Mice?

[mkeawsh]

They have always been there.... they will always be there. It's called "nature". Even if you think you have gotten rid of all of them - you won't. It's not just mice. There is much more out there than that. If you are going to have livestock, poultry etc., you are going to have feed, straw, hay, shavings around, which is going to bring critters. You do what you can, but the only way to get rid of MOST of the mice or whatever else is designated as a nuisance is to get rid of your poultry, livestock etc. Remember, don't have dog or cat food, bird feeders out at night - they will be there to scarf that up too. Just a note, mice come back to nest where they were born and since they have huge litters and procreate profusely - good luck.

 

[luvmychixandducks]

Your initial post said you could see the small holes where the mice were entering. Stuff steel wool in the holes- the mice do not like to chew on steel wool.
You can stuff holes faster than the mice can chew them. Try building one of the bucket traps that use a bottle coated with peanut butter spinning on a dowel- mice drop into water in bottom of bucket- does not require resetting, and you can still feed the mice to your girls. They continually work as long as the water doesn't freeze, and do not require resetting. I saw several versions described on internet, all of which looked relatively easy to build. Just google bucket mouse trap .
One version suggested soap in the water to kill mouse quicker, but that won't make them taste good for the hens. No danger to hens or to dogs. The plan by Allen Easterly using a paper plate as a mouse diving board looks like an easy build.

 

[destinduck]

Also you can put a cage or metal crate over regular mice snap traps. Mice can get in but your chickens and dog cant reach the trap. Hope this helps

 

[riftnreef]

Quote:
I had considered aluminum foil as when mice chew on it they end up dead!...but I was afriad the foil would also attract my birds...I'm pretty sure they would peck at the steel wool also...gluttens they are!

I will look for that bucket trap...sounds interesting...and a cage over the traps...not a bad idea!....thanks!

 

[Rath]

yeah i have had a problem with mice and rats in Tasmania also, it seems as soon as there is chickens there is rodents, i made sure i never ever put food in the coop and feed my chooks outside, i even fenced off a little corner of my run and put traps in there and got 36 rats in one week i was changing the traps every few hours, and i have not seen a rat since, i know thanks to a pest control operator that rats and mice hate anything that tastes metallic or metal-ish, if you have gaps in your coop try using a combination of expander foam (expander foam comes in aerosol cans and looks like hair moose when you spray it) and steel wool.
make layers out of the two, line gap with steel wool and expander foam over the top and repeat layer if necessary, if your worried about your chookies pecking at expander foam once it sets just use really thin gap wire like aviary wire and steel wool and plug gaps with that, it sorto just bends easily, plugs holes and stays in place.
Mice and Rats here have never chewed through mine, but i have seen the little buggers chew through concrete though!
luvmychixandducks is spot on good to see someone else with success with this method.

 

[patman75]

I 2nd the bucket trap. There are a few on youtube.

 

[henney penny]

Quote:

I get mine at wal mart