Mouse in shed.. type please?

carriesp · #1 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 04:33 PM

Hi,

Just thought I'd post a photo of the mouse in its own message to see if you can tell me which type of mouse we have in the shed..thinking it's a wood mouse maybe or a house mouse?? It's very tame and comes out to see us when we go in the shed and squeaks at us.. it's helping itself to the hens corn as you can see in the pic and seems very happy

Thanks for any info, love this site!!!

Carrie ~x~ photo taken by our 12 year old daughter.

Kleftiwallah · #2 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 05:32 PM

Shed mouse I'll get me coat! Cheers, Tony.

Tringa · #3 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 07:54 PM

Hi Carrie.

Looks like a wonderfully delightful Wood Mouse to me.

We get them in house when the weather is bad. I always feel a bit bad about setting traps for them.

Dave

Alex90 · #4 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 08:38 PM

i would have said House Mouse - Mus musculus, it doesnt have the same shaped head or ears as i would expect to see in a wood mouse -Apodemus sylvaticus.

vole-woman · #5 (**permalink**) 21-11-2009, 11:59 AM

I'd have said house mouse. Nice close up!

Tringa · #6 (**permalink**) 22-11-2009, 09:35 AM

Thanks for putting me right Alex and VoleW.

shirl · #7 (**permalink**) 22-11-2009, 06:26 PM

It's a house mouse, and a lovely photo of it too.

Shirl

Dutchess · #8 (**permalink**) 02-12-2009, 01:38 AM

A very healthy, well-fed house mouse in tip-top condition! At least the babies are going to be healthy!!

(The woodmouse appears all head and ears in comparison )

D.

posie · #9 (**permalink**) 02-12-2009, 12:45 PM

[quote=Dutchess;570634]A very healthy, well-fed house mouse in tip-top condition! At least the babies are going to be healthy!!

If I was a house mouse and was getting that treatment in a shed, I'd apply to officially become a Shed Mouse, and I would have lots of babies, and they would all breed within weeks of birth, and within a very short time there would be DOZENS of us, and we would be eating more corn than the chicken, MUCH more, and then the humans would put the corn in a bin so we couldnt get it, and so we'd leave the shed and pop indoors to live, where there's lots of food and be House Mice again........Posie....

...Your daughter's photo is very good, you have a Photographer in the making there....

carriesp · #10 (**permalink**) 05-12-2009, 02:18 AM

Lol thanks for all the comments.. very funny especially the shed mouse one which we have officially named it now!
The strange thing is that when we moved to this house 6 years ago we had several mice and rats running around the back garden... we live very close to a river with dykes everywhere! We adopted a couple of cats from the local RSPCA cat rescue (as well as getting in a friend who is a pest control officer to dispose of the rats) and they decided we were soft touches so rang us several times to adopt other cats so we now have 6! Ever since that first few months 6 years ago we have only ever had 1 mouse in that shed. I assume it's not the same mouse but we honestly hand on heart have only ever had one adult mouse in there. The shed is big but clear with only a couple of places for them to hide, one of which is under some wood stored for firewood which is regularly used up and replenished. When my hubby gets some wood for the multi fuel burner the mouse runs out and sits looking at him and when he's finished it goes under the pile again. We can only think that as the hens (we have 10 ex battery's, 7 other hens and 3 cockerels all free range) and cats have pretty much free reign in the shed that this is keeping them down or enough to stop them nesting?? We regularly get 'gifts' during the spring and summer of dead mice and rats outside the back doors so the cats must be doing something right. Anyway the mouse is now officially a member of the family as the cats don't seem to get this one so we shall have to wait and see.. we have found a buyer for the house so hopefully will be out before the spring taking our cats with us

Thank you also very much for your nice comments on the photo.. I have told my daughter and she is very happy! She loves taking photographs and has entered 3 into the Sony photo awards so fingers crossed!!