I have about 100 non-chickens in my coop...PICS!

[cjeanean]

Hey everyone! I just have a quick question. The kids went outside to lock the chickens up, and there are about 100 raven-ish/sparrow-ish looking birds in the coop. We had a blizzard (YES, KCMO had a BLIZZARD!!!) so I'm thinking the birds came in because of the cold, but I don't know if I should be worried. Once I get up the nerve to brave the cold I'm gonna go out there and take some pics. I guess I'm mainly worried about the birds getting my chickens sick. Thanks, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christina

 

[Imp]

That is kinda strange. Good of you to keep them in for the night. I do think that there is a risk of disease, but I would think it's low. I would think sick birds would have not made this far into winter. But I really am just guessing. Can you seperate them somehow? I'd probably end up with house chickens and a sparrow coop. Good luck whatever you decide.

Imp

 

[cjeanean]

Quote:

That's hilarious!!! No, I can't separate them. And none of them will leave, hubby tried chasing them out and got scared and gave up. He said there's a lot of them. I think if I went out there with a net I could get them out, but then I would feel mean.

 

[lleighmay]

Even with the blizzard I imagine that if you wait until daylight they'll be much easier to shoo out in the morning. Most wild birds are like chickens and prefer not to fly around in the dark even on a good night (unless of course they're owls). If there is any danger to your birds from disease I'd suppose the damage has already been done so one night at your bird hotel shouldn't make much difference (except to the birds you're sheltering)

 

[KKatknap]

Wow!

This is just a thought from someone who has NEVER had this happen... (but would love to see pics!

)

If it were me, I would clean out the coop as well as I could in the am.....assuming the wild birds leave in the am. I think a lot of diseases are passed in the poop. That's the only piece of wisdom that pops into my head right now. Maybe others have better ideas(?)

 

[Imp]

You are too funny. I saw your other thread and want to say I've missed you frequently posting. And am glad things are going your way.

About the sparrows... I guess you know the answer. Hubby's afraid and you can't be mean. So you've just adopted 100+ sparrows.

They'll probably leave in the morning, Maybe don't let them back in. Good luck.

Imp- Of course in the morning you might be making a 100 egg omelette.

 

[KKatknap]

Quote:

 

[cjeanean]

LOL, speaking of poop IT'S EVERYWHERE!!! And there is no way I could possibly clean the coop out at this point, they're all up in the soffit inside the coop. It's crazy, they're all flying overhead freaking out and the chickens are freaking out! They're starlings, BTW...I don't know what hubby was thinking LOL. So I guess as far as disease goes it's a little late for that, and these birds are always flying around our coop. I guess I'm worried because of the concentration of crap the chickens will be exposed to now. And Imp, I've missed all you guys too!!! Thanks for remembering me, now that things have calmed down a tiny bit hopefully I'll have more time to hang out here again! Pics coming in a sec....

 

[cjeanean]

Here's some pics:

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
I was going to say....sounds like starlings to me.

I would get rid of them (prefferably permanently) if they know there is feed available they will be hard to chase away. Last winter we eliminated over 1200 of them from our pens.

ONE starling will eat over a pound of feed per month X 1200 birds= a larger than normal feed bill. Feeders that we would fill once a week before the starling arrived; had to be filled each day.

They do pose risks for disease transmission-

One of the more serious health concerns is the fungal respiratory disease histoplasmosis. The fungus Histoplasma capsulatum may grow in the soils beneath bird roosts, and spores become airborne in dry weather, particularly when the site is disturbed. Although most cases of histoplasmosis are mild or even unnoticed, this disease can, in rare cases, cause blindness and/or death. Individuals who are weakened by other health conditions or who do not have endemic immunity are at greater risk from histoplasmosis​