Coop floor and rats

[ndgeller]

I have 2 coops. I got some great ideas from BYC about things to consider and things to do beforehand.
I dug down 6 inches and put down hardware cloth. Put dirt over it. Put up a chain link dog kennel. Covered it with chicken wire. Covered that with hardware cloth. Expensive, but I felt pretty secure.
The problem is the rats. They find any tiny break or weakness where i wired the pieces of pieces of hardware cloth together and work it until they can get in. I keep patching these breaks with more hardware cloth. The problem is the floor. So hard to dig down and re-wire.
I am doing a third coop this weekend. Any ideas about the floor? Anything to keep it secure without having to dig down and try to fix the holes the rats still manage to make? I do deep litter.
The rats are relentless! Any ideas greatly appreciated
Also, any ideas for the problem with the pre-existing coops?

 

[WhiteWyan]

Have you tried putting out traps?

 

[ndgeller]

I have tried everything imaginably possible, while still being careful of the safety of my cats and chickens. I have gotten some really good ideas from NYC forums. Bur I live near some open fields. Also, my sweet but slightly misguided neighbor puts bowls of scraps out to feed the rats, raccoons, etc. because she feels sorry for them...
The best I can do is try to keep them out of the coops

 

[Sneebsey]

We put out poison and live traps with meat at night. Doing this, you need to be vigilant, as while a cat or dog will likely never eat a rodent they have not killed themselves, a bird will. We only put out our traps/poison at night and check each morning and throughout the day for dead rodents.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Dig a deep footing around the edges of your building footprint an fill it with concrete and build your building off of that. I went 14-16 inches deep with mine, you can click on my coop link to see the pictures. I have dirt floor deep litter in the building no issues with diggers.

Gary

 

[aart]

Maybe an apron.....doesn't have to be buried....here's a couple good examples:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1110498/wire-around-coop#post_17093528

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

Also, my sweet but slightly misguided neighbor puts bowls of scraps out to feed the rats, raccoons, etc. because she feels sorry for them...
The best I can do is try to keep them out of the coops

OhGrrrr!! Are you losing eggs or birds to the rats? Show her a rat chewed chicken carcass, that might change her tune. Sorry, harsh, I know, but feeding wild animals is a pet peeve of mine.

Maybe a rodent proof feeder?
This is the best one I've seen.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Tamper proof bait box with chunx bait. That will stop the rats from moving in. As they come from your neighbors rat infested house to take the poison back home and feed young it keeps the population down and them from making a home in your deep litter and house.

 

[aart]

chunx bait

Tomcat brand Chunx?
Is that the kind that has low secondary poisoning?

 

[Kiki]

You can dig a trench, about a foot deep around the coop.....pour some bags of cement into the trench the water it with a hose.

 

[jthornton]

Get some bait boxes and put tracking powder in... you may need to get help from a pest control person to get your hands on tracking powder. The boxes are small enough that cats can't get in. You will see them all around food storage warehouses, black box with two small holes.

JT