So I was a little soft in the head. I mean one mouse all cute and fluffy, what harm could it do? Right!!!!
I ask BYC for advice. After all I dont really want to hurt the wee thing do I???? It's not like its a RAT!!!!!!! Its kind of nice seeing it every morning when I go to let the hens out!!!!!!!
BYC tells me I just let lose the plague all on my own!
( NO um oops?) I mean I am hardly the pied piper - or am I -AHHHHHHHHH Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!
Well that one cute little mouse has turned into an army of rodents overnight !!!!!!!!!!!! I went out to the coop the other morning and there they are in the feeder at least 10 maybe 20 million of them all eating breakfast!!!!!!!!!!!
They look at me like " who the heck are you???" That little cute critter I used to enjoy has turned into an army and multiplying while I watch!!!!! I am of course alarmed at the amount of furry critters eating my chicken food! There's this big fat one looking at me straight on and you can almost imagine it saying " And your gonna do WHAT ?????? "
Next thing my daughter who is visiting comes screeching from the bathroom. She cant run very fast as she is 8 months pregnant. I am thinking - has her waters broke do I need towels?????? I am expecting an impending birth any second when she squeals - Its a mouse and it just ran behind the sink!!!!!! Thats it they have actually invaded the fort!!!!!! THIS IS WAR!!!!!!!!!
I put my Hen's to bed and grab the cat - who does a great impression of bag puss these days. I hold him tight in my arms and we head down to the coop run. He is not impressed until right in front of us comes a couple of the rodents carrying yet more chicken feed back to their hide out. Now the cat suddenly realizes why he is there and fidgets in my arms so I let him down. He wiggles his bum in enthusiasm and I think good boy go get um. I leave him there and wedge the pen door ajar so he can come out when he is finished. Half an hour later I go to check and he is head down wedged between the fence and feeder trough. Ahhh I think good lad ! 10 mins after that he is at the back door and I let him in. There is no blood on him anywhere???????? I am thinking did you EAT them ALL?????? But no he is hungry and then he flops down on the sofa - ??? I feed you for this Ahhhhhh ???? He gives me one of his looks and turns away flopping down in a more comfortable position! So much for my secret weapon!!!!!!
This morning I go out to the coop to get the girls up and to my horror there are more mice than the last time and they are all waiting for this idiot to get them breakfast!
So I shoo them away and think darn useless cat - ! I move the feeder away from the coop and down the other end of the run so those mice have to come right out to get the food and then yeah surely the cat will grab them right! NO- Not a chance!
Now Gertrude is an odd kind of bird at the best of times and has taken to being a bit Jealous of our Bertha who now has 4 lovely chicks. Gerty has decided today that she too wants babies and so by mid afternoon I was in the hutch trying to get her off the nest. - I upturn the nest box to turf her on the floor and what do I find - Stupid hen is sitting on baby mice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She actually thinks they are chicks and doesnt even bother moving when they try to hide in her feathers. Then she attacks MEEE !!!! For going after them - Traitor!!!!!!!
So here I am at the local store and I pick up a pack of those traps - you know those spring loaded ones you see in the old Tom and Jerry cartoons. My head Rooster ha bless is in complete control - HA !!!!!!!! Poor chap seems to have more of the darn things stuck to his fingers than actually bated ready for mice. - Warned my daughter not to go near him as she cant change dippers with broken fingers! She is of course disappointed that she cannot squish the mice!
The trap having gone off several times prematurely is now set in the bathroom. Well away from cats feet and chickens. We wait eagerly for the reassuring snap. Sure enough we hear it and go rushing to see. But alas the bate is gone but the trap is not sprung! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I could hear the mouse laughing and sniggering under the floorboards with a face full of sausage meat and an old thimble on its head for a helmet!
We decide to load more traps at once. Again our brave head rooster is seen holding his fingers and hopping painfully round the kitchen. Finally we push two loaded traps under the coop only to discover later that the trap wont actually close as it hits the bottom of the coop and yeah the bate once again is MISSING!!!!!
Head Rooster has dug himself a trench to wage war from under the coop and now has the clearance for a definite air strike - He says!
We retreat to the bunker for T and wait!!!!!!!!!!!
Was that it -? Did we hear it????? - That dull thud - Head Rooster goes to check and brings in the trap and there on the end of it - its nose pinned to the base is THE ENEMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dead, Dead, Dead . We have first blood!!!!!!!!!
Head Rooster is holding it grimly in his hand, but this time he is saying, " I cant let them live love I am sorry!!!!!! I know your upset!!!!! (NOT!!!!!) I dont really want to hurt it you know!!!!!!!!!!! He whimpers ( I want to poke him in the eye!!!!!) Then smiles with glee at the first kill!!!!!!! And so the battle begins - and up to the bathroom to re set the trap he goes and I hear the familiar thud of the trap going down on flesh and Yep there he is jumping up and down holding his fingers DIE, DIE, DIE he chants as he swings the trap back into action again !!!!!!!!! - Yep we are AT WAR!!!!
