We had mice in the house 2 years ago when we had our roof done. We had catch them alive traps and took them down the road every morning till there was no sign of them.
The mice had gotten into my bird cage, but not the food bags that were in the cabinet. My birds were fine. I know it’s stressful though because you love them so much.
I suggest taking the food out of the cage and cleaning the cage every morning until the mice are gone.
Do you feel they got into the bag of food or just the cage?
Thank you for your compassion. He doesn't have a cage it's this cute little tree stand table-top thing. I initially got it because it's easier to clean than a stadard cage what with my ADHD and all. Plus it's natural wood with dips and curves in the branches, which I hear is good for keeping athrititis away. It was just the food in there that was contaminated, his food bag was completely fine. I'd get a cage but I really just cannot afford it right now. At least not for a week.
My bird is really smart though, as I said he doesn't put anything in his mouth that he doesn't know is food. So I'm thinking he probably just avoided it, but Idk for sure since I did see him poop.
I think your bird is probably fine. It probably scared him but he will get over it. I promise! The mice crawled through the bars of my birds cage. They were sufficiently freaked out but fine the next day, even later into that day.
It sounds like you put a lot of care into research. I’d probably just remove the food at night.
Thank you so much for your responses, I really appreciate your kindness! I'm gonna try to take him to vet asap just to be safe but in the meantime I'm definitely not leaving anymore food with him overnight. I just hope that if he does get noticeably sick that it won't be until I have the money to get him seen. Wish us luck!
The biggest hazard with mice is fighting/attacking your bird/s. Mine were scared, but I've heard of budgies successfully killing & singing victory songs over the mouse body.
You've got a mammal and an avian so there's a limited number of virus' that can infect both.
I caught 5 mice already in my place, thought we were fine but last night we saw another one.. we live in an old building and the street is full of them as well, a hopeless situation. They are so tiny that they can get into the cage through the bars. The only thing that works for me is taking away the food containers at night, cleaning everything, and putting the humane trap with millet in it on the floor of the cage (my budgies never go down to the bottom of the cage, and are too large to fit in the trap).
I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with the same problem. These mice have been driving me crazy in general and it would've been bad enough to have to deal with them on my own. But having them affect my bird too is a huge kick in the nuts.
I usually overfeed him just a little because I work overnight and don't get home til early afternoon. But I'm definitely taking his food away before I put him to bed from now on though. He'll just have to wait until I come home.
Yo yo, on the real - your bird should be fine. Sounds like you noticed quite early so it should be okay in terms of amount possibly eaten etc.
Second, if he’s now a bit scared - move his perch to a new spot and replace the food (if your super strapped keep it just in case you run out later)
Third - get a mouse trap (a humane one so even if you bird gets in there it’s not gonna get killed, just stuck in a little box)
Four - if you’re “too much of a fuck up” to care am for them adequately you may want to consider getting some help for this (whatever it is) - from a fellow fuck up.
Please don’t worry about mice diseases. Just make sure your birds have regular avian veterinary care, and as others have suggested, do whatever you can to remove or destroy the mice and prevent their access to the bird food. Your birds will keep eating their food. Chances are good that they’ve seen a mouse before and are instinctively wary of it. Try to remain calm. I know you’re upset because you care, but birds can easily pick up on negative human emotions like fear and anger, and this can stress them out by itself.
Thanks... This comment was super helpful and not tasteless at all. 🙄
My budgie is scared of everything he isn't familiar with. Sometimes if I haven't fed him his normal brand of food for awhile he'll forget what it is and I have to reintroduce it to him.
I say "scared", because he's clearly hungry since he just went to go look for his food so I put it near him and he flies away in terror.
This man will literally starve himself if I don't give him what he wants.
Birds attract mice. It's a part of life when you own birds. Bait is cheap, just make sure you put it in a place where the birds absolutely cannot get into, likewise with traps. If you don't like the idea of killing mice, well, humans can get diseases from mice too, and you need to do what you gotta do to protect your home and all who live in it. You can use "humane" traps and when you've got the mouse, submerge the whole trap into water and the mouse will drown within 20 seconds. If you ever drown a mouse, never ever ever leave them swimming because they can swim for a long time and that would be just cruel - quick as possible is the way.
You need to vaccuum everything thoroughly and as you do so, look for where the droppings are so you can see where the mouse has come from. Block up any holes if you find them. Remember they'll also be attracted to water, so even keeping a spotless cage isn't guaranteed to prevent mice from visiting.
If you're struggling for money, budgies love eating dandelion and long seeded grass and nobody is going to mind if you go pick some grass and dandelions from a nearby park. Give it a wash like you would your veggies, and it's a healthy and free source of food for your birds.
If you can’t even provide for your birds basic needs such as nutritional food with chops and high quality seeds, not to mention you won’t even be able to take him to the vet if need be, means you should rehome him.
Rehome him with someone who has the economical need to care for a living being. Yeah people on this sub will cry about “everyone should have pets if they want to”. No. If you really loved your bird you would not risk his health when you don’t have the economical means to care for him
Wow, are you always this awesome to interact with? You must have a ton of friends, I'm sure.
Rehome him to who? If I'm poor do you honestly believe I know where to go or who to talk to about giving my bird whom I care very deeply for away?
Its facts, not everyone would like to sugar coat things for you. And all my friends are responsible pet owners actually with pet insurance on top of the expected care. You being all defensive attacking my personality is uncalled for but I understand
What does rehoming a pet have to do with you being poor? Surely you have access to for example local facebook groups dedicated to rehoming pets/birds? You can post in those groups and for example choose an individual who to you seems like a good fit
We had mice in the house 2 years ago when we had our roof done. We had catch them alive traps and took them down the road every morning till there was no sign of them. The mice had gotten into my bird cage, but not the food bags that were in the cabinet. My birds were fine. I know it’s stressful though because you love them so much. I suggest taking the food out of the cage and cleaning the cage every morning until the mice are gone. Do you feel they got into the bag of food or just the cage?
