Consolidated Kansas

[lizzyGSR]

Sure has been quiet on here the last few days... I've got a mouse problem at the farm. They are even in the chicken coop, despite the fact that I keep all the food in metal trash cans and I highly doubt my birds leave any for the mice. What can I do to convince the mice to leave? Anything chicken safe that I can do? I'm trying to convince my hubby to let me get some barn cats. Otherwise, I'm at a loss.

Also, I've got a broody bird sitting on eggs. I asked my hubby how many eggs I should give her, and he told me to give her duck eggs. I didn't, but it got me to thinking. Would giving duck eggs to a chicken broody even work?

 

[SidChick]

4 years ago we built a city coop in Hutchinson and I loved having all my girls and the babies they hatched. I used to be on the group a lot at that time. 17 months ago we moved so we rehomed them (they where later almost all killed at the new home) and sold everything. I am really missing them all and we are planning on getting more and building a new coop and run. We are wanting certain kinds of chickens but with a limit of 4 I know our choices might be limited in what we can find locally. Does anyone sell locally and what do you have?

My kids put Polish eggs in the incubator and they are due Friday. Our only roosters are Welsummer. So I don't know what they will look like, but the parents are all nice, calm, friendly birds.

Dads and mom.

 

[SidChick]

Sure has been quiet on here the last few days...   I've got a mouse problem at the farm.  They are even in the chicken coop, despite the fact that I keep all the food in metal trash cans and I highly doubt my birds leave any for the mice.   What can I do to convince the mice to leave?  Anything chicken safe that I can do?  I'm trying to convince my hubby to let me get some barn cats.  Otherwise, I'm at a loss.

Also, I've got a broody bird sitting on eggs.  I asked my hubby how many eggs I should give her, and he told me to give her duck eggs.  I didn't, but it got me to thinking.  Would giving duck eggs to a chicken broody even work?  

You need to get a few buckeyes. They are mousers!

 

[chicken danz]

Danz,
How is Precious? Any pups?

The pups are doing great. Mom is still being really protective

4 years ago we built a city coop in Hutchinson and I loved having all my girls and the babies they hatched. I used to be on the group a lot at that time. 17 months ago we moved so we rehomed them (they where later almost all killed at the new home) and sold everything. I am really missing them all and we are planning on getting more and building a new coop and run. We are wanting certain kinds of chickens but with a limit of 4 I know our choices might be limited in what we can find locally. Does anyone sell locally and what do you have?

Sure has been quiet on here the last few days... I've got a mouse problem at the farm. They are even in the chicken coop, despite the fact that I keep all the food in metal trash cans and I highly doubt my birds leave any for the mice. What can I do to convince the mice to leave? Anything chicken safe that I can do? I'm trying to convince my hubby to let me get some barn cats. Otherwise, I'm at a loss.

Also, I've got a broody bird sitting on eggs. I asked my hubby how many eggs I should give her, and he told me to give her duck eggs. I didn't, but it got me to thinking. Would giving duck eggs to a chicken broody even work?

I have chickens sitting on duck eggs but I never leave them there. I don't see why it wouldn't work. A few years ago I took some pieces of 3 inch plastic pipe and cut it into foot long pieces. then drilled a hole down the middle and put a long gutter nail through the hole. I used the bar bait with a hole in it and ran the nail through the hole. The chickens and animals can't get to the poison but they mice can. A suggestion I found on line.

 

[ashncarson]

4 years ago we built a city coop in Hutchinson and I loved having all my girls and the babies they hatched. I used to be on the group a lot at that time. 17 months ago we moved so we rehomed them (they where later almost all killed at the new home) and sold everything. I am really missing them all and we are planning on getting more and building a new coop and run. We are wanting certain kinds of chickens but with a limit of 4 I know our choices might be limited in what we can find locally. Does anyone sell locally and what do you have?

So I found a friend in town who is moving to the country and would like chicks. We can spilt a order, and I can get the five I want! so far on my list I have, all hens:

barred rock,
welsummer,
silver laced wyandotte
black sex link
americana

I cant decide between a silver laced or golden laced, but I know we would like the chickens to each look different and unique and felt like with the black sex link and a welsummer, that a gold laced would look somewhat similar in color.

 

[TeeMom]

I have chickens sitting on duck eggs but I never leave them there. I don't see why it wouldn't work. A few years ago I took some pieces of 3 inch plastic pipe and cut it into foot long pieces. then drilled a hole down the middle and put a long gutter nail through the hole. I used the bar bait with a hole in it and ran the nail through the hole. The chickens and animals can't get to the poison but they mice can. A suggestion I found on line.

I have a horrible mouse problem in my coop as well that started in just the last few months. I have food put away overnight and have done my best to keep everything as clean as possible (is a chicken coop ever really clean???), but they just continue to multiply. This last week or so when I walk into the coop I smell mouse pee. It's so gross. We have tried trapping which worked for a handful and then they got smart. We have found and broken up all nests that we can find on a regular basis. I too am contemplating getting a cat specifically for the coop. I would love to use poison and just end it, but I am terrified of one dying out in the open and either the chickens (they LOVE mice) or one of our dogs eating it. Did you not have any problems with that?

