Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: craig1981 on October 04, 2010, 17:02

Title: i have mice
Post by: craig1981 on October 04, 2010, 17:02
got the freight of my life when i went to the corn bucket today to get the girls evening treat and there was a little mouse in it which soon legged it under the shed where my girls live . Any tips on getting rid of them that are hen and child friendly .  Does the fact i have mice mean i will have rats aswell ? Never thought such a small creature would make me scream like it did . Was a fairly manly yelp though i might add :D
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: Kathie on October 04, 2010, 17:14
Hi Craig,
When we had mice, may have been small rats, we got 2 kittens.  We've had them 16 months now and haven't seen any living rodents for over a year, lots of dead ones though
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: joyfull on October 04, 2010, 17:22
the chickens will normally eat the mice but if you are still a bit wary then you could use eradibate which is harmless to wildlife. We get rats in the garden so have poison down for them, every morning I did a walk round just to see if there are any dead ones on the garden and remove them before the birds find them.
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: orchardlady on October 04, 2010, 21:51
Try to ensure that your corn store is sealable. Galvanised dustbins are perfect and keep the rat's and mice out. Ensure you sweep up all spills of feed asap. Don't offer them dinner!!! :lol:
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: josh5357 on October 04, 2010, 22:03
A farmer friend told me that if you have mice you may not have rats. The rats eat the mice
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: evie2 on October 04, 2010, 22:22
OH says the same but I'd rather not have any :)
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: themagicaltoad1 on October 04, 2010, 22:40
 Was a fairly manly yelp though i might add :D
[/quote]
 :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

my shed has mice and my wife has developed this little dance when she sees one, sort of a bit like a native American rain dance, we call it her "screaming mouse dance". I have to keep all my feed and corn in tins because of them.
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: evie2 on October 04, 2010, 22:47
We keep ours in the house after a nasty experience with dog biscuits  :(
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: craig1981 on October 05, 2010, 11:56
Im slightly concerned that if i lay poison down for them and they eventually die under then shed wont it make a really bad smell ?
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: tesni on October 05, 2010, 12:06
someone more knowledgeable and with a better memory will be along shortly  :blink: - but there is a rodent poison that kills them through dehydration so that the corpse 'mummifies' so not smelly etc, and is not a risk for other creatures.... I recall reading about it in a thread here somewhere so have a search about! good luck  :D 
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: joyfull on October 05, 2010, 12:15
as mentioned in my earlier post - eradibait  ::) :D

http://eradibait.com/#anchor3
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: evie2 on October 05, 2010, 17:15
If the chicken eats a mouse that's had eradibait will it be ok, or is it fast acting and stops the mouse in it's tracks?
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: Sassy on October 06, 2010, 09:03
If the chicken eats a mouse that's had eradibait will it be ok, or is it fast acting and stops the mouse in it's tracks?

As Joyfull mentioned it is harmless to other animals
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: 2sam16 on July 23, 2011, 10:25
I float rice crispies in some water using a container that they can't get out of. I put a ramp up to it, so far I have found 1 that had drowned. There is no "good" way to get rid of them but this way is safe for the hens
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: Helenaj on July 23, 2011, 12:28
It is true that if you have mice you won't get rats. Personally, I'd rather live with a few mice in my shed than drown them - what a terrible death.
Title: Re: i have mice
Post by: Junie on July 23, 2011, 23:41
I have both mice and rats... so that does not hold true.  The rats are in the building and cannot normally get access to the hens as they have their own seperate bit of the hen house.  Saying that, we had a group of my sons friends over for his brthday and one of them spotted a dead rat in with the chickens, it must have sneaked in before the door went down and was trapped!

I have laid poison for the rats, but in the henhouse and where the chickens an dother wildlife cannot get to it.  I have not seen eradibait in France, where can yo ou buy it in the ?UK and I will put it on my shopping list!