do chickens attract rats/mice etc?

[makeitsnappy]

I'm still trying to convince the husband about getting some chickens (we live in the city but have a pretty big yard) one of his main arguments is that it will attract mice/rats around the house which is unwanted (obviously) is this true? I plan on storing feed in the shed in an airtight container, but he says the seed hulls, and scraps will still attract pests.... any thoughts?

 

[cafarmgirl]

Yes, mice and rats will be attracted to the feed. You can minimize this by keeping the feed in hanging feeders and keeping all stored feed in rodent proof containers. I have kept chickens for years in my current location and only once have I had a mouse explosion in my barn for some reason. I had to resort to putting out bait in bait stations to get it under control and I have not had a recurrence. I keep my electric Rat Zapper trap out at all times and I do catch a mouse once in a great while.

 

[IChickenGirl]

Yes, chickens can attract unwanted pests. Normally rodents. But, with hanging feeders (Which also means not spreading food onto the ground), hanging waterer's, and well stored feed can solve this. For the time we still have rats/mice around our coop. We have always had that problem even without chickens. I normally put out bait (poison), traps,.etc away from our birds.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Chickens won't attract rats and mice but spilled or waste chicken feed will draw rats and mice from near and far.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

There are clever and expensive feeders called treadle feeders. The chickens learn that when they step on the treadle a lid opens and they can eat. It keeps rodents out of the picture. Like I said they are expensive....saw a wood kit at the tractor supply store for $50! crazy. I've printed off a pattern here on BYC and am going to try my hand at building my own. Cats will coexist with chickens quite well and keep the mouse population down. Also I keep my bags stored away from the coop in metal trash cans in our garage and near by plugged into the wall is an ultra sonic contraption that suppose to annoy mice by putting out a sound only they can hear. I have to say I haven't seen a mouse in the garage all winter and I usually was seeing them all the time the winter before. I haven't put one of these devices in the coop though as I'm thinking the chickens might be able to hear that noise too and it would be stressful for them to hear it all the time. I should research it.... Always things to do with this chickening...things to learn!

Ha!

Also should let you know that there are certain breeds of chickens that are actually good mousers themselves! The buckeye is notoriously known to eat mice. Mine just watch them scurry by and regard them as lowly coop mates.

 

[IChickenGirl]

There are clever and expensive feeders called treadle feeders. The chickens learn that when they step on the treadle a lid opens and they can eat. It keeps rodents out of the picture. Like I said they are expensive....saw a wood kit at the tractor supply store for $50! crazy. I've printed off a pattern here on BYC and am going to try my hand at building my own. Cats will coexist with chickens quite well and keep the mouse population down. Also I keep my bags stored away from the coop in metal trash cans in our garage and near by plugged into the wall is an ultra sonic contraption that suppose to annoy mice by putting out a sound only they can hear. I have to say I haven't seen a mouse in the garage all winter and I usually was seeing them all the time the winter before. I haven't put one of these devices in the coop though as I'm thinking the chickens might be able to hear that noise too and it would be stressful for them to hear it all the time. I should research it.... Always things to do with this chickening...things to learn!

Ha!

Also should let you know that there are certain breeds of chickens that are actually good mousers themselves! The buckeye is notoriously known to eat mice. Mine just watch them scurry by and regard them as lowly coop mates.

Oh gosh. Our Bantam Cochin's eat them. We have gone out to collect eggs and found disemboweled mice/rats or mice/rats with their brain pecked out. Ew.

 

[ComerSmitley]

The Buckeye chicken breed is known for being good mousers!

 

[pound4pound]

if mice gets into the feed of your birds, they'll get sick. even if the birds kick the hell out of their brains.

on my experience, cats likes to eat chicks and mine found them with no heads..

 

[centrarchid]

You help keep rodent abundance down by simply feeding a little less than what the birds can consume making to they go to roost with empty feeder. This is achieved by feeding early in morning and checking both feeders and crops of roosting birds when they go to roost. You want feeders empty but crops well filled. Flock size, age, season and weather can all effect feed intake.

 

[mmmooretx]

I agree with the feed being the issue as I have been a beer home brewer for 20+ years and last year I discovered that mice had gotten into and destroyed 250 lbs. of malted barley grain in my garage which took me 2 months to eradicate them. I have 5 bee hives in my back yard for reference.
Mike