 

[chicken danz]

I have a horrible mouse problem in my coop as well that started in just the last few months. I have food put away overnight and have done my best to keep everything as clean as possible (is a chicken coop ever really clean???), but they just continue to multiply. This last week or so when I walk into the coop I smell mouse pee. It's so gross. We have tried trapping which worked for a handful and then they got smart. We have found and broken up all nests that we can find on a regular basis. I too am contemplating getting a cat specifically for the coop. I would love to use poison and just end it, but I am terrified of one dying out in the open and either the chickens (they LOVE mice) or one of our dogs eating it. Did you not have any problems with that?

You can read various answers on mouse poison; whether it will hurt an animal that eats the mice or not. I had read in several studies however, that the amount of medication (it's a blood thinner) that a mouse consumes is so minute that it isn't enough to harm an animal that eats the mice. There are articles out there that say it will. I tend to read the MSDS sheets on things like that to verify their safety. I've never had any animal get sick from eating a mouse.
Even so, I a gave up and adopted a couple barn cats who multiplied and then I had more cats than mice!!!

I got them rehomed and only kept a few and only one female. The cats worked better than the poison but it cost a lot more to feed them than what the mice were eating... I have pens where the cats can't get into. So I still use the mouse bait every now and then. The one caution is to be sure you put it in a container your chickens or other animals can't get into. I used coffee cans for a long time with a small hole cut in the lid and then sat the can on the ground with the plastic lid down. The mice crawled in from underneath and ate the bait but the other animals never got it. But they looked really tacky sitting around. Now I use trap boxes of sorts and usually set them underneath something like a rock or whatever to make sure the birds can't get in them. Mice get wise though after a while and quit eating the bait. That's when I mix it with grain or mix it with oatmeal and peanut butter to attract them to it.
Some more food for thought: have you considered not feeding birds in the coop. Most of my feeders are located outside and I have something to keep the rain out for most of them. Any thing I can find to act as a shield. Or I just put them in when the forecast calls for it. Of course birds are messy and will leave some laying around. In my building I put in peck-o-matic feeders which only let a small amount of feed down into a suspended bowl as the chickens pick at it. They can also be made waterproof by adding a lid. They are made in 3 or 5 gallon buckets. It prevents most of the spillage (after you get the right sized washer in place) so it's not readily available to the mice. The problem I have is I have my feed custom made. If they don't grind it fine enough or grind it too fine then either none comes out or too much comes out.
I think @sharol just ordered a couple of those and she uses regular crumbles. Perhaps she'll jump in and let us know how it's working for her. I am not associated with Peck-o-matic. I just like their feeders. They are a bit pricy though.

 

[sharol]

Quote:
I am using these in one of my runs. They are Orpingtons and Campines and REALLY messy. The size 3 washer is a little too big, so I'm trying to see if the #2 will be better. It seems a little small. I use Eggmaker in that run, and the crumbles vary in size. The larger ones are coming out, just very slowly. On the other hand, it keeps them really busy. I lost my last EE hen from 2011 last night. She was pretty weak at dinner time, so I put her in her favorite nest box, and by bedtime she was gone. Egg peritonitis I suspect. I have one 7 year old remaining from the original 7 in 2010, too. She chooses to live alone (out in the yard with the others, but sleeps in the hoop coop) after getting hurt badly last fall. I got barnyard mix chicks for my broodies, and one of them died night before last. It looked like "she" had gotten clawed by her mother - probably accidentally. She had a nasty cut on her cheek and face. I tried 3x antibiotic ointment, but the wound was just too severe. I have 5 that hatched from Welsumer eggs and 5 that hatched from green eggs, so we will see what we get. Of the 5 EE's 4 have muffs, so fingers crossed for more green eggs. There is a white Orp that will NOT stop being broody. She is back in the broody breaker cage for the 2nd round after returning straight to the nest after 3 days in there. She is a lousy mother and was directly responsible for the deaths of two Jubilee chicks last year, so no babies for her. In addition, we are going to be gone for a few days the end of May, and since babies will be raised in the coop with the flock, I can't have them in there at that age when someone else is responsible for them. I've been sub teaching for the last couple of months, and as I look at the calendar, I've been in school way too many days in April. It will help pay for the Disney World trip in December, though. In addition, I really like being back with kids again. They keep you young (or make you old).

 

[TeeMom]

You can read various answers on mouse poison; whether it will hurt an animal that eats the mice or not. I had read in several studies however, that the amount of medication (it's a blood thinner) that a mouse consumes is so minute that it isn't enough to harm an animal that eats the mice. There are articles out there that say it will. I tend to read the MSDS sheets on things like that to verify their safety. I've never had any animal get sick from eating a mouse.
Even so, I a gave up and adopted a couple barn cats who multiplied and then I had more cats than mice!!!

