Got Mice?

[tenderkat]

Hello-

Just wondering what everyone thinks and does about the mice around the run?

I have had my chickens for about 1 1/2 years, and have seen mice here and there. For the past several months, there has been quite an increase in the amount of mice 'tunnels' I see coming into my run, and I have recently found two dead mice in the run. I'm assuming the girls saw them and killed them, but didn't eat them. I haven't noticed any signs of mice in the henhouse (which is elevated), just the run. I'm sure there are MANY more mice than I think there is, and I'm worried that it will escalate into a BIG problem if I don't address it soon. I'd really hate for the neighbors to experience any major infestations and have it lead back to my chickens. I was thinking of getting a bunch of traps and leaving them strategically placed during the night to try and catch as many as I can. I hate the thought of killing critters, but it's not as if I can gather them all up and relocate them.

Am I right to feel that I need to address this?

Can mice create any health issues for my girls, or do they tend to co-mingle benignly?

Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated!!

 

[ARose4Heaven]

Mice foul the food. Get a cat. I have several cats that lurk around my hen house. They never bother a healthy adult chicken. I don't let them near my little birds.

You might want to encourage the hens to eat the mice they've killed. This will give them taste for mouse.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=391456
This is a thread that I started awhile back- it might be of some help. I ended up purchasing the Ketch-all repeating mousetrap, and then I drown them in a 5 gal. bucket. I am happy with the results.

 

[Catstar68]

My cats take care of our mice so the population around my place is minimal.
Your mice are probably getting fat off of chicken food.

 

[abqferreira]

I spotted a mouse last summer who had the misfortune of running into the coop. The chickens pulled the poor thing to pieces and ate it in front of us- I haven't had any concerns about mice in the coop since then!