Garden (House) Mice (1 Viewer)

[ChrisKten]

Thought these might interest some of you. I allow everything except Cats and people into my garden... I kill nothing, including Slugs and Mice - the garden is just a muddy swamp with a couple of trees, but there's life under every leaf and stone.

I don't allow any Cats in my garden during the day, but can do nothing about the night, and over the years the Mice seem to have learned from this. Rather than forage for food at night when the Cats are around, they explore during the day (Obviously not he same Mice, but they learn from their parents ). Now that wasn't a good idea when Fred, a male Sparrowhawk, visited for nearly 7 years, as he preferred Mice to Birds - I've not seen him this year (7 is a good age for a wild Sparrowhawk, especially a male, so he might be dead), so the Mice are safe for now.

The first pic shows one in the open - second pic shows one running to get beneath the fence with a Monkey Nut - the third pic shows how they quickly get used to the Pigeons. When the Crows and Magpies visit, the Mice are easy prey until they learn, but only the Jays have been around regularly this year, and they mostly ignore the Mice.

All pics are grab shots through the double glazing - I could open the door to take pics, but either the Pigeons would walk in or one of the Mice... either way my Wife would scream and/or moan at me... so I don't open the door for pics

 

[Sangahyando]

Interesting. Do you get voles and Wood Mice, too? I've seen Wood Mice in urban habitats a few times, in fact more often than in forests.

 

[Nutcracker]

Looks like a young Brown Rat to me, with that thick, nearly hairless tail.

 

[Strontium Dog]

Looks like a young Brown Rat to me, with that thick, nearly hairless tail.

Definitely agree. If that's a mouse, then it's been on the steroids.

 

[ChrisKten]

Erm... the Mice in the pics are tiny, and size/width you are apparently seeing is an optical illusion/perspective/angle.

Small feet - small pointed-head/snout - large ears - monkey nut shell to right in first pic is a about a quarter of an inch tall and wide... Even a recently weaned Rat would be much larger and feet/head/snout/ears would be different... or have I got it all backwards?

Here's a quiz for you: http://www.ratbehavior.org/QuizRatOrMouse.htm I got 12/12

 

[ChrisKten]

Interesting. Do you get voles and Wood Mice, too? I've seen Wood Mice in urban habitats a few times, in fact more often than in forests.

I think I saw a Wood Mouse (I only got a glimpse, but the eyes were huge) a few years ago, but nothing since.

 

[Nutcracker]

Here's a quiz for you: http://www.ratbehavior.org/QuizRatOrMouse.htm I got 12/12

I got 10/12, my two fails both white lab animals with tricky backgrounds for judging :t:

 

[ChrisKten]

I got 10/12, my two fails both white lab animals with tricky backgrounds for judging :t:

Yeah, I guessed those two Actually, it's not that easy from pictures - I would only have put money on being right on about half of those pics. I think you need to see them in relation to something else, like birds really, size isn't easy from pics.

I'll try and get one to stand next to a ruler one day, but until then, and while they never grow any bigger, I'm pretty sure that they're not recently weaned Rats

 

[coaltit]

Keep them out your house whatever happens or it will be tom and jerry time...

 

[ChrisKten]

Keep them out your house whatever happens or it will be tom and jerry time...

I know, one got in about 10 years ago - I shut it in a room and tried to catch it and release it back into the garden.... after an hour of my wife screaming and countless failed attempts at catching it, I gave up and was forced to kill it. I really hope nothing like that happens again.

They have food in my garden, and they have shelter in my shed and tunnels/burrows under paving stones, and feeding during daylight hours seems to work for them... so I'll hope for the best.

 

[Farnboro John]

I got 12/12 and I never doubted the pics being House Mice.

John

 

[ChrisKten]

I got 12/12 and I never doubted the pics being House Mice.

John

I knew that you'd get all 12, John

 

[Mike Richardson]

Agree with House Mouse. In my experience, Wood Mice are most often seen at bird feeders, even in semi urban areas.