[craig1981]

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

[Kathie]

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

[joyfull]

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.

[orchardlady]

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!!!

[josh5357]

A farmer friend told me that if you have mice you may not have rats. The rats eat the mice

[evie2]

OH says the same but I'd rather not have any

[themagicaltoad1]

 Was a fairly manly yelp though i might add
[/quote]
 

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.

[evie2]

We keep ours in the house after a nasty experience with dog biscuits 

[craig1981]

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 ?

[tesni]

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   

[joyfull]

as mentioned in my earlier post - eradibait 

http://eradibait.com/#anchor3

[evie2]

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?

[Sassy]

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

[2sam16]

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

[Helenaj]

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.