Warm boot recommendations please

[Rose94040]

There are two large-ish openings at the bottom rear of the run (under the coop) that allow rats to get in. How are these to be secured? any ideas?

[Cat tails]

Small gauge welded wire will be almost your only choice. But don’t be lulled in safety when you closed those gaps. Rats can actually get through the rest of the wire as well, although with more difficulty. There are videos of them squeezing through the holes in the run.

You can discourage them by removing food and water at night.

[mullethunter]

I actually disturbed a smallish rat in my run earlier this year, and after it ricocheted around the run at warp speed a couple of times (was actually very funny) it forced itself through the mesh as Cattails says - it wasn’t easy but it did manage to squeeze through with a bit of wriggling.

[Luvachicken]

As Cat tails has suggested, you need to cover with smaller wire.

We covered the whole of my Omlet run in 1cm square wire because a fat rat squeezed in and out of the run.

This is my video of it - I find it funny how its bottom end gets stuck.

Rat video

[Florence]

Gosh , we are looking at getting the walk in run and I was really hoping it would be rat secure, not that we would have to add even more protection on top. C'est la vie

[Luvachicken]

3 hours ago, Florence said:

Gosh , we are looking at getting the walk in run and I was really hoping it would be rat secure, not that we would have to add even more protection on top. C'est la vie

Yes, it's a shame that Omlet don't do something about it and make their runs with smaller wire.

12 years ago, the reason I bought my Cube and run, was because Omlet specifically said it was rodent and fox proof. They don't have that on their information pages any more. 

[Patricia W]

No Omlet run is rodent proof.  To be fair, they do not claim that it is.  The WIR is the worst.  I’ve probably said this before ( sorry!) but I’ve had to cover the top half with 1/2 inch weldmesh 16g weight to prevent rats and small birds just walking/flying in.  Even then, just before AI lockdown, I found a blue tit in there, obviously getting in through the lower bars!  

The gaps you highlight in the picture, I’ve covered with weldmesh too.   But the best way to defeat the rats, is to take in food AND water in at night.  They can’t digest food without water so will move away to find a better source.  Also slab the inside of the run. 

[Melliotsmith]

please dont blame Omlet for not providing rat proof wire. I have been keeping chickens all my life and Im in my 70’s. Rats can and do tunnel and there is no such thing as rat proof fencing, they will go right underneath if they choose. Omlets design is great because it raised and the skirting around the run is to keep foxes out. Every poultry keeper should operate vermin control procedures the most important of which is keep food in a steel bin, remove feeders at night and use a safe rat boxes that other pets cannot access. The saying is that wherever you are there’s a rat 3 feet away, probably underground, so they are there to start with and when its dark and quiet they go hunting for food so make sure you dont leave it out for them to find. There’s much about vermin control on the internet. I have never had a rat problem by following the correct procedures.