How can I stop rats getting into chicken feeder
Make the area where the chickens live impenetrable to rats.
Try the new Rat-O-Matic 5000…
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LOL!
Before bringing the heavy guns, I’d start with a Jack Russel or a Lakeland/Paterdale.
You must have a serious rat problem.
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After 30 years of living where I am, rats came to share my house the winter before last. I trapped 16 or more and released them elsewhere, but there is one persistent female who won’t go away, but the others have - those that didn’t get trapped - and I put that down to not letting them find anything to eat inside my house. Nothing!
My one remaining rat still looks for any leftovers from the bird seed I leave on my 1st floor window sill which I brush off every night, but again I see her on video HOOVERING up the tiniest of leftovers from my nightly brushings.
FOOD that she can find and eat is what keeps her around.
In the video you can see how persistent she is - I’ve removed the seed trays on the window, put there because of her, but she still she manages to find something – this over 2 consecutive nights.
Persistence on your part is the only answer IMO as it was mine. If you kill them off others are quite likely to replace them. As Bill Clinton might have said in this respect ‘It’s the food stupid!” Making sure they can’t get their teeth into any food is the only answer, IMO.
Ps – I have 4 cats which didn’t deter them.
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Thanks for that. As they are housed in part of the donkeys stable to protect them from foxes and donkeys are not compatible with dogs it wouldn’t work.
The food is in a 1 metre long round plastic container suspended by ropes . Chickens stretch up and put their heads through 6" hole to eat. Rats stand on hind legs and jump up eat and jump out backwards. Yes really.
Do you need to?
They say we are all only 6 feet from a rat. At least you know where yours are. 
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Sounds like the only way you will prevent them feeding is to keep them out.
The problem will be that if there is an almost unlimited food supply for them (got to keep the chickens fed) there could potentially be an almost unlimited number of rats. They can litter once a month, with up to 15 pups in each litter.
Where your chickens can go so too will the rats, as you have said. Could you let your chickens into a smaller secure area specifically to feed from the food container and then release after feeding?
Nice one except chickens only eat when they want to throughout the day not at one specific time.
Will this .pdf help? Do your chickens eat at night? Hoist the food container higher up out of reach at night?
chicken wire of a narrow gauge over the holes ?
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Or this?
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If you can’t keep them out then start trapping them either humain or not. If using something like a Fenn trap build a tunnel out of wood large enough for rats but not too large for anything bigger about 2´6´´ long and place it in the middle, peg the trap using a length of chain.
Or call in pest control company.
Having expended thousands of rounds it completely missed the flying target, didn’t it?
It must be a Boeing built weapon.
The video of the T34/85 it linked to was good though, the Queen of Russian armour and arguably the best tank of WWII.
Ah! That’s thinking outside the box -
Destroy all the rats and the chicken feeder…
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If I were to keep chickens and there were rats about, I’d definitely go for one or both of these types of rat proof feeders.
Rats will only hang around if there’s food about which is accessible. With these feeders, rats will very quickly learn to go look elsewhere. At least the food inside the feeders will be safe from predation.
Decided to move the feeder to outside still supported by ropes but a bit higher, where it can sway in the wind and the chickens can still reach it. Hope rats won’t.
Have a second rope on pulley to raise the feeder overnight if needed. But have to lower in the morning so chickens can get to it.
Tried first option and food was not depleted. Cubs were squeaking but no food nor eggs gone. Jury,'s out but hoping.
Thanks all for your imput
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