It takes a certain type of person to enjoy raising chickens

Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow

Rats are nasty little things. Cork up every hole bigger than a 1/2 inch. Seal up every edge along the bottom of the coop either with hardware cloth or metal flashing, railroad ties are my favorite thing to use, deep gravel around the edges. Make sure nothing can dig under. Rats can climb so make sure there aren't any holes up high either. Some great links were posted above. Best wishes!
 
I think one of the most detailed threads on rat control is @Howard E's threads:

Rat Control Thread

Rat Control the Video Series

I don't like using poison against rodents, personally, because I don't want to poison the things that eat the rodents, but I think it is an option to evaluate.

The biggest difference I have seen is removing the feed from the coops. If you can feed the chickens outside the run, or at least remove it at night, I think this solves a lot of the problem.

We mostly have field mice, though, so rats might be more of a determined species and harder to exterminate, I'm sure.

I hope you find a good solution! Too bad there are not more Mink Mans in this world!

Thanks for joining and welcome to BackYard Chickens!
 
Hiya, and welcome to BYC! :frow

I was going to share Howard's videos but @Jener8or got 'em to you. Definitely worth a watch!

We've only had one rat a few years ago, and oddly enough, our border collie must've known it was in the coop as she scrambled through the chicken door and came out with it, dead. They say they send a scout ahead of the pack. I guess Josie got the scout as we've never seen one since. :)
 

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