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96 Comments | Jill Winger |    Last Updated: March 17, 2018

How to Keep Wild Birds Out of a Chicken Coop

how to keep wild birds out of a chicken coop

As homesteaders, we get pretty used to being the weird ones…

Because let’s face it, I’m betting that *most* of your friends probably aren’t rendering tallow, or figuring out how to skim the cream from their fresh milk, or pulverizing homemade sauerkraut.

But I recently started doing something that is on a whole new level of weird… So much so, that I often warn friends beforehand so they don’t think I’m completely off my rocker. (At least, not any more than they already do)

The Backstory:

Last summer, every time I’d walk into my chicken coop, it felt like I was in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, The Birds. As soon as I’d open the door, I would be greeted by a frenzied flock of sparrows who would proceed to fly wildly around the coop and get uncomfortably close to my face… And hair. Not that my hair is any sort of masterpiece or anything, but I sure didn’t want one of their tiny bird-legs stuck in my messy bun.

Something had to be done about to keep the wild birds out of my chicken coop…

how to keep wild birds out of a chicken coop

Why Wild Birds and Chickens Don’t Mix

Some of you might be thinking I’m a bit cold-hearted for wanting to boot the sparrows out of my coop, but I do have two rather legitimate reasons for my vendetta, other than the whole bird-in-my-hair thing:

1. Wild birds can carry disease which may be passed to your chicken flock.

2. Wild birds will mow down your chicken feed. For reals. It felt like I was refilling my chicken feeder non-stop last summer. Adding a flock of 20 sparrows will do a number on your feed supply, and considering how I’m feeding a lovely non-GMO, custom-blended feed (my recipe is available in my Natural Homestead book), I didn’t really feel like sharing.

My Crazy Solution to Keep Wild Birds Out of a Chicken Coop

When I started looking for a way to solve my sparrow problem, all the advice seemed pretty, well, blah…

Folks suggested just keeping the coop doors closed all the time (my hens would be furious..) or only offering a very small amount of feed, multiple times per day, to avoid thievery from wild birds. (I’m way too lazy to keep up with that sort of program.)

Neither of those options satisfied me, so I dug deeper.

And found my solution in the form of… (are you ready for this? It’s pretty high-tech…)

CDs and baling twine.

how to keep wild birds out of a chicken coop

Oh yeah, baby.

Now do you see why I warn folks before they enter my coop? It’s kinda weird.

Of course, I was entirely skeptical at first that it would even work, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.

I dug through my CD (yes, as in compact-disc) collection to find any old, scratched ones that no longer played. I tied a length of baling twine through the hole, and attached the other end to the ceiling of my coop, and voila!

how to keep wild birds out of a chicken coop

High tech sparrow-stoppers.

Eat your heart out, Martha Stewart.

But Do they Work at Keeping Wild Birds Out of a Chicken Coop?

Yes, yes, yes! It looks bizarre, but it works! Within 24 hours of me hanging my CD/twine contraptions, the sparrows were gone. And they didn’t come back.

I’m guessing the birds don’t like the shiny, swaying objects hanging haphazardly from the ceiling, which is why it’s a successful deterrent.

I tested the theory by removing the CDs for a while. Sure enough, the sparrows returned, only to disappear again once I rehung them.

So yeah, I look like a homesteader-gal who’s completely lost her marbles when you walk into my chicken coop, but I don’t care. I figured out a successful way for how to keep wild birds out of a chicken coop. I no longer have to duck and dive when I check my chickens, and my feed supply is lasting way longer.

And that, my friends, is what you call a good old-fashioned, homestead hack. 🙂

how to keep wild birds out of a chicken coop

Pssst. Like weird little tips like this one? Every week I send out a email with 4-5 of my favorite tips of the week. It usually includes a recipe or two, animal stuff, and crazy findings like this one. I call it the Homestead Toolbox. It’s 100% free, and you can sign up for it HERE. 

