Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[Silkie Princess]

Mice- They're simply SPECTACULAR!

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I hadn't heard about the blue cheese method, I'll have to look more into it, thanks for the suggestion!

I've heard of a few poisons that are designed to be relatively safe if another animal eats the mouse or rat after death which we are going to look into. We haven't used any poison yet to avoid any secondary poisoning of other local wildlife. I definitely don't want to hurt anything that isn't actively being a problem and taking up residence and damaging the house. I can't blame the mice and feel bad killing them but we've been through this before and the live traps weren't enough.

When i lived in Hawaii, id get the teenie tiniest little itty bitty FAST kangaroo looking mice. I ended up using one of those dehydrating chemicals. It kills them fast, but also breaks down the body quickly too.. so you don't have any stink and before anything else really gets to it (usually after it stinks). I can't remember the name, but it was something available at the store. Supposedly it was safe environmentally because of how fast it decomposed the bodies.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Mice- They're simply MAGNIFICENT!

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Ah your roo!!! Partridge?

Some sort of Columbian red leakage type colour the grey partridge and him make nice colour chicks

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

I use mice and rat zapper trap, instant kill so no suffering, easy clean up no mess blood etc. I put it up on a high shelf the chickens can't get too and catch a rat each night lately.
It's difficult with chicks to have no mess with feed so I put a tray under the feeder to help contain the bits and use treadle feeders for the older ones.

I hadn't heard about the blue cheese method, I'll have to look more into it, thanks for the suggestion!

I've heard of a few poisons that are designed to be relatively safe if another animal eats the mouse or rat after death which we are going to look into. We haven't used any poison yet to avoid any secondary poisoning of other local wildlife. I definitely don't want to hurt anything that isn't actively being a problem and taking up residence and damaging the house. I can't blame the mice and feel bad killing them but we've been through this before and the live traps weren't enough

 

[TJAnonymous]

Funny how fate intervenes at the weirdest times. Tonight I went out to DH's mancave (otherwise known as the shop). It's right next door to our barn. In addition to the normal guy stuff (tools, workbench, car stuff, etc...), we also store our camping gear, canoe, kayaks, and 4-wheeler in there. As I walked past the 4-wheeler, I noticed little muddy paw prints all over the seat. I pointed to it and DH said something about seeing a black cat lurking around.... He must have left the shop door cracked or open and it got inside... I told him I hope it sticks around the barn!

A little story about my live traps.... Yesterday I checked the live traps in both coops. I noticed the trap in the main coop appeared to have 4 mice in it. The trap from the Silkie coop had 1. Traps in the garage and barn were empty. I brought the coop traps up to the garage and left them there for a few hours until I could take them to a release location. After I got a break in my work schedule, I grabbed the traps and headed out to release them. When I opened the trap from the main coop, I was very disturbed to find 3 of the 4 mice were dead. DH did put out some enclosed poison bait traps in the barn and garage. (They are enclosed so other animals can't get to the poison.) There was no blood in the live trap so I can only assume they died from ingesting poison. I just thought it was weird that I caught them in the live trap in the main coop which is probably 60-80 ft from the garage and 80-100+ ft from the barn.... Yet the live traps in the garage and barn were empty....

 

[DucksworthO]

First and foremost - ABSOLUTELY NO HATING ON SILKIES ALLOWED!!! If you aren’t here to support our fuzzy friends, don’t respond.

Silkies get a bad rap for the following:
"Looks like a dust mop"
"Too hard to maintain"
"Poor immune system"
"Dumber than rocks"
"0 predator awareness"
And oh, so much more.

Well my friends - I thought so too, until I actually got silkies for myself. These are some of the most wonderful birds out there.

I’ve found them to be highly heat tolerant, wonderful mothers, having the strongest immune systems in my Bantam flock, GREAT LAYERS (that’s right folks), adorable as all get out, and more.

I currently have 9 silkies - and my rooster has been nothing but a gentleman to his ladies. They free range daily and I’ve not had a silkie get killed by a predator yet. My hens average 5 eggs a week - not too bad for a silkie, eh?


Most of the time, these silkie haters haven’t even owned the breed, but rather pretend they know everything.


So... let the fun begin! Support our silkies!

Pictures always welcome.

Be mindful, and respect others...

Off-topic discussions are allowed, though try to maintain the subject of silkies.

-Kayla-

Love silkies!!!

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Funny how fate intervenes at the weirdest times. Tonight I went out to DH's mancave (otherwise known as the shop). It's right next door to our barn. In addition to the normal guy stuff (tools, workbench, car stuff, etc...), we also store our camping gear, canoe, kayaks, and 4-wheeler in there. As I walked past the 4-wheeler, I noticed little muddy paw prints all over the seat. I pointed to it and DH said something about seeing a black cat lurking around.... He must have left the shop door cracked or open and it got inside... I told him I hope it sticks around the barn!

A little story about my live traps.... Yesterday I checked the live traps in both coops. I noticed the trap in the main coop appeared to have 4 mice in it. The trap from the Silkie coop had 1. Traps in the garage and barn were empty. I brought the coop traps up to the garage and left them there for a few hours until I could take them to a release location. After I got a break in my work schedule, I grabbed the traps and headed out to release them. When I opened the trap from the main coop, I was very disturbed to find 3 of the 4 mice were dead. DH did put out some enclosed poison bait traps in the barn and garage. (They are enclosed so other animals can't get to the poison.) There was no blood in the live trap so I can only assume they died from ingesting poison. I just thought it was weird that I caught them in the live trap in the main coop which is probably 60-80 ft from the garage and 80-100+ ft from the barn.... Yet the live traps in the garage and barn were empty....

Hmmm... i do remember reading on the poison instructions that they might carry the poison back to their nesting area... maybe they are exploring the garage but living in with/ near the chickens??

And congrats on the new cat!!

 

[chickengr]

Wow...yeah, I'm not that hardcore. I don't like unnecessary killing of animals. This is a place where DH and I often argue. He's shot many a possum and coon that have gotten into our animal feed. I, on the other hand, feel it's wrong to kill an animal that is just trying to live. I would feel differently if it were an animal were hunting to eat. Since we aren't eating mice (or possum, coons, etc...for that matter), I'm not down with killing them. Instead I rehome them to a state park that's about 5 miles away...and use metal trash cans to hold my feed so they can't get to it.

You should have seen the numerous rows we had about the grey foxes that keep coming around. They've picked off at least a dozen chickens in the past 2 years but I refuse to let DH kill them. Instead I put up nets over the coop to keep my chickens from jumping the fence at dawn. That's helped a lot....

I am an animal lover but I don't want any of those you mentioned around my chickens. they spread diseases. you cannot rehome all of them and I don't think it is a good idea either. that park will become overpopulated by them and they will start to expand their breeding area. 5 miles is a small distance for mice and rats. they will soon be back.

 

[chickengr]

Mice- They're simply SPECTACULAR!

as a chicken's treat, lol.