roosting in the rafters.... no thank you.

[Rooneytune]

my darling birds have decided the best place to roost for the night is on the pole I put across the rafters of the coop to hang their feeder from!! I really dont want them up there for a few reasons, when the get up and down they are spilling their food and water, as the sleep they are filling their food with poo

(argh). Do you think it I put a bunch of zip ties around the pole with the long ends sticking out (think porcupine pole) this would keep them from going up there? I don;t want to hurt them, but there are better places to roost.

 

[MareeZoCool]

You could make protective covers for the food & water dishes. Get a couple cheap plastic notebooks in the school supplies section at most $ stores. Make it like those cone collars for dogs, but duct- tape it so you can remove & replace it easily.

 

[centrarchid]

You could suspend feeders and like from horizontal wire.

I like my birds roosting up as another layer of protection in event nocturnal predator can get into coop. Makes its job more difficult.

 

[Imp]

They make a bird spike strips to keep pigeons off ledges etc. You could buy and attach to the pole. Might be easier.

Imp

 

[Arielle]

Possible ideas: Is there a way to suspend feed directly from a rafter?? Rather than the pole. Or lay plywood next to the pole to catch poo and discourage roosting. Smart creatures!

 

[mmaddie's mom]

I thought the zip-tie solution was very clever... they just need to be tight enough to stay sticking up & out and not just pointing down.