My hen is sitting on 8, day old chicks tonight. Once in awhile a rat will get into the coop. I don't keep food in the coop because it attracts rats in there. I had feed in the coop today for the chicks, but took it out before dark. I put hardware cloth in front of the broodies nest box to keep chicks from wandering out over night. A rat could still climb up and over the side of the nest box if it wanted to though. I shut the windows directly above the broody because I know they go in that way sometimes. Will they kill/eat chicks under a broody?????