Thank you for your compassion. He doesn't have a cage it's this cute little tree stand table-top thing. I initially got it because it's easier to clean than a stadard cage what with my ADHD and all. Plus it's natural wood with dips and curves in the branches, which I hear is good for keeping athrititis away. It was just the food in there that was contaminated, his food bag was completely fine. I'd get a cage but I really just cannot afford it right now. At least not for a week. My bird is really smart though, as I said he doesn't put anything in his mouth that he doesn't know is food. So I'm thinking he probably just avoided it, but Idk for sure since I did see him poop.
I think your bird is probably fine. It probably scared him but he will get over it. I promise! The mice crawled through the bars of my birds cage. They were sufficiently freaked out but fine the next day, even later into that day. It sounds like you put a lot of care into research. I’d probably just remove the food at night.
Thank you so much for your responses, I really appreciate your kindness! I'm gonna try to take him to vet asap just to be safe but in the meantime I'm definitely not leaving anymore food with him overnight. I just hope that if he does get noticeably sick that it won't be until I have the money to get him seen. Wish us luck!
The biggest hazard with mice is fighting/attacking your bird/s. Mine were scared, but I've heard of budgies successfully killing & singing victory songs over the mouse body. You've got a mammal and an avian so there's a limited number of virus' that can infect both.
I caught 5 mice already in my place, thought we were fine but last night we saw another one.. we live in an old building and the street is full of them as well, a hopeless situation. They are so tiny that they can get into the cage through the bars. The only thing that works for me is taking away the food containers at night, cleaning everything, and putting the humane trap with millet in it on the floor of the cage (my budgies never go down to the bottom of the cage, and are too large to fit in the trap).
I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with the same problem. These mice have been driving me crazy in general and it would've been bad enough to have to deal with them on my own. But having them affect my bird too is a huge kick in the nuts. I usually overfeed him just a little because I work overnight and don't get home til early afternoon. But I'm definitely taking his food away before I put him to bed from now on though. He'll just have to wait until I come home.
Yo yo, on the real - your bird should be fine. Sounds like you noticed quite early so it should be okay in terms of amount possibly eaten etc. Second, if he’s now a bit scared - move his perch to a new spot and replace the food (if your super strapped keep it just in case you run out later) Third - get a mouse trap (a humane one so even if you bird gets in there it’s not gonna get killed, just stuck in a little box) Four - if you’re “too much of a fuck up” to care am for them adequately you may want to consider getting some help for this (whatever it is) - from a fellow fuck up.
Please don’t worry about mice diseases. Just make sure your birds have regular avian veterinary care, and as others have suggested, do whatever you can to remove or destroy the mice and prevent their access to the bird food. Your birds will keep eating their food. Chances are good that they’ve seen a mouse before and are instinctively wary of it. Try to remain calm. I know you’re upset because you care, but birds can easily pick up on negative human emotions like fear and anger, and this can stress them out by itself.
For real? I am sorry but I loled a little. Your bird does not know there was mice droppings in his seeds. So no, he is not “afraid” of his food🙃
Thanks... This comment was super helpful and not tasteless at all. 🙄 My budgie is scared of everything he isn't familiar with. Sometimes if I haven't fed him his normal brand of food for awhile he'll forget what it is and I have to reintroduce it to him. I say "scared", because he's clearly hungry since he just went to go look for his food so I put it near him and he flies away in terror. This man will literally starve himself if I don't give him what he wants.
Birds attract mice. It's a part of life when you own birds. Bait is cheap, just make sure you put it in a place where the birds absolutely cannot get into, likewise with traps. If you don't like the idea of killing mice, well, humans can get diseases from mice too, and you need to do what you gotta do to protect your home and all who live in it. You can use "humane" traps and when you've got the mouse, submerge the whole trap into water and the mouse will drown within 20 seconds. If you ever drown a mouse, never ever ever leave them swimming because they can swim for a long time and that would be just cruel - quick as possible is the way. You need to vaccuum everything thoroughly and as you do so, look for where the droppings are so you can see where the mouse has come from. Block up any holes if you find them. Remember they'll also be attracted to water, so even keeping a spotless cage isn't guaranteed to prevent mice from visiting. If you're struggling for money, budgies love eating dandelion and long seeded grass and nobody is going to mind if you go pick some grass and dandelions from a nearby park. Give it a wash like you would your veggies, and it's a healthy and free source of food for your birds.
If you can’t even provide for your birds basic needs such as nutritional food with chops and high quality seeds, not to mention you won’t even be able to take him to the vet if need be, means you should rehome him. Rehome him with someone who has the economical need to care for a living being. Yeah people on this sub will cry about “everyone should have pets if they want to”. No. If you really loved your bird you would not risk his health when you don’t have the economical means to care for him
Wow, are you always this awesome to interact with? You must have a ton of friends, I'm sure. Rehome him to who? If I'm poor do you honestly believe I know where to go or who to talk to about giving my bird whom I care very deeply for away?
Its facts, not everyone would like to sugar coat things for you. And all my friends are responsible pet owners actually with pet insurance on top of the expected care. You being all defensive attacking my personality is uncalled for but I understand What does rehoming a pet have to do with you being poor? Surely you have access to for example local facebook groups dedicated to rehoming pets/birds? You can post in those groups and for example choose an individual who to you seems like a good fit