Can a rat fit though chicken wire?

[NYboy]

Will be building new bigger flight pen for my pigeons. The pen will be chain link dog run. If I wrap the bottom 4 feet in chicken wire, will that stop rats? Thank you alex

 

[Camelot Farms]

Nope

The rats here got through hardware cloth which is waaaay tinier than chickenwire. They didnt actually get in. They reached through, grabbed the birds (quail) and then pulled their heads down through/out through the hardware cloth and ate what they could pull through.

Rats are awful!!

 

[Katy]

No, it won't stop them....if they can't fit thru the chicken wire they'll just climb up and over it.

 

[chickensioux]

Any opening small or large enough for a rat to get his little skull through, his big fat body will go through.

 

[Cetawin]

Rats will go through it and they will chew through it as well.

 

[NYboy]

Thanks for the replies! will spend the extra money on hardware cloth and do whole run. Alex

 

[Ibicella]

Rats can fit through spaces only one inch wide. For my pet rats, we use half inch wires for their cages. Definately pay for the good quality HW cloth. Be sure to nail it down tight, because they will test every boundry.

 

[Poultra]

Quote:
Well, or at least they'll try to, depends on how skinny they are. I found one this winter that tried to squeeze it's way through my 1"x2" mesh that I have for the chicken yard. Apparently, it got about halfway through, got stuck and froze to death.

 

[redrider]

rats have been known to go through concrerte so all you can really do is your best and use a good rat control methed but rember to always change it up because rats aren't dumb they do learn

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Years ago I had exotic birds in aviaries. I still had mice get in, not rats. Hardware cloth is the best you can do. Good luck!