Chickens and field mice, bad mix?

[newbie donna]

I seem to have a family of field mice who have taken up residence in the chicken house. They are very tiny and kinda cute if you ask me but, my husband has said they must go. My question is, must they? Are they harmful to my chickens and their chicks?

I really don't like killing things, especially when they are just doing what they do to survive. Is this a must? If it must happen, is there a humane way to go about it? My hubby isn't a fan of trapping them and releasing them elsewhere. I've already suggested that.

 

[mrsengeseth]

How old are your girls? Fact is that yes, mice can carry disease. And they wreak havock in the chicken feed. but honestly, those mice are taking their lives in their own hands if they venture out near the chooks! Our chickens will devour a mouse in no time flat.

 

[Judy]

They carry disease and will eat and poop in the chicken feed. Snap traps are probably the quickest death.

 

[newbie donna]

These aren't the answers I was hoping for but, thank you both. *sighs* I just really, really hate killing things.

 

[WhySayWhat]

You could always try live traps...but you still have to "relocate" them far enough away that they won't come back. (20+ miles should do the trick)

 

[Fred's Hens]

Your chickens won't hold to your sensibilities. If they catch the mice they are goners. They love to eat them.
Snap traps. If you want, you can feed them to the hens. They'll appreciate your hunting for them.

 

[gryeyes]

I hate killing things, too. But when the field mice discovered the handy source of food in the chicken feed, they didn't just stay outside. Some moved inside my house during the winter. So I got some RatZapper traps, which use batteries and electrocute the mice very quickly. So quickly they don't even squeak. They're safe around my pets (which snap traps wouldn't be, plus snap traps have maimed instead of killed mice when they used them at work - the squeaking is awful!) and there's red light on the top that tells you there's a carcass to remove. Easy peasy - pick up the thing, take it to the trash, dump it out. No touching mice.

Then I dropped one on the way to my trash container, the body fell out, and the chickens stole the dead mouse. Now I dump them in the chicken run for a little protein boost for the chickens. Plus, there's a bit of Keep Away so that's fun to watch, too.

 

[Noymira]

Fred's Hens :

Your chickens won't hold to your sensibilities. If they catch the mice they are goners. They love to eat them.
Snap traps. If you want, you can feed them to the hens. They'll appreciate your hunting for them.

I'd prefer that to my house cat maiming them, then leaving them to die.​

 

[Plottwist]

Isn’t it a futile battle though? Won’t we always have mice in the coop? I agree with the disease part. So if I’m
Supposed to trap, how do I keep my chickens beaks out of the traps??

 

[3KillerBs]

My hubby isn't a fan of trapping them and releasing them elsewhere. I've already suggested that.

You could always try live traps...but you still have to "relocate" them far enough away that they won't come back. (20+ miles should do the trick)

It is highly unethical to release pest animals on land you don't own -- turning your problem into someone else's problem. It's no different than dumping garbage on other people's land/public land.

So if you're going to use livetraps either have a plan for euthanizing the pests or a plan to release them on YOUR OWN PROPERTY -- which probably won't solve the problem.