It’s really no secret, when you have a barn, you have mice. There are a lot of niave people who think they have never had mice and are shocked and appalled when they find out they do, but the reality is mice are everywhere. 

Our chickens love mice and will catch them and eat them, heck they fight over them – a game we like to call Chicken Rugby. The dogs like them too, tasty little snacks you can play with if you’re not actually hungry. 

Now that the weather is turning cold more and more are coming inside the barn and our animals just can’t keep up so Tom found a fantastic addition, the Tin Cat  

 Our house cats have teased our livestock guardian dogs to the point that they are not welcome in the pasture so they can only hunt the rest of our property, and they do a great job, but the barn was getting a little overrun lately. 

Because it’s a barn, poisons are not ever an option. What kills a mouse will kill a dog or a chicken. We tried snap traps but let’s face it, they are only good for 1 snap per setting and if we only go to the barn two or three times a day they are self-limiting. 

The tin cats are amazing. We put them in high traffic areas and they fill with mice. I know the label says “catches 30 mice” but it won’t hold 30 at one time.  We have however, caught over 40 in  a week or 10 days. Tom checks them every feeding (12 hours) and usually has 3 or 4 at a time. The trap is a live trap so we dispose of them in a bucket of water and are very pleased with how easy and successful this is. 

Recently another hunter has joined or team.  We are calling him Logan. This Northern Saw-Whet Owl found its way into the barn yesterday and is enjoying the stay. We are enjoying his hunting skills and will be happy to let him stay as long as he chooses. 

 Saw-Whets are tiny little owls, so they pose no threat to any of our critters and they are pretty cute too. Hopefully this little friend will feel like sticking around for awhile.