I got them rehomed and only kept a few and only one female. The cats worked better than the poison but it cost a lot more to feed them than what the mice were eating... I have pens where the cats can't get into. So I still use the mouse bait every now and then. The one caution is to be sure you put it in a container your chickens or other animals can't get into. I used coffee cans for a long time with a small hole cut in the lid and then sat the can on the ground with the plastic lid down. The mice crawled in from underneath and ate the bait but the other animals never got it. But they looked really tacky sitting around. Now I use trap boxes of sorts and usually set them underneath something like a rock or whatever to make sure the birds can't get in them. Mice get wise though after a while and quit eating the bait. That's when I mix it with grain or mix it with oatmeal and peanut butter to attract them to it.
Some more food for thought: have you considered not feeding birds in the coop. Most of my feeders are located outside and I have something to keep the rain out for most of them. Any thing I can find to act as a shield. Or I just put them in when the forecast calls for it. Of course birds are messy and will leave some laying around. In my building I put in peck-o-matic feeders which only let a small amount of feed down into a suspended bowl as the chickens pick at it. They can also be made waterproof by adding a lid. They are made in 3 or 5 gallon buckets. It prevents most of the spillage (after you get the right sized washer in place) so it's not readily available to the mice. The problem I have is I have my feed custom made. If they don't grind it fine enough or grind it too fine then either none comes out or too much comes out.
I think @sharol just ordered a couple of those and she uses regular crumbles. Perhaps she'll jump in and let us know how it's working for her. I am not associated with Peck-o-matic. I just like their feeders. They are a bit pricy though.

When you put it that way...the miniscule amount of poison a mouse would contain if eaten...that so makes sense! I'd just always accepted the "danger to predators" mantra that seems to accompany the poison method. Thank you...I will have to look into that further. I have thought about moving the feed outside as well. I have a couple of challenges there. One, my chickens are not penned and free range, so access for them would mean access for my chicken feed loving dogs. Two, I free feed (which could be part of the problem because of easy access) and have a large bin with PVC holes they stick their heads into to eat. I LOVE the ease of this method...I dump a whole bag of feed and they eat at will, but it does make the feeder very cumbersome. It is HEAVY, so moving it far is not feasible. I don't think I could leave it out overnight or I will have a whole other problem with raccoons and skunks, I am sure. I will look into your feeders as well, but there's not a lot of feed thrown around because they have to stick their heads down into it. I raise the feeder onto a bucket every night to keep the mice from getting easy access, but who knows. It's not the feed they are eating that bothers me, but their pee and droppings are everywhere and it's just so gross! lol. I just have the one coop, so I am still considering a cat or two to help out. I would make sure they are altered so I don't end up with a cat infestation too. haha. Thank you for your input!

 

[chicken danz]

When you put it that way...the miniscule amount of poison a mouse would contain if eaten...that so makes sense! I'd just always accepted the "danger to predators" mantra that seems to accompany the poison method. Thank you...I will have to look into that further. I have thought about moving the feed outside as well. I have a couple of challenges there. One, my chickens are not penned and free range, so access for them would mean access for my chicken feed loving dogs. Two, I free feed (which could be part of the problem because of easy access) and have a large bin with PVC holes they stick their heads into to eat. I LOVE the ease of this method...I dump a whole bag of feed and they eat at will, but it does make the feeder very cumbersome. It is HEAVY, so moving it far is not feasible. I don't think I could leave it out overnight or I will have a whole other problem with raccoons and skunks, I am sure. I will look into your feeders as well, but there's not a lot of feed thrown around because they have to stick their heads down into it. I raise the feeder onto a bucket every night to keep the mice from getting easy access, but who knows. It's not the feed they are eating that bothers me, but their pee and droppings are everywhere and it's just so gross! lol. I just have the one coop, so I am still considering a cat or two to help out. I would make sure they are altered so I don't end up with a cat infestation too. haha. Thank you for your input!

I think the peckomatics might be a good option for you. You can get a lot of feed in a 5 gallon bucket. At least they could be outside and I don't think it lets down enough feed to be a problem with coons and skunks. I am just waiting to build my account up a little to order more feeders for outside. I plan to try them in the peafowl pens where the mice are the biggest problem.
Here's a reasonable answer about the poison. It explains it much better than I can.
http://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/secondary-poison-concerns
@sharol you might take those washers to bluestem or some place and see if you can get an in between size. I've noticed some of my size 4 which I normally use, are wearing the hole a little larger. I've considered taking the size three and just drilling the hole a tiny bit larger. I've also considered trying to match the size to regular washers which I believe are a stronger steel so they might function better over time. I was really curious how they were working for the crumbles. I assumed that most crumbles were fairly close in size. My chick starter seems to be but that is another ballgame. I wish I had my own grinder and screens so I could just grind my feed to the exact size I need each time. It would make things simpler.