Used to just toss food scraps in the run until a rat problem in June changed everything

I used to just throw kitchen scraps right into the chicken run every morning, seemed fine for like 7 years. Then last June I found a whole family of rats living under the coop after they dug tunnels from the compost pile. Now I only feed scraps in a covered treadle feeder and I locked down the compost with hardware cloth 1/4 inch mesh. Has anyone else dealt with rats suddenly showing up after years of no issues?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa_brown4h ago

Yeah but honestly is a few rats really that big of a deal? I've had them around my coop for years and they don't bother the chickens or me.

evaperez1h ago

You know what @lisa_brown, I actually used to feel the same way until a rat gnawed through a wire in my coop last spring. Cost me $300 to fix the damage to my heater.