There are some things about chickens I don't tell my city friends

Noble Rooster

Songster
10 Years
Apr 28, 2009
273
9
133
NY
So I've been having a bit of a deer mouse problem in and around my barn, and a few of the little stinkers had taken to running over the top of my coop, leaving poop everywhere, and occasionally raiding inside the coop for food. One morning as I was cleaning up, I removed the droppings tray and found a terrified mouse, hiding there because of the 5 dinosaurs whose home he had violated. I had never seen my girls interact with a mouse before and wasn't sure if they would try to go for it, as they have done with moles and frogs, or just freak out. Well, a game of mouse keepaway began and ended with one girl grabbing it, shaking it like a dog and breaking its neck. Then they all ran back into the coop clucking excitedly but completely ignored the mouse. That was fine, I was just glad they nailed one of the buggers.

Well, the one who dealt the death blow seems to have gotten a taste for it, as this morning she grabbed one that a hawk dropped (how's that for justice?
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). They all played keepaway again but she ended up with the prize and proudly ran into the barn to ... eat it. It was a fairly sizable mouse and out of morbid curiosity I wanted to see what she would do with it. I arrived just in time to see only its tail disappearing down her throat.
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When I put everyone back inside later I threw in some extra grit, figuring she'd probably need it.

When I was a kid I wanted a pet dinosaur. Seems I got my wish.
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What makes it funnier is that this hen is an absolutely beautiful, feminine, dainty princess, and the biggest cuddlebug ever. But if you're a mouse, don't mess with her!!
 
Snakes? I was about to post elsewhere... but...

The baby copperheads are hatching in my house. (Yes - I said in. The cats take care of them if they dare to be seen.) I am new to chickens, so I am wondering, if the chickens (or ducks) catch and eat these snakes, is there any harm?
 
I found a dead mouse in the coop two days ago-it didn't seem to have been dead that long. Earlier I had been sitting outside watching my chickens and I noticed every so often one would go up the ramp-look in the coop, but not go in. I thought at the time they were just changing their mind-but I think they were afraid of the dead mouse.
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I think your chickens are braver than mine.
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My prissy cuckoo marans ate a toad....whole and live. She went to roost and when I went in to check on them I saw her crop move....jump actually. I thought to myself....That's odd. THen I realized...wait a minute...Chickens don't HICCUP! Ewwwwww. I had to leave.
 
We don't have a cat anymore, and are having a mouse problem in the house. I thought about turning one into a "house roo" to take care of the mouse problem!
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My friend has hens. His beagle dug up a nest of mice. It was a madhouse. The beagles baying brought the hens in and the mice did not have a chance! He tried taking pics and out of 40 he only got 2 clear shots. LOL. My hens go after small birds and argue with Mocking Birds. I hope that my cats keep the mice away. I would rather hens whos eggs I eat did not have rodent for lunch.
 

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