INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[SallyinIndiana]

Busy weekend for me! I hope the tractor build at Racinchickens went well, sorry I wasn't able to attend but I was nursing Gregor (he seems to be moving his legs more, but still has yet to stand). Yesterday I started building my last run. Here is my progress thus far. My goal is to get it painted this week, get the door built and then hang the hardware cloth next weekend. I also hauled hay yesterday. I am feeling pretty sore today!



So, filed away under the "this would only happen to me" category, I have a mouse problem in my shed. I have been resisting using poison (which I could put up in the shed loft and the chickens couldn't reach, but I don't want a poisoned mouse to somehow make it into the chicken pens and get consumed) and I don't have the stomach for any trap where I have to see the dead bodies. So I made a humane bucket trap to catch and release them a couple miles down the road. Yesterday I caught one, came back an hour or so later to take it down the road and it had given birth in the bucket! It literally multiplied in less than an hour. What does one do in such a situation? I felt awful dumping it along the road with new babies (eyes not open), and even putting it back in the shed wasn't an option because i didn't know where she would nest. I eventually dumped them all down under the hay (also infested with mice) where a lot of them seem to nest. I'm sure she abandoned the babies and I am not down ANY mice after releasing her back in my barn, but i felt better putting the family somewhere protected and not out in the sun to die. Who else would this happen to? Gaahhhh, I really don't want to use the poison but I am getting closer to doing it, the mice are such an issue and catching them one at a time is not going to help my problem when they are having litters like rabbits (which I also have a problem with).

Another thing I wanted to share with the group is my low feed alert system. I built several of the pvc feeders for my pens, but wanted an easy way to see when they started getting low on feed. I tied a "flag" on one end of a long string, drilled a hole into the feeder and fed that string through and tied a weight on the end that is inside the feeder. The weight sits on top of the feed and as the feed level drops, the weight also drops and pulls the string. When the "flag" gets near the top of the feeder I know it is time to add feed. It enables me to know what the feed level is without going into each pen. I need to fashion something similar for the waterers. Anyway, I am proud of it and it was really easy to do. It could be added to most DIY feeders.

feed mice to a barn cat. Limit the food available to mice by putting a daily ration in the chicken feeders now that weather is nice. During the winter I can see having a week's supply of food available as handy but mice will eat the chicken food. Well fed mice will make more mice.
There is a rat zapper trap. It worked well for us in areas that the cat was not allowed to go to and in areas that did not have adult poultry. now my adult ducks and adult roosters will kill mice along with the cat.

 

[pginsber]

Busy weekend for me! I hope the tractor build at Racinchickens went well, sorry I wasn't able to attend but I was nursing Gregor (he seems to be moving his legs more, but still has yet to stand). Yesterday I started building my last run. Here is my progress thus far. My goal is to get it painted this week, get the door built and then hang the hardware cloth next weekend. I also hauled hay yesterday. I am feeling pretty sore today!



So, filed away under the "this would only happen to me" category, I have a mouse problem in my shed. I have been resisting using poison (which I could put up in the shed loft and the chickens couldn't reach, but I don't want a poisoned mouse to somehow make it into the chicken pens and get consumed) and I don't have the stomach for any trap where I have to see the dead bodies. So I made a humane bucket trap to catch and release them a couple miles down the road. Yesterday I caught one, came back an hour or so later to take it down the road and it had given birth in the bucket! It literally multiplied in less than an hour. What does one do in such a situation? I felt awful dumping it along the road with new babies (eyes not open), and even putting it back in the shed wasn't an option because i didn't know where she would nest. I eventually dumped them all down under the hay (also infested with mice) where a lot of them seem to nest. I'm sure she abandoned the babies and I am not down ANY mice after releasing her back in my barn, but i felt better putting the family somewhere protected and not out in the sun to die. Who else would this happen to? Gaahhhh, I really don't want to use the poison but I am getting closer to doing it, the mice are such an issue and catching them one at a time is not going to help my problem when they are having litters like rabbits (which I also have a problem with).

Another thing I wanted to share with the group is my low feed alert system. I built several of the pvc feeders for my pens, but wanted an easy way to see when they started getting low on feed. I tied a "flag" on one end of a long string, drilled a hole into the feeder and fed that string through and tied a weight on the end that is inside the feeder. The weight sits on top of the feed and as the feed level drops, the weight also drops and pulls the string. When the "flag" gets near the top of the feeder I know it is time to add feed. It enables me to know what the feed level is without going into each pen. I need to fashion something similar for the waterers. Anyway, I am proud of it and it was really easy to do. It could be added to most DIY feeders.

Your works looks great!
Would you feel less bad if the baby mice went back into the food chain? If so, perhaps you could consider feeding the babies to your chickens, then relocate the mother? That sounds terrible, and I'm cringing as I type this, but I swear to goodness those chickens would make it quick and may even swallow them whole. Eww, but there it is, I said it.

 

[ChickCrazed]

feed mice to a barn cat. Limit the food available to mice by putting a daily ration in the chicken feeders now that weather is nice. During the winter I can see having a week's supply of food available as handy but mice will eat the chicken food. Well fed mice will make more mice.
There is a rat zapper trap. It worked well for us in areas that the cat was not allowed to go to and in areas that did not have adult poultry. now my adult ducks and adult roosters will kill mice along with the cat.

