Rat Control: Review.

   Something I neglected to say in my Prelude to Rats; I will never sell you the things I'm reviewing; or use the blog as a way to make commissions on sales.

   Because?  Inevitably, such reviews will become warped in the direction of sales.  No matter how pure the original intent.  So; I won't go there.  I will give you a link to the manufacturer, who may very well have an internet sales operation; but you should always be aware that the same item is often available at a discount elsewhere.  Up to you.  I will not be getting anything out of it from makers or sellers.

   Not to make you dangle any longer, this Review is mostly of an "electronic" rodent trap; the Rat Zapper; with a fair amount of extra rat biology and rat trapping information.

   Link in a minute.  Pay attention first.

  An "electronic" rodent trap??  Isn't an electric rat trap like snake oil; a silly con?  (Like those "ultrasonic rodent repellers" - which are a con.)  And what the heck for; what's wrong with the classic cheap rat traps that have worked for centuries?  (Search "rat trap", click "images" if you want an education on varieties.)

   They weren't working.  I investigated the electronic frontiers out of desperation.  I read 30 reviews of the Rat Zapper, on 5 sites; finally finding a couple which indicated genuine knowledge- of rats.  They said it worked; so- in hopelessness, despair, distress; anguish, agony, torment, misery, wretchedness; discouragement, disheartenment (the entire thesaurus entry for desperation); I tried it.

   It works.  Day 1; 3 dead rats.  Day 2; 2 dead rats.  Etc.  With every other trap system I had tried (many, including crazy ones) my best success rates were 1 rat per 4 days, for 3 rats total, perhaps, then tapering to 0.  The rats learned; new trap system needed; repeat.  The Rat Zapper seems to prevent rats from learning- a genuinely spectacular achievement.

   Ok; here's the link; and this is the right time to point out - companies/markets/technologies change -always.  This one has changed its name, in the 10 months since I bought one, and has shifted its business practices considerably; they're now "Raticator".  I still tend to call it the Zapper.  I have hopes their quality has not gone downhill.  At the time I first searched for this kind of trap, the Rat Zapper was my top search result.  There are multiple competitors in the electronic rodent trap business; I have not tried any of the others.  Primarily because this one has been working. 

   Oh, and, Sharon, I'm terrifically sorry I suggested you had rats.  It wasn't you.  It's The Crunchy Chicken; of course!  Mea culpa, mea culpa.  Crunchy - let me know if this helps!

   My expertise: I can claim to be an unusually expert mammal trapper.  I've trapped literally dozens of species, for science, both live and kill traps.  Much of my science trapping was tightly targeted; I knew what I was trying to trap, and eventually caught little else.  I'm good at it.  I also, in the early days here on the farm, trapped for fur, meat, and money.  I successfully trapped raccoons (not too hard), grey fox (harder) and red fox (extremely demanding).  We ate a lot of raccoon back then.  Tastes like lamb, done right; I recommend it.

  I know both traps and mammals; there are still people at the U who think I was/am a Mammalogist.  I wasn't- I worked with mammals as tools to study evolution.  I did research on birds, too.

My Rating :

   Ok, I can probably use your suggestions on the rating system.  I went with the 4 out of 5 stars on the theory that this is pretty common, and easily understood.  Yes; I recommend the thing I'm reviewing.  But there are some details you need to know; it's not perfect.  The stars work ok?  And yes; I'm fussy- you won't see 5 stars from me very often; so 4 is really pretty darn good.

   Basics:  I use the larger trap model; which is powered by 4 alkaline D cells.  It does get mice as effectively as it gets rats.  I currently have no rats; but mice keep breeding, and reappear often.  I currently think I have no mice in the house- for the first time in decades.  Heard one last week; got it. The rats can/will reinvade someday, too.  The batteries are good for a very long time; and there is an LED indicator if they're low.  

   It kills by electric shock.  Ergo- it's dangerous to small children, and kittens.  But- it kills so quickly, that (I think!) the rodent has no time to emit alarm pheromones; so the next rodent to approach the trap is not afraid of it.  (Blood, per se, scares very few mammals- it's the alarm chemicals that do it.)  That is a factor particularly with rats- rats are smart; and co-evolved with humans.  Even a powerful snap trap frequently does not kill instantly- then not only the trap, but the immediate area around the trap may warn the next rodent.  With the Rat Zapper (ok, Raticator), a killed rat shuts the trap off (so it doesn't just waste batteries on a zapping a corpse.)  The other rats will just walk over the killed one, to steal the bait.  Dead rat, bait gone = you still have rats.  Useful.

   My Story: I started keeping poultry here on this farm only in 2008.  A 4 year track record with the birds is not that long.  But- we've been growing various tree crops, including a bunch of nuts, for over 2 decades.  Harvesting, storing.  The nuts mean rodents; and that means I've been tracking rodents very carefully for a long time.  

   Our first line of defense against rodents is cats.  We now have 3 separate populations of cats on the farm; widely separated.  They do a pretty good job, and police around the buildings where we provide some food, and water.  But- cats inside the poultry house- not going to work, and that's where the rats were hiding from them.

  In spite of the availability of spilled crops for 20 years, and cats catching what was available, I never saw a single rat on the farm- until we built a poultry house to over-winter the guineas and chickens.  And yes, I had traps out that would have caught one or two if we had; not just mouse traps that they would walk away from.  In some years, we've had 13-lined ground squirrels become problems, and sometimes chipmunks.  Trap setting was done only in response to damage/losses; never a rat appeared; more than 20 years.  I did know my neighbors (nearest 1/2 mile) have always had rats.  They're corn/bean/cow farmers.  Spilled grain.  Farmers around the world have had rats living with them for at  least 10,000 years; always.

    For the first 2 years we had poultry, they were housed outside in chicken tractor type situations; yes, even in the Minnesota winter.  This wasn't by intention.  We started building a sod poultry house... not really knowing what we were doing, but trying to save money...  With the walls about 3 feet high on the highest side, the guineas and chickens started walking on the walls; foraging among the lamb's quarters growing around the disturbed site- and digging.  It became clear - if closed in for the winter, the chickens, in particular, would peck the walls to dust; unless we prevented them with some kind of hard surface.  Not economic.  Back to drawing board, except it was really too late for construction that year.  So; we tried to keep the birds warm all winter with blankets.  Froze the combs off a couple roosters, I'm afraid.

