Rodent problem - give me your best solutions

[corinetran]

Hi there! I have 8 girls and in the last 6 months have been noticing more and more mice coming on the ground and crawling around their run.

I would love to know any and all things I can try to remedy this problem. What are the best rodent proof feeders? There are so many on the market, all claiming to be the best.

I have a cat but he is very old, has cataracts now and no longer hunts for mice. I would say his eye issues started about a year ago and I think that is when I started to notice the mice coming down into the yard more. Before I would only occasionally notice them in the trees. I think he did a great job of deterring the mice but unfortunately, he is retired now and just wants to eat and sleep.

Thanks!

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

Well, you could feed your chickens meals and make sure they clean everything up. Keeping the feed sack in a trash can.

I have High-End Hen feeders, but I don't use them where rodents are the worst. I like them, and am going to put some in that place just because the chickens spill feed at 90mph from their homemade feeder.

My dog used to kill mice, but she's getting on, too. My cats are just interested in innocent birds.

 

[Zoomie]

I have traps set out all the time, outside the coop where chickens can't get them but mice can. I have the kind that they have to crawl into to get. One of them is an electrocution type that kills them with electrical shock. However, you can use simple 5-gallon buckets partially filled with water, with a ramp going to the top of the bucket from the outside, and a fixed floating raft in the center with peanut butter etc. on it. They jump in to get the bait and then drown in the water. There are also multi-catch traps where they simply walk through them (you put them against a wall or other place mice will walk) and they crawl through them thinking it's safe. The trap will not let them out. These types don't even need bait. You can get traps like these and more at your local feed or ranch supply store.

The other thing to do is to minimize feed on the ground. I use a hanging feeder that's hard for mice to get into, also my coop is fairly tight and I don't have mice in it... at least RIGHT NOW, you never know, they are everywhere. But, it has a cement floor and steel siding up to about 2', and very tight above that. I also keep my feed in metal bins with tight lids. You do the best you can do.

In my opinion, everyone should have some sort of mouse eradication program in place. You can not get rid of them all, simply keep the numbers under control. A good trapping program is a great place to start. You should be wary of these rodents as they can carry such things as Hanta virus, and that is no joke.

 

[corinetran]

Thanks so much.

Do you recommend the hanging feeder over something this feeder? like http://ratproofchickenfeeder.com/
I came across that through google.

 

[Howard E]

I tried the rat proof feeder you linked to.....that same one. I found it worked well and eliminated my problem. There is a knack to getting it installed right, but once you do, no worries.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-proof-feeder-review.1180514/