mice in broody coop

[mamahen82]

I have mice in both sides of my coop....it's a 40 year old coop that has one well-insulated side and one uninsulated side that I am currently using for two broody hens to set their eggs. Still haven't decided if I am going to let them rear the chicks seeing as they are not very friendly mamas...

in any event I have mice in both sides of the coop but the side that concerns me in particular is the broody side because the birds are both in nests on the floor and the mice are very bold and come right out to the food/water even when I am in the coop.

Is this a disease concern? Will they steal the eggs? Harm the chicks should I leave the chicks there? They are small shrew-type mice - fairly cute actually until I think about how gross they are then I just find them disgusting.

There is no way I could plug up all the holes - it is an old (sturdy) shed but has a wood floor, hollow walls, and has been home to mice for 40 years now as it wasn't used for anything until we rescued a chicken last year out of our orchard.

Your insight is appreciated - some threads seem to indicate I should get rid of them, others say the chickens will kill them for extra protein - but what do you think - do I need to make an attempt to get rid of these mice? I've once seen my RIR kill a mouse but other than that the chickens don't seem to care if they are there...

 

[GallusGal]

IME mice are little threat to eggs and not much of a threat to a chick being protected by a mama hen. The main risks would be disease and parasites - more to you than the chickens - and of course, the mice eating feed. Personally I think if a mouse got near a broody with an egg OR chick, she would very quickly kill the little guy, so it's probably a matter of your preference. You can discourage them a bit by taking up feed at the end of the day, but obviously since chickens tend to scatter feed it isn't quite foolproof. I generally try to get rid of them or at least keep their numbers down simply because it isn't long before they decide my house is even nicer than the coop.