Starlings nicking food!!!!

[minskey]

Bl******y starlings have discovered my chooks food, just sit there stuffing thier face & don't even have the decency to fly off when I chase them. I thought i'd be clever and put the pellets in the feeder into the hen house. My OH wnt over to check and about 20 of the critters flew OUT of the henhouse

What can I do, help. I don't want them here

[Two_Sheds]

Well, they're starving

I do sympathise, they come down and nick my resident blackbird's food too. I have to throw out small handfuls of raisins 3 times a day instead of all at once, otherwise they scoff it all

[Jeanied]

Hang up some bird feeders for them. In my garden they seem to prefer the fat balls that I put out in a hanger (taking off any plastic netting as that is dangerous) - they perform all sorts of acrobatics to get at them.

[minskey]

Will feeding not encourage the flock to expand, I don't want thousands.

[Hilary B]

Will feeding not encourage the flock to expand, I don't want thousands.

You're feeding them already, just not by intention. Fat would probably be better for their needs at this time of year, so they may well prefer it to the chook food, if given the choice.

[Jeanied]

The starling population is on the red list for endangered birds IIRC.
The flock is not going to breed in winter so they won't increase in numbers that way.
I just hate to see any of our wild birds go without in a cold winter.

[minskey]

Oh I agree Jeanied; my bird table is always full of food & fresh water.

I love my resident flock of sparrows and the huge variety of wild birds which visit me; I just don't want the starlings nicking the chook food and certanly not going inside the henhouse and roosting. Funny that they don't seem to like the food on the bird table............

[Two_Sheds]

Will feeding not encourage the flock to expand, I don't want thousands.

I love flocks of starlings

[weekendwellies]

We have a massive flock of starlings here. I look out of the window and there's 1 or 2 then all of a sudden 20 more fly in, and a few minutes later there's hundreds all over the roofs, fences, etc. waiting their turn and squabbling at whatever the first 2 found. They are sociable and the word seems to go out quickly if 1 of them finds something. then they all take off and we don't see them for a while.
Can you put wire over the run so they cant get in.

[Two_Sheds]

Can you put wire over the run so they cant get in.

Ah, that might be a good idea. A cat's cradle of black cotton (they can't see it) suspended over the run might keep them off

[weekendwellies]

Ah, that might be a good idea. A cat's cradle of black cotton (they can't see it) suspended over the run might keep them off

i was thinking more of chicken wire, that they can see, so they dont get tangled up and trapped in it, but whatever.

[Two_Sheds]

They wouldn't get tangled in sewing cotton, it breaks easily. They just hate the feel of something they can't see. I use it on my beetroot in the spring to keep the sparrows off

[weekendwellies]

aahhh I see. Never thought of that.

[motherhen]

You should really try and cover the run if poss as wild birds do bring in problems for hens that's why an ark or covered area is best, besides because of foxes we have to keep all our birds in either movable arks or fixed covered deep litter runs.
Having said that I love the wild birds and encourage them but to a different area away from our hens, I feed all wild birds they all need different feeds and I have alsorts, I usually make my own fat ball type cake, save any bread, meat fat, I buy peanuts by the 20 kg sack, wild bird mix and a little bit of layers mash ( this binds it all together ) crumb the bread add equal amounts of other ingredients and mix well, melt blocks of lard and pour over let set. These seem to last ages as they go harder than the bought ones. I have peanuts in feeders for the Bluetits and the ground feeding birds peck at the stuff on the ground. We used to get mega Starlings here, but not anymore.

[weekendwellies]

I put out any fruit, generally apples and pears, that is past it for our eating. The blackbird loves it.
I also put out leftovers including meat, which the magpies and starlings like, and I have seen the robin pecking at the odd bit of mince once or twice. (I have to say though that I dont have any rat problem. The odd field mouse is all and they seem happy to clear up what the guinea pig has left scattered around his former patch of grass.)