Lost 2 quail to likely rat attack last night :(

[iheartquail]

I lost two birds to what was probably a rat attack last night. I found two of them dead, the body of one was eaten halfway and the other one was bitten up around the neck but whatever it was didn't finish the job. I'm guessing rat attack. I found a tunnel under the pen and one of the dead birds was right at the entrance to the tunnel mostly eaten. Tunnels seem to be rat size. I guess weasels would be another possibility, but I'm not sure if they are very common in my area. Rats are. But why the rat would eat my birds when there was a bunch of food in the pen is beyond me.
I decided to elevate their pen off the ground and cover the bottom with 1/4 inch hardware cloth. Do rats chew through hardware cloth?
I really suck at keeping quail I've lost 7 this year

 

[WalkingNorth]

Sorry about your birds It sounds like you're doing your best but getting a lot of bad luck