  When we got a real building up; I noticed rodents starting to dig a bit- inside it, coming up through the dirt floor, I thought - within 5 months.  I thought they were pocket gophers; which I'm very familiar with, since we have to control them in the trees, and I could see them working right outside the building.  (Note: if you're building a poultry house; give it a rat-proof floor; somehow.)

  So I set a trap in the tunnels- inside the building- for a pocket gopher.  This required a fair amount of care, because if a chicken stuck a foot in, and tripped it; it would break the leg, or worse.

   I caught a rat.  A big, mature, male rat.  I was astounded, and had my eyes opened.  And I immediately re-set the gopher trap in the same tunnel - which works great for gophers.  Two days later; I caught a wad of rat hair.  Never another rat with that kind of trap or set.  Educated the rats; a bad idea.  Never, never, educate your rats; you will pay for it.

  I'm not sure which rat I have here; likely the brown rat; but be aware there are multiple species, and it may help to know which one you have.  I've seen rats in Hawaii, running along the telephone lines between houses, that would be too big to fit in a Raticator... even though the Raticator can kill a rat only halfway inside quite effectively.   

   How did the rats find the poultry house, which is a 1/2 mile from the nearest farm population?  I think the answer is "all the ways there are".  Remember they're co-evolved with us; and humans have kept chickens literally for thousands of years.  And wherever there are chickens- there's rat food.  I'm pretty sure rats have evolved to be sensitive to sounds (rooster crowing?) and smells (chicken manure is stinky) - and they learn to explore in any direction where chickens might be.  Getting back-yard chickens?  You WILL have rats, someday.  100% guaranteed.  It's been known even to scientists since 2006 that rats "smell in stereo"; and it only takes them 50 milliseconds to know which direction to move in.  

  I set up heavy boxes inside the building, about 18 inches by 2 feet, with a concrete block on top to keep the birds from knocking it over, and either getting hurt or just messing up the rat trap inside.   Regular big mean snap trap.  Caught 3 rats, juveniles, over 3 weeks.  Changed the type of trap; caught 2 more, over 2 weeks.  Not catching any big adults; and obviously there were adults breeding here.

  At this point someone is saying "Why not rat poison?"  The answer is "poultry", and "dogs" and "cats."  All of them can wind up dead if they eat rat poison- and if a poisoned rat dies on the surface, where cats and dogs can get at it- they can die from secondary poisoning.  It's not terribly likely.  But- do you realize how much money is invested in 2 years of feed, vets, and training for a good farm dog?  Thousands, easily.  Not a risk you want to take if you can avoid it.  But- stay tuned on the poison topic.

   Using poison inside a poultry house; where I hoped we'd eventually be rearing chicks; would be a high risk procedure.  One spill of pellets; one dead juvenile rat in a corner, escaping notice until the birds peck and get access to stomach contents; etc; and you wind up losing the thing you're trying to protect.

  In fact I had not exhausted the basic trap repertoire.  I changed baits; from basic peanut butter to bacon; to bacon/peanut butter mixed; to more exotic nuts and nut mixtures; anise.  I shifted from basic mouse/gopher practice where human scent is of no concern whatever, to fancier fox-trapping practices; using de-scented gloves to handle traps.  That's really time consuming.  I tried several of the "modern" rat traps, which I already owned for attempts at red squirrels in nut crops.  I'm not going to present them all here; there are many, and they increase daily.  The type pictured is  

more effective than most, and has some advantages over the age-old snap trap (its action is very fast, for one thing).  But; after catching 3 more juveniles, it too stopped working.

   

   Though they are terribly inhumane, I tried a "glue trap".  (The animals struggle horribly, but usually do not die- you have to kill them.  Desperate measures, and yes, this is literally war.)  I'd had reservations about it working in the first place, and they were quickly proved correct; the glue is rapidly inactivated by dirt and dust in the poultry house environment.  It's also very easy for a rat to put one foot on a glue trap; then escape, becoming educated.  

  This was the point where I started looking for an electronic trap; a good 3 months into the rat war.  The rats were costing me a huge amount of time and money- food consumed, newly hatched chicks murdered, eggs eaten, setting hens rousted.  At least, the rats didn't touch the guinea eggs; apparently they're too hard for them to crack.  But something had to give.

  I was actually considering my trick of last-resort for pocket gophers; a 20 gauge shotgun.  Sounds crazy; trying to shoot a burrowing rodent, right?  But for the occasional un-trappable gopher; it's faster than anything else; likely only takes 30-40 minutes.  You find the active burrow; open it; set up a chair down-wind and out of the sun at least 15 feet away, aim the gun- and wait.  Without moving; at all.  Keep the gun on the hole, safety off, finger on trigger.  When you see the head; pull the trigger.  Not that easy, in fact; but far faster than 3 weeks of tending traps which never catch anything, while the gopher kills another tree every 3 days.

  Using a shotgun inside a poultry house however- was not an attractive idea to me; for so many reasons.

   Specifics: The "Raticator" is not cheap.  First, it cost me 2 hours of online research, looking at models, reading all the reviews, filtering, then looking for somewhere to buy it I could be reasonably sure would actually send me one in a sane amount of time.  Then it cost ~ $50.00, including shipping.  Did I mention how expensive the rats are?

   The maker's and sellers' "product descriptions" are all the same- designed to sell, and to me, uniformly uncommunicative.  I learned a lot of things about the trap - only after I had used it.  Call me silly; but I would love to know what I'm really getting into ahead of time.  Yes, I could re-write their product descriptions so they would do much better at preparing the users, not harm sales, and improve user success and satisfaction.

   Missing Info #1: this thing is not waterproof.  If you're going to use it "outside"; it needs to be in a strict protection device of some kind; getting it wet will destroy the electronic sensors/controls.  Guess what?  Inside a poultry house is pretty much an "outside" kind of world.  The birds will sit on top of anything you put in the house; and poop on it.  They'll knock it over, peck at it, and try to eat it.  I had that figured out; but in trying to use the same protective boxes I'd been using for the other traps, it quickly turned out they were inadequate; the rats would burrow under it; throw dirt in it- tip it over; and getting it placed was too difficult.

  Fact: a major portion of the design criteria for any animal trap consists of getting/allowing/enticing the animal to position itself so the trap will trap it.  Out of the box, the Raticator would work very well for mice (too big for them to knock it over); or for rats in a clean house or warehouse environment.  In the dirty poultry house; no way.  (I don't care how clean your poultry house is; it's too dirty.)

