Mice in chicken coop

[TXchickmum]

{*hardware cloth}

 

[BustersMom]

I just saw 5 little mice when I was closing the coop tonight. I have seen a couple at different times inside the coop, these were in the pen, outside!!! I hate mice!!! Nasty vermin! I have one California White hen who is an excellent mouser, then will not share her "catch." I also have two dogs that are great at catching mice and moles, but the dogs and the chickens are not a good mix...the dogs; one is Australian Cattle Dog and the other is Bull Terrier mix. Both have a keen interest in birds, all sizes. Not a good plan for the coop and chicken pens! I did read on one of these blogs that milk crates covering snap-traps (my favorite) works well inside the coop! I will be doing this very thing first thing tomorrow!!!

 

[madscience]

Type in "chicken eats mouse" on youtube and a ton of videos come up, as well as some of chickens eating snakes and other odd things. They maul them until they don't move anymore, then swallow them whole.

 

[eramsey99]

New to this thread.... But about five minutes ago i just took a water hose and shoved it in one hole and stomped those little buggers as they came out of the other.. Hahahah

 

[rswojo]

I had a copper tub with some oats in it and a mouse got in it so I took it out to the coop and laid it on its side. The mouse sat there for a few seconds and made a run for it. He didn't get halfway across the floor before two hens got him. They both pulled, tore him in half and gulp he was gone.

Hens are good mousers.

 

[Dono2000]

Hi all,

After skimming through and having an occasional chuckle, I thought I'd add our own thoughts on the matter.

Our chooks have caught a few mice themselves, but after a while there is just too many (we live on a farm too).

Get a shoebox, put a little mouse hole in it, and put traps inside!

We got the idea from a product at a hardware store that has a plastic container with a trap inside. Only problem is it's one of those spring mouth style traps and goes off by itself sometimes.

So we're going to tip out hat to the idea, and make a bunch.

Cheers

Dono

 

[eramsey99]

They wont know what hit them

 

[jonezen]

During the day, I hang the chicken feeder from a braided hemp rope. The rope dangles down from a pully attached from above to a ceiling joist of the hen house. During the day, I lower the feeder and the chickens can eat from it normally, but when they return to their coop to roost, I pull up the feeder and leave it in that suspended position until morning when I lower it again. It works pretty well, but because there are always grains that end up on the floor, I also made it harder for mice or rats to enter the coop by attaching a foot of additional chicken wire that surrounds base perimeter of the coop and enters the ground, which frustrates digging.
I did not have as much luck with baited traps, but they definitely liked to eat blue cubes of rat poison, which I hid away from the coop in enclosed areas where they tended to congregate (they seem to like to nest under our outdoor hot water heater where it's cozy warm at night). I kept putting out bait cubes until I ran out and it's been about two months that I haven't seen any mice or rats.
I avoid using other toxic substances in areas accessible to our backyard chickens and our rabbit.
Still trying to figure out the fly problem though...

 

[SherriPalmer]

will an electric mesh fence surrounding the wire mesh run, keep mice/rats out?

 

[rancher hicks]

I have read that mint will keep mice and rats away.

For myself I intend to plant mint around my chicken runs. Chickens don't eat mint and I know once it gets settled they won't dig it out.

I also set traps on occasion. No sense messing around.