How rat proof is hardware cloth?

[Chickiemom25]

My run is 4 feet high and hardware cloth but the roof is chicken wire.. I notice something has tried landing/walking on it but it is holding.. Can rats run up the hardware cloth to get in the ceiling?

We are in So Cal in the city so the rats are not especially large....

 

[fireguy56]

Hey, from down South. Rats are and have been the scurge of mankind for eon's. They can chew through just about anything. Especially the one s ya migh have in OC, like the our big boys in New Orleans. Hardware cloth is tough, should be fine. If run area not to big, I'd hardware cloth top as well if not too cost prohibitive. Anything to keep the girls safe. Good Luck.
Erik

 

[bryan99705]

Yes they can, they are basically bald squirrels! The hardware cloth should protect them if you avoid the cheap stuff

 

[bitbythechick]

Are you saying that rats will eat chickens??? Or just worried about the chicken food? Or them eating the eggs? We put Bite Bar outside the coop where the chickens can't get to it and posion them so that we don't have a problem with them. It works on Oregon rats:/

 

[SE_Gardener]

Hey, from down South. Rats are and have been the scurge of mankind for eon's. They can chew through just about anything. Especially the one s ya migh have in OC, like the our big boys in New Orleans. Hardware cloth is tough, should be fine. If run area not to big, I'd hardware cloth top as well if not too cost prohibitive. Anything to keep the girls safe. Good Luck.
Erik

I feed/water in raised coops (2.5ft up) w/auto door closures late day/dusk. If a rat snuck inside before door closed would be attacked by roosters. For meatbirds I put feed and water in steel cans overnight. No food - no water - NO RATS. I also keep rat bait stations around. I learned my lesson with a bad infestation tunneling under 30ft run.