Mice in the feed

[Barn Maid Ann]

Quote:
They can climb metal, believe me! I have seen it.

 

[Chicken Woman]

I had a mice problem but went to the local hardware store and bought a galvanizes mouse trap. I requires no bait or poisen and once the mice go in it smacks them and traps them. The chickens an't get caught in it as the mouse runs in a hole.

The instructions say that after you catch one then more are drawn to it by smelling the one inside.

You turn a cranck ane sit in coop along a wall. It will trap up to 10 mice before you need to empty and reset.

In the last 3 days I caught 17 mice ! I find that the mice are actuve at night while the chickens are sleeping. I take the feeder out of the coop at night and put in a metal trash can. Metal trash cans seal pretty tight.

IM hoping I will soon catch most of these guys in the next few weeks.

Best $17 I have ever spent and am going to get another one.

 

[ColoradoMike]

I refilled the 'large' galvanized feeder I keep hanging under the coop in the run this morning and noticed the feed still left in there had mouse poop in it

From reading this thread, it sounds like it's advisable to try and remove the poop, but won't it keep recurring it the mice can get in there? I got a large feeder so I wouldn't have to mess with it but once or twice a week, but if mice are getting in I'll need to store it every evening? What a pain!

I guess I could fashion some sort of cover for it... Perhaps I'll try that this weekend.

I knew mice would be inevitable with all the feed around, I just thought that a hanging feeder would be immune. I haven't had a problem with my stored feed - it's in a galvanized trash can with a well fitted lid.

Boy, if it's not one thing to worry about, it's another! Hopefully we'll have everything dialed in with our new flock soon!

edit: I searched for a thread close to this topic and picked this one - I figured it would be in the 'pests and predators' forum. Mice certainly are a pest!