Of Mice and Men

Jack Prescott
(Internet Published) July 2002

Our Scottish poet, Robbie Burns, wrote "the best laid plans of mice and men are apt to go astray". All too often we pigeon men make careful plans that somehow fail. When we start to keep pigeons we also start to keep mice - It takes expert carpentry and shielding to keep mice out of our lofts. It can be done and I have done it.

Well! I know about mice; I bred them for some time as pets as a boy. I know about their breeding potentialities. From a single pair, in a short time, a staggering population can be propagated. The fact is that pigeons and mice do not mix. Mice are quite capable of developing and transmitting the dreaded Salmonella virus, which is lethal to pigeons and sometimes to humans too.

A simple test is to place a small bit of bread in the loft covered so that the mice can get to it, but the pigeons can't. Next morning if this bread has disappeared, it proves that mice are present. Even if there are only a few they will soon propagate. A man may not see them, or smell them, but they must be excluded from the loft at all costs and efforts.

In my time, I have known lofts that are absolutely infested by mice and the owners did not know or care. These people may escape an epidemic of salmonella or some other mouse transmitted disease for years, but a disaster may strike at any time. I personally could not live comfortable with just one mouse in my house. In England, 2001, a certain man had a mystery epidemic that killed 247 of his show pigeons eventually. In my opinion, this disease could have been Salmonella and I know that this man had mice. I also have no doubt that the survivors of this epidemic will be carriers for the rest of their lives, vaccinated or not. The majority of their young ones will die at an early age or fail to hatch. It should be remembered that any virus, any disease or parasite infestation would die out if it cannot spread.

Do these people who keep 200 pigeons or more on ancient deep litter mean to tell me that this is a healthy environment? If so they must think that I came down with yesterday's rain!

[Internet Published July 2002 at http://www.tipplers.com/jack/]