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Chicken keepers

Meet others keeping chickens on our Mumsnet Chicken forum.

Original poster

Are rats a real issue?

30 replies

Kentmum84 · 17/09/2025 23:40

We are debating getting hens. We have the space, children love them at friends houses and we can finance a good coop etc.

However, I am absolutely terrified of rats and a friend said they always go hand in hand. Is this true? Or is there a way to have hens with no rat issue (happy to invest if so). I couldn't cope with a long term pest management plan.

OP posts:
TheLeadbetterLife · 17/09/2025 23:42

Do you have a cat? Chickens do attract rats (well, the feed does), but I've never seen a live one thanks to my cats (plenty of dead ones on my doormat though).

PestoHoliday · 17/09/2025 23:46

No. As long as you keep the food in a rat-,proof container you won't have an issue with rats. I've had chickens for 15 years and never had a problem with rats.

imbolic · 17/09/2025 23:47

My neighbour has kept chickens for years and I know she's scared stiff of rats and mice, so it can't be a major problem. I know it's important to keep the bags of chicken feed, grain etc. stored where the pests can't get at it or it encourages an infestation.

Original poster
Kentmum84 · 18/09/2025 08:41

I can see how I would keep the feed storage bin itself rat proof but what about the feeders? Is there such a thing as a rat proof feeder?

We don't have cats but if they were bringing me dead rats (which would freak me out!!) I would know they were alive somewhere nearby ....

OP posts:
Chasingsquirrels · 18/09/2025 08:43

I've had chickens for about 17 years.
For the first 10 we didnt have any rats, for the last 7 we have - because next door became an unoccupied property and is infested with them.

PestoHoliday · 18/09/2025 16:29

Kentmum84 · 18/09/2025 08:41

I can see how I would keep the feed storage bin itself rat proof but what about the feeders? Is there such a thing as a rat proof feeder?

We don't have cats but if they were bringing me dead rats (which would freak me out!!) I would know they were alive somewhere nearby ....

Never seen a rat anywhere near the hen's run and enclosure. The hens would go mad, for a start. When a new neighbourhood cat moves in and chances its arm with the chooks, my girls chase it off pretty sharply.

They are locked up securely at night so a rat couldn't access the food then; it couldn't get through the bars of the enclosure. We don't leave any food outside.

Original poster
Kentmum84 · 19/09/2025 19:05

This is hugely reassuring to read people have been able to raise hens rat free. We would love hens and we would be pretty on top of getting food feeders and storage bins etc.

OP posts:
Notsurewheretostarthere · 19/09/2025 19:14

We have tons of rats. But we live in the country, about 200m from a river and there is a forest bank behind the chickens.

They are bloody massive though. They break into the eggs if we don't get there first and they eat the chicken poo. They don't care about the chicken pellets.

I love my hens dearly, we bought 6 warrens in 2020 and have lost three over the years to illness, but the other three are going strong and laying daily.

myfavouritemutant · 20/09/2025 17:13

Invest in a Grandad feeder. They’re excellent and we’ve never had problems with rats. They’re not cheap but last forever (well we’ve had ours nearly 10 years I think and it’s still going strong).

Bimblesalong · 20/09/2025 17:18

I loved our hens and we kept them for 15 years. We didn’t leave food out for them but when we finally moved the coop after the last one died, we found a rat’s nest under the area where the chicken house was stationed. We are rural and had seen a few rats around - they were originally living in my neighbour’s compost heap.

We are very pleased to have ousted our unwanted family.

Original poster
Kentmum84 · 21/09/2025 19:54

Oh wow this all sounds v mixed particularly for those who live in the country. We definitely live in the country!

Excellent recommendation on the grandad feeder.

Im wondering if something like the Eglu pro which is raised and can be moved around would help prevent nests setting up shop under it? But they always look v small? Would they be cruel? I only want 5 hens and they say suited for up to 10. The coops I see on the online groups always look so much more spacious!

I had thought to build our coop in the orchard area and fence that bit of the garden so the hens could free roam but maybe something like the eglu that could be moved around that area would work better?

OP posts:
BettyBobble · 21/09/2025 19:58

Yes. I made nextdoor get rid. Utterly antisocial.

tirednessreigns · 21/09/2025 20:00

Yes, we had a huge rat problem last winter. They got into the run and then the coop. We tried everything to get rid. In the end we moved the hens to a smaller run on the grass and out slabs around the edge. We love the chickens though and they’ve brought a lot of joy (and eggs!)

