Hen ate a baby mouse. Is that okay?

[mfranti]

this is good to know! i noticed some mice loitering around the run last night just before nightfall.

wouldn't you rather the chickens kill the mice rather than them get into the food or worse, into your house?

 

[whitecra]

I have a red silkie hen and her 7 babies in our garage in a dog carrier and the other day there was a baby mouse in her feed and she grabbed it and swolled it whole.
Chris

 

[JennsPeeps]

Now that I think about it, a baby mouse probably is just a big bug to a chicken.

 

[chickster88]

Free protein and calcium!

Okay, thanks for reassurance, peeps. As long as she's not going to need a vet to pump her stomach, I'm fine. It was horrifying to hear the mouse squeaking (especially having watched Apocalypto a few days ago!), but it was over soon enough and I'd rather the cats and hens team up on the mice than resort to poison or traps.

Funny thing is my cats almost never kill mice--they just bat them around until the mice escape. Very playful. The hens, though, not so much....

 

[chicka_chicka_boom_boom]

Quote:
Sounds like you're giving your cats too much cat food... a hungry cat is a more motivated hunter... lol