Trap safety around chickens
It’s natural to be concerned about the safety of your chickens with a Goodnature trap, but there are a few simple actions you can take to ensure your birds remain safe, and you still remove the rats.
The chocolate paste used in our traps isn't an attractant to domestic animals or birds so they generally aren’t interested in it as a food source. Chickens will be more interested in the dead pests that drop out of your trap, rather than the paste inside!
If you wanted to ensure there was no chance the chickens could investigate the trap, you could:
- Set the trap higher. We suggest installing traps at one-meter height in areas with larger, inquisitive birds to prevent them from investigating the traps.
- If you’re not able to raise the trap, you can also set the trap lower. The Goodnature Traps are usually set at a height of 12cm from ground level which is awkward for animals to get underneath as it is quite low to the ground. You could even set this slightly lower at about 10cm, just make sure there is room for the rats to drop clear of the trap opening.
- Install the traps in a location the chickens can not access. You could try placing it just outside the coop and intercept the rats on their way to the coop. This could be more effective than putting it in the coop as once they are in there they are likely to just continue eating the food source they are used to.
- Test whether your chickens have any interest in the trap by setting the trap up with the paste installed, but don't put the gas canister in it yet. Then you can monitor whether they have much interest in it before installing the gas and making the trap live.
- Do not use a trap stand around chickens. If you are considering having the trap within your chicken coop, make sure to adjust the height of the trap rather than use a trap stand. This makes it more difficult for a chicken to interfere with your trap.