More Posts You’ll Enjoy:

  • 70+ Homestead Hacks
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  • How We Homestead on One Income

 

 

 

96 Comments | Raise Your Own Chickens & Eggs

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Reader Interactions

96 Comments

  1. Marla Bewick says

    May 7, 2015 at 11:18 am

    Hi Jill Thank you for the tip . I have this same problem . I will be hanging a DVD in my coop today. I also want to say that you are my favorite go to info girl. You have inspired me in so many ways. I seek a more independent life and to teach my kids and grandkids also. Thanks for all you do.

    reply to comment
    • jacqueline sargent says

      July 6, 2017 at 5:38 pm

      no it doesnt ive been doing this for years to no avail

      reply to comment
      • Jake McKracken says

        May 17, 2019 at 8:57 pm

        Tried this. This shit don’t work.

        Save yourself the embarassment and get a nesting box.

        reply to comment
        • Rudy Ramirez says

          June 5, 2019 at 10:42 am

          I well try this method also i have this same problem especially with dove an sparoes. Thanks for the idea.

          reply to comment
        • Jack Meoff says

          August 11, 2020 at 6:32 pm

          Your Nans ashes are my favorite thing to snort

          reply to comment
          • Amy B says

            February 16, 2021 at 9:33 am

            Jill Winger! You are a homestead genius! The Rhodes GAFT introduced me to you, and I keep finding you again and again. I don’t have cows or horses, and only have 5 acres and ten chickens, but your solution is doable and practical. At this point, I have about 50 grackles plus the sparrows and songbirds, and in Feb, I have compassion, but I also have a loaded shotgun, and a will to be very persuasive. Pests are pests. Something else has been chewing on my electric poultry netting, and that is a whole different probably coyote problem. You have helped the assault from above. Thank you for keeping my chickens healthy and safe. Big high five. Got my first double yolk egg yesterday ??!

        • Emerald says

          April 12, 2021 at 11:29 pm

          It didn’t work for me, either!!! 🙁

          reply to comment
    • Lorrie Marston says

      October 4, 2017 at 6:57 pm

      What about outside the co-op. Will cd’ s keep the Quail out of the pen?

      reply to comment
    • Been there done that says

      April 1, 2018 at 8:15 pm

      No it does not work.

      reply to comment
      • Morgan rowley says

        December 31, 2018 at 4:40 pm

        I tried & CD thing & it did not work. Not even just a little. It’s a serious hoax.

        reply to comment
    • Jethro McCracken says

      May 17, 2019 at 9:05 pm

      This shit don’t work none. Git yersilf a shotgun and make blue and red jelly outta those lil f*covers.

      reply to comment
    • Harold Munoz says

      September 2, 2019 at 5:05 pm

      Hi. Thank you for the tip. It worked for me. Thank you once again.

      Harold

      reply to comment
    • Brett says

      June 8, 2020 at 1:40 pm

      I guarantee you this won’t work. Tried the shiny reflective object thing when I was a kid…..Laughable.

      Make a treadle feeder…the commercial metal ones are garbage, and a big rip-off.

      reply to comment
    • Christine says

      August 14, 2020 at 3:48 pm

      Oh my gosh your first sentenced in or more had me cracking up and feeling relieved at the same time! Our hens are in a horse stall until we remodel the coop. And every time I walk into the barn like you said hundreds of birds fly out!! And it’s been Driving me bonkers! As I don’t want my ladies getting sick and their food gets empty once a day!!! So defines you going to try this!!! Thank you

      reply to comment
  2. Gwen says

    May 7, 2015 at 1:10 pm

    I wonder if it would work for peacocks? We have a while one which is irritating the heck out of our chickens and eating their food. Do you have any experience with them?

    reply to comment
    • John says

      May 8, 2015 at 8:46 am

      The annoying peacocks at my childhood farm were attracted to reflective surfaces, so I wonder. The CD spins and moves, so maybe that is the key…

      reply to comment
  3. Valri says

    May 7, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    I wonder if it would work for squirrels. They’re the ones thieving from my chicken feeder. I’ll have to try it and see….

    reply to comment
    • Jake McKracken says

      May 17, 2019 at 8:58 pm

      Tried this. This shit don’t work.

