Mice in the Coop HELP!!!

[jraev]

I have three hens in a coop, and have recently seen mice scurrying across the back wall of the coop. My husband has set traps where the mice may be tunneling in, and they aren't taking the bait. I believe they are uninterested in the bait because they are feeding off my chickens' fresh food and pellets. I have tried all baited traps and they just aren't interested. Does anyone have any other methods for catching mice when they aren't taking any kind of bait? I am willing to do anything to get them away from my hens.
Any help appreciated thanks!

 

[redsoxs]

I have heard people say that their chickens actually kill and eat any mouse they can catch. Is there a way to feed to chickens outside the coop for awhile and then see if the traps are more effective? Here's a link to a few threads where mice in the coop is discussed extensively. Hope they give you some good insights - best wishes! https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=Mice+in+coop

 

[bobbi-j]

I have heard people say that their chickens actually kill and eat any mouse they can catch. Is there a way to feed to chickens outside the coop for awhile and then see if the traps are more effective? Here's a link to a few threads where mice in the coop is discussed extensively. Hope they give you some good insights - best wishes! https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=Mice+in+coop

My current flock didn't get that memo... I had a mouse run right past one of them, and she didn't even notice! Several years ago, I had hens chase down a cat that had caught a mouse and grabbed it once the poor cat dropped the mouse and ran from the coop. The problem I see with relying on chickens to catch and eat the mice is that mice are primarily nocturnal, and chickens are not.

 

[Zoomie]

Mice like to run along walls. They prefer not to run across open ground if they can help it. If you set traps so they face the wall, along the way that you have seen them run, you may not even need any bait; they sometimes see the trap as a sheltered place to run along so they are not too exposed.

Although you can control mice, you will never be totally rid of them. Still, better to have an eradication program in place. Check into the multi-catch traps that work the way I just described: they are placed against a wall where mice are known to run. Some of these can catch many, many mice in one night. I usually put the full trap into a bucket of water while I'm doing the chores. Then I empty out the dead mice and start all over again. In the morning, there will be more...

To control feed spilling in the coop or run area, you could try one of those step-on feeders that only open when a chicken steps on it. That way the feeder is closed unless the chickens are eating, so the mice will have a harder time finding food and will hopefully move on to greener pastures, so to speak.

 

[aart]

I have three hens in a coop, and have recently seen mice scurrying across the back wall of the coop. My husband has set traps where the mice may be tunneling in, and they aren't taking the bait. I believe they are uninterested in the bait because they are feeding off my chickens' fresh food and pellets. I have tried all baited traps and they just aren't interested. Does anyone have any other methods for catching mice when they aren't taking any kind of bait? I am willing to do anything to get them away from my hens.
Any help appreciated thanks!

What are you using for bait?
I use peanut butter, or a single sunflower seed, crammed into the trap trigger.
Put baited end of trap against a wall or other large flat surface(I use cardboard boxes on shelves).
Put the traps where you saw them running along the wall.
You can use a shoe box with 2 mouse sized holes in the sides, at one end of box, if it's where chickens could get at it.

 

[Willsjeep1974]

I have had good success with an empty five gallon bucket with a small amount of scratch feed in the bottom. Place it where the mice can reach the top from the outside. They jump in, but can't jump out.
My chickens are usually pretty good at taking care of them in the morning when I dump them out in the food spot. Kind of like kids fighting over the best candy bar!