   Yes, I'd seen this when ordering my trap in the first place; hadn't quite comprehended, now I had to go back and buy one; the "Rat's Nest" (now re-named "Gimme Shelter", and I don't want to know why).  It's a plastic box specifically designed to provide water (and dirt) protection.

  Missing Part #1 - that cost an additional $15 (just a tad exorbitant) plus another 4 day wait.  After receiving my $15 + 4 days plastic box, I realized I could have made my own- just as effective, just as waterproof, with a $2 plastic shoe/bread box, and a sharp knife.  The one provided is not very strong; in fact mine is already cracked on the top-bottom junction.  

  It does, however, work.  Inside the box, the trap is safe from most wetness, and the size is such that it can be pretty easily positioned for the convenience of the rodents.

   Missing Info #2 - it doesn't weigh enough to stay put, though, in any environment containing chickens, dogs, cats, or strong winds.  In order to make it function; I had to put a substantial chunk of firewood on top of it, stabilized by blocking it against the building wall, so birds could hop on, off, and investigate, without displacing it.  Without that- they'd have tossed it all across the room in minutes.

   Operating- I believe in at least following the maker's instructions, to start with.  They recommend baiting it with 3 pieces of dry dog food (no more); and leaving it in place, not turned on, for 3 days, before setting it to kill.  Basically; you're establishing a new rat-feeding station, and the rats learn- free dog food.  Check it daily; replace the dog food when they take it.  The rats are used to your scent being connected with free chicken food already; that shouldn't be a factor- yet.  I followed their instructions.

   Missing Info #3 - the gizmo comes with two LED indicators on top.  A green one, which tells you "it's working, batteries ok"; and a red one, which if it's flashing tells you "dead rodent inside."

   The first time I turned it on, I was waiting/looking for that green LED to turn on.  I had my eye right above it- looking - and that turned out to be a mistake.  There's a pause while electronics boot and circuits charge before the light turns on, then - ow.  It's overpowered; and I had a hard green dot burned into my retina for about 20 minutes.  Now I kind of hold it at arm's length, and observe from a distance. The green LED turns itself off after about 10 seconds; why waste the energy?

   I like the LEDs; apart from that.  There's a flashing mode that indicates weak batteries, or some other fault; and in all the 40 some dead rodents so far, the flashing red has only been mistaken twice; in both cases not for a rat, but a deer mouse which somehow tripped it without getting electrocuted.  For the rats; 100%; flashing red LED= dead rat; regardless of size.  The red light is bright enough it's easily visible through the plastic box.

  On Day 1 of operation; having invested so much time and money, I was of course eager to see if/how/when it worked.  I turned it on during my morning feed/water visit, added 3 bits of dog food since they were gone, and checked it on my way in for lunch at noon- dead rat; 1/2 grown juvenile male.  Re-set; checked mid afternoon- dead rat; nestling female.  Re-set; checked at sundown closing up- dead rat; fully mature male.  Big.

  Folks- that's just impressive as all-get-out.  

   Re-set; next morning; dead rat, juvenile female - and the 3 pieces of dog food were gone; meaning her siblings had climbed over, not indulged in any cannibalism this time, and taken the food.  The trap is not capable of multiple catches; you have to reset it.

   In the next week; averaged 1 rat/day.  2nd week; 1 rat/ two days.  3rd week; 1 rat / 3 days.  The rat population was dropping fast, therefore the longer times between kills.

  Though I'm not a rodent rookie, that was roughly 4 times as many rats as I ever imagined I had- all living under and among my poultry, and consuming my poultry feed constantly.  The feed losses had accelerated so slowly I hadn't quite noticed; but now, suddenly - I was needing less than half the feed.  Saving lots of money.  (The feed bags, of course; had always always been stored inside a metal trash can; mouse tight.  Obviously.)

   Missing Info #4: the trap gets dirty after a while.  Ok; that was actually in some of the reviews, and if you look very carefully in the manufacturer's information, you can find this out- but - you really do need to know this, particularly because the need can be unpredictable.

   The thing works by providing a shock, via metal plates on the floor of the trap.  Frequently, during any kind of death, mammals strongly tend to empty their bladder.  If you're unlucky; and hit a big rat with a full bladder; this can mean a lot of urine on your trap plates, which can dry to provide a hard to see film- which is an electrical conductor.  If the plates are shorting - it can't work.  If it's been a while since you cleaned it (process below) and you get a "false positive" indicator; flashing red, no dead rodent; chances are high you need to clean it.

   Remember that it's not water proof?  Oh, and, sticking your hand in it while there are batteries installed - is a big no-no.  This is a tool for adults.  It's not that hard to clean; but you have to pay real attention to the instructions; and it takes about 12 hours before you have a functioning trap again.  Prepare a bath for water not more than 1 inch deep; use luke warm water with a very slight amount of dish soap- and a bit of vinegar.  Soak for an hour, at least; swish a little, then- rinse - not more than 1" deep remember; get the top wet and you'll likely kill it; then carefully air dry overnight.  The construction of the thing is hard plastic; you can't use heat to dry it.  I've done this twice; it works.

  Yes, it's a bit of a pain in the neck; but compared to all other methods of getting rats; it's still the best.

   Disposal - is easy, just dump the dead rat out; make sure there's bait replaced, re-set.  Since there's no poison involved- we fed the dead rodents to the cats.  And quickly discovered who our best rodent-killer mama cats were; one in particular leaped on any newly available rat carcass, and hurried it off into a corner where her kittens attacked it instantly.  The cats who were casual about it- got little; and guess which kittens get a bit of extra care now and then.

  Missing Info #5 - The zapper did not get the last rats in the colony.

   Rats are not only smart; they are authentically co-evolved with Homo sapiens; which means if we could just outsmart them using our big brains, they'd all be dead long ago.  They've evolved ways around our brain; one of them being - extreme suspicion.

  The zapper quickly caught and killed nearly 30 rats.  Being a trained mammalogist, of course I was recording the age, gender, size of all the dead rats; and what was consistently missing was - Big Mamma.  I never captured a big mature female; and there had to be at least 1, because I sure caught a ton of little ones.  I have a strong suspicion that bit of fur I captured in the gopher trap- may have been off Big Mamma's backside- and the experience triggered "maximum suspicion" in her.  For everything in her world.  I hope it gave her nightmares; but it also made her extremely difficult to catch.

