Infuriating Lazy Scavenging Birds

[britpop]

Apologies if this has been raised before but I'd be interested in any tips from those with a similar problem.

I have a problem with wild birds stealing the chickens layers pellets.

I have them in the run, at the end furthest away from the opening. However, this does not deter them. The fly on in, grab a pellet, fly off, then return regularly.

I can't think of a way to deter them but allow access for the chickens.

Thanks.

 

[4 the Birds]

If they are going THROUGH the fence then you can fix that. If you have an opening from the run to free range area then there is not much you can do. My run has fencing, chicken wire, and also deer mesh to keep them from going through the fence but they get in though the little run chicken door. I suppose you could add an electronic slide door that opens and closes as the chickens go in and out but I would be afraid that the chickens would be closed out if the slide gate failed or with a power failure. I am always shooing out 3 or 4 sparrows from the cun/coop every day. They do steal feed but I live with it.

 

[Just Wingin It]

My plastic owl didnt work, the birds started dive bombing it to see if it was real.

 

[aart]

Advanced Search>Titles Only> Sparrows

 

[cwcochran1961]

my problem is not birds getting the feed, but a family of squirrels. Little buggers!

 

[britpop]

Thanks all. Some great ideas there for me to try out. Start cheap and easy and work up.

 

[Sparrow]

The wild birds are not lazy or scavenging...they are fighting to survive in a VERY cruel and harsh natural world. They are raising babies right now as well, and are only taking feed to feed their families. Can't fault them for that. I actually used to just simply provide a few wild bird feeders on my property, one with chicken feed in it, and they completely left my coops alone.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Whether wild birds are lazy or not is not the question. The question is how many serous fowl disease organism and external as well as internal parasites do wild birds spread to your flock?

 

[Mattemma]

Repeating sparrow traps catch all size bird.

 

[Bill Matthews]

TO britpop and Sparrow....This is actually a losing battle if you feed outside...Millions of these little feather balls of joy bless our days...Sparrow has the best idea yet short of totally inside feeding or standing guard while the chickens eat....Sparrows are really afraid of humans....A friend once had a problem with sparrows and starlings and he rigged some kind of moving scarecrow/clown mannequin ...It scared his White Leghorns but didn't seem to bother his New Hampshires and Barred Rocks...You'll figure something out...As for the disease transmission from wild birds to domestic birds: Not a major concern at all, just another modern urban based mythical phobia.....LUCK AND HAPPINESS..