Advice on rats and building a new coop?

[1chip2chicks3cheeks]

IMO the whole thing looks fine, it just needs hardware cloth barrier to keep them out - even just doing the bottom perimeter with a skirt and maybe up about 3ft - maybe with a bent outward "lip" at the top of it they can't easily climb past, if you're not doing all the way up the walls and over the top. That there might be enough to make a sizeable impact on them getting inside.

I'd also consider getting some of those self-resetting rodent traps, such as the "walk the plank" and "barrel roll" traps and leave those out. There's a guy on YouTube with a whole channel of rodent traps and he's got great tips on baiting them and whatnot so you can get lots of them.

Rats were a big reason I built a new coop, because in my area they'd bring in the rattlesnakes; also I just hated the old setup. Before I built the new coop, I used traps and got many, but the pellet gun I got specifically for this issue was the most fun for me. Current coop has zero evidence of rodents getting into the coop as the 1/2" HC holes are the biggest gaps I have anywhere on the whole structure.

Good luck

What’s the YouTube channel? They seem to have nests in the palm fronds, so if they’re already in here and I put hardware cloth, would they still be able to get out but not back in?

 

[aart]

What’s the YouTube channel?

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYbru-MPO1xjes4FVn61JUQ

 

[perkolator]

What’s the YouTube channel? They seem to have nests in the palm fronds, so if they’re already in here and I put hardware cloth, would they still be able to get out but not back in?

Channel is the Shawn Woods channel aart linked.

I thought the palms were outside your run - but since you have so many fences going on I'd maybe put up the HC to confine them to that section and then try and eradicate them.

 

[Anime2lover]

Pictures of the current setup and area around the coop for starters. Get rid of any trash, compost and yard waste where they will build nests and find food. Trim back low lying branches on shrubs that provide hiding places.
Lining everything with hardware cloth, putting a roof on the run, filling all gaps with steel wool are all places to start. If you find a den, you can throw dry ice down the hole, cap the exit and you should kill anything down the hole without having to worry about secondary poisoning. Getting rid of the rats will be an ongoing job with or without the chickens.

You could try using decoys like decoy hawks and owls.

 

[1chip2chicks3cheeks]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYbru-MPO1xjes4FVn61JUQ

Thanks aart!

Channel is the Shawn Woods channel aart linked.

I thought the palms were outside your run - but since you have so many fences going on I'd maybe put up the HC to confine them to that section and then try and eradicate them.

Sounds doable until I can build a new coop, but would need a new plan to give the chickens their own spaces and probably move the pens inside around. I just hate to chop off such a large area of space, but once we trim the palms back there will be a lot more space surrounding that I could keep for the girls. The palm fronds section is the girls main area where the most chickens are, so they need the most space. Will have to think how to do it and still provide adequate space for my chickies to run around. Thank you for the idea

 

[Stephanie8806]

Echoing other on hardware cloth.

I had a residential pest control person tell me once that mice can fit though a hole the size of a dime, and rats through a hole the size of a quarter. Mice can jump vertically about 13”, and both are very proficient climbers. Rats also tunnel(but since your floors are concrete that shouldn’t matter).

Basically, unless every exterior border or opening should be sealed off or covered with 1/4-1/2” hardware cloth or a mesh of some kind.

Rodent infestations are tough to get on top of. Cats help… but rodents are like predators. Once they discover a food source, they’ll set up camp and breed+probe for weakness.

My chickens coop to run access door is about 20” off the ground, and I removed their ladder. They can all jump up just fine without it, and since the ladder/ramp removal, we’ve had zero mouse activity in our coop. They still come into the run from time to time at night I think, but its drastically reduced. Maybe one set of mouse tracks in the snow leading to the run every few days?

Sorry you have to struggle with this!!!

 

[1chip2chicks3cheeks]

You could try using decoys like decoy hawks and owls.

Those are rat predators?

 

[1chip2chicks3cheeks]

Echoing other on hardware cloth.

I had a residential pest control person tell me once that mice can fit though a hole the size of a dime, and rats through a hole the size of a quarter. Mice can jump vertically about 13”, and both are very proficient climbers. Rats also tunnel(but since your floors are concrete that shouldn’t matter).

Basically, unless every exterior border or opening should be sealed off or covered with 1/4-1/2” hardware cloth or a mesh of some kind.

Rodent infestations are tough to get on top of. Cats help… but rodents are like predators. Once they discover a food source, they’ll set up camp and breed+probe for weakness.

My chickens coop to run access door is about 20” off the ground, and I removed their ladder. They can all jump up just fine without it, and since the ladder/ramp removal, we’ve had zero mouse activity in our coop. They still come into the run from time to time at night I think, but its drastically reduced. Maybe one set of mouse tracks in the snow leading to the run every few days?

Sorry you have to struggle with this!!!

We don’t have concrete floors in the pens just horse mats we put down because the plain dirt would get muddy from rain. Which turned out to be good for avoiding mud, but terrible for cleaning poop under the roosts. We need a proper coop so we can have proper bedding and shielding from the elements. So many aggravations with our setup I could complain forever!!! I was thinking about how I’d connect the coop/run chicken door since I want to do a raised coop on wheels, sounds like it would work fine! I’m going to try the hardware cloth.

 

[NC_Quail]

Every time I see the title of this thread I see “advice on rats building a new coop” and my first thought was “what do rats need a coop for?” .

Good luck with your endeavors!

 

[Stephanie8806]

We don’t have concrete floors in the pens just horse mats we put down because the plain dirt would get muddy from rain. Which turned out to be good for avoiding mud, but terrible for cleaning poop under the roosts. We need a proper coop so we can have proper bedding and shielding from the elements. So many aggravations with our setup I could complain forever!!! I was thinking about how I’d connect the coop/run chicken door since I want to do a raised coop on wheels, sounds like it would work fine! I’m going to try the hardware cloth.

Oh dang, I should have looked closer. My bad.

I hear you on the frustrations! No matter how well thought out the coop, we all find things that we feel we can do better or need to add or change things.

I echo the spicy chili powder idea that other users have posted. Both around the perimeter, as well as adding it to their feed. Cayenne pepper primarily. I know you live in a warmer climate but I think temps are probably milder right now? Chickens don’t have capsaicin receptors in their body, so spicy foods don’t bother them. Absolutely no impact on their digestion either. Adding the spicy stuff may deter the rats though!