got rats in my chicken run !!!!

Get some wire cage traps and put chocolate in them - they are no kill traps - release where you fit.
The rats might kill your chicklets and definately put a dent in your food budget. However no chickens without rats ...

You really do need to get rid of the rats, they carry some very nasty diseases which can be transferred to humans. And they will attack your hens, certainly they will eat the eggs. Sorry but to me these 'humane' traps are just a non-event. All you do with them is to put the problem onto someone else.
If you cannot bring yourself to kill these appalling creatures then call in a professional rat catcher. Local councils have Rodent control officers.
Oh and keep your hen food either away from the site or in a metal bin with a lockable lid.

Initially I would not have agreed with Owdboggy as I did not like the thought of poisons around my garden.

So I purchased 2 of these humane traps placed in fat balls the type for feeding birds in nets and caught 6 .
Living on edge of moors I could release them miles from local communities.

Obviously they are not happy being caught you must wear thick gloves as although traps prevent escape ( in most circumstances ! ) they will try to nip you.The illness they transfer is potentially life threatening !

Some traps have a flap on the back supposedly allowing more than one to be caught.This never works as once one caught no other comes near.I was transporting one the trap fell on its side allowing the rat to escape into my vehicle!

So I agree call in the professionals for your own peace of mind.

You really need to get rid of these but please don't use poison as the chickens might eat it. Use good old rat traps and don't feel sorry for the beasts it's very quick and who's in charge anyway!!

I understand the conflict at hand - the disease is leptospirosis and we vaccinate our pets against it. You can also catch it from water contaminated by rats or mice - ideally in summer and stangnant run offs.
However the black rat is a threatened species in the UK and there are even rescue societies who will deal with the "investation" at hand. You see the more gentle black rat lost out to the very invasive brown rat. Of course they do carry flees - so do chickens - and to some they are appauling.
Today rats are even trained to sniff out bombs and clear mine fields, rather than to use human or canine.
All creatures have there jobs on this earth.
Prevention is always a necessary course to keep numbers down - such as
locking chicken feed up in rat save containers - metal preferably
do not dispose of kitchen waste in an open composter
try out ultrasound repellants

The rats will eat the chicken feed, the chicklets and eggs - in times of need even chickens.

Make sure though that the rat is a brown rat, not a martin or weasle - call wild life protection.

DO NOT USE POISON - birds, cats and dogs feeding off the cadavers, as well as your chicken are in grave danger.

This is only MHO

Where there's animal food, there will be vermin. Get yourself a Jack Russell! That'll sort them out!!

Oh yes a Jack Russell or a Fox will do away with them

A Jack Russell will work well and you can also get a "rat-proof" chicken feeder.

The one I got works wonderfully. It has a "treadle" bar that my chickens step on and the feed door will swing open for easy access to food.

I decided on one made of galvanized sheet metal and is easy to move around if I need to. I live in Texas and found a feeder online. It was out of Oklahoma City and "thecarpentershop.net" had it to my house thru FedEx in just a couple of days.

From day one it worked well and rats have moved onto greener pastures I guess because I don't see any anymore.

Good luck to all who use any of the ways mentioned above.