How to Keep Rodents Out of Your Chicken Coop

Whether you live in the city or in the country, your chicken coop can become a magnet for rats and mice. If you don’t take care of the problem, then your chickens could fall prey to diseases and rats could become predatory, killing adult and young chicks for food. In order to prevent this, take these steps in order to keep rodents out of your chicken coop.

Keep your coop clean

Rodents are attracted to dirty coops as it provides them with a source of shelter. They build burrows and rodent highways so that they can get inside and outside of your coop without detection. To prevent this, you’ll want to trim the grass around your coop and remove any scrap lumber or brush piles lying in or around your coop.

Securely store your chicken feed

The second thing that rodents are attracted to is food. This is especially the case during the colder months when food is scarce. Since rodents can get into hard-to-reach places, you’ll have to be careful about how you store your feed. We recommend storing your feed in a covered metal container with a tightly fitted lid.

Set traps

If you’ve already found rodents in your coop, then the best solution is to use snap or colony traps. Most hardware stores sell trap containment boxes that will protect your chickens while getting rid of the rodents. You should set these up around the walls of your coop, and since rodents are wary of new items, the boxes should be installed a couple of weeks before the traps are put in.

Use rodenticide

Poisons should be a last resort, as they could cause unintended harm to your flock. If you must use rodenticide, however, then place it in a containment box that needs a tool to open. Place the boxes along the walls similar as you would for traps, then replace the rodenticide overtime to prevent the rodents from developing immunities.

If you have further questions on how to rid your chicken coop of rodents, then contact Chickens for Backyards today at 888-412-6715.