Mice Control in Duck Pen?

[pawprint2104]

Cats are great(make sure spayed/neutered) and I swear by snap traps(Victor brand ONLY) as I have almost NO mouse problem on my farm. I am trapping several a week now that it is colder BUT have no evidence of them in chic sheds/food stores. I set traps daily, 1 per small box taped shut so other creatures can't get in(with tiny hole in front for rodent to enter), and check at least once daily and dispose of trapped rodent.(mice,voles,moles) I don't like poisons and am excellent with the snap traps(like said-Victor brand are THE best!) The mice ARE there but I seem to get em quick with my routine before they cause damage. have 4 traps set in four locations with the tiny box with tiny hole method. Make sure box is TALL enuf for trap to snap.

Great idea, thanks! I thought of doing the exact same thing, but just haven't put the plan in motion, yet.

Victor works great for me, too. So far all the kills have been instantaneous, at least until today. I checked one of my traps this morning and found a poor, lingering, very much alive rat firmly within the trap's mechanism. It was a good hit, but the darn creature was death defyingly resilient. I don't know how it was alive considering the strength of the trap, but it was. I couldn't let the poor thing suffer, so had to do the deed myself to quickly end it's misery. I discarded that trap at that point, because I didn't trust it's effectiveness any longer. In spite of that, I still like Victor traps, as my other traps continue to function perfectly.

And, I agree, I'll never use poison, regardless of the manufacturer's propaganda. I know it's indiscriminate and always causes a slow, uncomfortable death, which is inhumane in my opinion.

I'm encouraged by your success. I'll build a box or two this weekend with an access hole and put them near the feeder. Also, I'm investigating different feeder designs to reduce the spillage by my messy chicks.

 

[chooniecat]

Great idea, thanks! I thought of doing the exact same thing, but just haven't put the plan in motion, yet.

Victor works great for me, too. So far all the kills have been instantaneous, at least until today. I checked one of my traps this morning and found a poor, lingering, very much alive rat firmly within the trap's mechanism. It was a good hit, but the darn creature was death defyingly resilient. I don't know how it was alive considering the strength of the trap, but it was. I couldn't let the poor thing suffer, so had to do the deed myself to quickly end it's misery. I discarded that trap at that point, because I didn't trust it's effectiveness any longer. In spite of that, I still like Victor traps, as my other traps continue to function perfectly.

And, I agree, I'll never use poison, regardless of the manufacturer's propaganda. I know it's indiscriminate and always causes a slow, uncomfortable death, which is inhumane in my opinion.

I'm encouraged by your success. I'll build a box or two this weekend with an access hole and put them near the feeder. Also, I'm investigating different feeder designs to reduce the spillage by my messy chicks.

I had a problem ONCE(now I will jynx myself!!) with actual rats, after 8 yrs of owning fowl/having food stored outside, and altho my Victor RAT traps worked more often than not I DID have 2 rats that were alive when trap snapped and had to finish it(and I am a serious animal lover BUT). Caught 13 rats that summer(from same family I think-2 adults 11 young) and I meant to mention trading out used traps for new. I usually use them several times but I guess they are cheap enough I will also start replacing used traps more often(just in case)Actually heard the traps sanp on the 2 rats so don't KNOW how fast it worked on the others but coincidentally the 2 I had to do were not perfectly centered as the rest were(BTW-Had different set up for rats-had main hole in ground, by chic pen, they were using and put trap by hole then put inverted milk crate over hole/trap to keep others out of trap. weighted inverted milk crate down with small patio paver but could see thru crate for activity).And I just use cardboard boxes and place small piece of duct tape on them every morning. sounds like lots of work but its routine and the mice have slowed down this past week. And good luck with keeping your chicks from making a mess!!!!! Thats what they do best.

 

[pawprint2104]

Milk crates! Why didn't I think of that?

Perfect. My girls (or something) tipped the box over and the trap was empty.

Two nights ago, I watched an entire family of rats as they swung from my feeder and gave me "the bird" as they noshed on the chicken food. Their den is on the inside of my chicken pen, up against the brick wall, so they're completely guarded (along with my chickens) from predators. Owls, hawks, raccoon, cats...nothing can get in there,
except RATS!

I have two milk crates that are getting put to use today. THANK U!

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Can u guys post pics of ur milk crates please?

 

[jdywntr]

I have another idea that I found worked unintentionally.
My situation:
I am growing wheat fodder inside (master bathtub) for the birds. To start fodder, you soak the grain overnight and I use a standard size mop bucket with about 2 inches of water.

When it started getting cold, we had a few mice come in the house. I saw 2 in the bathroom. We got some poison, the kind that dries them up and put it in out of the way spots. One night, as I was going to bed, I saw a mouse, drowned in the grain soaking bucket. I figure it jumped on the handle to get in and couldn't get back out. I dumped the bucket. 2 mornings later, I get up and another mouse drowned in the bucket. No more mice. Now, these were pretty small mice (they did look bigger when they were alive and running around though )

This would be an inexpensive and safe way also. I will use it outside if I have a problem. I have small dogs so using snap traps outside I'd have to arm at night and go out and trip them in the morning. With the bucket, it wouldn't even matter if the birds got into it.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Jdywntr did you just read my post on the winter waterer thread? LOL

 

[jdywntr]

Jdywntr did you just read my post on the winter waterer thread? LOL

I hadn't seen your post but just did. Buckets are great.

 

[pawprint2104]

I'm reporting in the milk crate worked perfectly. It lets the rats through, but not my chickens. I discovered a good bait for the Victor traps (especially since the rats like my chicken's layer pellets) is a dough ball of cheese with 3-5 individual pellets firmly embedded into the ball like a pin cushion. The pests have to work hard to get the pellets which releases the mechanism.

Also, I read an article from UC Davis Integrated Pest Management website, which explained their biology and best eradication methods. As far as I can tell, I'll need to change the way I feed my girls. I had the typical galvanized tin hanging feeder. It caused too much spillage by my messy girls and couldn't be properly secured to prevent the rats from easily getting into it. Rats can jump very high. If I put it high enough to exclude the rats, then my girls couldn't get to it either. So, I believe my only solution is to put their food out in the day and remove it at night. And, put it into a container with higher sides, so my girls won't fling it everywhere.

Rat tally thus far = 10

 

[Sonny42408]

I have Muscovy ducks and they love to eat live mice, especially the Hens. I have one particular "Mouser" who hunts them ferociously or sits patiently in between the feed totes and waits on them to come close enough for her to grab them. Then it's Crunch-Crunch, and a Big Gulp! The Mouse disappears down her gullet. I have chickens that eat mice as well, but they prefer them to be dead already, but they pretend to kill it all over again. The Ducks will also eat Snakes, Lizards & Frogs. I also have a couple fat bushy squirrels that tend to give the ducks plenty of space, and while I doubt they would kill and eat a Squirrel, the Squirrels aren't so sure!