center, P.O. Box 25266, Denver, Colorado 80225-0266.
ABSTRACT: Rodents, one of several kinds of vertebrates included in the human diet, are very suitable as human food. More than 71 genera and 89 species of rodents, mostly hystricomorphs, have been consumed by man. Some have even been domesticated for private or commercial production of food for human consumption. Rodents in the temperate world serve only as a supplement to the regular diet of humans; but in the tropical world, they are widely accepted and a popular source of protein. Although harvesting field rats for human food is beneficial, it is not an effective pest control strategy. Consuming rodents in pesticide-treated areas and handling rodents with potential zoonoses are two possible risks.
Proc. 14th Vertebr. Pest Conf. (L.R. Davis and R.E. Marsh, Eds.)
Published at Univ. of Calif., Davis. 1990.

Some interesting extracts from the article:

At the University of Arizona, pack rats (Neotoma sp.) are consumed by a social club (Secret Order of the Neotoma Eater) that insists these rodents are a delicacy (Anon. 1987).

History of Rodent Eating

Peruvians have been consuming guinea pigs for centuries. The guinea pig, domesticated since at least 2500 B.C. (Lanning 1967), was the first rodent raised for food. By the 15th century A.D. (during the Incaic Empire), it was the principal meat consumed. Capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris)may have been domesticated in Brazil as early as A.D. 1565 (Gonzalez-Jimenez 1984).

Early Chinese ate “household deer” [common rat (probably Rattus norvegicus or R. flavipectus) and bamboo rat (Rhizomys spp.)] and during the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907) ate newborn rats stuffed with honey, conveniently snatching them with chopsticks (Hendrickson 1983).

Romans popularized the edible dormouse [Myoxus (=Glis) glis] by the 2nd century. It was caught from the wild in autumn when it was fattest and either roasted and dipped into honey or baked while stuffed with a mixture of pork, pine nuts, and other flavorings. Romans also raised dormice in special pots called “gliraria” and in large outdoor enclosures where they were fed walnuts, chestnuts, and acorns for fattening (Brothwell and Brothwell 1969). Southeastern Europeans still enjoy dormice.

The Maoris of New Zealand used snares and pit traps in family hunting territories to trap the kiore or Polynesian rat 149(R. exulans, Best 1942). In the 16th century, they introduced this rat to Polynesia as a food item by carrying it in their ships.
Elsewhere the Irula, a tribal group in India, has traditionally included rats in its diet and today is hired by Indian farmers to capture rodent pests.

More recently, a United States Army Quartermaster Corps survey identified 42 different societies in which people eat rats (Harris 1985). Traditionally we think of “rat eaters” (rodentiophagists?) as belonging to primitive societies–small groups living in remote areas with large, undisturbed land areas available for hunting and trapping small mammals. However, squirrel hunters in America today could be considered just as traditional. The gray squirrel is a rodent in the Sciuromorpha suborder, one of the most important game animals in the United States. About 40 million gray squirrels, popularly referred to as “tree rats” in the US southern states, (Sciurus carolinensis) and a lesser number of fox squirrels (S. niger) are harvested annually (Flyger and Gates 1982).

[MaryN]

OMG, Charles, smoked rats?? What, like rat deli? I'm going to have to be pretty desperate to try that.