San Diego Chicken meetup and Chat thread - Page 593

Quote:

Originally Posted by gabrielle1976 

Hmm wonder if there is such thing as coop kitties lol just have a big ol cat in the coop to discourge the rats and mice

Rats and mice unfortantly are extreamly good survivalist and much smarter then something with a brain the size of a pea should be. I love them actually rats being my favorit animal hands down. I cant help much with the loose feed in the coop all I know is you have to do what you can to limit there acess to food and comfy nesting spots wich is easyer said then done.

I kind of have coop kitties.  My chicken run is an extended version of what I originally built to be a "catio." (Patio for cats). When my cats were young and wily, they'd roam if I let them out. But they were rescued as feral kittens and longed for the fresh air. I put a cat door in a window and used chain link panels to form an open air area that would keep them contained.

The run is now significantly bigger, but the cat door remains and my mouser often goes into the run at night to look for mice. One week he caught five! Being a generous cat, he of course had to bring them into the house.   Thankfully he hasn't caught any since those five, which I hope means he's keeping the mice under control.

One of my daughter's classmates recently got one of those step-on chicken feeders because they were having rat problems. If you can take the word of a 9 year old, it's working well for them. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knock Kneed Hen 

Awwww, love the duckies Thanks for jumping right in there to help these girls out DonaldFan.
Looks like you may need to get Beaker a girlfriend. Looks like he's a fifth wheel...
Why do you think that the one has such a light beak? Curious is all...I don't know anything about ducks, except that I have one in my yard.  

Thank you and thank you for the crate.  Going to let them try being together but will have the larger crate as a back-up for now.  Not totally sure about the pale beak but I think it is a malnutrition thing.  I know that they can have different shades of beaks but hers I think is rather extreme.  Will be researching it, though.

I am so happy for daisy and daffodil!

Knock kneed Hen, Thanks for the info on the meetup! Keep me posted on the next one,

I'm the one with the Crumblestock party, which I think was the origin of the mouse/rat thing.  Storage is in galvanized trash cans, so as perchie girl said, the battle is in the coop.

Hey anyone if your interested in goats, here is my pregnant goat thread!     http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=19645

My Boyfriend is going to make me a treadle feeder, just hasn't got around to it yet. =) We have CRAZY loss from rodents in the pens here. 

Snakes are natural predators of small mammals.  My chicken buddy, who helps care for my flock has found several in her coop and her chickens seem relaxed with their presence.  I have not seen anything but a few mice and chipmunks.

Today I added cayenene pepper to the chicken feed.  If I do not see any mouse turds in the feeder, I will think that the red pepper is effective.