Yuck!!! Mice in Coop

[SunshineSilkies]

Saw some little field mice in my pens last night. Got up today, and found some mice droppings in the feeders....I need some suggestions on what to do to get rid of these mice that won't harm the chickens. Most of the droppings were in my 5-8 week old chick pens... What if the chicks eat some of those droppings??????

 

[ColoradoMike]

I've also discovered the truism that my chicken-owning friends have told me - if you get chickens, you're getting mice too.

What I've done since noticing droppings in my hanging feeder is to put a cover on the feeder. After the mice completed ignored the cover and slipped in anyway, I placed a rock on the cover. That seems to have done the trick - no dropping in the feeder since I've done that.

I'd empty out the feeder, or at least pick out all the mouse droppings, then fashion a secure lid...

Other than that, I guess either get a mouser cat, try and trap the mice, or do your best to limit what food the mice have access too. We've opted for the third option...if the mice get worse, I'll start trapping them.

 

[Chicken Cluck]

Just clean up your mess and put some poisining for your pests right outside of the pen

 

[JennsPeeps]

Quote:
If a poisoned mouse goes into the pen and gets eaten, you've got a poisoned chicken. It's better to use methods that don'e involve poison: sticky traps, water traps, and spring traps.

 

[ColoradoMike]

I'd be pretty leery about putting any poison anywhere near my food source (garden/chickens/etc). I'm going with mechanical or water/drowning traps if it comes down to that.

 

[Little Ameraucana Mom]

I've never heard of a water drowning trap, what is that, and where can you get one.????

 

[patman75]

Sorry for the copy paste post....

You could try the "5 gallon bucket of death".

Fill a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 or 2/3 full of water.

Put a piece of wood like a 2X4 across the top/opening and along the sides as ramps.

Put of heavy layer of sunflower seeds in the water, the seeds will float and it will look like a bucket of sunflower seeds.

The mice, chimpmunk, rat, etc will jump in the bucket to get the sunflowers and then drown because they will not be able to get out.

Just make sure there is a good gap between the top and the water level so they dont get out. You can use a bigger bucket if you like.

Cheap and easy. Good luck!

 

[darbella]

Quote:
That is a good one!!! I am going to try that myself!!!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i've accidentally used that method. i had an 18 gallon rubbermaid bin behind one of my chicken pens that got half filled up with water when it rained. When i finally got back there to clean things up (months after it had last rained) i found a big ol' dead rat floating in it. That was charming.

 

[horsejody]

Sometimes mice fall into the water dish and can't get out. Then the barn cats get to play their version of an arcade game, "bobbing for mice."