Go away Starlings!

[rosemarysugar]

I wish the chickens would chase these interlopers out, and they don't either.
Mary

They chase them out for about 5 minutes and then decide it's too much work! Lol

 

[Mimi13]

The starlings around my house have not bothered me because of my chickens. They have come in and completely taken over our Purple Martin houses and that ticks me off. I despise those birds.

 

[Howard E]

To get the starlings to move on, you have to limit access to the feed. Our neighbors wrapped their entire run with chicken wire, which mostly stopped them, but a few still find a way to get in. And neighbors do not let their chickens out of the run. If the chickens can come and go, so can the starlings. And sparrows.

I once tried shooting them all. It was an expensive lesson in futility. I could shoot 100......but there were 1,000,000 more of them (literally). When I saw the roost they were all using, I realized there wasn't that much lead in the world. Plus, they are incredibly smart birds. Once the shooting starts, they wise up in a hurry. They will still come around, but only when you are not around to stop them. Researchers have identified something like 50 different sounds starlings use to communicate. Hitchcock scary if they ever decide to fight back.

Back to the feed issue with problem birds. This will solve your problem.......

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-proof-feeder-review.1180514/

Starlings are flying rats.

 

[MedicDog]

Would a fake owl/hawk scare them off?

 

[Howard E]

Would a fake owl/hawk scare them off?

Maybe for the first 10 minutes.....after that, they might perch on them.

I had so many starlings using my suet feeders, they eventually attracted the attention of real hawks. Coopers and Sharp Shined......both lethal weapons. The hawks were hunting the feeders. Starlings still used them, but would post sentinels to watch for hawks. Sentinels knew the difference between a hawk, a crow and a buzzard. One chirp from a sentinel would send the rest into a panic........an explosion of birds as they all dispersed. The greedy ones who stayed too late would freeze in place, doing their best to disappear. It was fascinating to watch.

And those guys who stayed put made easy targets for my air rifle. One of the few times they would hold their head still long enough for a lethal head shot. I'd aim for their eye. Tough birds to kill. They could take a direct hit in a body shot and still manage to make it 100 yards or so before they would collapse.

 

[Mimi13]

I can’t blame the dang starlings on my chickens since the starlings were here aggravating the hound out of me way before I got chicks. I’m not quite sure what the draw is for them, except maybe the nice houses we’ve put up for the purple martins. And, no, the fake owls scare nothing around my place, even when I move them all the time. Birds are smart creatures.

 

[DyingPhoenix]

I had this problem BAD last winter and eventually found a solution. They went through bags of feed in days! I tried everything.. I hung stuff up, no effect. My boyfriend and I shot piles and piles of them with a .22 but they would just fly away and come back with hundreds more when I wasn't out there.

I moved the feed under cover, and they would get up under there and devour everything still. I moved the feed into the coops and when I'd go out there to open the nest box doors, the birds would pour out like a black waterfall, smacking me all over and pooping all over me! I was SO FED UP. They were even roosting in the coops overnight.

Finally, I made a scarecrow, put real clothes on it, jeans, a heavy jacket and an orange hunting hat. I drew a face on it. It worked!

Every once in awhile I moved it around to different areas of the runs but always in an easily viewed space ( I have coops and runs in one big, connected line.) I would watch birds stage in trees a good distance away and see the 'person' and proceed to fly away.

The only time a bird every even came close is if it came in low and never saw the scarecrow until it was right by it, they would always take off in a panic.

Sometimes the wind would blow it over and I'm honestly surprised ( and a little worried, lol ) that someone driving by never called the police over a body laying in the snow. Lmao.

 

[llombardo]

I had a couple birds get into the covered run. My chickens and ducks looked pretty amused as a I ran back and forth trying to catch the birds. They had no interest in chasing birds.

 

[adrikeen]

I realize not everyone can do this (or even likes them) but my neighbors have several outdoor cats that LUV my yard. The chickens don't mind the cats and the cats don't bother the chickens. I have not had a nuisance bird problem in years. The song birds are more savvy and know to stay away from and out maneuver the cats. I also don't mind the neighbor's cats - a few cat treats here and there and they are my minions.

 

[TwoSunSunset]

I’m looking to adopt a baby Starling if anyone is having to resort to killing them. Pests in the wild are wonderful companions in the home. Live in Utah.