      Save yourself the embarassment and get a nesting box.

      reply to comment
    • Kathryn D says

      June 6, 2019 at 9:06 am

      Same here! The squirrels are a menace to my coop and barn!

      reply to comment
  4. The Joyous Milk Maid says

    May 7, 2015 at 8:17 pm

    Wow Jill, thanks so much for this post! Ironically, just the day before yesterday, for the first time ever, we had sparrows in our Chicken coop! At first there was just one and I didn’t think much of it, but at the end of the day there were 5 in there, and they did NOT want to leave. I’m going to try this trick right away. By the way I love your website and.
    …Your website inspired me to buy a milk cow, which, 11 months ago, I did. Miss Carnation freshened in January, and our family has been thoroughly enjoying fresh raw milk, cheese, cream and butter, ever since! I as SO glad I got a cow, so…Thank you, for being an inspiration 🙂

    reply to comment
    • Jackie B says

      June 6, 2019 at 5:06 pm

      Hi Jill. I had this same problem and my husband got some nylon netting with holes about 3/4” wide. He stretched it above the doors, nailing the top and side so I could still open the doors. He made a small door in the bottom of the large door for the chickens to come and go. The sparrows quit coming and eventually we took the netting down and they haven’t returned. It was pretty ugly but it worked.

      reply to comment
  5. Bethany says

    May 7, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    I LOVE this idea! I can TOTALLY relate to your “The Birds” analogy. The same thing happens to me every day. Right now, there is a nest of babies in the rafters, so I won’t shoo the sparrows out just yet. But once the babies have flown the nest, I am SO doing this!

    reply to comment
  6. Karen @ On the Banks of Salt Creek says

    May 8, 2015 at 8:31 am

    What a great idea. We don’t have that problem yet (maybe it is our jerk of a rooster) but we do have a lot of birds. I’m tucking this back in my brain for when I need it. Plus, I have a box of CD’s that I need to figure out what to do with.

    reply to comment
  7. Kelly says

    May 8, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    ThankyouThankyouThankyou!!!!!

    I’m on this first thing tomorrow!
    My friends already think I’m the crazy chicken lady ..sitting in the coop with this year’s new flock 🙂 Gotta luv ’em!

    reply to comment
  8. Denise says

    May 9, 2015 at 3:30 am

    The cds don’t bother your chickens ? I too am feeding wild birds too, but worried about scaring my girls too.
    Thank you for your advice

    reply to comment
  9. Fred says

    May 10, 2015 at 6:26 pm

    Did you get my email? Looks like I hit the wrong key and sent it early without sighing off. The email was about choke cherries and June Berries.

    Fred

    reply to comment
  10. Tina says

    May 11, 2015 at 10:44 am

    OMG!!!! I complained about this during the winter with the sparrows constantly in my coop which is shared with the goats and they poop all over everything and eat all the chicken food. I purchased some owls, hung stuffed animals and finally covered every open area for ventilation in the ceiling leaving only the small chicken door the chickens go in and out of and the birds flew in THAT!! I am going home today and trying this!! Thanks so much for the tip. Tina

    reply to comment
  11. Brianna says

    May 12, 2015 at 9:01 am

    Thanks so much for the tip! You always have great content! 🙂

    reply to comment
  12. Brooke says

    May 12, 2015 at 5:50 pm

    I will have to keep this in mind in case my bird become a nuisance. I have a pair of barn swallows in my coop, but I would like them to stay. They are a welcome way to keep the bugs down. Sparrows would be a different since they eat seeds.

    reply to comment
  13. Joli Tripp says

    May 12, 2015 at 9:43 pm

    OMG! You are hilarious! I am envisioning you waving wildly at the birds shooing them out of your coop. What a hoot!

    reply to comment
  14. Vickie says

    May 13, 2015 at 7:33 am

    Wonder if that will work in chickadees as they are loving the free feed!! Going to try this!! Thanks for the tip!!

