Feeding Wild Birds

[R2elk]

Lots of Red-wings on their way south. Even had a Yellow-head at the feeder.

 

[sourland]

'My' turkeys came in about 15 minutes ago. First 6 adults and one poult. Had me wondering for a bit. The other 6 poults just arrived. Lately they have been more interested in the water than grain. Today they wanted both. The dominant hen was harassing almost all of the birds today. All know enough to get out of her way. Wonder how she would taste?

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Fall transition. Downy Woodpecker, Blk Capped Chickadee, Nut Hatch, Titmouse, Juncos and a pair of Cardinals. Hopefully we will get the Cedar Wax wings this yr. Haven't seen them for 15 yrs.

 

[sourland]

No rain since mid Sept. and then not much. I have two one gallon pans and a five gallon bucket by the home bird feeders. Last night half the bucket and both pans were emptied. The creatures are hurting for water. Neighbor's maple tree across from our drive was beautiful for 3 days. Today it is browning and dropping leaves.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Fall transition. Downy Woodpecker, Blk Capped Chickadee, Nut Hatch, Titmouse, Juncos and a pair of Cardinals. Hopefully we will get the Cedar Wax wings this yr. Haven't seen them for 15 yrs.

It has been at least that long for me. Did you lose ash trees to the emerald ash borer? That was not good for the waxwings in my area…

No rain since mid Sept. and then not much. I have two one gallon pans and a five gallon bucket by the home bird feeders. Last night half the bucket and both pans were emptied. The creatures are hurting for water. Neighbor's maple tree across from our drive was beautiful for 3 days. Today it is browning and dropping leaves.

It’s dry here as well, keep getting fire weather warnings, but not quite so bad.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Woodpeckers and titmice are enjoying the suet. It isn’t lasting more than a few days once they get to it. Some chickadees and finches too, I’ve even seen a couple mourning doves although I don’t know if they’re there for the food since it isn’t that kind of feeder.

Minor tangent, does anyone know of a good cordless deicer for bird baths? The one I have is the plug-in kind, and getting kind of battered.

 

[sourland]

It has been at least that long for me. Did you lose ash trees to the emerald ash borer? That was not good for the waxwings in my area…

I doubt there's a live Ash tree in the entire state of NJ. What's the link between Cedar Waxwings and Ash trees? They sure have gone missing here.

 

[R2elk]

I doubt there's a live Ash tree in the entire state of NJ. What's the link between Cedar Waxwings and Ash trees? They sure have gone missing here.

I have two mature Green Ash trees here. This was a banner year for seedlings. They came up all over the garden and lawn. I even potted one that was trying to grow on the deck. It found a new home with a friend.

It's been a number of years since I have seen any Cedar Waxwings too.

 

[TOMTE]

Sorry if this has already been answered in this thread. I can't go through 100+ pages to check

So... When you all feed the wild birds, where and how do you do it when you also have chickens or other poultry?

I'm not as worried about my chickens getting sick from wild birds, as the wild birds getting sick from my chickens. IMO it's much more important to care for the native wildlife around us than the livestock that we bring in.

Of course I love and deeply care about my chickens and would hate for any of them to fall ill and die, don't get me wrong. But we have a responsibility to protect our wild neighbors, especially the songbirds whose numbers are steeply declining around the globe.

Those of you who free range like me, do you put your bird feeders where the chickens can't get to or rarely explore? Do you only have the feeders out for a while during the day? Do you just not worry about it?

We have a large suet feeder on the deck (chickens can't get up there) and get a lot of woodpeckers, titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, finches, bluejays, juncos, cardinals, and sometimes blue birds there.

We also have a smaller suet feeder and a small platform feeder up front which the same types of birds visit. The chickens can and do scratch under that one for dropped seeds and nuts. I've taken the platform feeder down for now to prevent any spread of disease, since HPAI has been resported in poultry and livestock in the counties surrounding ours (no reported cases so far in our county).

I'm just curious about how you all handle this!

 

[R2elk]

I'm not as worried about my chickens getting sick from wild birds, as the wild birds getting sick from my chickens.

It is far more likely that the wild birds will bring pests and diseases to your poultry than the other way around. One of the most common pests your poultry will get from wild birds are lice and mites.