  When the trap stopped catching rats, and no big female was on the dead lists, I started paying strict attention again to the signs of activity in the poultry house; yes indeed, the rat burrows were active; dirt moved, new tunnels being dug.  So; I tried all the tricks; moved the zapper to new locations - changed baits - was careful about human scent - and the rats started burying the trap in chicken litter, expressing their contempt.

  So.  Yes; in the end; I used poison.  Very, very, very, very, carefully; and in full accordance with the law, which is a good idea from many perspectives.

   By law, rodent poison used around livestock and children has to be enclosed in a "tamper resistant" "station".  What my farm supply store stocks is the Tom Cat brand; manufacturer here, with many suppliers.  I already had a couple on hand, used in the crop processing area.  Carefully; moved one into the poultry house, and weighted it down so the chickens would not/could not move it.  An advantage here is that you don't have to touch it again for a week- allowing suspicions to go down - particularly if foolish young rats go freely in, and out (and die somewhere else).  

  Results; I did have 2 rats die on the surface; where chickens might eventually have pecked them.  I was watching closely, and removed them before that could happen.  One big rat died with just its head out of the burrow - another male.  Then a week later - the rat holes I closed and burrows I collapsed - remained closed and collapsed.  And the bait in the poison station was no longer disappearing.  (The poisoned rats are disposed of quadruple wrapped in plastic and buried by bulldozer in the public landfill.  Burying them on the farm is not reasonable; the farm dogs dig.)

  Since I had to resort to poison eventually anyway - why bother with the electronic trap?  Because it's still safer, and any way to avoid poison is good.  If I'd had to kill those nearly 30 rats with poison; the probability that a few of them would have wandered outside the poultry house; and wound up poisoning a dog or cat - gets to be seriously high.  Bad risk; to be avoided if at all possible.  I think it's possible the zapper might have gotten all the rats; if I hadn't already educated some of them to be in "exceptionally suspicious" mode.  And- next time I'm in this situation; I think after 5 rat kills; I'll turn the trap off, and make it a rat feeder again, for 4 days.  Then turn it back on.  Several days of free food should alleviate some suspicion.

  Options not resorted to: gas, and "water traps" that drown the catch.  Sulfur dioxide bombs are available for use on pocket gophers - but in fact they don't work very well, and I would have had to evacuate the poultry for a week; an extreme option.  Drowning traps for rats are large- require a lot of maintenance really, are disgusting to empty, and also give no guarantee of getting the suspicious ones.

  Business opportunities/improvements - Getting into the rat trap business is not recommended; the competition is fierce, and driven more by "cheap" than by "value".  The improvements/options I would love to see, and would pay for, in an electronic mouse trap are primarily water related.  It would help enormously if the electronics could be waterproof.  Encased in epoxy, maybe?  And; if the bottom, which will always need to be cleaned - could just come off for cleaning.  I know; electrical connections need to be maintained.  Still; not impossible.  And third; if a serious weight could be added to the bottom, to make the whole thing a bit less movable.  Those could be options; the trap as it exists is extremely well suited for use indoors, in attics and warehouses; where rain is not a concern, nor puppies etc.

  One last reminder- not at all compatible with small children.  The shock kills big rats; instantly; what it would do to a curious toddler we do not want to find out.  Likewise, any small curious kitten (or kitten-sized pet) is at risk.

  So - there ya go.  Review #1.  What did I forget?  I know you'll tell me.  : -)

  And; policy - I'll insert your fixes into this review, rather than post updates.  Better if we keep all the rats in one trap, I think.  Like the refrigerator posts - there are about 8 so far.  Messy!

  Ok, next post, likely to be a good short rant, on something not reviewable.  This is hard work- but - I hope - worth your time.

-------------------------------------------

Addendum: 6/23/13.  Our poultry house is still rat-free.  For now.  But the rats remain my mind, and likely yours, if you've had the problem ever.  Today's Washington Post has an article about the rat problems in Baltimore.  I have to admit- it ends primarily noting the broad adaptability of - humans.  We may be more adaptable than the rats.

Mourning.

It's not like I have nothing else to think about; and I really prefer to not pass on depressing news these days. We all have enough of that.

But there was an event announced today which has been preying on my mind since I saw it; and which truly should not go unnoticed, unmarked.

We've lost another big animal. The "Javan" rhinoceros- which actually used to range from India and Burma throughout SE Asia- is now known to be extinct on the mainland, entirely. The last remaining Vietnamese rhino was poached.

For a long full story; a video from Vietnam is here. It works well at full screen. If you have children who can understand it, tolerate it, it would be great to share with them.

This is a bigger loss than the international press is recognizing, I'm pretty sure. The only remaining members of the species are the 50 or so in an isolated national park in Java. The island populations have been separated from the mainland animals for a very long time; while they were called just subspecies- I can guarantee they were genetically quite distinct.

The world is changing. Much of what we are losing is completely irreplaceable. The extinction of such a creature- so ancient- a species that has survived so many challenges over its existence- is sad beyond any words I can find.

I won't forget this day. But the truth is- the world has barely noticed; and this loss will change nothing about the way we do business. Maybe- time to boycott cashews. That seems to be the major factor in the loss of the rhinos' last Vietnamese forest. And- who knew? And what other species are vanishing, for a few luxury nuts, and a little money?

These are in Java, captured by camera trap. Palm oil may be the biggest real threat there. It's in everything processed in the US, these days.

Albatross.

If you're like me, it seems that people are just shoveling shit into fans all over the world, these days. And avidly looking for more fans to shovel into, and bigger shovels. Faster and faster.

I find the ongoing disaster in Japan mesmerizing; a horror it is hard to look away from.

Paralyzing.

So; I'm going to share something with you; which illustrates- well, something.

Life goes on, maybe. Life can be good, maybe. Something, in any case, to hang on to, in the radioactive winds of climate change.

Here's the albatross:

Photo: Pete Leary; US Fish & Wildlife Service.

And here's the story. You're looking, there, at the oldest documented wild bird in the world. She is "Wisdom", a Laysan albatross; and she is known to be at least 60 years old - biologists have been watching her that long.

That's her chick. At 60. That was sufficiently astonishing news for the world to get her into the New York Times. It's certainly exceptional for any wild bird to live so very long; but it was really unknown that birds of that age were still capable of laying eggs- and raising chicks.

