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

[Intheswamp]

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From my experiences...

A female cat that has had a litter or two of kittens makes the best mouser.
A female that hasn't had kittens is "so so".
Most male cats are lazy freeloaders that are only good for waking you up at 2:30 in the morning with a death scream.

Ed

 

[MakNat]

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Did you catch more of them last night?

3 the first night, 2 the second and NONE last night

 

[PeepsInc]

I make the bucket trap with a piece of wax paper covering the top of the bucket. I hold it in place with a rubber band(like a drum). Then add X shaped slits in the wax paper. Stick a small blob of seed covered peanut butter to the slit area. That usually gets em.

 

[vtfarma]

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We have a small heating business and deal with a metal fabrication company who built us a 3 bin aluminum grain bin that is about 6 foot wide, 26 inches front to back and about 4-1/2 feet deep with a tight hinged lid. It is wonderful. We have had it for years and we have never had a problem with condensation or creatures in it. We put our 3 different types of grain in or mix as we want. We only have to go to the feed store about once ever other week IF we don't have hogs that are getting close to slaughter then its once a week unless we use two bins for them. No condensation issues, no rat/mouse issues. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the peacock and goats off the top of it when I am trying to get the thing open but thats okay too.

 

[vtfarma]

Oh, and on the cat vs dog front. We 3 cats right now that are not quite useless, just not intense hunters. We had a calico cat that could catch rats, rabbits, snakes you name it. She was the most tenacious hunter I think we could have ever wanted. Then we got our daughter a cat from a dairy farm and that cat was a mouser... sometimes a bird but usually mice and sometimes a rat.

Our australian cattle dog will kill rats with unbelievable zest. His teeth go like a trap. His brother is really good at other stuff but this one is a definite rat dog. He learned from a mixed breed dog we had that could find the rats, dig them out and then the little bug would eat them. She would get sick from all the things in her belly. One day we had to take her to the vet. They found bones from the partridge she hunted down out back, the 2 rats, a couple of mice and a few unidentifiable things that they were scratching their heads on. We had to keep her in for a while!!!

 

[LittleFeat]

May be a little off topic but there was mention of galvanized feed storage and then the gen. topic of mice....the best ever food bin/storage I've ever used was an old chest freezer (not running of course). It sealed the feed so freshness was great and it kept all critters out! I used it for horse feed but a small one would work great for any kind of feed I would think. Mine held a lot of sweet feed so really cut down on my trips to the feed store. Oh and it LOCKED so I could keep the sticky-fingered non full-rent customers from helping themselves to my feed.

 

[hensonly]

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If you do this, don't tell the shelter why you want the cats. Most shelters won't adopt to people who are going to let the cats outside...though if they're in your coop, I guess that's inside, right?!

 

[hensonly]

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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

I, too, use galvanized cans for chicken feed, dog food, and sunflower seed. At first I put a large lawn/leaf bag in as a liner, when they tore and I didn't have any more I just put the feed in. I watched carefully, haven't seen condensation in the year I've been doing this. My feed cans are also on the enclosed back porch, not heated but warmer/drier than out in the coop or the garage, etc. I'd think location(indoors or out) would have some effect on condensation, as well as weather and ventilation. Probably like all else, what works fine for one person might not for another!

 

[The Chicken People]

Just adopt some stray cats! I did and now no mice in coop!

 

[Parrotchick]

There are a lot of organizations, including some local Humane Societies that adopt out feral cats for the purpose of being barn cats. These "wild" cats are trapped in cities and rural areas, spayed or neutered, and given basic shots. When you get them, you keep them shut securely in your barn or wherever their "home base" will be for a few days, or long enough for them to know where their new home is. You make water and some dry cat food available for them at all times; this does not affect their interest in hunting-kibble is pretty boring . This situation not only helps farmers or people with pest problems, but also provides a home for cats that would otherwise most likely meet a gruesome end (which they may still, being outside cats, but their odds of having a better life are improved). It also helps keep the huge and ever growing population of unwanted cats down. The price for getting these cats is usually little to nothing; fixing them and keeping them off the streets saves money in the long run.