Rhode Island Red Rooster for pests?

[TSH16]

This is my first season keeping hens and have found that I have a mouse problem. I've heard that roosters will go after mice, but want to check in with you all to make sure this is regular rooster behavior. Don't want to deal with the crowing unless they earn their keep through pest control. I have Rhode Island Reds so will probably go with same for rooster. Right now my hens just hang out with the mice (I literally opened the coop door to find a mouse and hen sitting together. Adorable, but they are going through more feed than the hens so, nope!)

 

[sourland]

A rooster might go after mice, but in my experience hens have been more likely mice hunters. I would not suggest getting a rooster and expecting that he would be a mouse catcher/killer.

 

[50-45-1]

A rooster is not the answer to your mouse problem. And a rooster can come with a whole list of other problems if you have never had one before.
Research threads and articles concerning mice for good ideas to get a handle on them.

Keeping your Coop Mite and Rodents Free

 

[cmom]

If you are seeing mice, you have more of a problem. Some birds will go after mice and some won't. There are several methods and threads on them. I had a rat infestation and resorted to poison in rat bait stations that only the rats could get to. I didn't find any dead rats laying around. There were some tunnels around the coop that was infested, which I renovated. I think the rats went into their tunnels and died and that's why I didn't find any. The baits haven't been touched in quite awhile and I haven't seen any rats or evidence of them. There are several different ways to deal with the mice. Good luck...

 

[Naser]

Mice come for chicken feed, deny them access and they go away

 

[aart]

I would not suggest getting a rooster and expecting that he would be a mouse catcher/killer.

Ditto Dat!!

Keep your feed in metal cans.
Get a spill proof feeder....or a treadle feeder.
Remove any areas they can nest in and around coop/run.

Properly set snap traps have worked the best for me,
in house/garage/sheds/coop,
the old school type with the wooden base and small metal trigger mechanism.

Two key things that upped success immensely:

-Place the bait end of trap against a wall or other flat surface(like a box at least 6" tall).

-Cram some solid bait tight into trigger so they have to really dig for it.

I've found sunflower seeds or a chunk of corn from chicken scratch mix to work very well for bait.....and no more pnut butter mess.
There are various ways to protect the chickens from them...in a box with mouse sized holes down low, under a milk crate or wire basket with holes big enough for mice but too small for chickens.
Been catching mice in under-house garage and sheds(rarely in house thank goodness) for 20 years, way before chickens happened here.
I keep some always set, and am especially vigilant in spring and fall.

 

[BonNuit]

I've seen my RIR Roo take on rat snakes, go after voles, chipmunks, and toads -- however, I wouldn't say he is pest control. That's just not their nature, IMHO. It certainly wouldn't be a sole reason for me to take on a rooster. I would say if you are seeing mice it's likely because first, autumn is hitting and they are especially active, and second, you have a mouse problem. Securing your feed/removing things that lure them, and decreasing the population is a better long-term solution.