But they are. Pretty doggone cool.

Wisdom, and her chick, live on Midway Atoll; a very remote islet in the Pacific. Millions of seabirds nest there; it's a wildlife refuge now, littered of course with the reminders of World War II. The average elevation of the atoll is - 4 feet above sea level. Four.

The tsunami following the quake in Japan swept over Midway, very thoroughly. It was a catastrophe; enormous. The estimates are over 100,000 albatross chicks were killed; and 2,000 adults.

Devastating.

But that photo? Is from AFTER the tsunami. That's Wisdom. And that's her chick.

You know; I think I can live a long time on that.

Thanks. To Wisdom; and to the Fish & Wildlife folks. It's a big deal.

More Wisdom pics, if you need them.

No, it's Summer.

  75°F yesterday, today, and warmer tomorrow.  Last night, for the first time since late October, I let the fire in the woodstove go out.  We'll need it again, I know- but not for a week or so.  I'm glad we're not making maple syrup this year, and very sorry for friends who were counting on it for income; I think there have been around 3 days with the necessary temperature arrangements for full flow (25° at night, 45° day.)

  Just like that, poof.  Not terribly unusual here, actually, but a shock to the system  A week ago I was walking with the YakTrax, on 1" of mud over ice; now I have to remember to widen my stride- no ice anywhere.

  And- we've had no rain in March; so it's unusually dry; farmers getting worried; and there's a desperate shortage of rainy days, in which to do rainy day chores.  Like blogging, of course.

  One of the incessant chores- training the two puppies.  Which I promised pics of long ago- here are a couple:

  This is Schatze (click for bigger).  Back in the first post on these puppies, Belinda referred to the German Shepherd part of these pups as "German Shedder" - and I freudianly misread that as "German Shredder".

  I think I was accidentally correct.  And Belinda was  too, of course.  Here's the other of these sisters:

This is Daisy.  Daisy looks exactly like one would expect a Collie x GS to look.  They're from the same litter, but Schatze is different- she looks more like her dad was a Doberman.  We keep intending to ask the shelter lady if there was a Doberman hanging around at the right time.  It's possible for pups in one litter to have different dads, yes?  You can't see it in the pic, but Schatze has a tail that curls tighter than a husky's; cute, but I'm constantly wondering where it came from.

  They're both very promising; very affectionate and wanting to please, and as obedient as they know how to be.  They're still on chains when the birds are loose; not quite willing yet to trust them entirely when they have the chance to romp and chase and "play" with the birds.  Daisy has needed very little correction around the birds; seemingly willing to just look on, once it was explained she was not to chase.  Schatze needs a little more, but not all that much.

   The training is something you can't shirk, of course; has to be done, now, if they are ever to fit in and do what we hired them for.  And the sooner they're off the chains, the better all around.  They tolerate it fine; usually just lie down in the sun and sleep- but- they are shredding everything they can reach.

  off to work.

It's Just Spring-

  Not dead here, just slowly subsiding into the great mud sea.

  It's been a strange 5 months in Lake Wobegon...  so to speak.  :-)

  For the first time in many years, it froze up in late November, and really didn't thaw, at all until about a week ago.  And since it started to thaw, it hasn't stopped.  45° days, 36° nights, one after another, with a few variations, on the up side.

  So, an insane work load right now.  Not going to get better anytime soon, but I should be able to get here more often now.

  Oh, and, incidentally.

  Stepping in thawed dog poo with your YakTrax on is not recommended.

Hy Ate Us.

So to speak. Readers will have noticed a falling off in posts here- the reality is that we're entering a time of the year which gets busier, and busier, and busier. And with all those long daylight hours- it's just too easy to work long hours.

Plus; Spice stepped in a pothole at the US Post Office a day ago- so her foot is in a soft cast for 3 weeks...

Plus; we have 20 chicks and 35 keets almost ready to get out into the world, and inadequate housing for them again...

Plus; Beelar (oldest son) is moving back in. Not in the usual sense- he's bringing his nice shiny new PhD back with him; and will be entering the family business. Which is a huge huge help; but also means one more person with immediate dibs on my time.

I don't expect I'll quit posting altogether; but until October or so, they'll be erratic. I'm expecting and intending to get more regular again about the blog come fall and winter.

Just so's ya know. Please check back from time to time- I'm not really disappearing.

High stress-

Yesterday we got both our dogs "fixed". It's traumatic. For me, anyway.

Poor Delilah- looks up at me with those very sad hound-puppy eyes. She hurts- and yesterday she was abandoned to strangers all day. That had never happened in her world before. Today she's mostly just lying down. And looking at me.

Luckily, she had Theodore with her in the same cage all day. They are such buddies- they eat, always, from the same dish; often at the same time. In fact we got two dishes- and regularly kept them both filled. Every day, one dish would be sparkling clean; and one untouched. Then they'd start, together, on the second dish.

Delilah is just over a full year old, and mature for her age. Catahoula mom, Boxer dad. At the vet's, they told us she now weighs 47 lbs. Theodore is less than 4 months; Anatolian mom, probably Australian shepherd dad - he's 49 lbs, and a little taller than Delilah already. Both dogs are nowhere near as hard headed as you'd expect their moms to be; both are very smart and very willing.

But- we got them fixed for 2 reasons- a) the genetics of their offspring would be much less predictable than their own; and b) we want them to stay home, and not get involved in mating battles that can shorten their lives. (Oh, yeah, and c) we had to promise to fix them when we got them from the shelter. That counts. But she still looks at me.)

Genetically, they are like F1 hybrid corn- a cross between two unrelated highly inbred (homozygous) lines. Hybrid vigor is maximized in that situation. But in the next cross, unless you're a geneticist and willing to discard a lot of progeny- the hybrid vigor starts to fall apart, and the pups get unpredictable, in a lot of ways. Not what we need, either.

It's all morally confusing. Theodore is eating and wants to get into my lap. But sweet, grown up, well mannered Delilah- looks at me, all the time.

:-(

Whistling girls...

My mother taught me this rhyme-

Whistling girls, and crowing hens

Always come to some bad ends.

She was explaining why she couldn't whistle, when I was around 6, and fiercely trying to learn how.  When she was a kid- any girl that whistled would be faced with that chant from the other school kids.  So girls pretty much didn't.

This is not a post about post feminist posting, however.