I keep hoping a stray cat will move into the area but between the dogs and the busy road I live off of I would feel guilty bringing a cat onto the property and to almost certain doom. I've looked at the zappers and may bite the bullet and get one. I did find one partially eaten mouse in the coop this winter but for the most part the chickens leave them alone. I came in one day to find a mouse sitting in my old feeder with three chickens about a foot away, it saw me and ran off and the chickens gave no chase. That is almost why I am tempted by the poison. If I put it up in the loft I don't know how long it takes to work and how far the mice could get. Plus my chickens probably wouldn't eat them even if they made it into the pen. I don't think it is worth the risk though. My PVC feeders don't allow for much spillage and I built them tall enough that so far the mice haven't been able to get in. I also just switched my last pen of babies over to the nipple waterers so I'm hoping the mice will go elsewhere looking for a water source.

 

[ChickCrazed]

Your works looks great!
Would you feel less bad if the baby mice went back into the food chain? If so, perhaps you could consider feeding the babies to your chickens, then relocate the mother? That sounds terrible, and I'm cringing as I type this, but I swear to goodness those chickens would make it quick and may even swallow them whole. Eww, but there it is, I said it.

Thanks! I could never do it. It probably would be less cruel than slowly starving to death, it is true, but I have trouble with death.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

I was thinking the other day about buying pinkies to feed to my chickens.

I would absolutely not poison the mice any where near your flock. The poison makes them seek water, and even if they can't reach it any more, if they're used to getting water in the coop that's where they will go. If the chickens eat them, it will definitely kill the chickens too.

I understand that having to deal with death personally can be really difficult. You might see if you can get someone to set and clear the traps for you. In my experience, aggressive trapping is the best way to go, along with being very careful to eliminate as much food as possible. Do you have them anywhere other than the shed?

The more expensive option is to go buy half a dozen adult corn snakes and turn them loose behind your shed. They'll settle in and get the job done. The house I grew up in was back yard up against a corn/soy field, so we always had mice - until we got snakes. Every few years we'd set a few more loose, just to keep the colony local, and it made a huge difference.

 

[browncow15]

Your works looks great!
Would you feel less bad if the baby mice went back into the food chain?  If so, perhaps you could consider feeding the babies to your chickens, then relocate the mother? That sounds terrible, and I'm cringing as I type this, but I swear to goodness those chickens would make it quick and may even swallow them whole.  Eww, but there it is, I said it.

That's what I was going to suggest.

Thanks!  I could never do it.  It probably would be less cruel than slowly starving to death, it is true, but I have trouble with death. 

I'm not sure if you're referring to the poison starving them to death or not, but if I recall correctly that's not how the poison works. Most mouse and rat poison contains the substance warfarin which inhibits blood clotting factors. So basically the bleed to death internally, not a quick death! I'm not sure how it would affect an animal that ate a poisoned animal but it will defiantly affect any animal that gets into the poison be that chickens, dogs, cats etc.

This is just FYI not saying you should one thing or another specifically

 

[brian5161986]

Built a chicken plucker this weekend. Thing works amazing. If anyone is thinking about making one I highly recommend it. It's as good as advertised we did 6 jumbo Cornish x. attached are some pics of the final product.

 

[ChickCrazed]

That's what I was going to suggest.
I'm not sure if you're referring to the poison starving them to death or not, but if I recall correctly that's not how the poison works. Most mouse and rat poison contains the substance warfarin which inhibits blood clotting factors. So basically the bleed to death internally, not a quick death! I'm not sure how it would affect an animal that ate a poisoned animal but it will defiantly affect any animal that gets into the poison be that chickens, dogs, cats etc.

This is just FYI not saying you should one thing or another specifically

I was referring to the new babies starving to death since the mother ran off and left them. I still don't think I could feed them to the chickens even if is is probably more humane and a faster death!!! I need to check but I believe I don't have the warfarin poison, but the other kind. The one mouse I encountered that had eaten it was writhing around in a truly horrible way! I still use the poison in my attic, but i feel REALLY bad about it. I wish nature would just stay in nature.

 

[ChickCrazed]

I was thinking the other day about buying pinkies to feed to my chickens.

I would absolutely not poison the mice any where near your flock. The poison makes them seek water, and even if they can't reach it any more, if they're used to getting water in the coop that's where they will go. If the chickens eat them, it will definitely kill the chickens too.

I understand that having to deal with death personally can be really difficult. You might see if you can get someone to set and clear the traps for you. In my experience, aggressive trapping is the best way to go, along with being very careful to eliminate as much food as possible. Do you have them anywhere other than the shed?

The more expensive option is to go buy half a dozen adult corn snakes and turn them loose behind your shed. They'll settle in and get the job done. The house I grew up in was back yard up against a corn/soy field, so we always had mice - until we got snakes. Every few years we'd set a few more loose, just to keep the colony local, and it made a huge difference.

I definitely don't do snakes. There are not many things that turn me into a shrieking girly girl and snakes are one of those things. Aaaahhhhhhhhhh. In answer to your other question, I have a horse barn about 6 feet from the chicken coop and the mice are out of control in there also. It is becoming a major problem in both places.

 

[Leahs Mom]

The more expensive option is to go buy half a dozen adult corn snakes and turn them loose behind your shed. They'll settle in and get the job done. The house I grew up in was back yard up against a corn/soy field, so we always had mice - until we got snakes. Every few years we'd set a few more loose, just to keep the colony local, and it made a huge difference.

Then the snakes eat your chicks and steal your eggs.

This is starting to sound like "The Cat in the Hat"....