Keeping Rats from a Chicken Coop
After trying for months to keep the rats from tunneling their way into my chicken coop by filling in the holes, laying poisoned meat and meal, setting traps, etc., I devised a simple and effective method to prevent them from doing harm.
My roosting coop is 5 by 15 ft. There is a 1-in. board all around the bottom on the inside. I used wire mesh having 1/2-in. openings and formed it into the shape of a large tray with edges 6 in. high, the corners being wired, and tacked it to the boards. This not only keeps the rats out, but prevents the chickens from digging holes, thus helping the rats to enter.
Contributed by John A. Hellwig, Albany, N. Y.