Mouse advice

[Jadecinadr96]

Ok, it is to that point where we HAVE to try to get rid of the mouse infestation. Advice to keep them out of the coop?????? No cat though.

 

[Duck_life]

Their are catch and release traps you could buy from TSC.

 

[CCUK]

Ok, it is to that point where we HAVE to try to get rid of the mouse infestation. Advice to keep them out of the coop?????? No cat though.

I have had mice in the garage and I've seen one in my pigeon loft. I normally just use the small snap traps but I have also just bought some poison and bait stations.

These both need to be placed within the vicinity of the mice but in such a way as to not be accessible to your chickens or anything else you don't want caught in or poisoned. Sometimes I put the snap traps out at night in the run whilst the hens are locked up and remove them in the morning before I let the hens out. Make sure you clean up any spilled feed and keep the rest of your feed in sealed containers. Be thankful that if you have mice you don't have rats! But one can lead to the other.

 

[Duck_life]

I have one of these.

You can also try this.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Ok, as someone who's dealing with a slightly bigger problem (Rats) Here's what's actually gonna work (advice from the professional people taking care of my problem right now). (We have a small mouse problem too.)

Secure your feed. Don't leave food out or in the coop. Only feed as much as the chickens need each day, pick up excess at night and keep it all in metal bins when not actively being fed.
Start elimination by determining where the mice are traveling. What walls are they using, where are they being seen. This is where you want your removal methods to be.
Set bait boxes. Bait boxes are secured in ways that the chickens can't get into and are safe to use around them. I do suggest walking the run every day to make sure no mice died where a chicken can get at them to eat them, but 99% of the mice will return to their nests underground before passing away so the risk is minimal.
If you choose to set snap traps make sure they are secure from the chickens first as they can break small bones. Then start by putting the traps down baited but unset for a week, renewing the bait whenever it's taken before you set the snap trigger. Then after the trigger has been set for a week or two after that, move the traps somewhere new and start over again.
If you can find their burrows you can use a powdered poison called tracking powder that they walk through then later lick off of their paws. You just dust the opening tunnels to the nests with it.
Mice can fit through gaps the size of a quarter, sometimes smaller so make sure you're filling in gaps in your walls with 1/2" hardware cloth or just straight up concrete or thick wood. Try to seal every wall so that it's solid. Even mice can get through plywood given a bit of incentive.
Track down areas of debris in which the mice could be nesting and clear them out, whether natural or just clutter in a garage. Lift bales of bedding material off of the floor by 1' on cinderblocks, pallets, etc. opening up air underneath them. Pull plywood or tarps away from walls or make sure they're completely flush and compressed to avoid creating gaps for mouse-only travel that keeps the mice safe.
Cut grass and shrubs low to the ground and clear out the fallen plant matter. Rake your lawn regularly to prevent the buildup of thatch that mice could travel under. Make the area unhospitable and exposed for them.
Don't grow vegetable plants that mice enjoy eating like corn. Only grow vegetables that are mouse resistant like alliums, spices or hot peppers.

 

[Al Gerhart]

All of those ideas are great ideas and just good general sanitation but only one thing determines if you have a mouse or rat problem. You.

The chicken feed buffet you left out attracted the rodents and the only way and the responsible way is to stop leaving feed out that attracts them and they will go elsewhere and live a natural life.

Buy a treadle feeder that has a countertweight, a spring loaded door, and a narrow and distant treadle. That is the only kind that will work 100% of the time. Feeders like the grandpa feeder or the feed o matic will not stop the mice and rats as they can simply push the doors open or the lid up. Read the reviews online, this is a fact. There are all sorts of shysters selling things like trigger feeders and they help but they are not rat proof or wild bird proof and even if the vermin doesn't learn to use the trigger the rats will hang around and eat with the chickens.