Mice in chicken coop- help?

[Al Gerhart]

We have some mice, but our main rodent is chipmunks. I don't have feed in the coop and have to remove all feed at night (due to bears).

I got the ratproof feeder and really like it. It will stop the rodent buffet. I previously was using the diy "five gallon bucket with elbows" feeder. Unfortunately the chipmunk had no issue getting inside the feeder. They are not getting in the ratproof feeder.

Good morning. Glad the feeder is doing its job. Just keep the action as stiff as possible for the birds you have. Springs can be made tighter by drilling a few holes in the side of the feeder along the top rim to stretch the spring out a bit. Springs generally have less power when they are at their shortest length and more power the longer you stretch them out, to a point when they fail.

Springs eventually break from metal fatigue so we have three packs available. Use a few rubber bands till the replacement springs come in.

 

[Possum-Pie]

I know this is an old thread, but winter is coming and so are MORE mice. This may not help those who already have small coops, but when I built our coop I divided it into an 8X8 section for birds, and a wall with a screen door and the nesting boxes in. Behind that is a 4X8 room where I keep bedding, supplies, etc on a shelf, and a metal garbage can for the feed/treats. I can put 5 or 6 wooden spring mouse traps out at night in that room, the next morning there will be 4 or 5 mice. Chickens can't get to that section of the coop so won't be harmed. After a few weeks, and 20+ mice later, the population level has decreased to near zero for the area and 1 or 2 traps will do nicely over winter to get any long-treking stray mouse from the next door neighbor's coop. ANYONE thinking of building a coop, consider a devided one, it is so handy for many reasons. I put old plastic hinged doors on the back of the nesting boxes so I can see if any eggs are there, or how my broodies are doing without entering the main coop.
First pic is looking in the "human door"
Second pic is the back of nesting boxes
Last pic is from my "Coop Cam" looking towards inside of nesting boxes and the screen door...You can see the mousetraps on the floor of the first pic, safely away from the birds by the wall/screen door.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Hello all!

Well, dang it! I'm dealing with mice in the chicken coop! It's a 12x8 lofted barn shed, and since we don't have a chicken door cut in it (it's not going to be a permanent coop- we're working on a new one soon) the big door is open during the day.

Problem is, we have mice droppings in their feeder, and the other evening I closed the door and collected eggs, and spotted a mouse just as it ran under a lip in the vinyl flooring we have in there. Plus, a few of the chickens seem to be missing a couple of breast feathers. We live on 5 acres of pasture (and are building our house and currently can only mow a portion as we're using a backyard mower and don't have a riding one), and it's not fenced yet (plus severe cat allergies in the family).

Any tips? We built a feeder out of a rubbermaid tote with four 45 degree 4" elbows and it holds 50 lbs of feed, so it's not easily moved once full. We're going through a lot more feed than usual (50 lbs about every ten days +/-), despite only having 9 hens now instead of 12 (three died- two unknown (one old house, and one here in the past 2 months) and one from eating screws) and we REALLY need to get this mouse problem under control. I'm not paying for mouse feed!

Any tips! Using pine shavings as bedding now (was using hay before) and new coop we're building will have 1/2" hardware cloth lining a dirt floor with 2-3" of sand on top of it.

Nine hens x 25 pounds = 2.25 pounds of feed per day needed to feed nine hens. 22.5 pounds in ten days so you are feeding rats. Find Howard E.'s posts on rodent control here on this forum if you want to understand the problem and fix it.

Basically you have sanitation, exclusion, or elimination. Sanitation, a treadle feeder that is actually mouse proof and that rules out 90% of them if you read the negative reviews, bulk feed in a steel barrel, clean up the pathways that the rats use to move around so the predators get to them. Gonna cost you$130 including the shipping on a decent feeder and whatever a galvanized trash can or steel barrel with a real lid costs.

Exclusion is much more expensive but worth it if you have small birds or chicks that can't use a proper ratproof chicken feeder.

Elimination, poison and traps, never ends and the rodents quickly learn to avoid.

Bottom line, stop feeding the rats and they have to leave. Might be one or two that can survive on the natural present food but having to hustle for his food exposes them to predators. Rat colonies only establish when someone sets out a buffet for them

 

[Possum-Pie]

Nine hens x 25 pounds = 2.25 pounds of feed per day needed to feed nine hens. 22.5 pounds in ten days so you are feeding rats. Find Howard E.'s posts on rodent control here on this forum if you want to understand the problem and fix it.

Basically you have sanitation, exclusion, or elimination. Sanitation, a treadle feeder that is actually mouse proof and that rules out 90% of them if you read the negative reviews, bulk feed in a steel barrel, clean up the pathways that the rats use to move around so the predators get to them. Gonna cost you$130 including the shipping on a decent feeder and whatever a galvanized trash can or steel barrel with a real lid costs.

Exclusion is much more expensive but worth it if you have small birds or chicks that can't use a proper ratproof chicken feeder.

Elimination, poison and traps, never ends and the rodents quickly learn to avoid.

Bottom line, stop feeding the rats and they have to leave. Might be one or two that can survive on the natural present food but having to hustle for his food exposes them to predators. Rat colonies only establish when someone sets out a buffet for them

Bottom line...Make a way to allow mice/rats to get to traps but prevent chickens from getting to them. A separate area like I have or a wire cage that allows rodents in to traps but stops chickens from getting at them. Rodents carry disease and eat expensive food.