Simply put, yes, they can attract these pesky rodents, but rats are not an inevitable consequence of hen keeping.
A common misconception about chickens is that they attract rodents, but the truth is that rodents are attracted to food and water, not chickens. Rodents are a nuisance and a health hazard to backyard chickens and controlling them requires a multi-faceted plan of attack, so let's roll one out!
Store all food in gnaw-proof containers. Discontinue open feeding and put your birds on a feeding schedule. And if you do notice evidence of rats, put chicken feeders away every night. These steps should help keep your coop rat-free and make sure you and your birds stay healthy and happy.
While the use of chicken manure is commonly accepted practice, rodents will be attracted. Avoid using any manure that will attract rodents in compost piles in areas that are experiencing a rodent problem.
Rodents are vectors of disease for more than just humans—they can bring disease to your flock. Rodents will ruin your biosecurity plan because they carry disease organisms that can contaminate your eggs externally, as well as infect your chickens, thereby potentially contaminating your eggs internally.
Incredibly, they can fit through any hole larger than 2cm. That's serious determination. Chicken coops are a smorgasbord of delicacies for a rat. The two main things in a chicken run which attract rats are chicken feed as well as chicken droppings.
If you're receiving fewer eggs than you expect to be getting you should consider that it might be rats. They love a fresh egg as much as we do.
Clean the coop
Rats love to live and hide in cluttered areas. Get everything up off the ground. Put it on shelves or hang it from walls to discourage rats from making a home there. Make sure the grass around your coop is always cut neatly, and remove any scrap timber or large shrubs that are near the area.
Rats are more avid meat eaters, and they will consume all types of rotten fish, poultry and red meat. Mostly this meat is recovered wherever they can find disposed foods, such as dumpsters, trash cans, or stripped off of roadkill.
Increased Stress: naturally, chickens do not appreciate rats invading their home. This increased stress can seriously hinder their ability to produce eggs. Danger to Chicks: other than being disease-carrying rodents, rats are also predators, and they will attack chicks if given a chance.
Chicken owners need to keep rats out of the coop. Rats carry diseases that are harmful to chickens, will attack baby chicks, steal eggs, and have even been known to chew on hens' feet while they are sleeping. In addition to those serious problems, they will also eat your chicken feed.
Rodents have a vertical leap of around 36 inches, and they can also leap 48 inches horizontally. That means a rat can climb a tree up to four feet away from your house and still leap onto the roof or walls. Rats can also survive a fall up to 50 feet so if they miss the leap they'll probably try again.
Yes, peppermint oil is effective against rats. Rats are sensitive to the smell, so using it in and around your home will ward them off and prevent an infestation.
Clues you have a rat problem:
Food disappearing overnight. Scratches in and around the chicken coop. Chewed holes in netting or in the timber.
It's all to do with the single thing that drives them most - food. So the best way to keep them out of your chickens' life is simple: cut off their food supply. Rats can climb! Put wild bird food in hanging containers on poles they can't reach.
Rats are usually unwelcome visitors in our gardens – they are generally considered vermin and can spread potentially serious diseases, including Leptospirosis, which can lead to Weil's disease. They can set up home beneath decking, in sheds or greenhouses, and compost heaps.
Clean and uncluttered homes and yards scare rats due to the lack of food and places to hide, as well. Rats are not happy when the holes, cracks, and crevices in your foundation and entryways are sealed off, excluding them from your home. Rats are afraid of loud noises as they have excellent hearing.
Like food, left out, unsecured trash is also what attracts mice and rats. Trash is the perfect marriage of two of the things rats and mice need the most: food and shelter. Rodents love trash so much, many large and densely populated cities, and the resulting heaps of trash, face uncommonly high rat infestations.
Rats can easily chew through softer materials like cardboard and plastic. They can even chew through harder things like wood and PVC pipes. But rats cannot chew through steel. They can't chew through anything stronger than iron.
If your property has a rat infestation, you may discover small, dark pellets of excrement dispersed around. Rat droppings are cylindrical, up to an inch long, and have rounded ends, giving them the appearance of a small olive or coffee bean. Most fresh rat poop is glossy and black and about the size of a small raisin.