Infuriating Lazy Scavenging Birds

[spikennipper]

You could get one of those tread feeders where they have to tread on a pedal for a flap to open before feed can be accessed perhaps? either that or place the feeder suspended in the actual coop or under some cover in the run so the food is not immediately obvious to the wild birds.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

.... As for the disease transmission from wild birds to domestic birds: Not a major concern at all, just another modern urban based mythical phobia......

Oh really? Then please explain away these mythical urban based phobias.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/525005/what-diseases-can-chickens-catch-from-wild-birds

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19166045

http://www.clemson.edu/public/lph/ahp/disease_links/images/poultrydiseases.pdf

http://keep-hens-raise-chickens.com/poultry-diseases-a-to-z

.....LUCK AND HAPPINESS..... Y'all.

 

[Sparrow]

I have had chickens around for 20 years, always had wild birds of all species that share their feeders, never had a SINGLE chicken get ANY illness besides a fresh batch of chicks got Coccidia when they were first put outside and it rained. I have raised over 100 chickens. No wild bird illnesses.


And to the person who said bird traps will catch all kinds of species...you're right they will. And for every single FEDERALLY PROTECTED bird you catch and put in danger, you can incur MASSIVE fines or worse, depending on how much harm comes to the bird. These are federal laws on conservation. NOT something to play with.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I have had chickens around for 20 years, always had wild birds of all species that share their feeders, never had a SINGLE chicken get ANY illness besides a fresh batch of chicks got Coccidia when they were first put outside and it rained. I have raised over 100 chickens. No wild bird illnesses......

Well I am sure glad to know that. And I am also suitably impressed with your claim that you have raised on average 5 chickens per year for the past 20 years. However I do not see a state or country listed in your profile. You see I am keen to know which part of the world that you and your chickens call home. The reason I want to know this information is so I can avoid your area at all costs, but I especially would like to avoid it during the monsoon season because 'Coccidia' .... are tiny one celled protozoa or internal parasites and if these critters fall out of the sky like rain where you live I want to avoid your environment at all costs.

Maybe this information from Mississippi State University's Extension and Research System will help clear up any lingering doubt about why it is advisable to avoid an area were multiple species of deadly chicken killing parasites just fall out of the sky like rain.

http://msucares.com/index.html

".... Coccidiosis is caused by microscopic animals called coccidia. There are many species of coccidia that can infect fowl, domestic animals and humans. Each species of coccidia is host specific and does not infect a wide variety of animals. After an outbreak of a specific species of coccidia, the flock will develop a resistance to the exposed coccidia species but remain susceptible to other infective species. This means that a flock may experience several outbreaks of coccidiosis, each being caused by a different species of coccidia. Chickens are susceptible to any of nine coccidia species, turkeys are susceptible to seven species and quail are susceptible to at least four different species of coccidian...."

 

[BMHarness]

^^^+1 I agree. Well put. Diseases and parasites are transmitted from somewhere...I don't understand why people think that domesticated birds are the only ones that suffer from these illnesses.

 

[Bill Matthews]

To Chickengeorgeto.......I don't claim to be an expert...Just haven't seen nor heard of many disease situations traced to wild birds....One of the cited studies SPECIFICALLY SAYS THAT THE ISSUE IS CHICKEN TRANSMISSION TO BIRDS>>>NOT BIRD TO CHICKEN: ref Costa Rica article.....My basic point is that there are millions if not billions of wild birds and we can simply live with it until we are in a situation where human illness becomes a major problem.....The only real option is to confine the birds and impose severe restrictions on access to them....Many hatcheries and commercial flock owners are doing this...Sure ends any real enjoyment of the birds......The easiest solution is to simply NOT WORRY about this because it hasn't proven to be a major problem....Why borrow trouble....God Bless

 

[Bill Matthews]

To Myself....When I type "' birds" in this context I refer to Chickens not the other birds{wild}.........

 

[chickengeorgeto]

To Myself....When I type "' birds" in this context I refer to Chickens not the other birds{wild}.........

I am guilty of using the "bird" word interchangeably myself.

If you are concerned with birds eating your chicken feed, don't feed your flock free choice, especially if you are trying to free range them. Feed them only as much food as they can clean up in 30 minutes and do this once morning and evening.

Wild birds are not welfare cheats or anything like that. Sparrows and other wild birds see chicken feed like it was grass seed or potato beetles or some other natural part of their diet, and it is. I guess the one thing that wild birds and chickens all have in common is that neither one sows nor does either one reap, but that they both have to eat.

As for enjoyment, to me there is no more enjoyment in small scale chicken husbandry than sitting on a bench in the evening and dribbling out pellets and scratch feed while my entire flock swirls around my feet like bees around honey. You will also learn much about chicken behavior by feeding like this. Besides being enjoyable it is also a good way to find out how much your flock eats in a given time, and it is almost bird proof. Soon your chickens will come running to you like dogs every time they see you with the feed bucket in your hand.

Finally some "what if." Another way to look at large numbers of birds eating with your flock is to think of your chicken feeders like they are restaurant tables. How many of you would eat at a restaurant were you had to set at a un bussed table and eat the food left on the plates with the forks used by the previous patrons? I guarantee that you are not going to drop dead before you can pay the bill, (well some of you might) but eating like this is sure to spread germs. Sure, disease and parasite transmission between wild birds and chickens go both ways like this little example of "what if" is intended to demonstrate.

 

[britpop]

Wow, some interesting posts. Thanks everyone.

I tried strips, definitely kept the sparrows out but were also a deterrent to the hens. Now looking to give a plastic owl a regular job....

Just to be clear I referred to the "pests" as infuriating because I have a bird table for wild birds away from the coop where they can (and do) gorge themselves on fat balls, peanuts and seed; lazy as they rob me of layers pellets whilst giving me no economic return for my extra investment; and scavenging (I probably meant scrounging) as they obviously survived before I got the chickens but now see them as a soft touch.

I do worry about disease but it's the economic cost that is more immediate to me. Unfortunately I haven't quite got the time to hand feed them the pellets (I do with their corn treat each evening) so I shall be trying a good few of these suggestions out to find a workable solution.

Thanks again muckahs.

 

[aart]

Wow, some interesting posts. Thanks everyone.

I tried strips, definitely kept the sparrows out but were also a deterrent to the hens. Now looking to give a plastic owl a regular job....

Just to be clear I referred to the "pests" as infuriating because I have a bird table for wild birds away from the coop where they can (and do) gorge themselves on fat balls, peanuts and seed; lazy as they rob me of layers pellets whilst giving me no economic return for my extra investment; and scavenging (I probably meant scrounging) as they obviously survived before I got the chickens but now see them as a soft touch.

I do worry about disease but it's the economic cost that is more immediate to me. Unfortunately I haven't quite got the time to hand feed them the pellets (I do with their corn treat each evening) so I shall be trying a good few of these suggestions out to find a workable solution.

Thanks again muckahs.

Feeding them has let them know your place is a food source, so in a sense you have created this problem for yourself. Sorry, just sayin'.
You don't say where you are located, I only put out a little bit of food (too expensive!) for wild birds in the coldest parts of winter.....in summer they should be able to find their own food.