Hi, I've had my chickens and coop/run for 2 years now. The run encloses the coop in a hoop style (think greenhouse) housing which is covered with one inch hardware cloth (welded wire). We have been so happy with the security of this run that we have left the coop door open since the first few months. One of my friends who was keeping chickens recently gave up after killing 30 rats. I was kind of smug thinking that our chicken fortress would keep them out - it certainly works on the resident coons.
So, imagine my dismay when after several days of our chicken shrieking and making a general scaredy-cat racket (they have this weird code of silence like 'what happens in the run stays in the run' when we come down to investigate) we discovered that we have both mice and rats.
What I am trying to determine about the rats is whether they are likely to be getting in directly through the 1" square holes or would it be tunnels? We did find some tunnels ---we have 12 inches of the hardware cloth that continues onto the ground and is pegged down but the ground is very soft in the wet winter and so they were able to tunnel---but my husband thinks he filled these. I did find one place where the j-clips I used to attach the wire to itself has a gap big enough for a rat to crawl through if they can climb half way up the wall.
If they shouldn't be able to get through the hardware cloth I think we can just mix up some cement and put it at the bottom of the walls so that tunnelers will smack their little heads on it. Otherwise I guess we are hooped! We have a rooster and while he is a wonderful gentleman that takes care of his ladies' dietary (and other) needs and has taken on a coon to protect them but ..um....sad to say he appears to be the first in the coop when the rats come.
It is very unsettling when they start shrieking, not good for them nor us, nor the neighbourhood so I really want to deal with this. I can't imagine poisoning the rats would be a deterrent to the next bunch so I would like if possible to make this impenetrable. They haven't gotten into the coop yet and even the food is not very accessible (pvc type feeder) - only occasionally when the birds bill out some food.
I'm hoping someone can help me figure out how to rat proof this. (my husband thinks like some great escape war movie they have some very long tunnel in from the trees nearby---I tell him he's crazy....I think)
So, imagine my dismay when after several days of our chicken shrieking and making a general scaredy-cat racket (they have this weird code of silence like 'what happens in the run stays in the run' when we come down to investigate) we discovered that we have both mice and rats.
What I am trying to determine about the rats is whether they are likely to be getting in directly through the 1" square holes or would it be tunnels? We did find some tunnels ---we have 12 inches of the hardware cloth that continues onto the ground and is pegged down but the ground is very soft in the wet winter and so they were able to tunnel---but my husband thinks he filled these. I did find one place where the j-clips I used to attach the wire to itself has a gap big enough for a rat to crawl through if they can climb half way up the wall.
If they shouldn't be able to get through the hardware cloth I think we can just mix up some cement and put it at the bottom of the walls so that tunnelers will smack their little heads on it. Otherwise I guess we are hooped! We have a rooster and while he is a wonderful gentleman that takes care of his ladies' dietary (and other) needs and has taken on a coon to protect them but ..um....sad to say he appears to be the first in the coop when the rats come.
It is very unsettling when they start shrieking, not good for them nor us, nor the neighbourhood so I really want to deal with this. I can't imagine poisoning the rats would be a deterrent to the next bunch so I would like if possible to make this impenetrable. They haven't gotten into the coop yet and even the food is not very accessible (pvc type feeder) - only occasionally when the birds bill out some food.
I'm hoping someone can help me figure out how to rat proof this. (my husband thinks like some great escape war movie they have some very long tunnel in from the trees nearby---I tell him he's crazy....I think)
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