This is war. Mouse war.

[hensandchickscolorado]

Apparently mice have invaded my coop. I have been setting the electronic Rat Zapper out each night and catching one every night...but it's not quick enough.

I watched them yesterday, in broad daylight, sneak in under my fence right into my run to steal food. I have hardware cloth skirted to the outside of the fence, but they went right under. I put another layer of hardware cloth on the inside of the fence, but they found a gap. The drill comes out tonight to secure that border and I'm packing up the chick feeder each night for a while so they have nothing to come for. I have fashioned a bucket trap and will set that out tonight as well.

I cleaned my coop from top to bottom and removed the feeder that was in there for the winter. Floor is lined with pine shavings, nesting boxes with straw. I thought this would at least eliminate the mice from the coop and they would stay in the run. No such luck...I saw droppings in there this morning.

Here's the question: What are the mice looking for in the coop if ther is no food or water? The straw? They seem to be making a beeline for the nesting boxes. AND, I've gotten fewer eggs this week and a bumpy one--are they scaring the chickens? (I also removed their false daylight and rearranged a few things in the coop, so that may be the cause of fewer eggs).

WHAT do these mice want from me? Anyone else having this problem? Share your war stories!!!

 

[FireTigeris]

Mice want - Protection, nesting materials (pine shavings and straw are great for this, hidden food catches. Eggs.

Bumpy eggs are not do to being scared as far as I know, I get bumpy eggs a couple times a month from two of my hens.

Changing the daylight for the hens may allow the hens to go into a moult- fewer or ceased eggs.

Can you get chicken carpets and easy to wash flooring?

Chicken carpets are the nest box liners that look like those fake plastic carpets or plastic grass, the washable plastic or whatever flooring could be swept out or hosed off daily- nothing for the mice to hide or nest in.

Mice like all rodents use the edges of walls and objects to travel, the more lit and open and area is the less they will like it.

 

[chloezoebob101]

Apparently mice have invaded my coop. I have been setting the electronic Rat Zapper out each night and catching one every night...but it's not quick enough.

I watched them yesterday, in broad daylight, sneak in under my fence right into my run to steal food. I have hardware cloth skirted to the outside of the fence, but they went right under. I put another layer of hardware cloth on the inside of the fence, but they found a gap. The drill comes out tonight to secure that border and I'm packing up the chick feeder each night for a while so they have nothing to come for. I have fashioned a bucket trap and will set that out tonight as well.

I cleaned my coop from top to bottom and removed the feeder that was in there for the winter. Floor is lined with pine shavings, nesting boxes with straw. I thought this would at least eliminate the mice from the coop and they would stay in the run. No such luck...I saw droppings in there this morning.

Here's the question: What are the mice looking for in the coop if ther is no food or water? The straw? They seem to be making a beeline for the nesting boxes. AND, I've gotten fewer eggs this week and a bumpy one--are they scaring the chickens? (I also removed their false daylight and rearranged a few things in the coop, so that may be the cause of fewer eggs).

WHAT do these mice want from me? Anyone else having this problem? Share your war stories!!!

Wow, i have this problem now too. They are in my coop a lot, especially this spring. Every time i go in there, a few are seen scurrying away

 

[toddreed]

My problem is rats not mice, but i've found a .177 caliber pellet gun with a scope (bought one on amazon for $120) with lead-free pellets to be a pretty affective tool. Lay out some chook feed on the ground, pour a glass of whiskey, put a good-ol' fashioned redneck smirk on yer face (curl your upper lip, facial hair helps), and enjoy an evening of varmint huntin.

That and limiting their access to food is key.

-todd

 

[hensandchickscolorado]

Well, I put four glue traps out tonight after locking up the girls, and already caught 2 mice in about as many minutes. THIS IS GROSS!!

There must be something I can do to wipe out the population--please help!! Do I need a wall of glue? YUCK!

 

[ClareScifi]

I have this problem, too. Maybe I should leave the run open so the cats can have access and catch the mice? But they are sure quick!

 

[moetrout]

I had an invasion in my garage one year. They had chewed a hole in the back side of a large bag of grass seed. I couldn't see it so I had no clue what was going on.....until I was out there working late one night and they started coming out to feed. I kept catching just a flash of something. Finally I sat back and watched where they were going and found the grass seed pouring out the back of the bag. I got the old crossman pelt gun and a beer and sat in my garage hunting over a bait pile. I think I shot four that night. That was fun and all, but who has the time. I followed that up with glue traps. I got over a dozen in the next few days. I swear by glue traps. You could put them in the run after you put up the chickens and then take them back up in the morning.

 

[ClareScifi]

They like chocolate better than anything. One year I stocked up on chocolate candy crosses that were on sale for a Sunday School class and stored them in a cloth trunk. Oh, boy. Did the mice have a heyday! They like white chocolate equally as well as milk chocolate. They chewed through the cardboard boxes and plastic trays to get at it. What a mess!

 

[PaintedWolf]

Mice want - Protection, nesting materials (pine shavings and straw are great for this, hidden food catches. Eggs.

Bumpy eggs are not do to being scared as far as I know, I get bumpy eggs a couple times a month from two of my hens.

Changing the daylight for the hens may allow the hens to go into a moult- fewer or ceased eggs.

Can you get chicken carpets and easy to wash flooring?

Chicken carpets are the nest box liners that look like those fake plastic carpets or plastic grass, the washable plastic or whatever flooring could be swept out or hosed off daily- nothing for the mice to hide or nest in.

Mice like all rodents use the edges of walls and objects to travel, the more lit and open and area is the less they will like it.

I agree with this...try to remove the tempting nesting materials. You could always try sand for the coop floor, and chicken carpets as suggested for the nest boxes. Then follow up with more glue traps!

 

[ClareScifi]

I haven't seen any mice in my run since I removed the fir branches around the raised bed, and now I am getting rid of the pine shavings I had in their coop for winter warmth. I will leave some as padding for when the chickens jump down from their perch, but I'm dumping as many of them as I can.