Mice issue...

[Panhandler80]

So, my neighbors (wife's parents) have never had a mouse issue and they've been in their current house for at least 10 years. Recently they have been seeing / killing a few. I also noticed a dead one on our back patio last week. This morning I noticed a dead one in the driveway on front of the house.

The chickens (our first) went into the yard towards the end of May. I'm thinking this may have something to do with it. What I don't understand, however, is how they could be getting to the food. I would assume they would need actual access to it in order for the food to create a mice problem. The run and coop is 100% hardware cloth and is sandwiched between boards at every single seam. All my vents at the coop are covered with HC the same way. My food is stored outside in a fiberglass box with a lid that has a massive lip that comes down and there is no sign of chewing going on with those bags of feed.

Anyway, I can't prove that this sudden increase in rodent activity is linked to the chickens, but I sure suspect that it is. The only way they could be getting in, best I can tell, is a gap between my people-door and the frame it sits in. It might be just a TINY bit wider than my 1/2" hardware cloth. I can fix this easily, and will. Just trying to figure out how to determine if the chickens are root of the problem. There are no bags of feed anywhere (garage, back of truck, etc) that could be a food source. The feed does to into buckets and is available in the run 24-7. I guess I could put a trail camera on the buckets at night and see if I get any pictures. Or set some traps on the inside of the coop after locking the birds up. The more I think about it... I guess that's probably the best next move. Let's see if they are actually getting into the run. The fact that we're seeing dead ones makes me think that they're getting in somewhere, being pecked, escaping and then dying.

FWIW... her dad also keeps his garage door open pretty much all the time. It could be that a few got in there just by chance and have started breeding and it has nothing at all to do with the chickens.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Rodents in buildings have been at an all time high here this year. Numbers fall and rise every year based on predator numbers, and favorable weather conditions.

Keeping chickens can encourage more rodents because of the available feed, and nesting areas. Most poultry owners need to include rodent eradication, and management into their husbandry at some point.

 

[Dephora]

Of course chickens will always attract rats/mice and other vermin. Just like a garden will. Or a compost. Or leaving cat/dog food out. Or bird feeders.

A trail cam is the only way to really tell if they are getting in. Who knows what your other neighbors are doing, they could also be doing something to attract mice, not sure if I would immediately assume it is because of your chickens. It is just strange that you are seeing them, I know some are always around, but I never see or hear them unless a cat leaves me a gift.

The worst issue I ever had was when I lived as a young women with my husbands parents. They lived very rural and were a retirement couple, had always lived in the city before moving. Well the first week we lived there I just laid in the dark listening to what sounded like hundreds of rats in the wall. Never saw them of course, but did I hear them! Eventually I found out grandpa was leaving dry cob out all day and night for the deer! Add that to the bird feeders they had every 4 feet and it was a rodent paradise. We moved out after a year, if I ever lose my hearing I think I will still be able to hear the tiny scratching of multiple rats trying to dig through the walls.

 

[Panhandler80]

Rodents in buildings have been at an all time high here this year. Numbers fall and rise every year based on predator numbers, and favorable weather conditions.

Keeping chickens can encourage more rodents because of the available feed, and nesting areas. Most poultry owners need to include rodent eradication, and management into their husbandry at some point.

I guess what I'm wondering is exactly HOW my chickens are attracting rodents if the rodents don't have access to the feed and/or nesting areas. Granted, there may be a breach in the hardware cloth system somewhere. My next step is to figure out whether or not mice are actually getting into the coop / run. I'm thinking a combination of trail cameras and traps should work well on this front.

My question: Wouldn't they need actually access to the food / shelter for it to create a rodent problem? Or does the mere presence (smell, I guess) of the set up have the potential to bring them in and create a problem?

Of course chickens will always attract rats/mice and other vermin. Just like a garden will. Or a compost. Or leaving cat/dog food out. Or bird feeders.

A trail cam is the only way to really tell if they are getting in. Who knows what your other neighbors are doing, they could also be doing something to attract mice, not sure if I would immediately assume it is because of your chickens. It is just strange that you are seeing them, I know some are always around, but I never see or hear them unless a cat leaves me a gift.

The worst issue I ever had was when I lived as a young women with my husbands parents. They lived very rural and were a retirement couple, had always lived in the city before moving. Well the first week we lived there I just laid in the dark listening to what sounded like hundreds of rats in the wall. Never saw them of course, but did I hear them! Eventually I found out grandpa was leaving dry cob out all day and night for the deer! Add that to the bird feeders they had every 4 feet and it was a rodent paradise. We moved out after a year, if I ever lose my hearing I think I will still be able to hear the tiny scratching of multiple rats trying to dig through the walls.

