Mice in the Coop

[CrealCritter]

I have a larger area adjacent to the chicken coop, that I use to store stuff relates to raising chickens. All my bags of feed are kept in plastic garbage can with a tight fitting lid. But I still have a mouse problem...

What do you do to control mice in the Coop?

I don't want to use poison... Do you just trap the mice and throw out to the chickens? I know they will eat mice.

Thanks

 

[tortoise]

We have mice, rats, and shrews in our barn (chickens are in the barn). Unopened feed bags are in the milkhouse room (open bags in metal barrels). We have a barn cat, she lives out of the milkhouse. We've never had a feed bag get chewed open. She doesn't catch much, and she doesn't keep the overall population down, but she protects the feed. A cat might help in a small area.

 

[NH Homesteader]

What about those repeating mouse traps? We don't have a real mouse problem, but we used to have a rat problem (haven't seen any evidence lately but I assume they're still out there somewhere). That was our next try. We don't use poison because of the pair of owls that we have.

 

[CrealCritter]

What about those repeating mouse traps? We don't have a real mouse problem, but we used to have a rat problem (haven't seen any evidence lately but I assume they're still out there somewhere). That was our next try. We don't use poison because of the pair of owls that we have.

Yep that's what I'm going to try...

You have owls? I really like owls !!! Do you have any pictures of your owls? Can you post them for me PLEASE.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Hmm I'll see if my husband does, I don't seem to have any. I adore the owls. I haven't seen than in a while, but I'm assuming they're still hanging around. They used to just sit there and look at us, not scared of people at all.

 

[CrealCritter]

Hmm I'll see if my husband does, I don't seem to have any. I adore the owls. I haven't seen than in a while, but I'm assuming they're still hanging around. They used to just sit there and look at us, not scared of people at all.

In North Carolina I had a owl that would stand in the door way of my wood shop and watch me work. I named him or her Wilber, and sometimes he or she would come to me when I called his or her name - not very often though. He or she was a big barred owl - it was a really cool experience to have a big owl watching and talking to you.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Oh cool! Ours are barred owls as well. Gorgeous birds. I thank them for eating rodents, and they're not awake when my chickens are so they don't even bother my birds!

 

[CrealCritter]

I have owl boxes on my to-do list of wood working projects this winter. I would like to attract them if I could.

Plans seem really simple

 

[baymule]

We get rat snakes when we get a lot of mice. I also put out poison in the building i keep feed in. I don't like mice and rats.

 

[CrealCritter]

We get rat snakes when we get a lot of mice. I also put out poison in the building i keep feed in. I don't like mice and rats.

I would be more than happy with a rat snake but I'm afraid my wife or daughter in laws wouldn't. Also I think a rat snake might like eggs also.