Mice in chicken coop

[SueT]

What breed of chickens kill mice?? Gotta get me a couple of them!

My chicken killer is a Speckled Sussex...whether she has or will do it again, who knows. Probably any of the heavy breeds are capable of killing mice...whether they'll do it or not is another question. Mice are mostly nocturnal, that presents a problem...
I have a live trap called a tin cat. I put it in the coop and caught 12 mice one night, 8 the next, 6 the next. None after that 3 days in a row and so I stopped setting it. (I was afraid to set snap traps that the curious chickens could access even if I tried to block them.)

 

[Little Fuzzy]

My chickens stand next to me when I open the mouse trap they jump for the dead mouse.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

Ten easy ways to get rid of mice in the coop
1. keep a cat in the coop, however, the cat and the chickens may not like this method.
2. put away food when chickens are done eating, however, chickens are never done eating.
3. put out mouse traps with peanut butter as bait, however, chickens love peanut butter.....
4. put out poison bait. Seems chickens like that too.
5. Hmmmm, put poison bait where chickens cant eat it. No problem, they'll just eat the mice after the mice eat the poison.
6. use plug in "drives away insects and rodents as seen on tv" device, LOL, might as well have just flushed the $19,99.
7. Buy expensive battery operated Rat Zapper and have hubby stick finger inside to test it. Recycle the remains after hubby smashes it.
8. Set up a chair and wait all night with a broom to smash the little buggers when they show up.
9. Burn coop to the ground while laughing maniacally and dancing around the coop.
10. Move chickens into the spare bedroom until the new Fort Knox Coop is built.

Arrrrrrghhh! I hate mice.

chel

HEHEHE. I feel your pain. But I love the electric zappers. Get lots of mice that I shake out to the chickens. The rats are too smart for it though. I even got a ground squirrel in it once. I felt bad for the squirrel. I would never use a bait station though because it think poison and glue traps or drowning is just too cruel. Plus my local hawk would not appreciate the poison.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

My Light Brahma was a great mouser.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

Hi, was just reading about the problems with mice in the co-op, but can someone let me know if the mice hurt the chickens or if it is only a problem with stealing food and chewing holes in everything?

I think it's more a matter of disease they bring.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I second this question. I just saw (only a moment ago for the first time) that field mice have made a home in the space between the ceiling of the coop and the roof. They're just little babies and I'm sort of an animal lover so... if they wont bother the chickens, I don't want to bother them.

By the way, I found this out because every night my cat has been coming to the door with a baby mouse in his mouth. This time I took the mouse and put it in the grass, let the cat back out and followed him. First he checked where he'd last left it, it wasnt there, so he went directly to the chicken coop, sat his little butt on the ground and stared up at the roof. Guess he's just been waiting all night for them to fall into his lap each night.

Well, I did put the baby he had caught back up there. Lol, I'm terrible.

You are asking for an invasion HAHA.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I think it's too cruel to makes a mouse swim for hours till it drowns.

 

[michelhan]

The easiest method which I used to keep the mice away from chicken coop is, hang a CD or mirror near the coop. The reflection of cd or mirror create fear in mice and it will stay away.

 

[krispage]

And enrichment for the chickens....

Great idea.

 

[HAPPYCHICKENLADY17]

Just wondering how everyone keeps mice out of the chicken coop?

THINK I FOUND ONE IN MY CHICKEN COOP TONIGHT,,,HELP