- Apr 10, 2016
- 73
- 49
- 111
Starting about a month ago, I would go out to check that all the chickens were on their roost at dusk; they would be -- and the mice would be having a rave down on the floor. My coop is a repurposed pole barn type shed that has the posts, 2x4s going horizontally, with metal siding on the outside and hardware cloth around the bottom. The mice would be running along the boards, heads popping up all over the place, just feasting and partying. They would run back and forth on the outside of the hardware cloth until they got to their entry hole in the corner. They were basically swarming everywhere.
One night my daughter drove home late and saw a huge owl hanging around the chicken coop. Probably it was after the mice, but after losing two hens to a red tail hawk, I am nervous. Plus the possibility of attracting snakes as well as various diseases that mice pass around.
A couple of people have mentioned the Ketchall traps. I got something similar at the feed store -- a Victor trap called a "Tin Cat." It's a live trap -- a metal box with little ramps that once the mice go in, they can't get out. I bait it with home processed peanut butter from organic peanuts. They are Oregon foodie mice; they do care. The first night it got 5 mice and is now up to a total of 20. I put it right in the coop with the chickens, they don't even notice it. Totally recommend the Tin Cat.
One night my daughter drove home late and saw a huge owl hanging around the chicken coop. Probably it was after the mice, but after losing two hens to a red tail hawk, I am nervous. Plus the possibility of attracting snakes as well as various diseases that mice pass around.
A couple of people have mentioned the Ketchall traps. I got something similar at the feed store -- a Victor trap called a "Tin Cat." It's a live trap -- a metal box with little ramps that once the mice go in, they can't get out. I bait it with home processed peanut butter from organic peanuts. They are Oregon foodie mice; they do care. The first night it got 5 mice and is now up to a total of 20. I put it right in the coop with the chickens, they don't even notice it. Totally recommend the Tin Cat.
Last edited: