Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

Not a chicken:

Very cute

 

[RoyalChick]

Zap traps ~ Too expensive for my budget but I notice pro's & con's w/ any & all rodent killers.

From a search engine re zappers:
This humane trap kills rodents using a high-voltage shock and since rats are able to restart their hearts, the shock is applied for 2 minutes to ensure higher ...

Some reviews:
The original RatZapper was awesome. I had one that killed over 50 rats over many years. Then came the Agrizap v. Woodstream patent infringement lawsuit, and then I don't know what happened but the circuit boards changed completely. Maybe the originals were Agrizap and the later ones were Woodstream. Those didn't last. I wish I could find some like the original.

Zapper never worked for me. Bait stations seem to be the key.

Bought an electronic rodent zapper. Put it outside with peanut butter bait. Killed a mouse the first night. But since then, has not caught a single varmint. Getting neighborhood reports of a lot of mice and rats, there can't be just one going thru our yard.

The key to catching these buggers seems to depend on the success of the bait used.

I am not looking for a fight on any topic, and certainly not on how to get rid of mice, but I really feel I need to restate that drowning is not humane. I understand not everyone will care about humane killing of mice, but some will.

I encourage everyone to research this for themselves. Just like cervical dislocation is regarded as one of the few humane ways to kill a chicken, a snap trap is effectively the same thing to a mouse.

Attached below is an extract from Q&A from the International arm of The Humane Society:

Q: If a mouse or rat is suffering on a glue trap and can’t be released, is there a humane way of killing them?

A: The only method of killing a rodent on a glue trap that is regarded as ‘humane’ is with one sharp blow to the head. However this requires a firm, unwavering resolve and many people may find themselves too frightened, squeamish or upset to be able to do it. Forum users divulging details of what they have done with glue-trapped animals list leaving the animal to die on the trap, drowning the animal or throwing the trap away with a live animal still attached as methods of dispatch, all of which would cause unacceptable suffering.

Q: Is drowning an option?

A: No. The professional pest control industry and scientists agree that drowning is not humane. One experiment found the average time it takes for a rat to drown is 2.6 minutes. Setting an important legal precedent, in 2010 a man was convicted under the UK Animal Welfare Act of causing unnecessary suffering after he drowned a squirrel in a water butt.

***
Other sources I have reviewed essentially say the same thing. If you have a mouse that has not been killed you should deal them a hefty blow with a hammer, not drown them.
Of note, sticky traps have been banned by a number of countries like New Zealand and Ireland on the grounds of animal welfare.

Like @Ponypoor I like the zap traps. I think they stack up quite well economically.
A basic Victor electronic trap costs $17.78 on Amazon - add about $5 for the batteries - let's call that $23. They are rated for about 100 mice per set of batteries. So that is 23 cents per dead mouse.
Glue traps vary wildly in price - but many are around 50 cents each and are generally single use (though sometimes you can catch a family together on one trap).

Dead mouse tax: Tassels on a short enforced break from her nest. Nothing changes this girl’s mind about being broody!

 

[Marie2020]

I love wood heat. The work to get the wood....not so much. (time in the woods is nice, though).

This house was designed with the wood in mind. It had a brick wood bin built into it next to the stove....and an exterior hatch to fill it from so no tracking across the house to pack it in. Do still need to fill the wood bin as part of winter prep....and the kindling stash (from the brush pile from the dead trees).

Monday mugsView attachment 3959863Rose

View attachment 3959864Whiskey (yes @featherhead007 he's on one foot, but it's blurred, indicating motion so doesn't count for the 1 foot thing)

Wow. What a handsome fella
Love his colours

 

[Marie2020]

I am not looking for a fight on any topic, and certainly not on how to get rid of mice, but I really feel I need to restate that drowning is not humane. I understand not everyone will care about humane killing of mice, but some will.

I encourage everyone to research this for themselves. Just like cervical dislocation is regarded as one of the few humane ways to kill a chicken, a snap trap is effectively the same thing to a mouse.

Attached below is an extract from Q&A from the International arm of The Humane Society:

Q: If a mouse or rat is suffering on a glue trap and can’t be released, is there a humane way of killing them?

A: The only method of killing a rodent on a glue trap that is regarded as ‘humane’ is with one sharp blow to the head. However this requires a firm, unwavering resolve and many people may find themselves too frightened, squeamish or upset to be able to do it. Forum users divulging details of what they have done with glue-trapped animals list leaving the animal to die on the trap, drowning the animal or throwing the trap away with a live animal still attached as methods of dispatch, all of which would cause unacceptable suffering.

Q: Is drowning an option?

A: No. The professional pest control industry and scientists agree that drowning is not humane. One experiment found the average time it takes for a rat to drown is 2.6 minutes. Setting an important legal precedent, in 2010 a man was convicted under the UK Animal Welfare Act of causing unnecessary suffering after he drowned a squirrel in a water butt.

***
Other sources I have reviewed essentially say the same thing. If you have a mouse that has not been killed you should deal them a hefty blow with a hammer, not drown them.
Of note, sticky traps have been banned by a number of countries like New Zealand and Ireland on the grounds of animal welfare.

Like @Ponypoor I like the zap traps. I think they stack up quite well economically.
A basic Victor electronic trap costs $17.78 on Amazon - add about $5 for the batteries - let's call that $23. They are rated for about 100 mice per set of batteries. So that is 23 cents per dead mouse.
Glue traps vary wildly in price - but many are around 50 cents each and are generally single use (though sometimes you can catch a family together on one trap).

Dead mouse tax: Tassels on a short enforced break from her nest. Nothing changes this girl’s mind about being broody!
View attachment 3960698

@Debbie292d Article was very interesting.

 

[Sylvester017]

I am not looking for a fight on any topic, and certainly not on how to get rid of mice, but I really feel I need to restate that drowning is not humane. I understand not everyone will care about humane killing of mice, but some will.

I encourage everyone to research this for themselves. Just like cervical dislocation is regarded as one of the few humane ways to kill a chicken, a snap trap is effectively the same thing to a mouse.

Attached below is an extract from Q&A from the International arm of The Humane Society:

Q: If a mouse or rat is suffering on a glue trap and can’t be released, is there a humane way of killing them?

A: The only method of killing a rodent on a glue trap that is regarded as ‘humane’ is with one sharp blow to the head. However this requires a firm, unwavering resolve and many people may find themselves too frightened, squeamish or upset to be able to do it. Forum users divulging details of what they have done with glue-trapped animals list leaving the animal to die on the trap, drowning the animal or throwing the trap away with a live animal still attached as methods of dispatch, all of which would cause unacceptable suffering.

Q: Is drowning an option?

A: No. The professional pest control industry and scientists agree that drowning is not humane. One experiment found the average time it takes for a rat to drown is 2.6 minutes. Setting an important legal precedent, in 2010 a man was convicted under the UK Animal Welfare Act of causing unnecessary suffering after he drowned a squirrel in a water butt.

***
Other sources I have reviewed essentially say the same thing. If you have a mouse that has not been killed you should deal them a hefty blow with a hammer, not drown them.
Of note, sticky traps have been banned by a number of countries like New Zealand and Ireland on the grounds of animal welfare.

Like @Ponypoor I like the zap traps. I think they stack up quite well economically.
A basic Victor electronic trap costs $17.78 on Amazon - add about $5 for the batteries - let's call that $23. They are rated for about 100 mice per set of batteries. So that is 23 cents per dead mouse.
Glue traps vary wildly in price - but many are around 50 cents each and are generally single use (though sometimes you can catch a family together on one trap).

Dead mouse tax: Tassels on a short enforced break from her nest. Nothing changes this girl’s mind about being broody!
View attachment 3960698

Yep, any way we rid our city scourge of rodents involves killing them somehow ~ the buggers have the ability to restart their hearts so a zapper has to zap over 2 mins to kill one! & we have to pick what works easiest for us ~ 2 mins drowning or 2 mins zapping either way is not a pleasantry for me. TG my DH handles that area!

P.S. Tassels has the cutest & funniest expression at the same time! More pics of her plz!

 

[Marie2020]

You all need to watch this! Its going to make you smile for sure.

Thanks ever so much. I absolutely thoroughly enjoyed this

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Hi everyone.

I have a appointment, the 28th which is the best I could do. Thankfully today it is a dull ache. It is a ache though that is threatening to get worse but so far today it has been manageable. I spent some time outside with the chicks. Today is day 3 of freedom and they are doing so well. Still absolutely zero crowing from anyone. Their voices are changing and lots of honking going on at the moment from my geese impersonators. I think I am going to have a new problem on my hands. In the last week I have went from "do I have any boys" to "oh crap do I have more then 1 girl". I wanted a Branch son, now I have a sneaking suspicion I have 4 if not 5 Branch sons.

 

[RoyalChick]

Hi everyone.

I have an appointment, the 28th which is the best I could do. Thankfully today it is a dull ache. It is an ache though that is threatening to get worse but so far today it has been manageable. I spent some time outside with the chicks. Today is day 3 of freedom and they are doing so well. Still absolutely zero crowing from anyone. Their voices are changing and lots of honking going on at the moment from my geese impersonators. I think I am going to have a new problem on my hands. In the last week I have went from "do I have any boys" to "oh crap do I have more then 1 girl". I wanted a Branch son, now I have a sneaking suspicion I have 4 if not 5 Branch sons.

The laugh is for your Branch son issue, not your toothache.

 

[featherhead007]

I miss Branch. I miss Sir Jaffar, but having my new roo Rudy with me makes things so much better. Rudy prefers to snuggle up with me and place his neck very close to mine. It’s such a wonderful feeling of trust together

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

I miss Branch. I miss Sir Jaffar, but having my new roo Rudy with me makes things so much better. Rudy prefers to snuggle up with me and place his neck very close to mine. It’s such a wonderful feeling of trust together

I miss Branch and I also miss Sir Jaffar. I'm sure those 2 have met up and are retelling stories of their lives to each other.