    reply to comment
  15. Steph says

    May 13, 2015 at 7:41 am

    It also works to hang disposable metal pie pans in the run. I’ve had luck deterring hawks too!

    reply to comment
  16. Ilene says

    May 13, 2015 at 7:48 am

    Well, I wish I’d seen this while I still had my flock. This was a severe problem for me, I was feeding every sparrow in the county, and I just couldn’t afford to continue, so gave my six hens to the guy that brings wood chips to me, and he put ’em in with his flock. I tried everything, but never thought of this one. You are quite the clever gal!

    reply to comment
  17. Grace says

    May 13, 2015 at 8:16 am

    This is so helpful, Jill. I’ll be digging out old CDs and DVDs today. Thanks. Grace

    reply to comment
  18. Sissa says

    May 13, 2015 at 9:29 am

    When I was a little girl, before the days of compact discs, we used to collect all the old food can lids and pie tins. We’d hammer a nail hole in the edge and add some string. We’d hang them up in the apricot tree just before the fruit started ripening. It did it’s job and we actually got some fruit! In an Arizona desert, that is no small feat!

    reply to comment
  19. Karen says

    May 13, 2015 at 10:10 am

    Don’t want to disappoint anybody…hanging cds worked great in my trees and chicken coop all year last year, this year, no such luck. Eventually they get use to them, especially the crows and squirrels. This year I used old video tapes and strung them across in every which way. Looks like a net to the birds. Has worked for my blueberries for 2 years so now across the chicken yard. Only problem with this is my fence is only 5 ft high, 1 foot is under ground to keep other critters out, so I have to duck and walk under it if I need to be in that area

    reply to comment
    • jacksson says

      September 7, 2016 at 11:19 am

      Karen, you are just too tall. Take your shoes off, that might help. lol I was wondering about how high Jill hangs them in the coop. I don’t have sparrow problems, but crows get into the coop, punch a hole in the top of an egg and fly off with it. They never seem to bother the duck eggs, shells are too hard, I guess. I am going to get some porcelain eggs for the coop and maybe break the egg-stealing cycle.

      reply to comment
    • Donna Hamilton says

      March 28, 2018 at 3:00 pm

      Yeah… sorry too, but tried cd’s for sparrows and they got used to them pretty quickly ?

      reply to comment
  20. Cathy says

    May 13, 2015 at 12:25 pm

    Nice!!! I’m going to try these on my cherry trees when they start to ripen…if I actually get any cherries this year, what with the crazy weather and all…..:(

    reply to comment
  21. Sheri says

    May 13, 2015 at 1:14 pm

    But what do you do for gophers? My front yard looks like it got bombed! We have an empty lot next door and a small orchard and garden on the other side. I would like to start a garden some day…

    reply to comment
    • Rebecca says

      May 13, 2015 at 5:22 pm

      For gophers: in the garden build boxes. You can secure aviary wire in the bottom of the boxes, with staples or screw in place with strips of wood or line the bottom of boxes with 3/4″ gravel about 1 1/2 – 2″ thick. Or get cats…

      reply to comment
      • jacksson says

        September 7, 2016 at 11:24 am

        Rebecca, aviary wire doesn’t work very well, the small gophers will get into a raised bed and become a big gopher by eating your produce. The only think that works for gophers is ‘hardware cloth” with half inch holes. I lay the hardware cloth down with an extra 2 inches on all sides. I then build the raised bed on top of the hardware cloth and finish the job by bending the hardware cloth up and stapling it to the bottom of the lower boards. I did the aviary wire on my first raised bed and soon had a gopher in it; it chewed through the thin aviary wire.

        reply to comment
  22. Darlene Marois says

    May 13, 2015 at 3:48 pm

    Hi
    We are city dwellers and we must havea flock of 100 + sparrows hanging around. Very bad for hubby’s alergies and their droppings under all the trees cannot be good to breath in while doing spring yard clean ups. So, here’s hoping that the CDs hung willy nilly will chase them away. Thanks and I’ll let you know how it works.

