Rats???

[Dusty Chicken]

If you don't want to wait for spring I would just put the hardware cloth on top of the soil. You can use landscape staples to hold it down. I did this around an area of my coop run where I did not want the girls creating dust baths, it has worked well.

 

[Folly's place]

And if rats can get there, so can weasels!
We had rats invade our coop a few years ago, and they ate eggs, and killed three nice bantam pullets, before we got them out. They can chew through wood really well too, so don't assume your wooden floor will keep them out.
We never caught one in any of the traps we set. If you do get one or two in a trap, the others will have learned to avoid that trap.
You might have to resort to poison, sorry.
Mary

 

[LateBirdFarms]

I swear, our Ontario rats are the trickiest, cleverest foe to go up against. I'd rather out-think a coyote. From my experience, I'll be honest, I was a little terrified at first due to fire risk, and of course the package saysonce there's no more smoke there's no more danger, but I didn't want to trust them on that.. The first time I was super careful, moved the chickens for a night to make sure the coop was aired out right, kept a hose handy, but it wasn't nearly as concerning once I saw them in action. With the "bomb" part actually underground the way its supposed to be, it rests on dirt and stays a good distance away from any bedding that the rats may have dry further under the coop, and the wick itself doesn't spark like a sparkler, but it does burn quite hot, so I definitely wouldn't be using them without a bucket of water at handy. What I'm trying to say, in a very long winded, round about way, is that I understand your worries completely, and without seeing your coop I can't say one way or other if the situation isn't ideal for the smoke out. Water though, if you can get enough of it, works beautifully in temps just under the 0 mark or lower. Not only does the dirt freeze solid on em, and some may just have the added bonus of freezing to death but they clear out for a bit and you can fill up the holes and sit back with a nice pellet rifle as a deterrent. Just a heads up, the problem with hardware cloth aprons that I've had is the little ba$7@rds tunnel under anyway, just now they're coming in under my limestone paths 3ft away.

ETA: I spent a fortune putting in hardware cloth 16"-18" down around the outside of my run and where I could around the coop, where I couldn't there's grass, and I have no clue why they haven't gone under that way, maybe the visibility factor, but they tunneled down from between the roots of a pine right up against the trunk, then the 3 feet to my coop, and under where the wire apron is. And up and out the other side of the coop into the run on the other side of the apron there! Next time I do battle I'm going to try pouring cement down the holes as they become visible, and then the holes they dig after that until they've got no other options but to leave and my DH is out of cement bags.

(And I just realized I brought up the water idea twice. Think my brain might be a bit soft still from the Holidays! )

 

[Big Doggie]

I have had a critter(s) underneath my coop for about a month now. From the 2 tennis ball size holes and the fan-shaped discharged dirt outside of the holes, I'm thinking RATS.
They avoid the snap traps and enclosed baited traps. I've also tried putting onions, black pepper and peppermint on cotton balls down the holes and covering it in. Every morning, the holes are open again! My unwelcomed visitors have so far been content to staying under the coop but I'm sure they will soon try getting inside with my chickens. On top of that, the holes are inside the run and right beside the hatch door where the chickens come out. I don't want to open the hatch because I'm afraid "whatever" will sneak inside the coop.
As a last resort, I've thought about pouring a jug of bleach down the holes in the hopes that it will gas them out or kill them. Has anyone ever tried this? Will the bleach fumes come up through the wooden coop floor to my flock?

I read on a post here that plaster of Paris will kill them if you bait it with food. The plaster solidifies inside them. Just don’t let your birds free range.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

Have you tried the Tom Cat brand snap traps? The black plastic ones? Those worked well around my coop (but I covered them with a cardboard box with an entry in it for the rats because I didn’t want to kill the wild birds). We had a bad rat problem here (Central Coast of California), and with a combined effort of the Tom Cat traps, smoke bombs (in the big PVC pipes stored out back), flushing them out/finding their nests (my terrier mix was a HUGE help with that), and the electric traps, we got it under control. Rats are super smart, so it takes time and testing different things. Also, peanut butter makes the best bait .

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Have you tried the Tom Cat brand snap traps? The black plastic ones? Those worked well around my coop (but I covered them with a cardboard box with an entry in it for the rats because I didn’t want to kill the wild birds). We had a bad rat problem here (Central Coast of California), and with a combined effort of the Tom Cat traps, smoke bombs (in the big PVC pipes stored out back), flushing them out/finding their nests (my terrier mix was a HUGE help with that), and the electric traps, we got it under control. Rats are super smart, so it takes time and testing different things. Also, peanut butter makes the best bait .

The rat family and all their distant relatives that move into the abandoned (evicted!) family home (my coop!) each summer and again in the fall won't touch anything baited with peanut butter! It dawned on me though that what they really enjoy is any spilled chicken feed, so I turn that into a mash and shape it into pea sized balls. I can only get them to take the bait twice tops before I have to switch out traps, but that's a good point I had forgotten to mention, whether water or smoke, if you find somewhere they're getting out and you can't block it, a trap they have no choice but to cross is pretty handy too

 

[Krazikatlady64]

Here's an article from an older Rat post. Article- https://backyardchickenproject.com/how-to-get-rid-of-rats-in-the-chicken-coop-the-definitive-guide/

 

[cmom]

I have posted this previously. Hopefully traps will work for you. I had an infested coop and when I renovated the coop dozens of rats of all sizes poured out. I had noticed tunnels around the coops. The rats had nests in the ceiling and walls in the coop I renovated. I tried several different things but still had a lot of rats so I resorted to poison. I'm not advocating using poison only that it worked for me. I bought some rat bait stations and placed them where nothing but the rats could get to them. The rats weren't fond of the bait that came with the bait stations so I bought some other bait and they seemed to like it much better. I did not find any dead rats laying around and checked the bait boxes daily. There is a little window above the baits in the bait stations I bought so I could check it regularly. I think the rats went into their tunnels and died and that is why I didn't find any dead rats or critters from eating any dead rats laying around. If the bait stations are placed in places where nothing but the rats can get to there should be no problems. You can also place the bait stations in a pet carrier so only the rats can get to them. There is a partition down the middle inside the bait stations that the rats have to go around to get to the bait so they don't bring the bait out of the bait stations. Good luck with whatever you do...

 

[Rechicked]

I read on a post here that plaster of Paris will kill them if you bait it with food. The plaster solidifies inside them. Just don’t let your birds free range.

Thanks! I'll give it a try

 

[Rechicked]

Have you tried the Tom Cat brand snap traps? The black plastic ones? Those worked well around my coop (but I covered them with a cardboard box with an entry in it for the rats because I didn’t want to kill the wild birds). We had a bad rat problem here (Central Coast of California), and with a combined effort of the Tom Cat traps, smoke bombs (in the big PVC pipes stored out back), flushing them out/finding their nests (my terrier mix was a HUGE help with that), and the electric traps, we got it under control. Rats are super smart, so it takes time and testing different things. Also, peanut butter makes the best bait .

I've tried the TomCat snaps with peanut butter and they won't touch it. Maybe I need to get a terrier