currituckbun":2kw4noxm said:
:cat: We have a very good mouser cat who is getting old but still hunts. He keeps them at bay. The feed I store in those big plastic bins with lids. The hay is raised off the ground in the barn by a couple of cinder blocks. The mice could get in that if they wanted but I think the smell of the cat keeps them out. He has always gone to the bathroom outside until the last few winter months. I guess we will be getting a new outside cat when he retires. He is 16 and is spending a lot more time inside on our laps lately. He still gets out early and does his rounds which includes the barn. I swear he asked me for just one baby bunny the other day. He does thinks they are delicious.
For the time being they are safe in cages. Not sure how I will work out the set up when we go to colony.
no cats allowed here. i've already been told I need to get rid of some of my dogs, beside the fact that the dogs would def kill the cat.
__________ Sun Feb 26, 2012 2:39 pm __________
ChickiesnBunnies":2kw4noxm said:
Get the large $15 Lowes trash cans, they come with a lid. I fill them with 3.5 50lb bags of chicken feed.
If they are IN your house, you HAVE HOLES you need to close up.
Lots of places sell the black, reusable snap traps. They work real well, just ad a bit of cheese and catch, dump, reload and catch more.
Easier said than done. This house is old, and was left to sit for several years. there are many things that need work here. I went all around and either poured cement/tar/great stuff, whatever was required in all of the available holes. Short of paying a professional. The mouse traps available in retail stores are useless at best. And they will open up if the dogs run into them, and they will at some point. The dog proof ones I've seen are rat sized, way to small for the mice I'm catching. I've used glue boards and bait, but I can't do that where there will be dogs, bunnies and chickens, esp. dogs and chickens.<br /><br />__________ Sun Feb 26, 2012 2:49 pm __________<br /><br />
SterlingSatin":2kw4noxm said:
i keep hay bales in the attic of my detached barn. never had mice but i have had moths. i bring hay bales down one at a time and dump it in a refrigerator box. seems to keep the mice away from it. a good barn is a help too, mine is a actually a garage so its pretty tight, never had mice even when i let the mess get away from me and have feed all over the floor (i have some dumpers). i keep my bags of feed up on a table and the opened bags i dump in a open top big tub. it works well. a cat would work too
Cat is out of the question. I'm lucky to have the animals I have, and the terms of the lease are no animals inside, and the dogs would kill an outside cat (this I know for sure). I also don't want another mouth (species) to feed right now.
This is an old house, and an old barn, there's nothing tight about it. I'm just fortunate the roof doesn't leak
It would be nice to have better facilities, but will have to wait till another lifetime, when I get some real money, and pay off $$$$$$$$$ in student loans. I gotta make due with the rickety barn as it is. The side where the rabbits are has a raised wood floor with a dirt floor under it. There's no way for me to keep the mice out, short of pouring a concrete slab, and I can't afford that. That's why I can't just keep them out, I need them dead, and I need a dog proof, chicken proof way to do it.