We have a few cats that live in the feed room, plus one heck of a jack russell mix dog. She is tough on mice & rats ... plus a mole or two ... if you don't mind the holes. lol
Keeping mice/rats out of chicken feeders at night
Hello,
We have the usual winter problem with rats and mice.
We have baits set away from everything so only rats and mice can get to it, except there is other food available from the grain feeders at night.
Does anyone have any ideas to prvent the mice and rats geting in to the feeders, ours are the hanging type.
Besides taking the feeders down everynight and locking them in a sealed container I can't think of anything else to do.
Great site I look forward toi many chats with the chicken families
the Millers of Macgreor Canberra Act
We have the usual winter problem with rats and mice.
We have baits set away from everything so only rats and mice can get to it, except there is other food available from the grain feeders at night.
Does anyone have any ideas to prvent the mice and rats geting in to the feeders, ours are the hanging type.
Besides taking the feeders down everynight and locking them in a sealed container I can't think of anything else to do.
Great site I look forward toi many chats with the chicken families
the Millers of Macgreor Canberra Act
1 - 20 of 34 Posts
i bring the feed in every night and put it in a sealed container.
Do you keep the feeder full at all times? Maybe Think "food for the day" ... My hanging type feeder holds about 5 gallons but I only fill it about half because I now know that is about how much they will eat, within that day.
Take away the food and you take away the problem ...
I check for eggs 2 or 3 times per day, so if I see they are getting low I can add a little more.
Just a thought ...
Take away the food and you take away the problem ...
I check for eggs 2 or 3 times per day, so if I see they are getting low I can add a little more.
Just a thought ...
I always gave them just enough for the day. I fed them in the morning and let them free range the rest of the day. I still noticed I had mice no matter what. It is a little more work but putting up the food is about the only way to keep them out of it.
Good Luck
Good Luck
thanks for your replies
Hello,
Thanks for your thoughts!
We have done the above.
But they might be eating the leftover bits on the ground.
We just have to be patient I guess!
Thanks
sheryl
Hello,
Thanks for your thoughts!
We have done the above.
But they might be eating the leftover bits on the ground.
We just have to be patient I guess!
Thanks
sheryl
I placed a pic of my mother-in-law near the feeder, that worked pretty well. My wife replaced it with a pic of me, worked even better. A lovely woman, she is.Hello,
Does anyone have any ideas to prvent the mice and rats geting in to the feeders, ours are the hanging type.
Actually I really hadn't noticed a mice problem. Wild birds are another story. Sometimes we just let the feeder go empty & hand feed several/day until the wild birds give up & move on. Usually only takes a day. My feed is stored in a stainless steel drum, btw. They can't chew through that & it won't rust, so there is no paint to contaminate the feed. If your feeder is hanging from a thin wire it should be safe from mice, unless they are getting above then just jumping down onto it. In that case you might try suspending a piece of plywood above the feeder. If the plywood is large enough the mice will land on the ground, not in the feeder when they jump.
That's what I do as well.I've also put a cat in the run. JAI always gave them just enough for the day. I fed them in the morning and let them free range the rest of the day. I still noticed I had mice no matter what. It is a little more work but putting up the food is about the only way to keep them out of it.
Good Luck
Concrete and Metal
I fought the rodents most of my life and was tired of it. When we built our present hen house, I covered it with metal siding, inside and out. Then, I poured a concrete floor. There is a hen-size door with a ramp for the girls to go outside and that too, is covered with metal.
The windows are recycled from a mobile home and have metal frames and storm windows. I screened the windows and built a screen door with 1/2" hardware cloth. For winter, there is a steel covered house door to seal it all up, and a galvanized steel threshold I made, 6" tall. That keeps the litter inside and the mice outside.
I leave feed in the feeders all the time. No problem. I put an old stainless steel bowl upside down on the hanging feeder to keep the hens from setting up there and getting droppings in the feeder, so it stays clean.
I occassionally catch a mouse in the adjacent barn if they fall into a feed bucket. Chickens will catch and eat mice if they see them. I toss them into the henhouse in the daytime to watch the fun! It's better than football!
I fought the rodents most of my life and was tired of it. When we built our present hen house, I covered it with metal siding, inside and out. Then, I poured a concrete floor. There is a hen-size door with a ramp for the girls to go outside and that too, is covered with metal.
The windows are recycled from a mobile home and have metal frames and storm windows. I screened the windows and built a screen door with 1/2" hardware cloth. For winter, there is a steel covered house door to seal it all up, and a galvanized steel threshold I made, 6" tall. That keeps the litter inside and the mice outside.
I leave feed in the feeders all the time. No problem. I put an old stainless steel bowl upside down on the hanging feeder to keep the hens from setting up there and getting droppings in the feeder, so it stays clean.
I occassionally catch a mouse in the adjacent barn if they fall into a feed bucket. Chickens will catch and eat mice if they see them. I toss them into the henhouse in the daytime to watch the fun! It's better than football!
Just dont give the mice poison, because chicken will eat mice..then the chickens will get sick and possibly die 
Thats a cool trap RON, thanks for the info...
My cats are very quick to oblige with any rodent problem. I do also take any feed in at night.
Yeah, that's my best suggestion. Good sealed storage containers, adopt a cat or two, hope for an obliging garden snake who doesn't like chicks. Trap seems very cool though.
Thanks so much for all your comments!
I am not really a cat person we have cats that live next door to us and we have a fox trap to catch any stray/feral cats and foxes.
I really like the idea of the bottle trap I guess the mice die in there so it could get quite smelly and full.
Happy chooking!
sheryl miller
I am not really a cat person we have cats that live next door to us and we have a fox trap to catch any stray/feral cats and foxes.
I really like the idea of the bottle trap I guess the mice die in there so it could get quite smelly and full.
Happy chooking!
sheryl miller
1) We have a cat, 2) all feed it kept in a sealed container, 3) I only feed in the morning so no feed out all night.
We keep ours in one of those trash cans with a lid and it does keep them out! It's in our shed and we did have a mice problem but now any longer!!!
Old thread I know, but here is a solution for rats in the chicken coop. Works like a charm, pays for itself quickly if you have any rats. ratproofchickenfeeder.net
I have one and it works but I had to use some washers to get the weights right.Old thread I know, but here is a solution for rats in the chicken coop. Works like a charm, pays for itself quickly if you have any rats. ratproofchickenfeeder.net
1 - 20 of 34 Posts
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