OMG my chickens ATE Mice, HELP!!!!

[Anitapita]

My Husband moved a pallet in the backyard and there was a nest of mice babies. Before we could react my chickens snatched them up and ran. I'm so grossed out but I will get over that part. My concerns, can we still eat the eggs? Will the chickens catch anything? Sorry if my question is weird but I worry a lot and have a weak stomach! Thank you!

 

[bigmrg74]

You just gotta remember that chickens are just the living descendants of the T-Rex. Anything smaller than them and not quicker than them is fair game to be eaten by them.

 

[N&MSchroeder]

You just gotta remember that chickens are just the living descendants of the T-Rex. Anything smaller than them and not quicker than them is fair game to be eaten by them.

Yes, the joke around our place is that we better not fall down while inside of the coop because the chickens would be all over us.

Rather than T-Rex, we refer to them as velociraptors.

 

[Happy Feathers]

Chickens can really help reduce the mouse population, but - be sure there is no poison bait in the area. If a chicken eats a mouse that has consumed poison, it can kill the chicken.

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Yes, chicken eat mice and yes, you can eat the eggs. It is pretty shocking how carnivorous these birds can be at times.

 

[RezChamp]

100% agree!

I don't know how people let their dogs lick their faces or any other body part for that matter.  Chickens might eat moldy food or intestines, but at least they don't eat the feces of other animals (or their own...I've seen that happen too).  I knew a lady that used to let her dog eat off her fork, and then she would continue eating using the same fork.   It is no wonder that she's single.  

I have 16 sled dogs. Yup yup,... I never let them "kiss me" . I've witnessed for years what they ingest and where they lick themselves. Luckily for them they have a germ killing enzyme in their saliva that allows them to eat a whole host of things that would most likely sicken a human. Sometimes fatally.
I can't remember the exact name of it but if my memory serves me correctly it's called lycozine or lykozone or lyconine or lyzine.. ?????????
As a matter of fact I heard an old man say,"If you have an infected wound let one of your dogs lick it. There's something in his mouth that'll help it heal you."
I've let them do that to my hand a cpl times as an experiment then graduated to a nasty cut from a rusty nail. Worked better than polysporin, bacitrin and alcohol wipes and all that rot. But I still don't let them kiss me.
Chickens now,.... Chickens do ingest chicken dung. The wee babies need to ingest it to introduce gut flora to their own systems because they aren't born with it. Like a moose licking her babies mouth area to introduce the enzymes necessary to digest the foods it eats. Same as a horse, a cow, a dog, a sheep.
I still don't let my dogs kiss me. Or my horses. Or my geese. Or my chickens. Or a moose....
And if any of them eat off my plate it's after I've finished with it, AND I don't eat off of it till Iv'e washed it with hot water and soap.
I don't intend to insult, hurt or anger anyone. I just wish to share what little I know in hopes it will help.
HAGD. it's a beaut.

 

[OverEasyRanch]

With the 50+ chickens I have now and working from home I have seen the chickens eat any and every small rodent, my cats love catching mice, moles and lizards and the chickens go crazy for the free meal, chickens will hunt down any rodents they find in the pasture as well. Biggest thing I've seen them eat is a 14 or 15inch snake whole!! It was so big the chicken gagged on it and the snake was still moving around so about 8ish inches of the tail was sticking out of the mouth wrapping around the beak trying to prevent its self from being swallowed, about 3 minutes it had the whole snake in and she started strutting around like it was her own birthday cake. I did not think they could digest all those bones and everything else but I kept an eye on her for weeks and she didn't have any issues.

 

[Sarah12987]

I opened my coop door to check the nesting boxes and my roo was in there pecking at mouse he'd just caught. I just closed the door and backed away. Went back 10 minutes later and the mouse was gone. It was his first mouse. He's 4 months old. He caught a house finch in the backyard 2 weeks ago and my dad made me take it from him and my daughter started crying so I had to bury it. I told him that chickens will eat small birds, mice, snakes etc..... I mean hell, both my parents hunt, nature shouldn't surprise them like this.

 

[Blooie]

As gross as it sounds, chickens are omnivores and eating mice is not uncommon at all. I was just today talking to a lady whose chickens ate a hummingbird! She thinks it got into the run and then exhausted itself trying to get out. She saw the commotion in the run but by the time she got out there she was too late to save the little guy. They'll also eat small snakes.

I doubt that your eggs will be any different....a mouse is just protein, and chickens catch and eat bugs all of the time. I get the "yuck" factor, though.

 

[draye]

My Husband moved a pallet in the backyard and there was a nest of mice babies. Before we could react my chickens snatched them up and ran. I'm so grossed out but I will get over that part. My concerns, can we still eat the eggs? Will the chickens catch anything? Sorry if my question is weird but I worry a lot and have a weak stomach! Thank you!

Best tasting eggs I ever ate.
Haha. I've seen mine eat mice before. It doesn't make the eggs taste different or anything. It just adds more protein to their diet.