You might try a bucket trap. Get a cheap bucket with a lid and cut a one-inch hole in the centre of the lid. Put your bait inside with the slightest smear of peanut butter around the hole on the inside to tempt them. A spoonful of peanut butter in the bottom is likely all the bait you'll need, but a handful of the chicken's food (which they are accustomed to stealing) would do no harm.

Some people add water (several inches) to drown the mice as they go in, but I think the water makes them more cautious. This way they don't realize they won't be able to jump out again.

Every night, remove the chickens' feeder and put the bucket in its place, with a piece of wood for a ramp. I'll be very surprised if you don't catch several each night. Mice are easy compared to rats.

Snap traps work well too. If you are afraid of hurting your chickens or cats, set them inside a carton with a small hole cut in the side.

This is a bit off-the-wall, but I've heard (and it tallies with my own experiences) that you either get mice or rats, not both. My Dad (who was either dead right or dead wrong, bless him!) used to say that mice will not come near a place with a caged rat in it. Domestic rats are nice little guys, good pets. If you put one in a peck-proof cage in the chicken house, its presence MIGHT repel the mice. Just don't let it escape or you could end up with a different problem!

Please post any results you get from either of these ideas, so we can know just how effective (or not) they are.

Now if I could just find a way to get rid of the rats living under the goose house...

Rats and mice do just fine in the same barn, no doubt about that!
If you add water to the bucket, sprinkle enuff sun flower seeds to cover surface. works for chipmunks too.

Thanks maggie and fancifowl! I never would have thought of the bucket thing! I was trying to imagine a live trap of some kind, but that never occurred to me. I won't ask about disposal (my imagination does work sometimes!) - I'll likely be soft and drive them up the road to a field or something. Or maybe I'll get tough and use the water method.............

Anyway, I'm going to find me a bucket with a lid right away. I think a dishwasher detergent bucket would work and I happen to have one at home! I'll let you all know how this works.

Oh yeah - I've been using snap traps smeared with peanut butter already, but only get one or two a night and the little buggers are getting good at eating the peanut butter without snapping the trap!

I'm surprised the chickens aren't getting them. Ours free range and I have never seen mice in the hoop-houses but do occasionally see a chicken with a little mouse or baby snake in its beak when they are out foraging.

We have a abandoned litter of kittens that we are raising with the chickens and since they came along, we see very few mice anywhere.

I wondered about the chickens catching the mice, but they seem to co-habitate quite nicely together. I've never seen a chicken with a mouse in it's beak!

The mice generally come out to eat after dark when the chickens are roosting. My chickens are semi-free range during the day - they have a large fenced-in yard attached to their house. I've lost several chickens in the woods and we have lots of critters around so I opted to fence them. They routinely get out anyway :)

I think the problem is that my chicken house is just too darned warm and cozy! DH kind of went overboard on the insulating and cedar siding inside and out! Chickens love it, though.

One of my cats sits outside the door every night waiting.....and he's usually successful. Still hasn't put much of a dent in the mouse population, though.

We had a serious problem with rats earlier this summer - and these babies were not small either. They were tunneling everywhere. I did plenty of research, particularly on this forum searching old posts (check the search option). Called around feedstores, etc to explain the situation and was told that - if we are seeing them scamper around in broad daylight (as was the case) we should figure that we had a reeeally big infestation.

We tried traps and the bucket trick, but were finally resigned to aggressive measures. Have since had good success with Assault. We use this ONLY in bait boxes to keep safely from the birds and the rodents seem to drop dead pretty fast. We also keep a watchful eye out for carcasses, but glad we put our foot down as this product turned things around quickly.

In addition, we take up the food and water every night and try to sweep up left overs. It's a good first step. Hope you don't have to go to such extremes, but in case you do, this worked for us. (knock on wood).

LF(RJ)

Thanks LF(RJ) for the advice - I did remove the feed last night after dark. Good idea.

Balsam, I've been wondering how the mouse wars are going. Did you have any luck with the bucket trap?

hi maggie - to answer your question - sort of.

I haven't had time to make the bucket trap yet (it's still sitting on the kitchen counter), but I have been removing the feeder every night and locking it up. We haven't seen as many mice, but they are still around. I'm hoping to get the trap done this week. These work days and night classes are for the birds!

Brian left his tall coffee mug down in the shop last night with a couple inches of coffee (very sweet) in the bottom. This morning, he found a dead mouse in it! Bucket trap in miniature!

Ewwwwwwwwww! I'm glad it was his favourite mug and not mine!

My hens stalk and kill mice. I have a wyandotte hen that is better at than the cats. She's a deadly little carnivore. If I till up the garden most of the hens go looking for worms. The wyandotte waits at the edge for mice to run. The guineas spend a lot of time stalking mice in the brush.