Mouse in the House

[Alaskan]

Dogs are very good at killing rats.

When kids were little... so food all-over so lots of rodents....

I once watched a mouse run across the room, OVER THE DOG'S FRONT PAW, yes he was awake and WATCHED IT.

Anyway... my worry is if the dog is happy to kill rodents, it is difficult to keep it from killing chickens and those breeds also tend to be more prone to nipping.

Our last big dog was a mastiff (the one that watched the mouse and did nothing). He NEVER hurt or chased livestock of ANY kind or age, but did follow our kids around and would always stand between them and any danger (stray dog, moose, unknown human, etc)

After he passed we got an Australian shepherd x poodle.... well... he killed chickens for a bit... we did train him to stop that... he is prone to nipping...both livestock and kids... but is in general a good dog... but.. we never managed to get him to kill the rodents! I was hoping the more active dog would kill rodents...

Anyway... so not sure about the trade offs... the mastiff, and the Pyrenees we had before the mastiff were much safer with kids and more sedate but still protective....

Not sure how hyper a dog needs to be a mouser.

 

[Hinotori]

I really lucked out with dogs. My german shepherd absolutely hates rats and has always loved killing them. She bent a chainlink fence sticking her nose and jaw through different holes to catch a rat and biting down. She did kill it.

She loves the chickens. Gets really protective of them and they know it. We've had a hawk go over and the hens ran for cover. Some ran for her because she was close.

The problem comes when I'm moving silkie houses to make sure there are no rats in the daytime. She waits to get them. The silkies also will attack so I try to do it where they can't see as she'll let it go rather than hurt a silkie when they come at her face where she's got it.

My silkies are fairly good at killing rats in their pens if they see them. The large fowl run away but silkies mob. Mom still laughs over the half a rat I found that was still holding tightly to the chainlink in death.

 

[tortoise]

I really lucked out with dogs. My german shepherd absolutely hates rats and has always loved killing them. She bent a chainlink fence sticking her nose and jaw through different holes to catch a rat and biting down. She did kill it.

She loves the chickens. Gets really protective of them and they know it. We've had a hawk go over and the hens ran for cover. Some ran for her because she was close.

The problem comes when I'm moving silkie houses to make sure there are no rats in the daytime. She waits to get them. The silkies also will attack so I try to do it where they can't see as she'll let it go rather than hurt a silkie when they come at her face where she's got it.

My silkies are fairly good at killing rats in their pens if they see them. The large fowl run away but silkies mob. Mom still laughs over the half a rat I found that was still holding tightly to the chainlink in death.

Wow! Good dog!!

 

[Britesea]

A friend of DH's services the local radio towers and told us what he does to get rid of rodents (don't want them getting inside and chewing the insulation off the wires!) He found that Big Chew gum (the stuff that comes in shreds) really works for him. Apparently they eat it and it clogs up their system and they die. Here at home everything is kept in metal, glass, or plastic containers, plus DH will put out traps baited with peanut butter in winter if we see evidence that someone's moved into the warm.

A fun story about mice and chickens: DH and his dad were filling up the truck for a dump run, and scared a mouse that was in the pile somewhere. When it ran out, it ran right in front of Henrietta, the pet chicken. She grabbed it by the tail and snapped her head so it went up into the air, and it came down head first straight down her gullet! But the tail was long enough to stick out of her mouth, still twitching. The rest of the day, he said they could watch as the tail first eventually stopped twitching and then slowly got shorter. I've never heard of another chicken treating a mouse like this.

 

[FarmerJamie]

In the previous life, had a Jack Russell terrier. She was easily trained to leave the chickens alone. The two alpha hens went vole/mouse hunting with her all the time. The dog would find the nest, dig out the adult, and the hens would clean up any babies. I miss watching the antics.

 

[Alaskan]

In the previous life, had a Jack Russell terrier. She was easily trained to leave the chickens alone. The two alpha hens went vole/mouse hunting with her all the time. The dog would find the nest, dig out the adult, and the hens would clean up any babies. I miss watching the antics.

Wow.... I never would have guessed

 

[Mini Horses]

My chickens will devour any baby mice if a nest found out in their travels.

I love that your mice ate the peppermints @Hinotori. Bought the oils after reading of a dislike. My house smelled yummy. HOWEVER -- I gotta say the 10-12 cats here sure did make a difference. I never know how many friends they'll invite to dinner. but here they're welcome. I see them hunting!! Haven't seen a mouse in ages. Even in the barn!

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

My chickens will devour any baby mice if a nest found out in their travels.

I love that your mice ate the peppermints @Hinotori. Bought the oils after reading of a dislike. My house smelled yummy. HOWEVER -- I gotta say the 10-12 cats here sure did make a difference. I never know how many friends they'll invite to dinner. but here they're welcome. I see them hunting!! Haven't seen a mouse in ages. Even in the barn!

we as well have 2-3 outdoor/barn cats that claim residence throughout our barn and one shelter. They have made a difference. We also use mothballs in the shelter where we store the boat and such over the winter. We used to also use Coast to Coast bar soap and dryer sheets when we had a camper, they helped but sometimes we still found a few "presents" from mice in the lower storage compartments.

 

[Hinotori]

I cant get over them eating the soap. Nibbled down on the 3 bars I had. I yelled and complained a lot.

 

[flowerbug]

nothing worked to keep them out of the car and i tried everything. wish i could have found how they were getting in to begin with.