So proud of my vicious little keets!

[Krazyquilts]

I was hunting around for some worms to give my mama duck with newly hatched babies and I found a mouse nest with a small mouse. Before I could chicken out I stomped on it with my boot until I stopped moving long enough for me to grab it (with gloves on) and fling it in my 6-week-old keets coop. Within about a minute they were chasing each other around the coop with the mouse, fighting and screaming over who got to eat it. So proud of my vicious little birdbrains!

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

Wow. I knew guineas were resourceful, but I didn't know they would catch mice!

 

[Krazyquilts]

Wow. I knew guineas were resourceful, but I didn't know they would catch mice!

Well, the mouse was pretty well stomped by the time I gave it to them, so it wasn't like it was running away. And since their coop/run is all enclosed with hardware cloth, even if it could have gotten up, it couldn't have gone anywhere.

 

[Joe Soslick]

Cool, I hope mine eat mice! Mice are major carriers of ticks...

 

[Farmgirl47]

That is cool! I want some keets.

 

[R2elk]

Mice are major carriers of ticks..

Really? Mice carry many things and diseases but I have never seen any evidence of them carrying ticks.

On topic, all of my poultry (chickens, guineas and turkeys) will hunt, kill and eat mice and voles as well as any insects they can catch.

 

[Krazyquilts]

On topic, all of my poultry (chickens, guineas and turkeys) will hunt, kill and eat mice and voles as well as any insects they can catch.

That's great to hear! Sounds like it would help keep the feed bill down, too.

I think that the Keets feel that their fancy non-gmo local chick food is a bit boring now that they've had a taste of mouse.

 

[ironjerry]

I have not seen a snake in the yard around the house in the two years my chickens and guineas have been free ranging

 

[Joe Soslick]

Really? Mice carry many things and diseases but I have never seen any evidence of them carrying ticks.

On topic, all of my poultry (chickens, guineas and turkeys) will hunt, kill and eat mice and voles as well as any insects they can catch.

I didn't know either, just learned that myself: http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsan...ng-forecast-for-lyme-disease-in-the-northeast