That's pretty funny and somewhat disturbing. I had something similar happen. I was looking over my parents house for about a 2 month late one summer. One day I pulled up with three 50# bags of millet in the back of the truck. The plan was plant it for some dove hunting. Well, it began to rain as I pulled up and I had some work to do in the basement of their house. Figured I'd set the bags in there and pick them back up once I was able to line up somebody with a tractor. Well, weeks went by.... no tractor became available, schedules filled up, deer season kicked off, Thanksgiving, then Christmas, as so on. Well, slowly but surely my folks started having a modest rat problem. They'd kill one or two in the attic, which continued for a while... it never really got worse, but they just kept steady killing them. Well, one night somebody came downstairs and there was a monster rat in the kitchen. He fled under the counter through an AC duct which goes to the air handler / exposed ductwork in the BASEMENT. So... we set a few traps in the basement and killed and killed and killed. At the point the 150 pounds of millet has been down there for maybe 12 months. Needless to say, when they came across about half of it eaten and spilled out tucked away in a dark corner of the basement they were not too thrilled with yours truly. We removed that food and continued trapping. They eventually got wise to the traps, but the problem slowly fixed itself. My theory is that the population grew so quickly that it was unsustainable once the unlimited food source was removed.

 

[cmom]

I had a coop that was infested with rats. When I started to renovate it dozens of rats of all sizes poured out. I did notice some tunnels around the coops that I assume the rats made. I tried many things and eventually resorted to poison. I'm not advocating using poison. I started seeing them in our barn which is behind the coops. I put rat bait stations in the barn in places where only the rats could get to them. They have a little window above the bait so the baits can be checked regularly. Surprisingly I didn't find any dead rats laying around so again I assume they went into their tunnels and died and the baits haven't been touched. Good luck...

 

[Panhandler80]

I had a coop that was infested with rats. When I started to renovate it dozens of rats of all sizes poured out. I did notice some tunnels around the coops that I assume the rats made. I tried many things and eventually resorted to poison. I'm not advocating using poison. I started seeing them in our barn which is behind the coops. I put rat bait stations in the barn in places where only the rats could get to them. They have a little window above the bait so the baits can be checked regularly. Surprisingly I didn't find any dead rats laying around so again I assume they went into their tunnels and died and the baits haven't been touched. Good luck...

Yeah, I guess I need to really weed eat the perimeter of the run and then give it a close inspection to see if that's how they're getting under. I have a board about 8" deep all the way around, but I guess they could have tunneled under... right now there's so much vegetation, I wouldn't even be able to tell. Or... I guess check for tunneling from the inside... which is barren ground.

 

[Mogul Moonshine]

Hang your feeders and barn cats are amazing at killing them

 

[Dephora]

I guess what I'm wondering is exactly HOW my chickens are attracting rodents if the rodents don't have access to the feed and/or nesting areas. Granted, there may be a breach in the hardware cloth system somewhere. My next step is to figure out whether or not mice are actually getting into the coop / run. I'm thinking a combination of trail cameras and traps should work well on this front.

My question: Wouldn't they need actually access to the food / shelter for it to create a rodent problem? Or does the mere presence (smell, I guess) of the set up have the potential to bring them in and create a problem?




That's pretty funny and somewhat disturbing. I had something similar happen. I was looking over my parents house for about a 2 month late one summer. One day I pulled up with three 50# bags of millet in the back of the truck. The plan was plant it for some dove hunting. Well, it began to rain as I pulled up and I had some work to do in the basement of their house. Figured I'd set the bags in there and pick them back up once I was able to line up somebody with a tractor. Well, weeks went by.... no tractor became available, schedules filled up, deer season kicked off, Thanksgiving, then Christmas, as so on. Well, slowly but surely my folks started having a modest rat problem. They'd kill one or two in the attic, which continued for a while... it never really got worse, but they just kept steady killing them. Well, one night somebody came downstairs and there was a monster rat in the kitchen. He fled under the counter through an AC duct which goes to the air handler / exposed ductwork in the BASEMENT. So... we set a few traps in the basement and killed and killed and killed. At the point the 150 pounds of millet has been down there for maybe 12 months. Needless to say, when they came across about half of it eaten and spilled out tucked away in a dark corner of the basement they were not too thrilled with yours truly. We removed that food and continued trapping. They eventually got wise to the traps, but the problem slowly fixed itself. My theory is that the population grew so quickly that it was unsustainable once the unlimited food source was removed.

I can only imagine the look on everyone's faces when they found the issue. Stomach turning, the worst part is having to clean it all up. Rodent feces is just full of bad things.

 

[Dephora]

Yeah, I guess I need to really weed eat the perimeter of the run and then give it a close inspection to see if that's how they're getting under. I have a board about 8" deep all the way around, but I guess they could have tunneled under... right now there's so much vegetation, I wouldn't even be able to tell. Or... I guess check for tunneling from the inside... which is barren ground.

If you have vines all over or thick vine like plants covering everything, those are just like rat condos.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Hanging feeders do not stop rats or mice. They jump much higher than a chicken can reach.

Rats need a quarter sized hole, about one inch in diameter. If you have mice eating the feed they will pee and poop while they are eating and leave signs in the feeder. But while this time of year the field mice start coming into homes for shelter it takes an artificial food source to keep them alive, natural food this time of year is scant.

But the smell of the chickens isn't bringing rats and mice, only the feed, maybe the poop if they are already starving or the eggs.