It's about crowing hens.  I think we've got one.

You'll remember, if you're following closely, that a while back I was puzzling over the sex of our Dominique bird. 

We'd pretty much decided that it was a she- based on the appearance of two types of chicken eggs in the coop.  The shape is different from the guineas; rounder on both ends; and the texture of the shell is quite different, the guinea eggs having what look like rather large pores scattered about while the chicken eggs look more like smooth porcelain to the naked eye.  We were getting one "big" and one "banty" sized chicken egg, nearly daily; and since we have only 3 chickens, and Kanga is definitely all rooster- the math seemed simple.

Then, two weeks ago- I heard two roosters crowing at the same time.  The math was still the same.  3 chickens.  Two crowing.   And then I saw the Dominique actually crow; several times.  What the hay.

So yesterday we found two new chicken eggs- one definitely banty sized- and with the light brown color we've gotten used to there.  And one much larger- and a darker brown.  

Well; heck.  So DO hens sometimes crow?  Is Silly Sally, the Dominique, actually a cross dressing hen?  Spice wants to rename her/him Saleddie.  We hope Eddie Izzard will approve.

(R-rated language there)

Meanwhile- anybody have experience with crowing hens??  Do they exist?

First Fruits!

(click for larger)

I gotta tell ya, it's really really exciting, when you find your first eggs.  These eggs are even more exciting- all but one of these are guinea eggs!

Guinea eggs are pullet sized (those are Spice's hands); they run about 3 guinea to 2 hen eggs, size-wise.  They're a bit pointed, usually; and likely to have faint spots on the pointed end.

We haven't actually eaten any yet- it's too exciting just to look at them!  :-)

But we will; and we'll let you know how they cook and all.  

The info available says a guinea hen can lay 100 eggs a year.  We've got 7 or 8 hens (we think- they're tricky to sex, and even trickier to keep track of).  So- if we could keep them collected- that's a mess of eggs.

And- no kidding- they feed themselves to a great extent.  A month ago, with snow cover still in place, we were feeding our whole batch of birds about 1 and a half scoops of feed a day.  Now that the birds are out, finding seeds, grass, and early bugs- we're down to half a scoop a day.

The guineas, alas, tend to lay all over the farm- not in the coop.  Finding the nests can be really time consuming.  But- these eggs were all laid in the coop.  Hm.  Maybe we could breed a strain that lays eggs at home? 

It's been done, many times, folks- but not with guineas yet.  We'll have to see what we can do.

Oh, yeah- and the ticks.  Our tick season has started- and so far, they seem to be down.  But it's early.  Instead of 20 ticks per dog per day- we're down to 1; and ticks on us- once in 3 days or so.  Instead of 5 a day.  Is it the guineas?  Of course we have no control- so- can't say.  

But we've got less ticks- and eggs.  

So; that's my little bit of cheer for an otherwise rather gloomy Earth Day.  All that lousy news is getting to be a bummer.

If you're looking for a little cheer; dig out a copy of The Land Remembers, and read the chapters on eggs, and Easter.

Ok, so maybe I'm a slow learner...

When I got engaged to Spice, I announced that to a friend here, and he (married with children) shot back with the speed of a spinal reflex "Slow learner, huh?"

Spice was not there at the time, but has heard the story repeated on occasion.  I think she's forgiven him.

I've taken on another dog that amounts to something of a genetic crapshoot.  Maybe; I hope; less of one than Bruce was.  (I really recommend people read the story of Wully I linked to before- it doesn't turn out the way you expect.)

The new puppy is 10 weeks old; female instead of male; and a cross between a Catahoula Leopard Dog female and a Boxer male.

I'd never heard of a Catahoula Leopard before- but it's a herding dog, bred first for performance and temperament, not color or form- and probably the deciding factor in my jumbled calculations, bred for working hogs.  And cattle.  We almost acquired some hogs this fall- with the specific intention of pasturing them under some of our tree crops.  Controlling them is going to be work, and the lack of a fully trained dog was part of the reason we didn't.

So, this is Delilah; and Smidgen, of course.  As far as I can tell, other crosses of Boxers with longer muzzled breeds wind up with a normal long muzzle, not the short bulldog face Boxers have.

Reports on the web about Boxer crosses, and Catahoula crosses, tend to be good; there's actually a small industry for "Boxadors" and "Bullboxers".  Both breed are "wonderful with children" - and protective.  And there are several stories about people who actually own both Catahoulas AND chickens.  yay.

The fact is, of course, even with purebreds, each dog is a genetic lotto ticket.  I confess to having a soft spot (in my head) for hybrids.  You can lose the bet, either way.  If this one doesn't work out, we may well try some of the purebreds that are used commercially for chickens.  Yeah, they exist!  So far as I can tell, the top choices are Maremmas, or Anatolian Shepherds.   Both really really pricey, and at least as much of a handful to train and keep, so far as I can tell.

Delilah so far looks very promising -(at 24 hours...).  She loves being with us, she sticks close when we're outside; she behaves well on a leash.  

2 problems.  She howls if you leave her alone.  Which I'm expecting her to get over in a day or so, once she learns she's really home, and safe, and not about to have her life turned inside out again.

And- she climbs.  No, really- Catahoulas climb trees- straight up, like 15 feet; using their sharp claws.  Didn't know that one before we found her climbing up into places no dog has ever gone in the house before.  Fun.  Just means dog-proofing places that weren't before- and as soon as possible, she's supposed to be a 95% outside dog, anyway.

Many thanks folks for all the good wishes - and good advice.  In fact, we'll be taking some of it; we're going to try using the muzzle process.  Getting an older dog, already trained, wasn't really an option- it would take too long for us to find an appropriate one where we are; we did look into it.

And we'll be doing one other thing differently; in another month, we will be looking to add a second puppy.  Once Delilah is really bonded to us humans; adding a canine playmate might well help burn off excess energy, looking for trouble.

That's the idea, anyway.  The lady at the shelter agrees.  We'll see.

Micro disasters

Somebody seems to have decided to run the world like a very fast paced bad TV advertisement.  

My attention keeps getting jerked from one desperately important perspective to another.

Iceland is bankrupt.  Pakistan may be next- with very unpleasant consequences.  Executives, and lawmakers, in the USA demonstrate conclusively that they are incapable of learning.  25% of all the mammals on earth are now considered to be at risk of- extinction.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...  (For you youngsters, that's supposed to be a humorous cliché segue phrase.)

