Doves around the coop

[Indigosands]

My coop has an enclosed run, the doves aren't getting into it but they are landing on top. No matter how carefully I place the treats and feed the chickens manage to kick some out, or my kids spill it trying to "help". The doves have figured this out along with a couple blue jays. I'm doing my best to correct the feed situation but are there any other ways to deter these annoying pests? It's well known around here that the mourning doves carry disease and parasites. They've been hanging out around the coop and the chickens seem oblivious but I don't want them that close to my girls. Thanks!

 

[LadyinRed]

Best way to deter them... 51 ways to cook dove. A few of these sound downright tasty. I mean seriously. Dove breast wrapped in bacon? Its got to taste alot like chicken.

http://www.justgamerecipes.com/inxdov.html

 

[nzpouter]

actually they're quite delicious.. we stuffed ours with whole onion, wrapped the thing in bacon and into the oven... the bacon stopped the meat from drying out...

 

[7L Farm]

Might want to wait till their in season before killing them. But I won't tell on you. Get a pellet gun & yes there mighty tasty. I raise quail & there tasty but doves are better in my opinion.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Doves are not a great vector of disease and pestilance. I think that you are getting your Columbidae confused...pidgeons (also known as Rock Doves) are a proven vector and better fit the concerns that you have with wild birds mixing with your flock.

If all you have are Doves and Blue Jays, then seriously consider enjoying the sights & sounds.

If they are pidgeons...then probably take a little action to deter their interests in the food of the flock.

 

[Indigosands]

I guess it's possible the "doves" people are talking about are pigeons. We could shoot them in-season but I would prefer to shoo them away rather than take drastic measures. I do hear dove is good, but a friend of ours says the Gambels quail are better than the doves.

The difference out here in the desert is that food is scarce. Once you become known as a food source you cannot get rid of them. Anyone have luck deterring wild birds from their coops?

 

[LadyinRed]

I imagine that one of those motion activated singing fish would scare off just about anything. Or anything that makes noise and moves that is motion activated. I think I remember someone mentioning using one of those fish before..

 

[Indigosands]

old post, but I thought if anyone came across this by searching that my concerns weren't unfounded and I did wind up treating my entire flock for lice about a month after I posted this. I doubt anything motion activated aside from maybe a sprinkler would get rid of them. Dh will be shooting them next time.

 

[jak2002003]

The doves are not a major vector of diseases more than any other bird.

In fact they might be doing you a favor cleaning up the spilt seed and treats. If that was left around you would soon get rats and mice - and they are more dangerous to your chickens that doves.

Just keep the mess to a minimum and the doves will not get to be a pets as there numbers will stay low.

I don't know how big your run is, but you can always cover the top in plastic sheeting. That way no droppings from wild birds will get into the run. That's the main way diseases are spread.

Also a plastic owl on top of the run may work well, but you need to move it to different locations every week or 2 so the doves don't get used to it.

 

[Indigosands]

At the time (last summer when I posted this) I had a grow out pen with chicks and you know how they love to fling food. That's what drew them in. It was a pair one day, four the next and pretty soon 10-15 hanging around my coop at all times. They may not be the greatest vector of disease but here in the desert they exist in larger numbers than pigeons locally. They carry all the very same diseases so my concern is the same as if they were the common pigeon.

They aren't around as much now that my young flock has merged with the main flock. My run is very big, and the one small section that is tarped scares the daylights out of my chickens when the wind comes up so I probably could not do that, but thank you for the suggestion. I'm hopeful that my cats will keep them and mice at bay. I haven't seen a mouse nor droppings in years since having them around. The fact of the matter is, my chickens were infected with lice as a result of the doves hanging around. I didn't have an infestation before they arrived, they were pacing the grow out pen wall daily and the chicks were the most heavily infested with my main flock only beginning to get infested as I had just merged them when I discovered it. Almost a month to the date when I posted this, I found lice during a routine inspection. I'm not suggesting that doves are a problem for everyone - particularly in climates where you get a nice cold winter - but they were a problem for me, and that information should be out there for anyone else that might have concern.