We have grown tired of feeding all the wild birds in the neighbourhood with food that is actually intended to feed our small flock of chickens. There is also the concern that wild birds might carry diseases that could affect our chooks.
So we decided to set up a deterrent. Birds do not go near shiny objects, so we strung up a number of old CDs at different heights. These move as the breeze catches them and they flash as the light catches them.
For a few hours the flock of free-loading birds sat in a nearby tree observing this new bit of exterior decoration. By that afternoon they had worked out that, although the shiny discs move, they don’t appear to present any danger so they were soon flying in for their daily rations.
Our gardener decided that he could provide a far better, more fearsome device. He is a qualified welder, so he fashioned a metal bell, which he hung near the door of the chicken house. He also attached some cardboard discs to the same twine, which would be moved by the breeze and which in turn move the twine and ring the bell.
The birds paused once more, waiting to see.
Then he made another, smaller bell, which he attached to a large piece of white polystyrene, which also moves in the breeze. So now we have a delightfully harmonious rural agogo bird deterrent.
Do they keep the birds away?
I’m sorry to report ~ they don’t!
But we like the gentle ring of the bells, so they can stay… for now.
Wild birds and their Love of (our) Chicken Food
