Chickens killing baby sparrows

[ginznchix]

Sparrows keep building nests in my coop and when the babies fledge the girls kill and eat them. I've removed countless nests but one got by me and now I've got screaming babies in there again. This morning the girls were running around with one.

Does anyone know if it's possible to move the whole nest and have the parents locate and accept it? I have bushes on the outside of the pen that would do the trick. Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[BuffOrpington88]

Oh no! My chickens do that with frogs!

I'm not sure how to relocate it, but when the babies fly out of the nest, if you see them in time I think that if you put them outside near the bushes on the ground their parents should find them there, since that's what they normally do without the dangerous chickens nearby

 

[Gresh]

Hey there.

My chickens have also killed (and eaten) baby birds before. It is a sad and somewhat disturbing thing to watch. I would suggest making your chicken coop a little bit more sparrow-proof, if possible. Some wild birds will find a way to build nests wherever they please, but you can do things to make it more difficult. For example, during the day, make sure that the only entry to the coop is the chicken door, thus minimizing ease of entry for sparrows. Other than that, I'm not sure there's anything that can be done, outside of destroying the sparrow nests before they can hatch their eggs.

~Gresh~