Does anybody ever feed caught mice to their chickens?

[Aframechickens191]

Now and then, especially during winter, i take fresh mice from the traps in the shed and feed them to my chickens, who absolutely love them. they polish off a good sized field mouse in about 2 minutes! Does anybody else do this?

 

[ParrotsNPullets]

I'm a little wary about possible germs from mice (especially in my area...), but my gals did slurp up an entire family of field mice that were nesting in our shed & darted into the run when we moved a bale of hay.

And by slurp I mean all of them were swallowed whole, even by our bantam Cochin...!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Yes, every time I trap a mouse he goes to the henyard. They're dead at the time. I wouldn't throw a live one in. It might get away!

 

[Aframechickens191]

yes im usually leery about the mice that we catch in our smallest barn because thats where our tractors are kept and i never know if they have gotten into any fuel or such. and i have given some live mice to our chickens heehee i just go out to our wood stockpile with some thick leather gloves on, lift up some wood, and grab the mice! its pretty amusing, and i dont consider it cruel because the mice are always dead within seconds of touching the henyard ground, if they even get that far!

 

[ElioraImmanuel]

What about toads?

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
I dunno, I was thinking mice have some meat on 'em, a little fur, probably pretty tasty. But TOADS? Ick.


Oh... it's lunch-time here, that's why the mice sounded so good. Sorry.

 

[detali]

I just caught one of my hens eating a lizard she captured!!!!

 

[usschicago1]

No

One word: Disease
Another word: Yuck!

 

[redhen]

No, i would never do it. Although i'm sure that they've caught some on their own...

 

[wood&feathers]

I don't do it because we have a cat who is a good mouser. However he is wary of the chickens and lost a fence lizard he was "playing" with just yesterday. So I'm sure he has fed the flock a fes mice as well.

That said, my concern would be worms. Worm everyone with fur and feathers regularly.