mice eating the ducks' food, is this a problem?

[Smurfbrew]

So I've been leaving my ducks' food dish sitting out day and night, refilling every few days from the backstock that I keep sealed in 5 gallon buckets, and haven't really thought too much about it until yesterday when I saw a mouse take a visit to the dish in broad daylight. Cheeky little thing! Should I be concerned? Are there any diseases that could cross between them? Is this not a big deal since they all live outside anyway and are sure to cross paths at some point?

 

[Amiga]

I have heard that there is some risk. I agree also that the rodents are out there. I do what I can to reduce the rodent population without poisons, and am planning a new pen with half inch hardware cloth all around.

You may want to take up the food at night - and yet, thinking about it, ducks splash, so there will be traces of feed in the bedding anyway. You could probably set up some way to catch that, though, or have an area with hardware cloth around it that the ducks and feed could be in at night anyway.

 

[Mrs.H]

I would also take the feed up or put hardware cloth around pen. If you have seen one there's prob more or eventually just attract more. If they have easy access to food then they prob will just stick around.

 

[Smurfbrew]

Thanks for the input, guys! I agree with you Amiga, no poisons! I should've mentioned that the dish is in their pen, which is reinforced with hardware cloth. I just leave the door hanging open in the afternoons when the girls are out roaming. I like to leave it open for them in case they need to "duck" for cover or something. I have heard however, that if you can see light, a mouse can get through, so I don't think hardware cloth is really any kind of deterrent for them.

Maybe I could at least put it up at night, when the mice are probably most active. Hopefully it won't seem like such a free buffet to them then.

 

[needlessjunk]

I would bring it up. If mice can get to it then I would bet after time other things will start to come around. I bet when the girls are in there mice aren't wanting to be around. Rodents can carry things that can affect humans and I don't know about being able to pass things to ducks though. I just wouldn't want them around if you can help it. If they have plenty of shelter you can close the door. I know mine never go in their house unless it's to sleep. If they get scared they go other places, little butts.

 

[Smurfbrew]

So I just found a mouse nest inside the snow blower which was inside the garage! They even chewed through some of the wires.

The duck run/ house is right next to the garage. At least now I know where they were coming from. Hopefully a good purge of the garage will take care of most of my mousey woes.