Do Chickens Attract Rodents?

The immediate answer is No. Chickens do not attract rodents – chicken food , however attracts rodents. Poultry feed, poultry scratch, seeds, straw, hay, the warmth of a coop, eggs left in a nesting box, and fresh water - these are the items that attract rodents (and little mice) to your backyard chicken scene.

How to Prevent Rodents from Visiting Chicken Coops and Hen Houses

Use metal trash cans for storing feed. Rodent teeth can gnaw right through plastic so metal is preferred.
Use hanging feeders to prevent access to rodents. This won’t entirely prohibit their access – but it helps to deter them.
Clean up excess food scraps and garden waste routinely.
Toss out only enough scratch or seeds that can be eaten by your flock within 10-15 minutes. Rodents and mice will come in for the leftovers, if they are there.
Clean the coop often replacing with fresh bedding to prevent rodent from builidng nests.
Collect eggs regularly. Rodents love to eat chicken eggs.

How to Eliminate Rodents from the Hen House
You found some rat/mice turds – now what? Well, it’s time for Operation Double Scrub.

Remove all bedding from nesting boxes and the coop.
Sweep out coop to remove nasty turds. Throw swept out material into trash to be taken to landfill.
Thoroughly clean feeders and fountains with bleach. Rinse well and allow drying completely before re-using.
Add new bedding and diatomaceous earth to the coop and nesting boxes.
Each night, (when securing the coop for the evening) remove feeders. If there’s no food then there's no rodents.
Each morning, replace food for your flock to enjoy.

Worst case scenario: set traps. Because rodents are nocturnal and come out when your feathered fowl (and you) are sleeping, traps are only to be set at night. Trust me, you don’t want to catch a curious hen. There are quite a few other trap methods on the market today so choose the trap that works best for your hen house situation. A tip: use peanut butter with old-time commercial wire traps.