yummmmm mice

[Cebarmlds]

My chickies caught a mouse in the run this evening! I am so proud of them!!
they didnt eat it all but probley all the juicy parts I watched as they chased each other back and forth through the run, when they had all they wanted I brought out some raw goat cheese and organic sprouted grain bread as a treat

 

[galanie]

Good girls! Mine will just sit there and watch a mouse run around. Silly things!

 

[Gargoyle]

The other day when my wife went in to bring them some food, Brooster pecked her food gently a few times, something he's never done. Then he started walking to the back of the coop, pausing to look back at her; as if making sure she was following him. He then pointed out a dead mouse in a back corner, while making agitated noises. She got rid of the mouse, it didn't have any real signs of damage on it, more like Brooster had just knocked it upside its head and K-O'ed the mouse.

 

[Eggsoteric]

My chickens will eat them if they're fast enough to catch them.

One of the funniest things that happened is, one day I heard my hubby yelling for me. I walked around the corner and saw him in the chicken yard with one of the chickens in his arms. At the moment I thought "Awww, isn't it nice that he's bonding with some of the hens." I paused for a bit taking in this "Hallmark" moment when hubby said "A little help here, please?"

Apparently the chicken he had in his arms had nabbed a baby black snake. The chicken had grabbed the snake and took off with all the other chickens (and hubby) in tow; hubby grabbed chicken, chicken let go of snake but now the snake had firmly latched onto one of the chicken's waddles; hubby now had ahold of both the chicken and the snake. I had to pry the snake's jaws apart from the chicken's waddles; hubby then released the chicken but the snake grabbed ahold of the skin between his thumb and index finger. Once I was able (at this point thru tears of laughter) to release my husband's hand from the snake, the snake was transported to a safer area and released. It was one of those sure which you had a video camera with you moments.

 

[1muttsfan]

When my girls got hold of a mouse last summer it lasted about 3 seconds. Just long enough to let out a few frantic squeaks.

 

[TedsFarms]

hahaha, I read about raising meal worms in byc and was thinking about what I normally end up doing before I read this thread.
I can generally find a nest of mice and toss the babies into the coop which gives the chickens a treat. No, I do not intend on raising mice either, but it proves to be a good meal for the chickens. The snake story rings all so true as well. I was looking out the window one day to find the chickens running after each other. One of them had caught a rattle snake and they were running after each other for a piece of it. (what a comedy) I thought that my guinea hens were tough on rodents and reptiles. Chickens can be aggressive as well. They also rid (mostly) the property of ground squirrels mostly because of the activity that scares them off.

 

[tash]

isn't it buckeyes that are known as mousers?

when i was a kid we had mostly RIRs and they often caught small rodents and snakes.