We've had our own serious and distracting disasters this past week.  Tiny, in the grand scheme of things; not going to make headlines in the New York Times; but - disasters.

Maybe it was just one disaster.  But it has two parts.  And in the light of the world handbasket epidemics, all the more disastrous for us personally- we lost a lot of resources, and replacing them is not easy, nor guaranteed.

As readers here know, we've been working on establishing a flock of guinea fowl- for multiple reasons, none of them trivial.  And; since at this latitude the general consensus is guineas are not reliable parents, we added 30 chickens to the mix- chosen from breeds known to be good "setters"- to help us increase our flock next year.  And, we'd been working on training our new farm dog/watch dog, since March.

Here's Bruce, behaving himself beautifully.  I introduced him to the birds very carefully, very intentionally, and with plenty of guidance as to the expected behavior.  No chasing, no harassing allowed.  At the time the chickens were added to the outdoor pen, the guineas were being trained that this was home, and to come back for the night time.  This was done by turning an increasing proportion of the guineas outside to range free, but keeping a few in the pen all day.  All the chicks were kept in at this point- they were just awfully small to be on their own.

In early September, everything was going perfectly, and we started just opening the door to the pen in the morning.  All the birds, guineas and chickens, would explode out; clearly enjoying the freedom to fly up into the trees (guineas only) and eat all the grass and bugs they could get (more grass than I expected).  But- we only gave them new "feed" at sundown- and they would cheerfully be back, and waiting for it.  At first we had to herd them into the pen; they couldn't figure out where the door was, and would just endlessly try to walk through whatever side they were on.  But in a week or two, they learned to know where the door was; now they all pile in entirely by themselves (except for one or two persistent dolts).  

Bruce was performing his chores beautifully; on watch outside all night, and happy to do it.  The occasional bouts of barking at 3 AM got to be a comforting sound, not disturbing- he was busy keeping the raccoons out of the supplies of feed and groceries.  And away from the poultry pen.  When I went to feed the birds at sundown, he was always along, and would without prompting lie down at some distance from the guinea racket and chicken hustle, and just casually watch it all.

However.  One day as Spice and Smidgen were walking back from work in the greenhouse, with Bruce along- the guineas appeared on the path- and apparently in a spirit of play, Bruce charged- grabbed one- and shook it.  Dead.

This is how farm kids learn about life and death- it's right there, in front of you.  By this time Smidgen had already seen a few guinea keets and chicks die; so it certainly wasn't any kind of trauma for her; more excitement.  Sad- but mostly she was angry at Bruce.  "Damn dog!"  Yep, kids repeat everything.

So; onto the chain, for Bruce.  We tried a trick recommended to us by a professional dog obedience trainer- we tied the dead guinea around his neck, where he couldn't reach it.  Sometimes, he said, that will teach them to leave the poultry alone.  And I spent more time, working with him and the birds.  

He went back to being perfectly well behaved around them.  Perfectly.

The chicks were all out and free-range now, and thriving.  They're so different from the guineas in their behavior, it's a huge amount of fun watching them, and watching the two species interact.   The guineas started out being afraid of the tiny chicks; but have changed now to bullying them over food and space.  The chickens, however, are going to eventually be much bigger than the guineas- so it'll be interesting to see where it all ends up.  They actually share space and food with little real fuss; once the guineas are full, they don't bother the chickens at the feeder.

Little by little, guineas and chickens were ranging farther and farther from home base- foraging over quite a few acres, and still faithfully coming home to roost at night.  The first time I went out at midday and couldn't find a guinea, or a chick, anywhere, it was kinda scary.  But there they all were come evening; 9 white guineas, 17 dark; 11 Buff Orpingtons; 12 Dominiques, and 9 bantam Brahmans.   Day after day.

Then- we started to lose one now and then.  One guinea- all we found was a pile of widely scattered feathers, 1/4 mile from the pen.  Beelar and Spice thought it looked like an eagle strike.  Then a Dominique didn't show up one night.  Then a week later, an Orp failed to show.  Then two days later, another Orp was missing.  I was afraid.  I looked at Bruce, and asked- "Bruce- do you know anything about the missing chickens?" - and he looked quite sneaky, in reply- would not meet my eyes.  That's something I'd noticed in plenty of other situations; he normally had no trouble looking me right in the eyes, for quite a long time.  No threat in it, on either side; just both of us looking at the other; connecting.  He was fine with it.  But not this time.

No proof anywhere; and of course I know the legend of Gelert.  You really don't want to assume anything.  

Last Sunday was Spice's and my 6th anniversary.  So we combined a little shopping in the big city with a treat at our favorite Chinese buffet for lunch; intending to be back on the farm in time to put the birds to bed- at sunset.  They really seem hardwired about sunset- if you get there 15 minutes late, the guineas will be up in a tree; and not coming down tonight, not even for food.  The chickens will be inside their shelter- and not coming out for food, either.

We got back in time, to be met by a cheerful- obsequious even- Bruce- and - no chickens, anywhere.  Guineas up in a tree, which is common enough.  Then Spice started to find them-  dead chickens; scattered all over.

I started picking them up.  We found 15 corpses- scattered over 2 acres.  Some of them very cold and stiff; some still warm.

There was no question who was to blame.  Bitten and ripped at the neck.  A few partially eaten- over the whole day.  It could only be Bruce- he wouldn't have allowed any other predator to be there.  Indeed, all I had to do was hold up a dead chicken, and look at him- and he slunk off into the thick firs.  Betrayal.

At first it looked like 100% of the chickens were gone.  Then I found one banty hen, hiding in the pen house.  Then one Orp came carefully, slowly, out of the woods.  15 minutes later, a Dominick.  Over the next two days, we had 7 left; but two more died later.   2 Orpington cockerels, 1 Orp hen; 1 Dominick and one banty hen.  I think; the Dominick sometimes acts a bit roosterish.  Not a lot of mothering capability there.  The chicks had been totally terrorized; they refused to come out of the pen for 2 days.

As much as I enjoy working with, and watching, these animals, none of them are pets, or a hobby.  They are part of our plans for future enterprises- doing critical pest control for us in our crops, and perhaps providing eggs and some meat.  And they're not free- birds, and dogs, cost real dollars and real hours; both irreplaceable.

All the dog people I talked to agreed.  This is not fixable; not trainable.  Bruce was killing for fun, and kept at it, for hours.

