What a Horrible coop owner... So GROSSED out...

[dlfridie]

I am having trouble w/ mice too.
The double doors on the small 3x4 coop I built do not shut flush.
Even though there is no food in there the mice must hang out in there at night for warmth.
I find 3-4 tracks in there in the morning. I set traps to no avail.

YEAH!!!!!!!! My Golden Comets killed 2 mice in the run the other day!
I don't know how they did it. They are picky eaters, so they didn't eat them.
I keep their chicken feeder in a large rubbermaid container (no spills in run this way)
I and I take it up when I come in at night around 9:30.
One was dead in the container, the other I found in the morning, dead in the run.
Both had a tiny peck hole in them. They must die easily.
But, chickens go to roost at dark when mice come out.
So these mice must have gotten in the feed before dark. That's desperate.
Also, the hay straw is giving the mice a place to hide.

I am taking up the straw. Resetting the traps. Framing out the doors to close better.
Maybe, do the bucket thing. I can't get cats, because I have 3 dogs.

 

[Pavla]

Hands down, best varmint control, the Jack Russell Terrier. My family had great cats, but these dogs are relentless My small ( 8-9 lb) female leaves me presents on the back porch. Moles, mice, rats ( city rats are huge) even a raccoon once ( I think the male helped with this one).

Rodents are very dangerous. They will chew on living things, as well as, your feed/grain once the population explodes.

My dogs are fine with cats, finches and other dogs. Will be training them that chicks are family too

 

[mistyfeather]

we allways used a large sized stainless steel mixing bowl filled with water , you just put something next to it so they can climb in but the sides are to slick to get out. you can set it ontop of a dog water heater thing to keep it from freezing. also a small saucer filled with pepsi works wounders as well! they drink so much the bubles expand and kills them. my fiends mom does it that way all the time and has not ever had to buy traps.

 

[mistyfeather]

i would also recomend the Jack Russell ! mine is excelent rodent controll and plays very nicely with my daughters ferret and our cat. i nolonger worrie abou squirells destroing my bird feeders in the back yard! they used to asume that dogs can not go up trees!

and the look on a squirells face when the watch a dog go up a tree after them is priceless !!!!!

 

[Boyd]

when I had my buff orps, they would ensure no rodent activity was occuring anywhere nearby. They would happily shriek MEAT GROUP and pounce on any unsuspecting mouse, snake, grasshopper whenever they could. Kinda like little dinosaurs stalking the back yard.

 

[NoSkiveez]

We've filled any holes we can find leading to the house with either steel wool or tin oil crumpled up then I caulk it so the babies cant pull it out of the wall. For traps inside if we get an intruder, I use pet safe Vector traps with a peanut, M&M and a cracker piece fastened by Peanut Butter. I thought the trap wouldnt catch anything but it has. The best past is that when the trap caught the cat, it didnt hurt her. I keep their food in those plastic rubbermaid bins with lids on them. I also pick up all the food at night to help keep the mice away but have found that they still burrow in. Lately Ive had rabbits burrowing in. Ive been setting the vector clips outside of the coop and been catching lots of mice. The bucket method interests me and I think I am also going to look into making one!

 

[dlfridie]

Quote:
Did you catch more of them last night?

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Quote:
How exactly is this trap set up? Can you use this without water? The temps are freezing here for the next week...

#1 Drill 2 holes approx 1/8 in at the top of a 5 gal bucket across from each other
#2 Get a soda or beer can and drill the same size hole in each end. Approx 1/8 in hole.
#3 String a wire through one hole in the bucket next through the can and out the other side of the bucket. Bend the wire at the ends.At the bucket making it so the can spins around the center of the bucket.
#4 Add a little peanut butter on the can.
#5 Fill the bucket 1/2 way with water or NON TOXIC! antifreeze. I use non toxic antifreeze in case a dog or cat gets into it.
It might be a little cruel but it works like a charm.
Then again I can't think of a killing trap that isn't a little cruel. Good luck. Oh ya when the bucket is full, And it will be. Just empty and reuse.

I tried the floating sunflower seed bucket trap & didn't catch 1 mouse. I'll try the spinning can trick. Thanks

 

[fasbendera]

I keep my bird feed in a galvanized trash can. Kids job to fill feeders and of course they never get the lid on all the way. Well it never fails when it is low, almost empty, I have mice trapped in there. I have also found dead mice in the utility sink in our garage they go in after water or something and can't get out. Since we don't use it that often by the time I find them they are dead.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
Off topic...I've seen mentioned twice in the thread of using galvanized cans to store feed in. I was under the impression *not* to use metal cans for feed storage due to condensation issues wetting the feed. What has been your experience using (how long have you used and whether there has been any dampness issues)?

Thanks,
Ed