    reply to comment
  23. michael says

    May 13, 2015 at 6:34 pm

    You’re Not so crazy, that is a tip I have used and seen in use here in Australia for years… Glad to see it is working for you…

    reply to comment
  24. dorothy says

    May 14, 2015 at 2:47 pm

    Like your suggestion. I’ve been saving the foil sealer from 34-oz Folgers Coffee
    canisters and attaching them to my 5 ft tomato cages for 4-5 years to deter birds
    from damaging my ripening tomatoes. I attach several around entire cage at
    different heights with grocery store twisties. Just punch hole in tab w/icepick. They flip and move with the wind.

    reply to comment
  25. Jason Hill says

    May 16, 2015 at 8:06 am

    Hang the dvds or cds in your fruit trees as well…it keeps the birds away from them too…

    reply to comment
  26. Nita says

    May 26, 2015 at 5:20 pm

    Hi Everyone,
    I have been using this technique in front of my large picture windows ..to reduce Wild Bird Strikes, for a couple years. It has worked really well, but the CD’s lose their shine after a while and need replacing. I made my mobiles decorative, by using colored wooden beads, strung on fishing line loops, I connected the line to a piece of drift wood that I drilled holes in, and secured it with washers on top of the wooden bar and then used jump rings to attach a short looped line through the CD hole, to the loop of beaded line, so I could change out the old ones as needed. I love the rainbows that are cast all around my room, when the sun hits the shiny surfaces. I live in the rainforest in Costa Rica and bird strikes are far to common here and so sad.

    reply to comment
    • Jill Winger says

      May 27, 2015 at 2:23 pm

      Great tips Nita– thank you!

      reply to comment
  27. Kathleen says

    August 22, 2016 at 4:16 pm

    Wow! This totally worked. From more than a dozen sparrows inside the coop to zero. We hung six CDs at different levels inside our 4′ x 6′ coop. The combination of swinging CDs and flashing rainbows did the trick. Thank you so much for posting this idea.

    reply to comment
    • Jill Winger says

      August 25, 2016 at 9:40 am

      YAY!!

      reply to comment
  28. jacksson says

    September 7, 2016 at 11:32 am

    I have had other problems than sparrows, crows and bluebirds primarily. The other day, I saw a ground squirrel run out of the chicken yard (the first that I had seen on the property in over eight years and it appears that it was eating chicken food from a feeder – usually the dogs take care of them, so this was a new event. Last spring I had the lawn mowers on the property (the neighbors horses) and I left two bags of layer pellets in the carport. The bags disappeared and I later found them far away and empty; it appeared the horses like chicken food and they had a feast. I now store my feed properly and right away when I bring it home (that was about $50 in feed; let me tell you, a horse can outeat a flock of sparrows any day of the week.

    reply to comment
    • Jill Winger says

      September 8, 2016 at 3:42 pm

      Oh yes– we’ve had our horses get into our chicken feed in the past too… An expensive mistake!

      reply to comment
  29. Greg says

    September 27, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    How many do you need to hang???

    reply to comment
    • Jill Winger says

      October 6, 2016 at 3:32 pm

      It depends on how big your coop is. At least 2-4

      reply to comment
  30. Kirsten says

    January 4, 2017 at 9:17 am

    Great idea! We don’t get any birds inside the coop, but the blue jays LOVE to visit the run. When I go down in the morning to let the girls out, I can count on 5 or 6 of them to be there, cleaning up yesterday’s scratch. Maybe I’ll hang one in the run.

    reply to comment
    • Jill Winger says

      January 5, 2017 at 9:21 pm

      Let me know how it works!

      reply to comment
  31. Marg says

    January 5, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    We never had sparrows in the barn (since 1937) until I began giving the horses some oats to lengthen the time they took to eat their grain…for entertainment for them besides their pelleted feed. All of a sudden I had 30 sparrows at a time. Just by chance I eliminated the oats and no more sparrows. They apparently love oats but not pellets.

