Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[Silkie Princess]

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....

Wow interesting opinion If It was me the foxes would be by now. Mice? They would be too because my cat... But I agree a bit. I guess

 

[AngBantamLuv]

DH and I were just discussing that this past weekend. We need a barn cat or two.... A neighborhood stray took up in our barn a few months ago until DH shot it one night thinking it was a fox. Ooooo.....I was livid mad. He knows better than to shoot at things in the dark when you can't see what you are shooting at! To his benefit, he felt really bad about it afterwards and it was a mistake, but I wanted to make darn sure it never happens again.

Bummer, but im sure lesson learned. Animal shelters put down most of their strays. Many of them are a bit feral.. i don't think a former house cat would be much help, but even kittens of feral moms have a bit more wild instinct (theory is domestic cats are becoming undomesticated after so many generations of strays, another negative to feeding cat colonies). Unfortunately for me, strays love me, and sneak into my house but you know they are strays when they go on the rampage towards other people!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Bummer, but im sure lesson learned. Animal shelters put down most of their strays. Many of them are a bit feral.. i don't think a former house cat would be much help, but even kittens of feral moms have a bit more wild instinct (theory is domestic cats are becoming undomesticated after so many generations of strays, another negative to feeding cat colonies). Unfortunately for me, strays love me, and sneak into my house but you know they are strays when they go on the rampage towards other people!

I've thought about getting one from a shelter, but haven't because I'd be worried that it wouldn't actually stick around. Then I'd just be contributing to the stray problem.... I've thought about getting kittens too but would be worried that the foxes might kill them. *sigh* I'm sure the right solution will come to me eventually!

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I've thought about getting one from a shelter, but haven't because I'd be worried that it wouldn't actually stick around. Then I'd just be contributing to the stray problem.... I've thought about getting kittens too but would be worried that the foxes might kill them. *sigh* I'm sure the right solution will come to me eventually!

Cats will stay, even a stray (feral).. they know where the food and water is! I think that's why they come to me.. add in a bed, and you'll have a lifer! plus... the animal shelters will sometimes adopt them out for free, including spaying/neutering. Theyll kill the mice for fun, even if they aren't hungry. Id get teens, so within weeks theyd be big enough, but still bond to each other.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Just spoke to some workers across the street.. they are going to ask a couple people about building the coop base. Im having no luck w that!!

 

[LynnaePB]

I've thought about getting one from a shelter, but haven't because I'd be worried that it wouldn't actually stick around. Then I'd just be contributing to the stray problem.... I've thought about getting kittens too but would be worried that the foxes might kill them. *sigh* I'm sure the right solution will come to me eventually!

A think lot of shelters are happy to help out with free barn cats if you let them know you are looking and they'll be spayed/neutered already so the population won't boom out of control. The shelters I've fostered for try to find the semi tame ones barn homes if they can. I've heard if you are able to keep them close for several weeks and they get used to thinking of your farm as home they usually stick around pretty well.

I have a hard time wanting to kill local wildlife too. I love our silkie pens as nothing has been able to get in so far and we've had plenty of foxes lurking around and a few days ago a little falcon was diving at the hardware cloth. I had to resort to some lethal traps for mice recently and that was tough (they weren't going for the current live trap, we ordered another one that worked in the past so hopefully some will be spared). They can't get into the chicken pens but they are trying to come inside for the winter now and we just can't let them damage the new house like they did our old one.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

A think lot of shelters are happy to help out with free barn cats if you let them know you are looking and they'll be spayed/neutered already so the population won't boom out of control. The shelters I've fostered for try to find the semi tame ones barn homes if they can. I've heard if you are able to keep them close for several weeks and they get used to thinking of your farm as home they usually stick around pretty well.

I have a hard time wanting to kill local wildlife too. I love our silkie pens as nothing has been able to get in so far and we've had plenty of foxes lurking around and a few days ago a little falcon was diving at the hardware cloth. I had to resort to some lethal traps for mice recently and that was tough (they weren't going for the current live trap, we ordered another one that worked in the past so hopefully some will be spared). They can't get into the chicken pens but they are trying to come inside for the winter now and we just can't let them damage the new house like they did our old one.

Have you tried the bleu cheese method? I haven't tried it, but supposedly the mice love it, then die, but don't sicken the subsequent animals that eat them.

I haven't seen mice, yet. We do have squirrels tho. My hope is the squirrel condominium im building for them will keep them away from my house

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I have a mouse living under the coop. It's really cute though. I'm not gonna try to get rid of it unless more appear

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I have a mouse living under the coop. It's really cute though. I'm not gonna try to get rid of it unless more appear

Might end up being a cochin chicken snack!

 

[LynnaePB]

Have you tried the bleu cheese method? I haven't tried it, but supposedly the mice love it, then die, but don't sicken the subsequent animals that eat them.

I haven't seen mice, yet. We do have squirrels tho. My hope is the squirrel condominium im building for them will keep them away from my house

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.