Rats in the chook house

Well yes, the title perhaps sounds like a metaphor for something more sinister... but my problem is exactly that. Big fat rats helping themselves to the chook food at night and leaving their droppings everywhere.

And ideas on how to get rid of them without harming the chooks?

I'd prefer not to use poison because a) I don't like the idea of killing anything, no matter how much it annoys me and b) we have kookaburras and owls that eat the rats and mice and I would hate to inadvertently poison them. I've seen little 'live traps' for mice but these buggers are HUGE!

Any thoughts chook owners?

Ta.

I have a little dog and a cat and they are pretty efficient rodent killers. My dog is kind of unique in that she gets into the chook house to eat their food and hang out with the chooks and she has no interest in killing them.
My first thought was to feed in the morning so that there is nothing left for the rats at night.

Thanks Brontide. My German Shepherd barks at the rats through the wire but they seem unfazed and she can't get at them as the house is locked up at night.

I think I will start feeding them in the morning though. I started feeding them at night as I felt like I was giving half their grain to the pidgeons through the day... but now I'd prefer to feed the birds than the rats!

So if the rats come it's at night?

Good o - I have a huge owl that will take care of that, I'm also going to build a treehouse type chookhouse. When is the best time to get chickens?

Any time is a good time to get chickens. Whenever your local produce store has some point of lay hens.

How to help the little fellas if it's going to get over 40 deg again this summer? Paranoid they will drop dead through heat exhaustion and having little chicken funerals...

If they have access to dirt, shade and fresh water they will be fine. Chickens originated from tropical climates - they were first domesticated in India, Thailand, Burma and Indonesia.

Lulu mine survived the heat fine last year. Just hid in a really shady patch of the garden and wandered around with their beaks open and wings held up which looked pretty funny. I noticed they dust-bathed more too which i wouldn't think would help but they seemed to like it! I guess if they're free-ranging, they'll find a spot that suits their needs.

I think the dust bathing cools them down because the dirt is cool. If you dig down a cm or so below the surface it's usually cooler than on the surface.

Oh sounds like I've picked a good spot under the plum tree then?