You know what?! Sunday I went into the coop to see how everyone was and let Hilde off the nest. While she was doing her thing, I noticed daylight coming from under the coop. I didnt notice anything before because it has been such a gray winter this year. The last time this area had 3 consecutive days of sun was Thanksgiving. Anywho, that was bigger than a field mouse tunnel...you guessed it...a 7in(not including tail) RAT...living under the platform which was originally built to keep everyone off the dirt floor incase of torrential rains and mud. That darn thing had stockpiled at least 2 coffee cans of feed under there. GROSS/YUK! The DH and I moved Hilde's box in the glorious sunshine and went to work backfilling tunnels after murdering said rodent with a shovel! DH hit it and probably did the deed, but I wasnt taking any chances...hit it 2-3x more...DH was impressed with the emergency tracheostomy that I gave the rat(medical humor...sorry). The chicks started to hatch yesterday...boy that was providence! The darn thing could have killed the babies! Thank you Upstairs!