Sparrows in the chicken coop

[labman]

Ever since the pipline cut down two flowering dogwood trees next door, I have been invaded with a sparrow problem. We have tried stationary and swinging plastic owls, silvery fluttery things inside and out, a sparrow trap that didn't catch a thing, and additional feeders on the other side of the yard. We have plastic snakes stapled above the door and by the windows. We have always had free-range chickens. The only way to keep the sparrows out is shutting up the chickens completely. The chickens didn't lay for two months. Most of that was due to molting. Now the girls are laying but only a few eggs a day. Any suggestions out there short of using shot shells? (I would do that but they don't like shooting firearms in the city limits) HELP

[hour3suns]

At the prison they have a problem with pigeons overrunning the place. They sit all over the building roofs. They powers that be there started playing a tape of a screeching hawk periodically. When the pigeons heard it they would scatter. Of course it might scare the feathers off your chickens too, but it's something that worked...for a while until the pigeons caught on.

Have you tried putting up a sparrow house? Maybe if they see another option they will prefer that one, especially if it includes food. I don't know where you are at but here birds are building nests and laying eggs at this point of the season.

Smiling & Waving,
Sharon

[maranfan]

labman, I've heard people complain about sparrows all my life. Also about woodpeckers, bluejays, blackbirds, etc., etc., etc.

We have a lot of sparrows, I love them. I can't tell you how to get rid of them because we encourage them to eat here. I guess we are those people you've heard about, the "bird watchers". :tongue_smilie:

We have a problem with muskrats, any suggestions?

[jayebe]

Sparrows are looking for 2 things:
1. Nesting places (they lost those when the tree was cut down) and
2. Food.

You can feed them bird seed away from your chickens, but as to the nests, every walmart in the country has sparrows in the "a". Best you can do is disrupt their nesting by busting up the nests every day. Or, put an electric pet door on your pop door. Put little transmitters on your chickens, so that only a chicken can open the door to the coop.

Then send us pictures.

Good luck:

jb

[ttaxer77]

are they inside your coop?do u leave the mandoor open for the hens to go in an out or do u a small hatch. put screens on windows. the sparrows dont bother me i even feed them wat the chickens dont eat. but if they got inside the coop i wouldnt like that either. good luck .eliminate spots wher ther building nests close them in.:confused1: oh..jb that was funny i needed a good laugh,thank-u...... ttaxer.

[Vampyra]

Though I've never tried one myself they sell sparrow traps. I don't know what you're supposed to do with them after you catch them.

http://www.sparrowtraps.net/

Vamp

[erice1]

do they hurt anything?

to keep them out get some 'flash tape' from the local organic gardening store, swing it across the rafters. The wont know what it is and the flashing annoys them, so they leave.

Still, they're cute arent they?

[labman]

The little transmitter idea might work if the pop door closed in a guillotine way. The chickens would have to be quick tho (and not change their mind about entering mid-stride).

The man door is closed and the only way in and out for these fliyng mice is the pop door. We can open the man door mid-day and get plastered with 15 or 20 of the pests trying to get out. Someone suggested a tennis racket once but there is no room in the coop for effective swinging.

To answer ttaxer77 & jayebe, they are not nesting in our yard, just coming in for a free meal. There are probably 100 or so sitting on the fences waiting for their turn. Hey, I could electrify the fence! But I don't want to kill all the birds.

Short of the transmitter idea, I have tried everything mentioned so far. thanks for the replies .

[Vampyra]

Transmitters are very expensive. I looked into this once for indoor pets. It's not cost efficient. Your best best are those sparrow traps.

[grandmazurf]

I stopped leaving food in feeders during the day. The girls go out during the day to forage so I don't refill their feeders until night when I put them up and then don't over fill. I leave a light on at night on a timer so they have light to eat by. In the morning they get two scoops of scratch outside and out they go. When the pesky sparrows and blackbirds who pooped and probably could spread mites and eat my expensive food weren't getting fed, they quit visiting so much. :thumbup: