Can I make feed less appealing to sparrows?

[clocker19]

I need to rebuild the run with hardware cloth but that is a project for fall or winter. It's too hot here to have any metal inside the run. I will try adding some fake owls outside the run later this month.

Getting back to my original question, there's nothing that I can add to the feed that's okay for chickens but will discourage sparrows from eating it?

 

[Al Gerhart]

Sure, one cup of magic fairy dust, two eyes of newt, a dash of hope, four ounces of a politician's integrity, and six ounces of a lawyer's honesty. Shake, not stir, apply to the feed only during a full moon on any week with three Tuesdays.

 

[WhatsUpDuck]

Kind of an odd question, but do you have any outdoor cats or dogs? My cats leave the cardinals alone, but dispatch most other wild birds. The dog will chase any bird that gets close to our property. She has learned not to chase the chickens though!


If pellets aren't working have you looked up if their is any spice they don't like that would deter them? It's probably going to be something you have to deal with till you can make improvements on your set up. I feel you things are so costly!

LORD JESUS IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

 

[clocker19]

Kind of an odd question, but do you have any outdoor cats or dogs? My cats leave the cardinals alone, but dispatch most other wild birds. The dog will chase any bird that gets close to our property. She has learned not to chase the chickens though!


If pellets aren't working have you looked up if their is any spice they don't like that would deter them? It's probably going to be something you have to deal with till you can make improvements on your set up. I feel you things are so costly!

LORD JESUS IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

AMEN!

I have dogs but they don't go outside much in the summer because it's too hot. They just do their business and come right back in. The hens are scared of them anyway so the dogs don't go in that part of the yard. The neighbors' cats sometimes come around but again it's hot now and I think they're staying indoors.

I got some more bird netting and covered the areas near the ground where they were getting in and I replaced a tarp that had a hole in it so I'm hoping that will keep them out now.

Has anyone tried any of these to keep sparrows away? Are they effective? I don't want to scare/stress the hens.

bird scare foil tape

reflective spinners

reflective disks

reflective rods

Anything else that might work?

I tried to read up on what sparrows like and don't like to eat and it seems mainly related to size, they prefer small seeds so I'm surprised they want to eat our pellets but I guess those aren't too big for them. I'll hold off feeding any smaller seeds as treats for now.

 

[clocker19]

I went out there five times so far today, plugging holes I didn't even know were there. There must have been seven or eight sparrows in there at once, jumping from dish to dish, eating all the food and bathing in (and pooping in) the foot baths. I'm really starting to hate these guys!