I have always put pellets out for my 4 hens in a pan in the run - that way I can keep track of how much they're eating, and it doesn't rain much here so I don't worry about it getting wet (I'm not sure they care anyways).
However, every sparrow in a 5 mile radius (that's a lot of sparrow, folks!) has decided my chicken pellets are the best buffet ever and there are more and more of them each day! I worry a little about them spreading disease, but I worry more about how they eat ALL the chicken feed. Every time I walk back there, 20 of them take off and fly away, and the yard is just pock-marked with their little sparrow dust baths. When I come home in the evening, the feed pan is empty, and I don't really know who ate what.
I have always kept a second, standard galvanized, feeder inside the coop under the nest boxes, and the last two days I haven't put any food out in the run in an effort to get them to eat the stuff in the coop which is less accessible to the wild birds. They have definitely been in there eating, but every time I go see them I think they're acting "hungry"! They pace around and bawk at me expectantly... or am I making it up?
So I guess my question is, are chickens smart enough to figure out their food got moved, or does it only occur to them that there's food when they've already gone in to lay an egg? Is there a way to do this more gradually or should I just not worry about it?
FYI, my longer-term plan is to put some kind of smaller-mesh netting around the run (currently horse fencing) so the sparrows can't get in to begin with, but at this rate it'll be November before I have time for that project.
Thanks!
However, every sparrow in a 5 mile radius (that's a lot of sparrow, folks!) has decided my chicken pellets are the best buffet ever and there are more and more of them each day! I worry a little about them spreading disease, but I worry more about how they eat ALL the chicken feed. Every time I walk back there, 20 of them take off and fly away, and the yard is just pock-marked with their little sparrow dust baths. When I come home in the evening, the feed pan is empty, and I don't really know who ate what.
I have always kept a second, standard galvanized, feeder inside the coop under the nest boxes, and the last two days I haven't put any food out in the run in an effort to get them to eat the stuff in the coop which is less accessible to the wild birds. They have definitely been in there eating, but every time I go see them I think they're acting "hungry"! They pace around and bawk at me expectantly... or am I making it up?
So I guess my question is, are chickens smart enough to figure out their food got moved, or does it only occur to them that there's food when they've already gone in to lay an egg? Is there a way to do this more gradually or should I just not worry about it?
FYI, my longer-term plan is to put some kind of smaller-mesh netting around the run (currently horse fencing) so the sparrows can't get in to begin with, but at this rate it'll be November before I have time for that project.
Thanks!
