Is it ok to kill pest birds like finches and doves that eat your feed

[Happy hen lover]

My coop is 25 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 7 feet tall. they come through the room too. there is no chicken wire, just chain link fence which is that 25 degree slanted square stuff. a 1.5 foot tall 3 foot long chicken wire cost 50 USD. for that big of a coop, we are looking at at least 800 USD. all for some ****lng pest birds...

Yep that's a big run

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My coop is 25 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 7 feet tall. they come through the room too. there is no chicken wire, just chain link fence which is that 25 degree slanted square stuff. a 1.5 foot tall 3 foot long chicken wire cost 50 USD. for that big of a coop, we are looking at at least 800 USD. all for some ****lng pest birds...

Where are you looking for chicken wire? I know if no place that sells just a 1.5x3 section for 50 bucks. They're all at least in 25 foot sections

 

[Floof]

I have no problem with killing pest animals. A pest can be any variety of species; really it's just an animal in a place it's not supposed to be and doing something it's not supposed to do. Sort of like how a weed can be any plant that you don't want growing in an area you dont want it. Dandelions are great but most people don't want them all over their lawn. It's the same thing with animals. Squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, birds, etc are all cute until they leave their wild environment and start invading your cultivated spaces. I would probably try a hands off approach, the bird netting that you put over fruit trees for instance, and if they still found their way in then I would dispatch them with a pellet gun.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have no problem with killing pest animals. A pest can be any variety of species; really it's just an animal in a place it's not supposed to be and doing something it's not supposed to do. Sort of like how a weed can be any plant that you don't want growing in an area you dont want it. Dandelions are great but most people don't want them all over their lawn. It's the same thing with animals. Squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, birds, etc are all cute until they leave their wild environment and start invading your cultivated spaces. I would probably try a hands off approach, the bird netting that you put over fruit trees for instance, and if they still found their way in then I would dispatch them with a pellet gun.

We tend to forget that we're the invasive species. The animals were here first.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Today I killed 5 or 6 doves that were in my run eating all my feed. I killed them because I knew they would come back. I track them by pulling 3 of their tail feathers but I know which to pull so It wont hurt them when they fly around. The 6 doves had 3 tail feathers missing. They came back 5 times and ate all my feed. I feel really bad for killing them but do you guys think its morally OK to kill pest birds that enter your coop? I feel like sh!t right now

Feed inside your coop do not put out the wild birds will not come in

 

[cluckcluckhens]

Some states won't let you kill some birds so you better check your state.

Here in OR we cannot kill the wide tail squirrels. Doves, blue birds etc there is no way to stop them from eating the feed. Squirrels takes our feed, blue scrub jays, and all the little birds. If you leave feed in a container for the chickens other birds will get to it too. When we don't want the squirrels getting into the container of feed I throw just a couple handfuls into the run for the chickens and not fill the feeder. Does it help, not really but they can't stuff their cheeks with feed. Throwing handfuls several times a day does work because the chickens will eat it all up when I throw it to them.

 

[WallacetheKhakiCampbell]

Today I killed 5 or 6 doves that were in my run eating all my feed. I killed them because I knew they would come back. I track them by pulling 3 of their tail feathers but I know which to pull so It wont hurt them when they fly around. The 6 doves had 3 tail feathers missing. They came back 5 times and ate all my feed. I feel really bad for killing them but do you guys think its morally OK to kill pest birds that enter your coop? I feel like sh!t right now

I have to do this too with juncos and startling. They constantly have eat my feed. It’s a waste, expensive and they have infected my birds with diseases killing one. I care for my chickens more than the wild juncos. It’s not a joyful thing but morally (for me) I am ok with it. It’s the chickens or the wild birds.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Nobody has suggested using a feeder the wild birds can't get into, like a treadle feeder that only opens when the chickens step on it, or what I use, a bucket feeder with PVC elbows the chickens stick their heads in. These no-spill, no-waste feeders also keep rats and mice out of the feed at night.

 

[Floof]

We tend to forget that we're the invasive species. The animals were here first.

All sorts of things were here first. Do you have a problem with pulling weeds when you garden? I believe in making the most with the land I have in the most sustainable way I can. Training wild animals to give up foraging for themselves because my chickens are an easier meal ticket isn't doing anyone any favors.
No approach works for everyone. There are people who would NEVER dream of eating a chicken they reared themselves! I personally have no problem with that mode of sustainability. To each their own. I personally don't feed animals that aren't mine.

 

[Bryce Thomas]

We tend to forget that we're the invasive species. The animals were here first.

Big true but all invasive species are a result of human stupidity, like weeds are native everywhere, and a weed is anything that grows but cant because of you, it was here first yet we still pull them