Can Mice Hurt Pet Birds

Keeping different types of animals under the same roof comes with some precautions. I recently received an email from a reader of the blog asking me, ‘can mice hurt pet birds?’

This took me by surprise because I’m not sure of a situation where both mice and birds would be free and able to interact if they are both pets. So I’m assuming that the person means wild mice and pet birds.

I do have some experience with mice getting into the home a bird in. So lets take a look at what the possibilities are.

Can Mice Hurt Pet Birds

They did not say which type of bird or in what context either, but it doesn’t really matter. Mice do not typically harm birds. In fact it’s quite the opposite in the wild. Birds prey on mice in the wild, with larger birds like owls feeding on field mice. So it should come as a surprise that mice are instinctively cautious of birds.

Mice Will Eat Bird Food

Wild mice will be attracted to bird seeds. If you have a bird that makes a bit of a mess and throws a lot of seeds outside of its cage there is a risk of attracting wild mice in to your home. This is the last thing most people want, so be careful where you place your bird cage and make sure you clean up after them.

I have heard numerous stories from people finding a trail or bird seed leading away from their cage. Only to find out that mice and sneaking in during the night and getting into the birds cage and stealing food.

I’ve never heard of the mice hurting the birds. They are only after the food and will take some and leave. There is a concern of disease and mice droppings, more reasons why you should put a stop to this if it starts happening.

How to Keep Mice out of Your Bird Cage

If you do have problems with wild mice getting in to your bird cage there are a few things you can do. Firstly you want to put the cage up as high as possible and limit the amount of entry points that a mouse can use to get into the cage.

Obviously mice are great at climbing. But think about a table with only a middle pillar and no legs near the edges. Or shelf on a wall that doesn’t have anything near by for mice to grip on as they climb.

If nothing seems to work you will have to put sticky traps outside the cage. This is a humane way to catch a mouse and you can release it far away from your home. A sticky trap will catch the mouse and, well, stick them to the spot. Make sure you check the traps regularly to save prolonged stress on the mouse and get them out as soon as possible.