A sad and miserable experience, all the way around.  We'd started naming the chickens- there was one Spice called "Houdini" - because he would always sneak out of the pen, at any opportunity.  He's gone, though we didn't find him.

There was one guinea missing, too.  But only one.  Looks like the idea I had that the guineas are fairly well able to take care of themselves is working out, anyway.  The chickens could all fly- I'd seen them all do it; but they never spent time in the trees the way the guineas do.

So, Bruce is gone.  No real options there; this is a farm.  Recriminations galore, of course.  Did I fail to train him properly?  I'll always wonder, of course.  The other dog people I talk to say no, I did it right.  It's just sometimes- the dog can't be trained.

I'm partly thinking of E.T. Seton's "Wully, the Story of a Yaller Dog".  A true story.  And there are some significant parallels- Bruce was a mix of 4 breeds; not exactly a pure mongrel, but he certainly had the extraordinary "common sense" Seton attributes to them.  And there were signs of some other "wild" traits.  (note: in Seton's day, it was generally agreed that the jackal had provided the starting material for domestic dogs; now we know it was the wolf.)

It's all probably easiest on Smidgen.  She sees the dead birds- which she has helped raised, helped feed, and understands; no, Bruce cannot come back.

Tomorrow, I'm picking up another puppy.  We need a dog- farm dog/watch dog.  Right now.  That temporary poultry pen is toast, if some night soon a big coon, or a couple coyotes decide to tear into it.  Smidgen is looking forward to it.  The adults are thinking of weeks of poopy papers, and chewed electric cords.  Bruce was introduced to the birds when he was big, and they were small; this puppy will be introduced when it is small, and the birds adult sized, and feisty.  Maybe that'll help.

Total cost, so far- about $1,000 cash in purchases,  vet fees, feed- not including the hours.

And a lot of heartache.  I loved that damned dog.  And trusted him.

Dog crime and punishment

Reader "e" made this comment on the last post; I started to answer there, and it kind of grew... so it's here: 

Hi, I wonder if you could explain your thinking on this: "Bruce- was on the chain all day....Punishment."

My understanding is that you can teach dogs that what they are doing "now" is wrong but that the concept of getting tied up the day after doing something is too abstract/far removed for them to understand.

This is why punishing them when you come home for peeing/chewing in the house if you've left them alone doesn't work. They only learn to associate your return with punishment.

e - you're totally right, that's the standard advice. I really disagree with it, though the reasons are complex. 

Very quickly- SOME dogs are much much smarter than others- and Bruce is one; he's very smart indeed. I don't think he's got ANY trouble understanding cause and effect even when disassociated. 

I'll point out here- I've got tons of formal training in animal behavior, from the academic side- actually both of the papers I presented for my MS degree were behavioral.  And I train my cats.  I can't tell you how many visitors we've had who have been astonished at our cats; who I do train to have reasonably good behavior.  Most folks consider cats essentially "untrainable"- living with one is a matter of mutual adaptation and tolerance.

A good chunk of my approach is to recognize that animals are very much individuals- what is true for this one, is not necessarily true for that one.  Our current cat, for example, is allowed to meow at the door to go out; the previous cat was not.  For this cat, it's an actual request based on need; for the previous cat, it was mostly a bid for endless attention.  No cat is allowed to meow to come in.

In the specific case with Bruce, he was not just stuck on the chain, and left to suffer.  The chain is right by the door of the Little House- he sees us coming and going.  And he's quiet and resigned about it, when we are in the house.  What he hates is when we all go somewhere, and he isn't allowed to go too.  

When we were leaving to work in the fields- he can tell what we're doing- I took the remains of the chewed up surveyors tape; and the shredded gorp bag- both carefully preserved for this purpose; and presented them to him, yet again.  And talked- "Bruce.  THIS is why you have to STAY -  at HOME.  THIS.  Bad dog.  You know you're not supposed to chew just anything."  

And some more talking.  And petting.  He knew immediately when I showed him the evidence of his bad behavior that - it was bad; he'd been naughty; and his gaze dropped, his stance changed to submissive- he was clearly embarrassed.  There is no question in my mind that dogs, and cats, are totally capable of real embarrassment.

Then I'd put the evidence back out of sight; and we'd go; leaving him behind.  He would cry.  "No.  Not today.  You were bad.  I can't trust you.  You stay home.  No chewing."  He knew.  That whole scenario was repeated all day, every time we came and went.

At the end of the day, I let him off, and of course he was delighted.  Next day- as we set out to work, he came along, but in a much quieter, more reserved way; unless specifically encouraged to play, which he's wildly enthusiastic about.

The books, mostly, stem from days when animals were newly regarded as black-box machines- that concept was considered a major "advance" in our understanding of animals.  They're all the same; input this; and you get this output; totally predictable.  Everybody likes simple rules.

Today, there is, finally, growing scientific acceptance that animals are NOT machines; they can be individuals; and they are both far more "intelligent", and have much greater "self awareness" than previously believed.

Lots of pet owners and lovers, and farmers, and hunters, have known that for a long time, of course.  Guess what?  It's true.  One possible excuse for the scientists' failure to see this- many pure-bred dogs and cats are -genuinely- mentally retarded; white mice and rats definitely are.  They've been bred for docility, and inbred out the wazoo- and lots of them are really just - dumb.  Mutts, mongrels, and alley cats- have their mental functions intact, and are far far smarter than science has allowed.   They can easily remember events and causes from past days.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

So far, Bruce has been well behaved now regarding tapes.  

A previous similar episode- he had a propensity for chewing electrical extension cords; not something we approved of.  A couple weeks ago, he chewed up an important one- carrying current to the brooder light for the chicks.  He's never managed to shock himself, I think, or trip the circuit breakers, but it was just dumb luck; the cord was really trashed.

The actual chewing took place the day before we found it.  I took the chewed cord, and confronted him with it; slapped him with it (he's really sensitive about that- he knows it's punishment even though there's not enough force in the slap to hurt; he cries like a baby from the humiliation) and explained repeatedly that I was SO not happy, and he was not to do this ever again.  He knew I was angry, at him- and the chewed cord was why.  He hates that.

He hasn't ever done it again- though the replacement cord is just as vulnerable to him, and he has 100 opportunities a day.  It makes a huge difference that he WANTS to do "the right thing" - and make me happy.