Mice, Mice, Mice!!

[LiveInBliss]

Hello!

So first of all, I have done research and have started with Diatamaceous Earth under bedding and outside in places where they hang out a lot... However, that isn't made for rodents. The guy at the feed store said I could mix it in their food as well but I don't particularly like the idea of glass shards in their food... Thoughts??

I have recently found mice turds all over the coop. It's so irritating however I realize it comes with the territory. Lots I can do I know.. Should I bring the food bin in the house (my house) at night? I've also ordered the pricey but hopefully worth every penny herbal "Nesting Box Blend" from Natural Chicken Keeping. The herbs in there are suppose to ward off insects and rodents. . . spearmint in general should help.

So I guess my question is- what can I do in the mean time until I keep the herbs in.
Should I set traps high up where I know the birds don't go yet?
Also, do you think I can mix the herbs in the food? Hopefully the mice don't fancy it. It kills me to see mice POOP in their food!!!


HELP!


Thanks again!

 

[poodlechicks]

Sorry you are having trouble with rodents.
I never leave chicken feed outside. I have a small flock, so it is easy for me to bring their feed in every night. The one night I forgot their feed out, I found a mouse running from under the coop early in the morning.
I would personally forget about the mint in the coop and set traps. Now, where you'll set them is very important. I don't know how your set up is, but if you have a place under the coop that your birds can't get to at night, I would set a trap with bait there.
I would also set traps around the coop at night. You can collect the dead mice early in the morning, before the chickens are out. I don't know if your chickens are out for the day and come back to the coop only to lay eggs and sleep. If that's the case, I would make a solution of bleach 1:10, spray the bedding, wait 30 minutes and then clean out all the bedding. Then, I would replace with fresh bedding.
Keep the food inside, avoid food spills throughout the day. I avoid that by placing my feeder in a cat litter tray. My birds tend to spread food all over the place when feeding, but the feed goes to the tray instead of the ground or floor. When they go in at night, I pour the feed from the tray back into the feeder and take it inside.
Clean out your coop and set traps until you get the most stubborn of them. Also, collect your eggs promptly if you can. Without a trace of feed nearby, the rodents will look for food elsewhere.

Good luck!

 

[LiveInBliss]

Thank you!!

Just need to out smart them I guess. I've entertained the idea of getting a kitty but that comes with it's own issues too.

Enjoy your day!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Sorry you are having trouble with mice. Try to clean up all food and water at roosting time. Do your best to clean up all spillage and also, try to figure out where they are getting in so you can block them out.

I do not recommend open traps in the coop at night. Chickens can get up in the night to go to a nest box or sometimes even fall off the roost bar. You don't want them coming into contact with these traps.

I invented a simple trap system you can put in our coops around poultry and keeps them safe, but traps mice.

This first pic is the entire thing assembled...

Get a cinder block and chip out an mouse hole at the bottom on both sides like this one...

Lay a flat block down and place baited traps down. Put the big cinder block on top and a thin one on top...

During the night, mouse crawls in the mouse hole and gets killed....(this is looking down inside the cinder block)

This keeps your poultry safe and catches the mice. I keep these all over my grounds in coops and aviaries. Traps are always set and everybody stays safe.

Just try to keep your coop and run as clean as possible to stop drawing mice in. Good luck and welcome to our flock!

 

[LiveInBliss]

yes yes YES!


Thanks!

 

[TwoCrows]

Oh, and I use a tiny bit of peanut butter at the entrance hole at the bottom, smeared in to entice the mice to go inside.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Two Crows has given you good advice.

Mint helps repel mice wonderfully.

Here's two links that are great too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mouse-chicken-pests-how-to-protect-your-chickens-from-mice
http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/10/not-creature-was-stirring-got-mice-in.html

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you.

X2 on all the above posters.

Good luck with your mice problem!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC!

 

[BantamLover21]

Glad you joined us!

TwoCrows gave you good advice. Good luck with getting rid of the mice!