I ask BYC for advice. After all I dont really want to hurt the wee thing do I???? It's not like its a RAT!!!!!!! Its kind of nice seeing it every morning when I go to let the hens out!!!!!!!
BYC tells me I just let lose the plague all on my own!
Well that one cute little mouse has turned into an army of rodents overnight !!!!!!!!!!!! I went out to the coop the other morning and there they are in the feeder at least 10 maybe 20 million of them all eating breakfast!!!!!!!!!!!
Next thing my daughter who is visiting comes screeching from the bathroom. She cant run very fast as she is 8 months pregnant. I am thinking - has her waters broke do I need towels?????? I am expecting an impending birth any second when she squeals - Its a mouse and it just ran behind the sink!!!!!! Thats it they have actually invaded the fort!!!!!! THIS IS WAR!!!!!!!!!
I put my Hen's to bed and grab the cat - who does a great impression of bag puss these days. I hold him tight in my arms and we head down to the coop run. He is not impressed until right in front of us comes a couple of the rodents carrying yet more chicken feed back to their hide out. Now the cat suddenly realizes why he is there and fidgets in my arms so I let him down. He wiggles his bum in enthusiasm and I think good boy go get um. I leave him there and wedge the pen door ajar so he can come out when he is finished. Half an hour later I go to check and he is head down wedged between the fence and feeder trough. Ahhh I think good lad ! 10 mins after that he is at the back door and I let him in. There is no blood on him anywhere???????? I am thinking did you EAT them ALL?????? But no he is hungry and then he flops down on the sofa - ??? I feed you for this Ahhhhhh ???? He gives me one of his looks and turns away flopping down in a more comfortable position! So much for my secret weapon!!!!!!
This morning I go out to the coop to get the girls up and to my horror there are more mice than the last time and they are all waiting for this idiot to get them breakfast!
So I shoo them away and think darn useless cat - ! I move the feeder away from the coop and down the other end of the run so those mice have to come right out to get the food and then yeah surely the cat will grab them right! NO- Not a chance!
Now Gertrude is an odd kind of bird at the best of times and has taken to being a bit Jealous of our Bertha who now has 4 lovely chicks. Gerty has decided today that she too wants babies and so by mid afternoon I was in the hutch trying to get her off the nest. - I upturn the nest box to turf her on the floor and what do I find - Stupid hen is sitting on baby mice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She actually thinks they are chicks and doesnt even bother moving when they try to hide in her feathers. Then she attacks MEEE !!!! For going after them - Traitor!!!!!!!
So here I am at the local store and I pick up a pack of those traps - you know those spring loaded ones you see in the old Tom and Jerry cartoons. My head Rooster ha bless is in complete control - HA !!!!!!!! Poor chap seems to have more of the darn things stuck to his fingers than actually bated ready for mice. - Warned my daughter not to go near him as she cant change dippers with broken fingers! She is of course disappointed that she cannot squish the mice!
The trap having gone off several times prematurely is now set in the bathroom. Well away from cats feet and chickens. We wait eagerly for the reassuring snap. Sure enough we hear it and go rushing to see. But alas the bate is gone but the trap is not sprung! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I could hear the mouse laughing and sniggering under the floorboards with a face full of sausage meat and an old thimble on its head for a helmet!
We decide to load more traps at once. Again our brave head rooster is seen holding his fingers and hopping painfully round the kitchen. Finally we push two loaded traps under the coop only to discover later that the trap wont actually close as it hits the bottom of the coop and yeah the bate once again is MISSING!!!!!
Head Rooster has dug himself a trench to wage war from under the coop and now has the clearance for a definite air strike - He says!
We retreat to the bunker for T and wait!!!!!!!!!!!
Was that it -? Did we hear it????? - That dull thud - Head Rooster goes to check and brings in the trap and there on the end of it - its nose pinned to the base is THE ENEMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dead, Dead, Dead . We have first blood!!!!!!!!!
Head Rooster is holding it grimly in his hand, but this time he is saying, " I cant let them live love I am sorry!!!!!! I know your upset!!!!! (NOT!!!!!) I dont really want to hurt it you know!!!!!!!!!!! He whimpers ( I want to poke him in the eye!!!!!) Then smiles with glee at the first kill!!!!!!! And so the battle begins - and up to the bathroom to re set the trap he goes and I hear the familiar thud of the trap going down on flesh and Yep there he is jumping up and down holding his fingers DIE, DIE, DIE he chants as he swings the trap back into action again !!!!!!!!! - Yep we are AT WAR!!!!
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breathless.
