Your homestead flock may not be the only ones who think their coop is a safe, warm place to live. Other animals, especially those in the rodent family, may also see the chicken coop as a protected place to build a nest with an ample supply of food nearby. Mice and their relations can become a common plague in many a homestead coop! Learning how to get mice out of the chicken coop is essential for keeping your homestead flock healthy and your coop clean!
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Why are mice dangerous to chickens?
Mice will take up residence in the chicken coop during any time of the year. However, they can become especially noticeable during the fall and winter. This is when they look for a protected, warm location to nest during the cold months. Come spring, they may even have babies and make a colony in the coop if they aren’t dealt with pronto!
I mostly refer to mice in this article, but many of these same principles apply to rats and other rodents. Mice are not good to have in the chicken coop for these reasons:
- spread disease: mice can transmit up to 11 different types of disease, some of which can be transmitted simply through inhaling infected particles!
- spread parasites: rodents can bring mites, lice, fleas, and ticks into the chicken coop
- make a mess: mice leave their disease-transmitting feces everywhere in the coop, including in the litter that your flock scratches and pecks food from
- can contaminate feed: rodents are attracted to grains, seeds, and feed products which they can quickly contaminate by running through and eliminating in the feed
- are destructive: mice can chew through wood, feed bags, electrical cords and other things at the coop
- eat chicken feed: you want to buy feed for your chickens, not the resident mice, right?
- provide access for other pests: the chewed holes or dug out holes that mice make in the coop can allow access points for other small pests like snakes and weasels
- provide bait for predators: since mice are a prey food, their presence can attract other chicken predators like owls, hawks, snakes, and even foxes!
A word on rats:
Since rats are even bigger than mice, they can pose even more of a risk. Rats will eat eggs and may even snack on young chicks. A rat infestation may require a few more drastic measures than a mice problem. However, some of these principles for identifying a rodent problem, solving a rodent problem, and preventing a rodent problem still apply!
Signs of Mice in the Chicken Coop
More than likely if you have a mice problem at the chicken coop, you’ll be able to tell! However, being able to recognize even the slightest telltale signs of a rodent residency can save you a lot of time ad hassle from having to deal with a large infestation. Here are some signs to watch for in the chicken coop that indicate a mouse problem:
- droppings: look on flat surfaces, shelves, tops of bins, and even on the coop floor
- holes in the dirt around the coop or chewed holes: mice holes are usually 2-3” in diameter
- gnaw marks: look for teeth marks left by mice on plastic, wood, fabric, cardboard, or paper objects
- chewed stuff: keep an eye out for holes chewed in bags or chewed cords
- rustling noises: listen for rustling noises as the mice ‘secretly’ set up residency
- check after dark: bring a bright light out to the coop after dark to look for rodents scurrying around
- ripped window screens: any sign like that usually indicates a predator attempt or rodents
- nests and scattered nesting litter: look for mice nests or scattered mice nesting material in nooks and crannies of the coop
- missing eggs or chicks: rats will eat eggs, baby chicks, and may even chew on adult chickens as they roost!
The size and amount of the signs you see can indicate the degree of infection and what rodent you are dealing with. Rats will leave much larger, often more destructive, signs than mice. No matter what degree of infestation you think you are dealing with, always assume the problem is bigger than you think. For every mouse you do see, there are still five more that you don’t see!
Getting Rid of Mice in the Chicken Coop
There are only two affective ways of solving a rodent infestation safely in the coop: trapping or introducing a chicken-safe mouse predator. Never use poison or glue traps in the chicken coop, these can harm other animals like hawks, owls, cats, and your chickens. You can’t control where a poisoned mouse will die and it may be eaten by an unsuspecting animal or a chicken! Glue traps are inhumane and will also trap other innocent animals.
Using Traps:
There are several safe ways to use traps in the chicken coop to solve a rodent problem. What trapping method you use will depend on how your coop is set up. You should never use spring-loaded traps in areas that your chickens can access. If you have a part of the coop that the chickens can’t access, such as a storage section, then you can safely set up spring-loaded traps in the evening after the chickens have roosted.
