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Sorry to hear about your rats- I too have rats from time to time- I would get rid of the first batch and be rat free for awhile, only to be followed by more later. I think it's an ongoing problem with chicken keeping- I mean, everything is there for them: food, water, shelter, bedding, nesting material- the works- what's not to love?
I have tried all kinds of different traps set with every different kind of bait imaginable -all with limited results. I would catch one but not the next- they are incredibly smart.
I finally resorted (very reluctantly) to poison- and have had success for the time being. I think you have to keep switching up your trapping/killing method because the word gets out in the rat world and they very quickly know what to stay away from
If you do use poison- be SOOOOO Careful where you put it so you can monitor it and make sure no other animals can get into it. I know there is the risk of an animal eating the poisoned rat- but in my case, every rat died near the chicken food/water or at least they were almost dead and I quickly dispatched them upon discovery.
Good Luck-