Rats can live happily somewhere else but not around my chickens and goats. I've had luck with the black plastic TomCat snap traps you can buy at Tractor Supply, setting them around the pen after the girls are locked in for the night. You just step on the back of the trap to set it, so much easier than the old fashioned wood traps. Peanut butter and bacon seem to work like a charm. Rat and mouse poop can cause serious (sometimes fatal) health problems so don't forget to wear a mask when sweeping or vaccuuming up areas where you see dropping.
