Poorly chicken

[sadieatthebridge]

Over the last few months I have regularly seen mice in our Keter storage shed where we keep our chicken paraphenalia (food, corn, dog food etc.).

As I am soft-hearted (or stupid!) I haven't really done much about this apart from get better storage containers for the food and occasionally evict the mouse by sweeping out the nest and mess.

However, over the last couple of days we have caught our ladies squabbling over dead mice on two separate occasions  Eeek!! I have seen mice near the hen house and today I was collecting an egg from the nest box when a mouse darted out! (There was an eaten egg in the box but this is a regular occurrence for my chickens because they are egg-eating delinquents)

For context, the girls free range in the garden all day and get put to bed on an evening. I leave the food out all night which is bad I know! What do I need to do to fix this? Will a treadle feeder and a thorough cleaning of the storage shed be enough? (please don't tell me to kill the mice....)

Any advice gratefully received 😊

[mullethunter]

I know for bio security reasons this is poor, but I have mice (never seen more than one at any given time) taking food from the feeders. And scavenging in the compost heap and around the veg plot. I like them, am happy for them to stay and won’t be trying to get rid of them.

[Cat tails]

Saw a mouse darting from the run the other day. I definitely have mice, but also a rather large tomcat that occasionally limits the population. As long as they stay in the garden, I’m fine with it and reassured by the fact I have Red to intervene if needed.

[sadieatthebridge]

Oh thank you both, that's reassuring! Getting a cat did cross my mind but we have a greyhound who might not approve!

As you say, as long as they're in the garden it's okay. However, some friends of ours were without heating for several weeks this winter when mice chewed through all their heating pipes - had to pull up flooring etc and took weeks to sort out. So although I think the mice are lovely, I am aware of the damage they can do if they get into the house - maybe I will look into getting one of those high-pitched deterrent plugs just in case.

[Luvachicken]

My next door neighbours have one of those noise things and another neighbour popped a note in their door complaining about the noise in the garden.

We actually can't hear it in our garden but I know you are not meant to put them near animals. I just hope my girls aren't affected by it.

I actually don't mind the mice either and prefer them to the dreaded rat.

We once had a mouse nest in my sewing basket in our garage - very sweet using little bits of material. 

[fdotr]

You don't say what the problem is; too many mice or too few mice.

If you were running an industrial unit mice would be bad. If they are eating feed they will breed fast and you could be supporting a large population.

On the other hand, small wild creatures must be a normal part of a healthy environment. We used have mice who eat the seeds off stalks of ornamental grass on our patio.

 

Have a look at; 

 

 Mice 

[Beantree]

I had cats once which brought live mice into the house leaving us with a lot of mess and damage; our Terrier is far more effective and catches them to exchange for treats. We thought we had a few mice and used a few traps which were full every morning, so increased the number and had 13 going at one point. Ultimately caught 300 and now have just 3 traps which have caught one large mouse in the last two months. Point I am making is although you have seen a few mice, you may have hundreds and a big problem looming because they can climb walls well and will find a way into your house in Autumn.

[The Dogmother]

I never have any problems with mice or rats, but then I do have 1 hunter cat and 2 lurchers!