Nesting boxes and mice

[Devorah]

Hi everyone!

My chicks are almost 17 weeks so I’m about to prepare their nesting boxes. Up until now, I stopped up the empty nesting boxes with cardboard boxes and egg cartons so they wouldn’t go there prematurely and get things pooped up.

Well … while removing those boxes this morning I found a mouse, chewed up egg cartons and lots of droppings. The coop is in a barn and actually very well sealed with hardware cloth and steel wool. I guess a mouse can turn itself into a pancake or spindle pretty easily. Yuck.

Is it an invitation to the mice world to now line those nesting boxes with straw or should I be succumbing to those artificial nesting box liners so those critters might not feel the love?

Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

 

[SmiYa0126]

Can you see if you can track the trail of mouse poo to see where it's getting in?

 

[DobieLover]

My chicks are almost 17 weeks

They are not chicks. They are pullets. Once a chick is fully feathered it is either a pullet or a cockerel until it reaches one year old.

The coop is in a barn and actually very well sealed with hardware cloth and steel wool.

Obviously not well enough. Somewhere you have an opening at least 1/2" and that is where they are getting in OR they are coming in from outside when the door is open for the birds to come and go from the coop.

I guess a mouse can turn itself into a pancake or spindle pretty easily.

Yes. They can. If their skull can fit through, their whole body can.

I would focus on finding how they are getting in and correct it. In the meantime, remove all barriers in the nest boxes, clean them out and put in your nest material of choice and let the pullets check things out. Hopefully, their presence in the boxes will be a good enough deterrent for the mice.
Lots of chickens love to eat mice.

 

[Devorah]

They are not chicks. They are pullets. Once a chick is fully feathered it is either a pullet or a cockerel until it reaches one year old.

Obviously not well enough. Somewhere you have an opening at least 1/2" and that is where they are getting in OR they are coming in from outside when the door is open for the birds to come and go from the coop.

Yes. They can. If their skull can fit through, their whole body can.

I would focus on finding how they are getting in and correct it. In the meantime, remove all barriers in the nest boxes, clean them out and put in your nest material of choice and let the pullets check things out. Hopefully, their presence in the boxes will be a good enough deterrent for the mice.
Lots of chickens love to eat mice.

Thanks. Yup - I know they are pullets but chick is a term of endearment to me I will check for openings. It sounds like you think I can go forward with the straw?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Another reason to not block them out of the nests unless you really truly have a reason. I want my nests open all the time I can to see if there will be any problems so I can correct the problem before they start to lay. If they are sleeping in the nests they are maybe being bullied, your nests may be higher than the roost, or they may not be able to get to the roost. If they are staying in the nests so much during the day they are pooping in there maybe they are being bullied or there are some other problems. If they scratch the bedding and fake eggs out you may need to raise the lip on the nest to make the nest deeper. If your nests are closed when they are looking for a good place to lay you may be training them to lay somewhere else when they start.

If they are sleeping in the nests then blocking the nests can sometimes be part of the solution to train them to lay somewhere else. If that is the case I want to know before they start to lay so I can fix the problem and avoid poopy eggs or the other problems.

Chickens eat mice if they can catch them. When I trap and kill a mouse the chickens play keep away with it until one wins and gets to eat it. If I find a nest of mouse babies I feed those to the chickens. Excellent protein and they are going to die anyway. If that nest had been open that mouse would not have built that nest there, the chickens would have tried to eat it if they could.

If mice can get in the coop they can build a nest anywhere it is protected from the chickens. That could be under a wooden floor if your coop is on the ground, in the walls if they are closed in on both sides, maybe under a waterer or feeder base that isn't moved. Maybe behind a nest if a hollow space is created between the nest and the wall. Mice are hard to keep out. They can squeeze through some tiny openings, climb really well, and even come in through a pop door if they can sneak in through the run. They can be really hard to keep out so I try to avoid creating places they can make a nest.

 

[Devorah]

Another reason to not block them out of the nests unless you really truly have a reason. I want my nests open all the time I can to see if there will be any problems so I can correct the problem before they start to lay. If they are sleeping in the nests they are maybe being bullied, your nests may be higher than the roost, or they may not be able to get to the roost. If they are staying in the nests so much during the day they are pooping in there maybe they are being bullied or there are some other problems. If they scratch the bedding and fake eggs out you may need to raise the lip on the nest to make the nest deeper. If your nests are closed when they are looking for a good place to lay you may be training them to lay somewhere else when they start.

If they are sleeping in the nests then blocking the nests can sometimes be part of the solution to train them to lay somewhere else. If that is the case I want to know before they start to lay so I can fix the problem and avoid poopy eggs or the other problems.

Chickens eat mice if they can catch them. When I trap and kill a mouse the chickens play keep away with it until one wins and gets to eat it. If I find a nest of mouse babies I feed those to the chickens. Excellent protein and they are going to die anyway. If that nest had been open that mouse would not have built that nest there, the chickens would have tried to eat it if they could.

If mice can get in the coop they can build a nest anywhere it is protected from the chickens. That could be under a wooden floor if your coop is on the ground, in the walls if they are closed in on both sides, maybe under a waterer or feeder base that isn't moved. Maybe behind a nest if a hollow space is created between the nest and the wall. Mice are hard to keep out. They can squeeze through some tiny openings, climb really well, and even come in through a pop door if they can sneak in through the run. They can be really hard to keep out so I try to avoid creating places they can make a nest.

Thanks very much!!!

 

[Devorah]

Can you see if you can track the trail of mouse poo to see where it's getting in?

Nope. It would be impossible to figure this out since the boxes are above about 5-8 inches of deep bedding … I just swore a lot and cleaned out the boxes. Afterwards, I filled them with straw. I hope the ladies show the buggers who rules the roost!