Compost and rats

[BlindLemonChicken]

I have been accidentally making compost under my chicken coop again. It is a raised coop over concrete (with wood chips on top) and for a minute I was using straw in the coop which got kicked out the pop door and made a super gross mess which I mucked out today. It was all dry and crusty on top but horrible underneath. This is not the first time this has happened. Last time I had plenty of room to build a compost bin out of pallets. This time not so much. I have a place but our neighborhood also has gangster rats. My question is whether the compost will attract the rats. I have a spot for the garden away from the coop but the dogs will get into it there so for now I want to put it about six feet behind my little chicken coop. Am I asking for trouble? I just got the little coop rat-free so I'm not in a hurry to do it again

 

[-Shade-]

Rats will be more attracted to feed than compost. I do though have some rats living in my grandparent's/neighbor's compost--it is easier for them to dig and hide in. If you do have a rat problem there is a bright side--they make WONDERFUL target practice.

 

[gtaus]

I was using straw in the coop which got kicked out the pop door and made a super gross mess which I mucked out today. It was all dry and crusty on top but horrible underneath.

Yep, I stopped using straw when I discovered wood chips. Another good coop litter is shredded paper, which I can make at home with my little office paper shredder.

I have a place but our neighborhood also has gangster rats. My question is whether the compost will attract the rats.

I don't have rats where I live, so I don't have any experience with that problem.

Rats will be more attracted to feed than compost. I do though have some rats living in my grandparent's/neighbor's compost--it is easier for them to dig and hide in.

Right. I have seen some YouTube videos where they address the issue of having compost and dealing with rats. You might check out YouTube for some ideas.

I turned my chicken run into a composting sytem, but it is only about 12 inches deep, not 3 or 4 feet deep like in a pallet compost bin. So, even if I had rats, I don't think they would like to dig in and make nests in the chicken run litter. The chickens are out there everyday scratching and pecking in the compost. If they found a rat nest with babies, the chickens would eat the babies.

Occasionally, I will see a field mouse running around the coop and run, but mostly they seem to be attracted to any feed that gets spilled on the ground from my hanging feeders. Again, it had better be a fast mouse or it will be fresh protein for my chickens.