I am looking to buy a few colony traps to clean out some mice in a barn. What is your favorite trap/traps?

little giant multi catch

Minnow traps set along mice runways will catch plenty-they are like a colony trap for mice.
Buckets will catch lots also.

I have tried the minnow trap but they eat my bait and escape.

I wouldn't think screen minnow traps would work at all for mice, for the simple reason that they are such good climbers and they have nothing better to do in the trap then climb around...till they find the hole. Boco, do you mean the plastic/glass ones?
I'm happy with the good ol' wind-up Ketch-all; large and not terribly durable, but it do catch 'em! I think Tin Cats (or their copies) are the best overall.

This is a one night catch in an office building in two Tin-Cats

Gross

No, a gross is 144. There ain't that many.

The tin cats are my first choice, the wind ups second. I'm always watching for the older wind ups with out the plastic parts that break when I drop them. The windups have a big enough opening to catch the wood rats we have around here.

I would never be able to take a wonderful picture of all those mice in a couple of Tin Cats; congratulations Mike.

My pictures are of a lot of tails and feet and one very, very, large mouse.

That's what I use, I go through several dozen every year. Although it's not usually needed I do put a little bait in mine just to get that first mouse, once it smells mousy the rest just come to see what's up.