Sparrow feeding problem

[ilikepigeons]

I have a massive problem with sparrows eating all my pigeon feed- I have to stand there and scare the sparrows off while I'm feeding them and the little brats are getting brave enough to not be scared of me anymore now too. Which means I can only feed my birds twice a day for ten minutes or so which doesn't work the best, my pigeons don't really look to have enough brains to figure out they have to eat enough till the next feeding and look like they've been starving for days all afternoon. They're free range pigeons who won't go near a cage , so I can't use a cage to keep the sparrows out. I had a look at those feeders where the bird steps on the plate and it opens to top, but I really, really doubt my birds would figure it out and not be scared off. I would also worry about the door closing on them since they're just little pigeons.
Currently feeding them twice a day works to a point, but since they're hungry all day I'm concerned that since they're free ranged they'll just go find another food source and leave home.

I've been posting too much today but I guess lots of problems = lots of threads

 

[raingarden]

How long has this been going on?

Many barnyard wild bird problems increase over time because the wild birds are getting great nutrition so they can produce more offspring. Then they train their offspring to live off the barnyard too and they build un-naturally large local populations.

In that sense, you own those sparrows because without you they would not have been born, Maybe that gives you the right to trap and relocate them.

English sparrows, starlings and feral pigeons are not on the list of migratory bird species so they enjoy less protection under the law.

 

[ilikepigeons]

How long has this been going on?

Many barnyard wild bird problems increase over time because the wild birds are getting great nutrition so they can produce more offspring and build un-naturally large populations. Then they train their offspring to live off the barnyard too.

In that sense, you own those sparrows because without you they would not have been born, Maybe that gives you the right to trap and relocate them.

English sparrows, starlings and feral pigeons are not on the list of migratory bird species so they enjoy less protection under the law.

About a year roughly,
They were here before we were here, before the pigeons were here too. Small colony back then, I do think the population has increased with the food like you said.
I'm not sure relocating them would be an option due to my family, they love the sparrows, they also aren't the people that get to deal with the feed problem.