Out at our chicken coops tonight, fortunately the rain held off longer than expected so our 'quick hour' turned into an all nighter and we have been on a roll!
This coop has always been some of the most difficult shooting we have done as the rats tend to be under the coops or in between wood slats. Pinpoint accuracy is needed to get those head shots and it's not always possible to retrieve the dead ones as they fall underneath.
Tonight we switched from our usual Predator Polymag pellets to JSB Stratons and Diablos. Both of our guns seem to be more consistent with these and our shots were certainly spot on tonight.
Recently we chronographed our air rifles and they are running at between 10.5ftlbs and 11.2ftlbs (mine is set slightly to the lower power). The legal uk limit is 12ftlbs before you need a full firearms licence. We are happy to give you a report on your air rifle in the shop if you think it may be low (or indeed too high) power.
A selection of the ones taken out tonight. I don't usually post kills on here but not particularly graphic and I wanted to show that there are a variety of sizes out at the moment. The big one is the size of my size 10 boot, not including tail! Breeding season is in full swing with the warm weather and plentiful food sources around.
We are finding with the population increase, the rats are being more vocal with their high pitched 'chirping', fairly sure they are just 'getting it on' in the bushes next to our shooting spot!
Using the nitesites to spot we are finding it much easier to get good hits. We both hit the same rat at the same time! This knocked it straight down.
So should we be controlling the rats in this way?
"The brown rat is a common species and does not currently face any major threats This rodent is considered to be one of the world’s most serious pest species, consuming or fouling vast quantities of human food, damaging property, and causing electrical hazards by chewing through cables. It is also a carrier of disease, and has caused or contributed to declines in many native plants and animals through predation or competition"
Clearly they do need to be kept in check, we have already list several of our birds this year to being killed by the rats, so we are simply protecting livestock.
Poison is one method that we could also use, however, personally I don't like it as it is a slow death for the animal (most rat poison causes internal bleeding) so it's not what I would call humane. Many of the rat populations we are currently dealing with have also built up an immunity and it has no effect-super rats!
Live trapping can be done, after which they must still be killed by use of an air weapon.(not by drowning please!) I don't like this as being captive will stress the animal, however sometimes it is the only way, especially if they have 'gone to ground' and direct shooting is not an option. If you do live trap, releasing in another area will simply spread diseases and cause even more issues.)
We may well have some training sessions in pest control and hunting coming soon to our shooting range, including some outdoor experience for those who have done it before. Keep an eye on our website at www.diffcal.co.uk for when this becomes available.
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