Mouse question

[Shamo Hybrid]

Gawd, I hate mouse...... there were two of them that chewed through the lid of my feed and got stuck inside because they couldn't work their way back out. I took my trusty Daisy BB gun and sent them off to be with their deceased loved ones.

 

[Howard E]

A chicken house, with free access to food and water and shelter is a near perfect place for rats and mice to live.....but as others have pointed out, they also create problems. One other problem a lot of us are not aware of is that high populations of rats and mice may also attract weasels to your house, which may then attack your birds as well as killing the rats and mice. They come for the vermin but go wild on chickens too.

Good way to keep food away from rats and mice is to use a rat proof feeder. I use the one built and sold by BYC member Al G.

BTW, while birds often squabble over one thing or another, I've never seen such a fight as what broke out the day one of them caught a live mouse. That was a rolling rumble that went all around the yard until at some point, the mouse was ripped to shreds (and eaten).

 

[seredni]

Thank you for the responses. I don't know what I'm going to do. I agree that this guy needs to move, but boy does he have a cute little feather nest. One mouse is darn cute--30 is a problem, and I know that if I leave this guy alone he'll get married and start a family. It seems sad no matter what I do--even if I leave him alone and the chickens eat him--that's probably the worst solution. I would move him but it's so cold outside--snow everywhere outside of the coop. I don't even need a trap to get him as I probably can just push him and his nest into a box and move him out, but I'm pretty sure another relative will move back in.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

seredni, you are so cute! and very kind

I feel the same way - or used to - hm

and I tried to humanely catch and relocate - many died anyway, some got relocated

and now I got venomous snakes that moved in because our run smells like mice so badly even I can smell it

the snakes are hibernating now - and now I got to decide if I want to face off with copper heads and kill them while it is cold - I think they found a hibernaculum in an old ground hog hole next to our basement

better to be aggressive about the mouse problem early on

short of killing them - disturbing them daily may be a good strategy - and I would move that one mouse out! I know it is cold outside and it may not make it, but I would move it out while the problem is small and then check in all spaces for more mice and move them out of disturb them - our mice were/are nesting under the rubber mats I put down in the run to catch the spilled food under the feeders - no perfect solutions! sigh.

maybe you can find a sheltered place for the little mouse, under leaves, or even let it have an old towel out in the woods and some farewell chicken feed - but I would move it far enough away so it would not come back easily - I move ours across a creek into a wooded area that has hiding spaces and water for them to start out a new life, hopefully and I release any mice from our coop there so they can reunite, maybe

 

[WindingRoad]

Thank you for the responses. I don't know what I'm going to do. I agree that this guy needs to move, but boy does he have a cute little feather nest. One mouse is darn cute--30 is a problem, and I know that if I leave this guy alone he'll get married and start a family. It seems sad no matter what I do--even if I leave him alone and the chickens eat him--that's probably the worst solution. I would move him but it's so cold outside--snow everywhere outside of the coop. I don't even need a trap to get him as I probably can just push him and his nest into a box and move him out, but I'm pretty sure another relative will move back in.

You don't want to put him outside because it's cold out there. Did you think he dropped out of heaven into your run? Or he came by plane ( which BTW might have happened) from Miami? PUT him out.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

WindingRoad, you are so funny - thanks for the laughs!

I was picturing this little mouse with a suit case from Miami arriving at seredni's place and going: "Uh, it's cold up here! Thank God there is a lovely Inn with warm, feathery birds good for nest building and a generous cafeteria."

 

[WindingRoad]

WindingRoad, you are so funny - thanks for the laughs!

I was picturing this little mouse with a suit case from Miami arriving at seredni's place and going: "Uh, it's cold up here! Thank God there is a lovely Inn with warm, feathery birds good for nest building and a generous cafeteria."

Ah so you got it.

 

[WindingRoad]

WindingRoad, you are so funny - thanks for the laughs!

I was picturing this little mouse with a suit case from Miami arriving at seredni's place and going: "Uh, it's cold up here! Thank God there is a lovely Inn with warm, feathery birds good for nest building and a generous cafeteria."

I know some people have a soft spot for all wildlife. I don't think dispatching a critter is gonna wipe out the species. Just be careful of those endangered little fish in TN. Darter's or something like that.

 

[aart]

Or he came by plane

A little birdy brought him, they are in cahoots to steal all the chicken feed.

 

[Acre4Me]

Mice and rats WILL chew wire.
Make sure your wiring has an AFCI breaker to help prevent arcing and potential disaster.

Very true. Last fall had to get barn workshop re-wired due to chewed wires in on wall. Previous owner wasn’t very good about keeping dog food and candy stored properly, so mice were happily living in insulated wall and under and in cabinets. Yes, they reproduce fast - we ripped out and burned all workshop cabinets since they were full of mouse poop. But the infestation had been eradicated -likely so that they could sell the house. Anyway, since the workshop was rewired, we added some extra wiring to other parts of the barn and the coop got electrified as well, since it’s only 2 feet behind the barn. In the end- mice cause damage that costs money and time to repair or manage.