my feed room is infested with MICE!!!

[rmiller102]

are you sure that it is OK to feed the mice to the chickens???

as long as you dont use poison yes Chickens are will take a little bit to figure it out but when they do they will love them

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

The first thing I would suggest is keeping the feed in mouse-proof containers like metal trash cans with lids. And avoid poison, because of the danger to your chickens. Some people have posted very clever traps, hopefully they will post them here. One involves a bucket of water and a ramp. Good luck!

Edit:spelling

Yes, mouse-proof containers are a must. You could try fencing around your shed and let the chickens at it, they love mice. Also, get a cat.

 

[Debbie Collins30]

are you sure that it is OK to feed the mice to the chickens???

I used to have very big chickens called Leghorn's. They are good mouse patrols. They would eat them. It sounds gross but it's okay.

 

[OverEasyRider]

the title says it all... how do I get rid of them?! they are everywhere! I see them even during the day! they are chewing through the feed bags and are totally grossing me out. thank goodness they are not rats. I have used snap traps but it hasn't affected the population much. would mouse poisoning hurt my chickens or contaminate their feed? they are living in the straw bales and me and my faithful dog cant seem to catch them.

1. All feed in metal containers or plastic buckets with screw on lids. Preferably off the ground.
2. Feeders off of the ground. Hang them or try bricks shelving or there are some more custom type using PVC piping. There's even a wooden one you can get plans for that they step on it to open it and eat out of it
3. Put a little cayenne pepper in the bottom of your feed container if you going to leave it in the bags. You can put some bricks or planks in the bottom to keep separation. I pour everything out of the bags and just keep a lid on tight. Depends if you have raccoons or not. They can unscrew lids and pull Lids off. They can also take nuts off of bolts. So you need something more complicated.

4. Identify their trails and cover them with cayenne pepper. Preferably undercover or you'll be replacing it everytime it rains. But you don't want your chickens walking in it.
5.Steel wool is real good for blocking up holes
6. If you get a cat, get one that's really young. It needs to be taught to fear chickens and a few pecks will do that. Don't get a cat if you have coyotes.
7. I made a mouse trap with the long parts of coat hangers. I cross them with some rubber washers in between them, I spliced an extension cord positive to one and negative to the other and place them in a shoebox with a hole in it either end. . I put some free feed in there and put the lid on . They go in the box and they don't come out of the box. You can throw the Box away and reuse the electric chair. I'm sorry, it just had to be done LOL.

 

[nuthatched]

Poison for mice and rats its also poisonous for other living creatures. Its proven that Bayer, Monsanto and some other poison makers too, lie about safety to make more profit.

That is true for anticoagulant poisons aren't safe for anything.
Actually, this a type of salt and corn gluten, that keeps the mouse (or any abovevground rodent) from registering thirst, they don't drink, their kidneys shut down and die in a coma.
it's not a first or second generation pest control, it was recommended to me by a local wildlife rehaber.
if there's some information you know on, please let me know, I don't want to use anything unsafe.


https://www.ecoclearproducts.com/

 

[Double Yolked]

Metal Garbage cans to hold your feed, a handful of prevention really is worth a gallon bucket of cure.
Mouse Trap Monday on Youtube. Shawn Woods tests every kind of mouse trap out there and finds the best. He films his tests and lets you decide for yourself if the trap or technique works for you. Here's a link to his channel.
https://www.youtube.com/user/historichunterI've used his DIY yellow jacket water trap to rid myself of a few 1000 yellowjackets one bad year. It worked wonders.

 

[Steve2saint]

Yah....but...don't want a snake in my coop or garage...and definitely not in my house!

Bucket trap doesn't need to be reset either. May want to put fresh bait on it once in a while.

 

[Steve2saint]

@proudchickenmom So where is your feed room in relation to the coop and your house?

I am surprised I have not had a problem with mice with my feed. Chickens have a mouse resistant coop. Feed is kept in the garage on a bench that a mouse could easily get to, but I have not had a single bag damaged. I buy 2 bags a month. I figure as soon as I get a bag chewed, I'll get some metal garbage cans. Take away the food source and they go somewhere else. In the process, may be an owl will find it.

 

[Steve2saint]

Well, go through that old bag of dog food to see if there are any mouse droppings contaminating it - mice seem to eat anything remotely edible - if not, you have your answer and those metal bins would be good places to store your feed,

I had mice get into boxes of OUR food storage we have. A lot of cans. They ate the paper off the cans. I did lose some soft Pac k aged products. Like a total of 4 boxes the size of stove top stuffing. They also got into a case of toilet paper. 12 packages of 12 rolls. They only damaged I package and 2 rolls in that package. I got of lucky. They ate holes in about 15 cases of stuff though..

 

[nchls school]

We had mouse problems for years and nothing solved the problem for long. Then a feral cat moved under the house and garage several months ago; mouse problem solved-for as long as the cat leaves the poultry alone.