HOUSE SPARROWS!!! I HATE THEM!!! They are getting into my coop and pooping on EVERYTHING! Plus, they have given my chickens mites and they're eating the chicken food!
Last year, I invested ($300+) in smaller wire for my runs. Didn't work, they still squeezed in.
I spent close to $100 to buy feeders for IN the coop (before I was feeding in the runs).
Then sparrows then moved IN to the coop!
Then I spent another $75 on two decoy owls (the rotating head kind) which I moved several times and now, they SIT & POOP ON THEM!
I started locking my cats in the coop in the late afternoon and while the cats did get a few of them, the way my coop is designed, the cats only have access to the large room, not the chicken pens themselves, so the birds are able to stay on the other of the wire and avoid the cats.
Then, I recently invested in 5/16" bird netting. Spent over $100.00 on it. It's a 50' x 10' piece, made of nylon. I got most of it hung up and then hubby came home and told me to take it down because it was "ugly" and was going to "ruin" my runs (with heavy snow fall coming soon).
So I took it down.
Then I went to Home Depot and spent $25 on a thick, heavy, canvas tarp. I cut it into pieces and made strips out of those pieces. I hung those over my chicken pop doors. That worked until they got wet & muddy and clumped...now the birds just fly through them and it's made my coop warmer but more dusty and with less ventilation. So I took those down.
I asked about building covered runs for my chickens and hubby just laughed at me. He said I better save my money because he's not going to pay for it and he's not going to do it, either. He said more than $1,000 to do what I have in mind. Of course, the ground is frozen solid so I can't do anything until spring anyway.
Now, they are so brazen that they don't really even fly away when I come into the coop. I have been slapping them out of my way and doing batting practice with a broom...LOL when I go outside, they won't even wait for me to get out of the runs before they are flying down to drink the chickens' water!!
Last weekend, we loaded up the shotgun and I'd scare them and hubby would blast the flock. We managed to get a few but within minutes of returning inside, the flock was back. We repeated this process FOUR times--killed 25+ and I'm guessing there are more than 100 left.
Funny, I've spent over $600.00 now on trying to get rid of them...I could have (almost) built covered runs by now!
Last year, I invested ($300+) in smaller wire for my runs. Didn't work, they still squeezed in.
I spent close to $100 to buy feeders for IN the coop (before I was feeding in the runs).
Then sparrows then moved IN to the coop!
Then I spent another $75 on two decoy owls (the rotating head kind) which I moved several times and now, they SIT & POOP ON THEM!
I started locking my cats in the coop in the late afternoon and while the cats did get a few of them, the way my coop is designed, the cats only have access to the large room, not the chicken pens themselves, so the birds are able to stay on the other of the wire and avoid the cats.
Then, I recently invested in 5/16" bird netting. Spent over $100.00 on it. It's a 50' x 10' piece, made of nylon. I got most of it hung up and then hubby came home and told me to take it down because it was "ugly" and was going to "ruin" my runs (with heavy snow fall coming soon).
So I took it down.
Then I went to Home Depot and spent $25 on a thick, heavy, canvas tarp. I cut it into pieces and made strips out of those pieces. I hung those over my chicken pop doors. That worked until they got wet & muddy and clumped...now the birds just fly through them and it's made my coop warmer but more dusty and with less ventilation. So I took those down.
I asked about building covered runs for my chickens and hubby just laughed at me. He said I better save my money because he's not going to pay for it and he's not going to do it, either. He said more than $1,000 to do what I have in mind. Of course, the ground is frozen solid so I can't do anything until spring anyway.
Now, they are so brazen that they don't really even fly away when I come into the coop. I have been slapping them out of my way and doing batting practice with a broom...LOL when I go outside, they won't even wait for me to get out of the runs before they are flying down to drink the chickens' water!!
Last weekend, we loaded up the shotgun and I'd scare them and hubby would blast the flock. We managed to get a few but within minutes of returning inside, the flock was back. We repeated this process FOUR times--killed 25+ and I'm guessing there are more than 100 left.
Funny, I've spent over $600.00 now on trying to get rid of them...I could have (almost) built covered runs by now!
