Kindly getting rid of wild birds *Update*

[furbabymum]

I do not have a covered run and have no plans to construct one. I'm having a problem with wild birds getting into my barn and eating all the chicken food. It's the perfect storm right now. Food and water all in a sheltered place. I could probably walk into the barn with a baseball bat and kill 50 birds. They fly when I walk in and it's seriously like being in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I don't want to do that though. Instead I've got a few things ready to go up to prevent birds from coming in. CD's to make them afraid of the netting I'm going to put up. My problem is, there are a few birds nesting in the barn right now. If I put up the net and CD's they will be either locked into the barn with their nest or locked out of the nest. So, what to do. I do not want to feed 5,000 wild birds but neither do I want to be responsible for killing baby birds.

 

[Mike Winters]

get netting or get a barn cat a predator around their new food supply should teach them

 

[theoldchick]

Use a treadle (SP) feeder-one where the chicken steps on a platform which opens the feeder so chickens can eat. As soon as the chicken hops off the feeder closes. Unfortunately, squirrels can learn to open a treadle feeder.

I had a friend who made what I can only describe as a small tent around her feeder. At first she left the zipper-door open and as the chickens learned to go inside she closed the door inch by inch until the opening was small enough for a chicken to squeeze through.

 

[furbabymum]

Use a treadle (SP) feeder-one where the chicken steps on a platform which opens the feeder so chickens can eat. As soon as the chicken hops off the feeder closes. Unfortunately, squirrels can learn to open a treadle feeder.

I had a friend who made what I can only describe as a small tent around her feeder. At first she left the zipper-door open and as the chickens learned to go inside she closed the door inch by inch until the opening was small enough for a chicken to squeeze through.

Hmm. I'll have to look into this. I heard hanging CD's will scare the wild birds so what if I just hung the CD's directly over the feeder??

 

[geoff40]

I don't think you need worry about killing baby birds. For nearly all species, nesting season is pretty much finished.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Yep, most of the nesting season is over now....besides, you don't want wild birds brining in lice & mites etc. to your chickens. Put a feeder for birds up somewhere outside away from your chickens they'll forgive you.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I'd second the treadle feeder suggestion. You can find plans to make one in my sig. line and commercial versions are also available. There are other auto-feeder designs that are easier and cheaper to construct. The trigger/lever activated bucket feeders are well reviewed and can be seen in this thread. Also see post #10 & #13 in this thread for a very cleaver auto-feeder design. I would point out that the success of these types of feeders depends on training the chickens to use them.

 

[furbabymum]

I don't think you need worry about killing baby birds. For nearly all species, nesting season is pretty much finished.

It's pigeons nesting right now. They killed some robins and took their nest.

 

[terryg]

I had birds nesting in the loft and the easy answer was to darken the loft window! The birds needed more light and left. I also hang CDs in the pop door and over the run. That seems to reduce the sparrow population a good deal.

 

[furbabymum]

So this dead pigeon was a collaborative effort. My chickens and ducks banded together and attacked this pigeon. It was injured and when it flew over the fence it landed right in his waiting jaws. He was a very proud weimeraner!


I made this to keep the birds out and it seems to be doing a good job.