Catching mice in my coop *graphic mice being caught*

[Brookliner]

Recently my DH left the run door open while he was cleaning the coop. 2 nights later while looking at my chicken cam in my.run I noticed 2 mice running around eating my chicken food. I needed a way to safely trap the mice. I found directions for making a 5 gal bucket mouse trap on you tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSk79YcuIRQ

So having all the materials on hand it took me 5 minutes to construct the trap. I chose to put 3 inches of water in the bottom of the bucket since having watched other you tube presentations where the mice have been able to jump out of the bucket.

you tube of mouse being caught in bucket.

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This method was very successful for me. I placed the bucket under my chicken ramp in the coop last night. Caught the 2 mice I had seen on my coop cam overnight. My DH emptied the bucket this morning.

Mice in a coop/run can not only eat your chicken feed but can also carry disease. They also multiply very fast so it is best to eliminate them as soon as you realize you have a problem.

I thought my my coop and run were predator proof since I used 1/2" hardware cloth on all sides and bottom. You can bet that I will be keeping a close eye on my chicken cam and will be taking appropriate action if I see any more mice.

 

[8MerryHens]

Good job on your trap - glad you caught the culprits. Unfortunately, mice only need an opening the size of a pencil to gain access; they are not chicken predators (definitely pests though) so your hardware cloth did not let you down.

 

[Brookliner]

So far I have caught 4 adult mice and 4 juvinal mice. Since the trap won't harm my chickens I leave it set in the run to collect any more invading mice.