Mice in my coop!

[coach723]

While rats and mice are both pests in the coop, they do have some differences. Rats can travel a fairly far distance, so nests may be far away. They particularly like to be under buildings and in brush and debris piles. Mice are usually a bit closer. I don't like poison since it doesn't tend to stay where you put it. They eat it, move on, and possibly poison another animal that eats them, possibly including a chicken. Mice can even squeeze through 1/2" hardware cloth, I had one get fat and get stuck in the wire. My chickens will eat a mouse if they see it, but I find they tend to run in the coop more after dark when the chickens are sleeping, and they can't really see them then. The mice (and rats) are after food, so keeping it cleaned up is important, but that is really difficult since chickens tend to throw it around everywhere when digging in the feeders. It's almost impossible to not have ANY feed on the ground somewhere. I find the mice will also go after undigested grains in the droppings on the poop board at night, so another source for them. I've tried just about every trap out there, and for many reasons have settled on the electric ones. They are as humane as you can get, last a long time since they are reusable, clean up is easy, and they are safe for the birds. I put them in the coop around the edges where the mice tend to run. In the fall and winter I sometimes get at least one a night, sometimes several. I leave them in the coop year round, but in the spring and summer I don't catch nearly as often. I hate sticky traps because I don't want to deal with what to do with a live mouse, and I don't like having to try to remove other things from them that inadvertently get caught, like snakes and lizards. Particularly since the snakes help keep the mouse population down. Bucket traps work, just not my thing, I find the electric ones easier and more convenient, but yes they do cost more.
https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/rats-and-mice.html

 

[Chickenmeme]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

We're so glad to have you here with us!

Thank you for joining our wonderful community of fellow poultry enthusiasts!

Can you tell me how to find my state threads?

 

[cmom]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/where-am-i-where-are-you.26/

 

[Claires Poultry]

Can you tell me how to find my state threads?

Sorry, I'm not exactly sure.
@Pork Pie Can you please tell her how to find her state threads?

 

[aart]

Sorry, I'm not exactly sure.
@Pork Pie Can you please tell her how to find her state threads?

Already posted by cmom.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/where-am-i-where-are-you.26/

 

[bluefreeze]

Every spring and fall I really go at all areas of mice and rat protection modes. I use several types of traps, and poisons. I use long pieces of PVC pipe and make sure it is secured in place, smaller pipes for the bait/ poison, I put traps in large pipes, the cats can't get in them, they are easy to lay out and they stay dry, you can cap one end, they last a long time... It is all part of the seasonal stuff we all do every year... ONE mouse is enough to really start trouble so constant control is a must! Good luck!

 

[Al Gerhart]

All this work with traps, poison, attempts to rat proof a coop, some understanding that no food equals no rats or mice, yet only one mention of a treadle feeder. A proper treadle feeder has a spring loaded door, a heavy counterweight, and a narrow and distant treadle so the vermin cannot overwhelm the treadle. Most treadle feeders can be pushed open by mice and rats so get one that has the counterweight and spring on the door.

You buy a feeder and you save money on feed. You don't have to worry about buying poison from now on or dealing with dead mice in traps. You also push away the predators as you push away their prey, the rats and mice. I always learn when I have the time to binge read BYC and today I learned that rats and mice leave fluorescent trails of poo and pee that some predators can easily see. Amazing. So these rodents are laying out a road map to your coop.

Then the wild birds steal feed too and bring in tons of disease and vermin like lice and mites. Poison and traps aren't going to put a dent in their populations. You solve both problems with proper treadle feeder. Yeah, I sell that feeder, had to start making them because the others are junk. Do a forum search for rat proof feeder or just chickens and rats and you will find tons of threads on this issue. Howared E. has the best thread on dealing with rat infestations and you will run across that and his review of my feeder. Or there are plenty of reviews online on all sorts of blog pages, review sites, and on shopping carts.