Ineffable23 · 21/09/2025 20:01

We used to have lots of rats when we had chickens out in the countryside. The food was always kept in a rat proof bin etc but there were so many. The worst time was when we accidentally dug up an entire nest that had made itself at home in the compost heap. We used to shoot them because it was a nightmare to set traps or poison that the chickens wouldn't eat. I don't think we'd have had no rats without them but they were a bit of a pain.

JH0404 · 21/09/2025 20:03

Depends where you live, we are in the country and rats always an issue. They dug through the floor of our duck house and attacked one of the birds. We concreted the floor and they chewed through the side. We have to keep all food in metal bins. We only have two geese remaining now and when they go probably won’t have poultry again.

Ineffable23 · 21/09/2025 20:05

Kentmum84 · 21/09/2025 19:54

Oh wow this all sounds v mixed particularly for those who live in the country. We definitely live in the country!

Excellent recommendation on the grandad feeder.

Im wondering if something like the Eglu pro which is raised and can be moved around would help prevent nests setting up shop under it? But they always look v small? Would they be cruel? I only want 5 hens and they say suited for up to 10. The coops I see on the online groups always look so much more spacious!

I had thought to build our coop in the orchard area and fence that bit of the garden so the hens could free roam but maybe something like the eglu that could be moved around that area would work better?

I think you find they wanted quite a lot more room than that, honestly, once you had them. We tried to keep ours in a fairly big enclosure originally (maybe 15ft by 12 for 4 hens) and they scratched it to pieces and just used to stalk up and down the wire fence trying to get out. In the end we accepted we'd lose one every couple of years to a fox and let them be totally free range, only keeping them in for bird flu or whatever.

FunnysInLaJardin · 21/09/2025 20:09

we always had rats with our chickens. We put chicken wire underneath their enclosure, the rats ate through it. We put slabs down and the rats burrowed so that the slabs collapsed.

That combined with all manner of chicken illnesses means we dont have chickens anymore.

They were lovely, but really you need a lot of space - fields and fields really

PoppySaidYesIKnow · 21/09/2025 20:12

We had terrible problems with rats - I’m not getting any more chickens because of this.

PauliesWalnuts · 21/09/2025 20:18

We had to ban people from keeping them on our allotment because we got an infestation of rats on the site. It didn’t go down well (the chickens were all kept by men who could be very selfish and grew very little) and I had to get the council (our landlord) to evict the plot holders in the end. I have a huge rodent phobia and couldn’t go on to my plot when the infestation was at its worse.

ArcticBells · 21/09/2025 20:20

Gosh I’ve always wanted chickens but this is enough to put me off!

catsrus · 21/09/2025 20:26

Had Chickens for nearly 30yrs - yes Rats are a big issue. It was a constant battle of wills - and cats are all very well until they bring the live ones into the house and play with them......

we had the Eglu coop and large walk in run - used to shut the door to the Eglu at night - rats ate through the plastic door to get to the chickens and eggs.....

Star458 · 21/09/2025 20:31

Our neighbour has 4 cats and we still have a rat problem due to people keeping chickens round here. I really wish they wouldn't.

If you google it then you'll find that domestic cats are generally very poor at killing rats, they kill toms of wildlife but it all tends to be smaller and lovelier than rats - which is why I wouldn't have a cat either. I've never seen a dead rat from the cats round here, loads of dead slow worms, birds and shrews though.

FindingMeno · 21/09/2025 20:45

I kept chickens for years and years and rats are a huge issue. A rat proof treadle feeder will definitely help.
I think its unfair to keep chickens in one of those mass produced houses and runs that state they are for X amount of chickens. They are way way way too small.
In fact I think unless there is a bird flu restriction chickens should be allowed to free range at least some of the time. When there are restrictions I think they need a large walk in run.
Chickens need to behave in a chickeny way in order to be happy and avoid bullying, feather pecking, egg eating, and mites and diseases.
Although social birds they need space -and to be able to create dustbaths, peck about for tasty titbits, and bask in the sun.
I also believe from experience that my hens have always been happier with a cockerel.
Keeping chickens is great as they are such characters but you need your eyes wide open as to what you're going in to - not least the need to shut them away before dark and let them out in the morning. Religiously. Because the one time you don't, Mr Fox will be round.

FindingMeno · 21/09/2025 20:48

Oh and I had a good ratter cat, and a terrier, and still had issues with rats.
One think I would say, if you do go ahead - as a pp mentioned, do not have a compost heap.Trust me on that one 😬

Fearfulsaints · 21/09/2025 20:56

We kept rats away with ratproof feeders but, one very dry hot drought, we ended up with rats coming for the water and then once they did we struggled.