DD found a dead mouse in the barn today. Perfectly formed, in a “down” “crouch” “resting” position. That is to say on it’s feet and upright. Eyes open. It looked like it was just sitting there.
She rolled it over getting it on the dust pan and it never moved or changed position, no whisker wiggle…nothing. Dead as a door nail.
Could it have had a heart attack or something?
RIP little mouse.
I found something similar once, young healthy looking mouse, looking like it was curled up hiding, turned out to be dead. Some sleuthing and I determined this mouse got into a partially used tube of flavored bute paste.
That’s interesting. We don’t keep any drugs or poisons out there. I suppose it could have gotten into something non-lethal for everyone except mice. Maybe it ate the salty sand in the arena.
I like your signature line…
Yes, could have been something consumed. Neighbors will often put things out with poison which always pisses me off, because it could affect my animals. It also could have been traumatized by a cat or other wild predator, wherein it was played with and damaged, like bleeding inside, and eventually died without any outward visible trauma. I’ve found mice and rabbits like that.
Poor thing.
I found a mother mouse once with an angry red teat which looked like she probalby died of an infected teat. Back leg pulled up to her belly, lying on the basement floor. Just my guess.
I used to keep and breed pet mice, and I would frequently find the oldsters dead in that manner. They died of old age.
It’s not an unusual posture for them when they don’t feel well.
That’s so strange. I had the same thing happen to me on Sunday morning! I assumed it might have died from the extreme cold snap we had in the morning. But yep, he was in the aisle, just looking like he was sitting there but very much dead.
Heh, at least your mouse stayed dead! I’m not squeamish around most things, but these three things made me look like a total wimp.
I had to bury a dead rat at my grandmothers once, it was huge and just laying there on the back patio, we assumed a cat had gotten it.
Well, I got it up on the shovel moved it over to where I was going to bury it, dug the hole, turned to scoop it up and the freaking thing was gone! It was still alive and had run off! Scared the crap out of me and my poor grandmother.
I had a squirrel die in my pool in a sitting position, like when they’re hanging around on the ground eating, I had to scoop that one out with a net and it’s claws got stuck in the net and I had to fight and shake that net like nobodies business to get that squirrel out. I was not going to touch it, so my only option was to shake it loose…ugh, I felt like a monster doing that.
Also had a opossum die in a cat cube (One of those soft cube shaped cat beds). I went out to check on and feed the feral cats I take care of and found it in the cube. I freaked out, ran backwards thinking it was alive and playing dead. Well when it didn’t move and I could finally see tiny flies (it had died overnight apparently) I had to dig a hole and bury it…I was not pulling it out of that cube, no way, no how. I had to dig a pretty big hole and bury it cube and all.
I seriously hope I don’t find more dead things in my yard, I really do. :dead:
Interesting that it’s so common. In all our 40 years in the barn, I’d never seen this before.
I’ve always thought the mice were cute; they don’t bother me at all. In fact, with these 2 cats we rarely see one that isn’t being played to death and we never see droppings.
When i was a kid I had a hamster die doing a headstand on the side of the glass tank it lived in. Figured it tried climbing out, fell and hit it’s head. I took all day making a shoe box coffin, a head stone, digging a tiny gave, writing a eulogy and organizing the parents to attend the funeral. When I went into my room to get the hamster he was alive and running around his tank!! Guess he just knocked himself out and lived another 2 years. The rule in the house became once we thought something died we waited at least a half day to bury it:)
many years from now an archaeology dig will uncover this entombed opossum and speculation will run the course as to why it was enshrined in such a lovely temple
[QUOTE=Simkie;7805912]
I used to keep and breed pet mice, and I would frequently find the oldsters dead in that manner. They died of old age.
It’s not an unusual posture for them when they don’t feel well.[/QUOTE]
That was my thought as well; just because it’s lying down doesn’t mean it was happily sleeping in that position. Could be anything, including internal injuries from escaping an encounter with a rat, cat, bird, etc.
I guess I’m just getting cold-hearted in my old age…there is no shortage of dead animals around my farm…occasional mice, baby birds that fall (or are pushed from) their nest in the rafters of my barn, chipmunks that the cats have left for me, etc. I just sweep them up and toss them in the wheelbarrow. No funerals.
[QUOTE=ezduzit;7807153]
I’ve always thought the mice were cute; they don’t bother me at all. In fact, with these 2 cats we rarely see one that isn’t being played to death and we never see droppings.[/QUOTE]
I feel the same way. While I appreciate the barn cats doing their job, I always feel bad for the mouse that gets repeatedly tossed in the air 'till dead.
I do take birds away from the barn cats. I upset one barn kitty earlier this week when I distracted her from a bird she was parading around with. The bird was still alive and flew into a pile of hay. I grabbed it before kitty could and tossed it outside. The cat spent the next 20 minutes whining and searching every hay pile in every stall looking for the bird. 
I was pretty mad at my cat when she caught a big grosbeak one morning. I yelled at her and she was so startled she opened her mouth and the bird flew out-
—smack into a tree where it broke its poor neck.
[QUOTE=clanter;7807461]
many years from now an archaeology dig will uncover this entombed opossum and speculation will run the course as to why it was enshrined in such a lovely temple[/QUOTE]
LOL, I’d love to be able to see that, of course by then I’ll probably be long gone, but still, the looks on the faces of the people who find it.
At least it didn’t die in the old dresser that was sitting out there next to the cube, that would have been one big freaking hole to dig! :winkgrin:
[QUOTE=clanter;7807461]
many years from now an archaeology dig will uncover this entombed opossum and speculation will run the course as to why it was enshrined in such a lovely temple[/QUOTE]
That’s hilarious! I can see it happening.
Do you think it ended up in the bottom of the fellow’s coffee cup from MacDonalds? Apparently he is in the habit of taking off the lid for that last slurp, and that is what he found!
Walking the dog I saw one like that on Monday morning. First morning after the first frost. I assumed it was weak and froze to death?!
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