While mice are attracted to a wide variety of bait, I have had the most success by smearing peanut butter on the trap lever, sticking seeds in the peanut butter, and sprinkling a few seeds on and around the trap. Other mice bait ideas include:
- cheese
- boiled egg
- any kind of nut or seed
- pet food
- nut spread/butter
Even though my chickens can’t access the storage area of my chicken coop, I still only set the spring-loaded traps after the chickens have roosted each night. If you can not safely use spring-loaded traps at the chicken coop, then you may have to invest in some mouse live traps.
Still place the live traps in areas of the coop that are hard for the chickens to access or out of the chickens’ reach. The one problem with mice live traps is you have to dispose of the mice in a way so that they won’t just come back to the chicken coop again.
Barn Cats:
Aside from trapping rodents, the other way to safely remove mice from the coop is to get a good barn cat. Having a good barn cat on the homestead farm can help eliminate rodent problems in the chicken coop. It is a good idea to make sure the cat is good around chickens too. Remember, even if you get a barn cat to hunt rodents on the homestead, it will still need to be cared for and have its basic needs met by you too!
Will Chickens Eat Mice?
Yes, chickens will eat mice! However, there are several caveats to that. First, mice are mostly nocturnal. They will mostly be out and active at night, when the chickens are roosted and it’s dark in the coop. Secondly, your chickens really shouldn’t be consuming dead mice since mice can transmit disease and parasites to your chickens. Don’t feed mice that you trap to your chickens!
How to Prevent Mice in the Chicken Coop
The healthiest way to keep mice from being a problem in the coop is to prevent them from wanting to set up occupancy in the coop. While mice can be persistent and may ignore all your efforts to repel them, there are still some simple ways you can make the chicken coop less appealing to rodents. Mainly, you want to deprive the mice of food and shelter. Here are a few tips:
Block access to food:
Chickens are messy with their food. Unfortunately, mice like a lot of the same foods that chickens do, which makes the coop a perfect free buffet source! Here are a few ideas for keeping food messes out of the coop:
- store chicken feed in galvanized tins and not in the chicken coop
- clean up any feed spills in the coop
- provide your flock’s food in their enclosure rather than inside the coop
- use minimal waste feeders or treadle chicken feeders
- cover feeders or place them in galvanized tins at night
- use hanging feeder and water systems to make food and water harder for mice to access
Mess with their sense of smell:
Since mice don’t have good eyesight, they rely on their strong sense smell to help them find food and detect predators. When there is an overpowering scent in the vicinity, a mouse’s sense of smell is compromised. Mice won’t feel as safe and secure when there are too many overpowering scents.
Using strong smelling herbs and essential oils at the coop can help repel rodents. Planting herbs such as mint and lavender around to the coop can help. Placing bundles of freshly picked mint, lavender, balsam fir, pine, or rosemary in the coop can also create a strong aroma. Using strong citrus scents, such as a homemade lemon vinegar cleaner, can make the coop less appealing to mice.
Essential oils, like peppermint, lavender, and orange, can be soaked into cloths or cotton swabs and placed in the coop to create a strong scent. Just make sure your chickens can’t accidentally consume the cotton swab or cloth. Putting the scented item in a mesh drawstring bag and hanging it in the coop is a safe way to utilize essential oils.
Make them feel unprotected:
Mice may also like the chicken coop because it can be a safe, protected place to nest and live. Make the coop seem as inhospitable to mice as possible by reducing the ways in which mice feel protected:
- buy coyote or fox pee to spray around coop, mice may think that one of their natural predators is nearby
- remove attractive nesting locations or sources (straw bales, wood piles, piles of debris) within 20 fit of the coop since mice often live within 20 ft of their food source
- build a raised coop with solid flooring that is as chew proof as possible
- eliminate nooks, crannies, and small protected places where mice may want to build their nests
Whether you currently have a rodent problem at the coop or you want to take measures to prevent a rodent problem at the coop, knowing how to deal with these pesky critters is essential for keeping your homestead flock healthy and the chicken coop clean. Mice and their relations can spread disease and parasites to your homestead flock. Try to make your coop as unappealing to rodents this winter as possible!
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By Alexa
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