Chickens eat mice?

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

We have one who hunts and eats garter snakes. I wish she would not as I do not mind small snakes.

Mice, frogs, anything that does not get away. Think Velociraptor Attack, they are little dinosaurs.

 

[Drk_Wlf]

Never seen mine eat a mouse but I have seen them try and eat a frog... not sure if anyone succeeded. They were all running around trying to get the frog from each other! it was the funniest thing!

 

[emarble]

I have witnessed the ripping and tearing of limbs from a mouse that wandered into the outside run! They would busily chase each other around trying to steal and gobble pieces of the mouse! Whole show probably lasted 1 minute at the most and there were no visible remains except a few blood stains on the beaks!

Also seen the same scenario with Snakes and whatever else wanders into the yard run or coup! Verrrrrry entertaining! Ahhhh yes Little raptors!! Hope i never fall down and cut myself in the run or coup They might never find big enough pieces to identify me! LOL

Ernie

 

[critterranch]

yes the deer thing is funny . i had a friend come over and hang his deer in our tree well he hung to low 1 to 2 above ground on low limb . any ways he skinned and had to go some where when he came back my rhode island reds where peckin away jumping in the air eatting anything they could reach. the skin was laying on the ground thats what the chickens found first. they picked the back of the hide clean.

about the mice and frogs yes my cat catches them or leaves half outside on ground and my chickens will eat and peck and chase each other after the half of mouse oh moles too!!

 

[Churkenduse]

I have mice that sneak into the coop and they actually eat the chicken poo...
It was great for along time I didn't have to clean the coop, I guess the micw moved I have poo now

 

[chicken wild]

1 of my old RIR hens ate one live and you could see the mouse going down its throat.

 

[jh7192]

Until I read all the posts about chickens devouring mice and lizards I had no idea they did so. Of course, I'm well aware they provide wonderful insect control. For those of you who have mouse eating chickens, keep in mind that mice and rats frequently carry Salmonella. Rats frequently carry the organism that causes fowl cholera, Pasteurella multocida. So if you eat the eggs from the carnivourus chickens, cook the eggs thoroughly. For those of you participating in the NPIP, the birds that consume Salmonella contaminated rodents may test positive to Salmonella
If you use the chicken manure to fertilize your garden, realize you are probably spreading the Salmonella organism around. Wear gloves and wash your hands immediately after working with the Salmonella contaminated manure. When you harvest the garden's products, wash them thoroughly.
Water running across your chicken yard is probably picking up the organism and possibly contaminating a stream or pond.
So, chickens may provide good rodent control, but there are certainly ramifications to consider.

 

[liz_s]

Flannery Eau thank you for posting that video- it was amazing!!! It needs a sportscaster calling the plays! Awesome

 

[Cecile K]

I, too, was expecting the bug, snail and slug control... but not the mousing. However, I heard my 3 month old Plymouth Rock making a peculiar 'I've-got-something-in-my-mouth" kind of sound so went out to check what was up. She was shaking a dead mouse quite delightedly. Our brood hen, Nellie ran over to check out the scene, clearly wanting to enjoy some of the spoils. The girl wasn't interested in sharing however and took off, with Nellie in pursuit. They're all pecking around in the grass now... mouse devoured. What a surprise! Hence, my visit BYC to check things out...

 

[Janelyn]

When I was a kid, I worked at a farm during the summers, hoeing weeds out of fields (40 years ago). Well, there were a group of us teenagers and if the truth were known we really spent most of the days fooling around. One hot afternoon one of the boys came across a rat that had been run over by a tractor, picked it up with his hoe and flung it through the air, landing in my long ponytail, YUCK!!!

So, the first time I saw my girls run down, scoop up and play keep away with a rodent, I am overjoyed. I always stop what I'm doing to root for the hens.