I Am Sooo Sick & Tired Of These Things!!! Sparrows, Rant!!!

[Cynthia12]

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Oh Man! Wish I had waited and read your post this morning. My husband could make one of these too. Maybe he will, two couldn't hurt..especially if it's the repeat..I am not sure if what I ordered is a repeat..will have to check. I am just excited to get the numbers of birds down, it's really bad.
Now, to go out and clean my poor chickens water bowl..hmm, water container next!

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

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I'd PAY you to do it! LOL

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

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I would need 15+ of those...again, almost cheaper to cover my runs! LOL

But I like the concept...

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

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You built that? How much would you charge to build me one?

I'm sure my MIL will want hers back soon--or as soon as the weather turns really bad and she's got to lock up her chickens...

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Now, I'm an animal lover/vegetarian/animal rights activist, but even saying that, house sparrows are one of the few animals where I advocate doing what you have to do to get rid of them. They cause massive destruction to the ecosystem, displacing native birds, even killing the young of native birds to eliminate competition for food sources, and of course that's on top of the concerns you're already having with disease and whatnot. They are not protected by law, meaning it is legal to kill them. I hope some sparrow traps or something do the trick for you, sounds like a huge problem you're having!

I wish there was a way to massively reduce the house sparrow population all over, except where they belong in Europe (sparrow birth control?), they are such a big problem for native species struggling to survive.

One of my fellow wildlife rehabbers has seen house sparrows literally peck out the eyes of baby bluebirds in their nest and leave them for dead.

 

[kristim23]

Hey! Wasn't sure if I new exactly what a house sparrow was, so I googled it and found this:

www.sialis.org/hosp.htm

Hope that works, never posted a link before!

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

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See how horrid they are? LOL

 

[calista]

You might get some ideas from this homemade sparrow trap:

http://www.abirdshome.com/pm/spartrap.htm

Agreed, it's a slow way to capture a flock of the little pests, but it could be one more weapon in your arsenal.

P.S. I do have to say the expense of covering your runs is well worth every penny in the long run -- for your feed bills, your flock protection, and your sanity. Good luck!

 

[Cynthia12]

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Silver, I am with you on animal rights..so, looked up sparrows after you wrote this..unbelievable! They are little stinks! We also have a problem with starlings in our state..Ut.

I also decided to buy some of the non toxic bird proof repellent gel...hope it works...have to put it up where the chickens don't go, but I can see where the sparrows go. Hopefully they will get discouraged.
This morning, I hurried and shut the little coop door again, and again, more birds caught in there..I just had the broom with me this time. Didn't want to kill them, but I sure kept them flying until they were worn out..don't think the 5 or 6 that were in there will be back any time soon. Poor things were tired! I didn't feel toooo bad.

 

[Cynthia12]

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Yep, my husband says he can do this. Thanks!