Sparrows eating all the feed

[Lynnski]

Seems these little flying rats are cleaning out my feed! They obviously have been spreading the word because I have never seen so many sparrows in my yard. All day long they are flying in and out with food pellets. Yesterday as i am shooing the chickens into the run, 12 flew out of the door and i was reminded of the old Hitchcock movie The Birds! Horrifying!

So what can be done about these pests? The chickens will chase squirrels away but couldnt care less about these sparrows. It is like a scene from the movie as the sparrows line the fencing every day, all day. The only time they scatter is when i walk out... i've sprayed them with the hose but 10 seconds after i go in the house they are back.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[SueT]

How much do you think they are eating? We have birds eating our feed but I'm guessing it's less than 5%. And our chickens do chase them.

 

[Chickassan]

The only thing I can recommend is one of those feeders the chickens have to step on to open, its called a grandpa feeder or something like that. I had one for a while but the chickens couldn't get the hang of it so I gave it away. I just feed the birds now away from the coop that saves a little of the chicken feed, they got to eat too.

 

[Howard E]

I'd suggest a rat proof feeder. Works for all kinds of rats......flying and other. This is a review I did on it:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-proof-feeder-review.1180514/

Key to getting it to work right is to get it installed right. I spent a lot of time working with the builder to get it right, but once I did, birds started using it and have ever since. And still no mice. Feed consumption is less than half of what it was........mice were not stealing that much.......birds were wasting that much by dragging it out on the ground. Mice were being attracted to that.

As an aside, I found it odd that I had to look through a bunch of posts I've made on BYC to find this thread that I started. When looking at my account information, threads I started were no where to be found.

 

[keesmom]

House sparrows are a non-native, invasive species, and a pain in the butt. I had some move in last year. Even if I tried to reduce entrances they'd find any tiny space they could to get into the coop where they would poop all over everything.

Are they nesting around your yard, or in your house or coop too? If you are positive they are house sparrow nests you can destroy them (but only if you are sure they are house sparrows). I found a couple last year and kept removing the material to discourage them. I also stopped free feeding the chickens and just gave them some feed in the morning and evening, just enough to finish. Mine do free range so they aren't left without food all day though. I still have a few house sparrows that unfortunately still come by but the population has been reduced significantly.

If they are really that bad you may want to look into hiring pest control to trap and eliminate them.

 

[keesmom]

As an aside, I found it odd that I had to look through a bunch of posts I've made on BYC to find this thread that I started. When looking at my account information, threads I started were no where to be found.

BYC had a major upgrade a month or 2 ago (?). I lose track of time easily so it may have been before that, but that could be why you couldn't find earlier threads.

 

[Lynnski]

Thanks for the quick replies!! I think the sparrows are getting away with much more, @SueT because i was getting about 12 days before needing to refill the feeder and i am down to 9! Did i mention the Alfred Hitchcock movie?! haha! I figured the solution would be needing a new feeder but i was stumped, @Chickassan. I will certainly look into the Grandpa Feeder and see how smart my girls are....

@Howard E, i think this is the solution i need! I was hoping that the grandpa feeder @Chickassan mentioned was like this and i still wonder if my girls will "get it". What do you mean by "getiing it installed right? Did you have to train the chickens to use it? A side note to your side note.... Me too! I searched and searched for any problems related to bird theives and found no threads, after telling my husband this morning "im putting the BB gun at the back door after i check the backyard chickeners, i cant be the only person this is happening to!".

And lastly.... @keesmom, you got it! these are those house sparrows! Those horrible bullies that chase all the other birds away. They have squatted in many areas of my property and and it seems like an uphill battle filling any and all holes they get into! They are the reason we have no birdfeeders. But we have neighbors who do.

Thanks every one! I will let you know what works.

 

[aart]

As an aside, I found it odd that I had to look through a bunch of posts I've made on BYC to find this thread that I started. When looking at my account information, threads I started were no where to be found.

It's a pain....this is how I do it.
Click your own avatar on one of your posts, the click on 'topics started' link.
I right click to open link in a new window (using chrome on laptop).

 

[keesmom]

"im putting the BB gun at the back door after i check the backyard chickeners, i cant be the only person this is happening to!".

And lastly.... @keesmom, you got it! these are those house sparrows! Those horrible bullies that chase all the other birds away. They have squatted in many areas of my property and and it seems like an uphill battle filling any and all holes they get into! They are the reason we have no birdfeeders. But we have neighbors who do.

Thanks every one! I will let you know what works.

No, you certainly aren't the only one! I had considered getting a sparrow trap to eliminate them if I couldn't discourage them by other means. We have bluebirds, swallows and other native cavity nesters I don't want the house sparrows to kill.

 

[Howard E]

What do you mean by "getiing it installed right? Did you have to train the chickens to use it?

By installed right........what I meant was the rat proof feeder is a mechanical device. They step on the treadle, door opens, they eat......they hop off......door slams shut with a loud "CLANK". What all that means is the birds....which tend to be cautious and nervous about things that move fast or make loud noises.......it does both......do have to be trained so to speak to use it.

It needs to be installed in such a way that when they step on the treadle, the treadle bottoms out onto something solid so it offers a steady perch, does not move and so takes all the movement that makes them nervous out of it. Once you do that, they quickly learn it isn't going to hurt them and once hunger takes over, they get over it in a hurry. See the thread.

When it was hanging on the wall out in space, they refused to use it for about 4 or 5 days in a row. I nearly gave up on it but decided to contact the builder to give him a chance to tell me what I was doing wrong. He was great about that and helped a ton. Once I got it right, they were all using it the same day and have ever since.

Any system that requires an intervention on our part......us taking out one sparrow at a time with a BB gun, for example......is utterly futile. What is always needed is a systemic solution. By taking away the open feed source, sparrows those you have now and those yet to be born......will not be attracted to your chicken feed, as they can't get to it. So they move on and cease being a problem.