    reply to comment
    • Jill Winger says

      January 5, 2017 at 8:57 pm

      ah-ha! So they are picky sparrows then. 🙂

      reply to comment
      • Lorrie Marston says

        October 4, 2017 at 7:06 pm

        How do I get rid of Quail, about 40 in my pen?

        reply to comment
  32. Lea says

    March 21, 2017 at 8:55 pm

    I hung about 20 cd’s in our coop stopped all the birds except for the sparrows Do you have any more suggestions getting desperate we have about 100 of them hanging around

    reply to comment
  33. Marshal says

    March 30, 2017 at 2:43 pm

    Great trick. Mirror works same as CD. It tends to disturb them with their roost and also scare them off during the night. Place or hang mirror near the chicken coop.
    This will scare birds and they will not come nearby your area.

    reply to comment
  34. Jerry says

    April 5, 2017 at 10:32 am

    I use the CD’s for wasps making nests on my porch. Tried it last year and it worked fine till I noticed a nest that did not get the reflection from the CD(shaded by a 2×6). Hung a 2nd CD that lighted the nest and they soon left.

    reply to comment
  35. Travis says

    June 1, 2017 at 8:45 am

    I’ve tried this with Starlings… no luck. They could care less. I’ll try some other objects. On the other hand, my Dalmatian has taken a liking to catching them when I open up the lid to the roosting boxes. 2 down out of 30 or 40.

    reply to comment
  36. jacqueline sargent says

    July 6, 2017 at 5:37 pm

    i have tried this for years and it doesnt work im stll looking for ideas

    reply to comment
  37. Brennelle says

    July 21, 2017 at 7:22 pm

    Does this not bother the chickens? They’re not scared off as well because of the hanging cd’s?

    reply to comment
    • Jill Winger says

      July 25, 2017 at 9:26 am

      Nope– my don’t mind at all 🙂

      reply to comment
  38. Silvia says

    July 27, 2017 at 6:28 pm

    Does the CD hanging works on pigeons?

    reply to comment
  39. Phillip Fonville says

    November 13, 2017 at 3:25 pm

    My wife tried this too, did not work for long, only a few days, then the birds were back with a vengeance! I even installed a 1′ by 1′ “Pop Door” so the big door could remain closed and hoped that the wild birds would stay out of the run; yeah this worked for about 10 minutes and the birds were in the run, even wild doves! They are devouring the chicken feed at an alarming rate, even though my wife puts out feed for the wild birds out side of the chicken yard! Does anyone have any suggestions?

    reply to comment
  40. Sue Hagerman says

    November 16, 2017 at 11:42 am

    Didn’t work for these tough Missouri birds. I’m at a loss at how to keep them out this winter.

    reply to comment
  41. Lori Carpenter says

    December 27, 2017 at 6:47 am

    This is working VERY well so far! Last year we only had a few sparrows to deal with. This year “Alfred Hitchcock”. We didn’t even put up a lot due to being cold and dark out when we got the chance to start stringing them. I am ready to put up more. Also, we have about 6 of our chickens that fly over the 7 foot fence to get out and roam, these are keeping them in.

    reply to comment
    • Lori Carpenter says

      January 2, 2018 at 11:26 am

      Update…
      The starlings figured out that since the chickens were not afraid of the discs flying about they weren’t afraid. So back to the drawing board.
      The decision to put up bird netting was made. Since it is winter, keeping the chickens grouped closer together and not getting out will be fine for us.

      reply to comment
  42. Lynette says

    March 24, 2018 at 7:30 am

    We have sparrows nesting on the deck, making a MESS, going to try this. Thanks!!

    reply to comment
  43. Tayne says

    March 28, 2018 at 8:43 am

    It worked when I first did it about 2 years ago for a little while, but now, they just fly around them. My next thought is a BB gun. (that worked with starlings for a season – shoot one and the rest become scare). I’m willing to try anything. I’ve thought about even putting up a 1″ chicken wire screen door with just a framed opening at the bottom for the chickens to go in and out

    reply to comment
  44. Deborah says

    March 28, 2018 at 1:28 pm

    I laugh-cried for real reading this post. LOVE IT! Thank you for sharing!

    reply to comment
  45. trelva says

    March 29, 2018 at 10:12 am

    I guess the Arizona ring neck doves and sparrows are to savvy to fall for this trick. I chase out at least 5-19 of them out of my coop every day.

    reply to comment
  46. Sandy says

    March 29, 2018 at 2:03 pm

    This Fall I took my CD deterrents down while reconfiguring my strawberry beds. I later found one during Fall cleanup and hung it on the garden gate and forgot about it until one night recently while walking back from the coop there was a flash of piercing light. It spooked. What kind of predator was roaming arou nd that could do that? My husband pointed out that our back door light (a bright LED tat doubles as a security light for the coop) was on and he had checked it out already. It was the CD. It may be doing double duty as a night predator deterrent, since it is not a steady light and it is on a long enough string that it does move around in a slight breze. Certainly startled me! I’m not noticing as many mouse or mole tracks in the snow in the garden this year. Would be so excited if it works as a non-toxic deterrent all year!

    reply to comment
  47. Gail says

    April 4, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    This doesn’t work for me!!

    Gail in South Dakota

    reply to comment
  48. Kathy says

    May 10, 2018 at 2:49 pm

    Hi Jill,
    After reading all of these comments, I saw none with the problem that I am having. We’ve been wondering where the EGGS are disappearing to the past couple of weeks! Our chickens are free range so, we figured they must be laying them out under bushes, etc. I’ve looked everywhere. I also live in Wyoming (Lander) and have had chickens for 8 years now and have never had this happen before. Well….just an hour ago I was walking to the coop and what flew out but a magpie with an egg in its mouth!!! Caught red-handed! Seriously! How does a bird get an egg in its mouth is beyond me! He’s been feasting on them for the past several weeks. I’m going to try the CD idea and hope that it works because if not, I don’t know what I will do! Just had to share this bizarre story!

    reply to comment
  49. edgar says

    June 22, 2018 at 6:19 pm

    will this work with pigeons?

    reply to comment
  50. Allison says

    July 14, 2018 at 12:30 pm

    Yes!!! You solved my HUGE sparrow problem! Works like a charm! For those folks saying it doesn’t work, I wonder if they didn’t use enough CDs. I used ten for my 10×12 coop Thanks a million!

    reply to comment
  51. Chelsi Thib says

    August 17, 2018 at 10:40 pm

    This absolutely worked in my chicken coop. Wild birds moved in while we were on a 5 day trip and I was losing quite a bit of feed. The return of my presence did not deter them one bit. I hung a CD on either side of my hanging feeder at differing heights. Their constant movement did the trick and my girls just gave them a look-over the first day and were fine. I have not seen a single wild bird in there for over 2 weeks. Win!

    reply to comment
  52. Davilyn Eversz says

    September 4, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    I have problems with pigeons. I live in a very rural area and there must be 100 that have shown up. I have Runner Ducks. I eventually figured out how to save some feed, for ducks it was easy, I put their whole grains in a large kitty litter box and filled it to the top with water – as long as I keep it topped off with water, it works. But if I leave the property or I am busy and don’t then there were pigeons everywhere. I put out the pellets at night.
    So I put up aviary netting over the fig orchard – and left a small 2’H x 4’W opening. That worked for one day. So I’ve been standing out there and aiming a hose at them, they get cornered and I keep at it. Those particular ones are not coming back, but I have 90 to go. Long term I do not know if this will work.
    For all of you that have chickens, you can get automatic feed stations, or make one (YouTube has videos on how to build one). They are weighted, it takes the weight of the chicken to open the feeder.
    For ducks, well, Runner Ducks are hysterical by nature and it takes them forever to pick up on something, so that option won’t work.
    Googling now to see if a goose would help.

    reply to comment
  53. Scott Jones says

    June 25, 2019 at 12:34 am

    While your focus is to keep out birds out of backyard my focus is to attract birds in my backyard garden. I love wild birds and I applied many tricks to make them feel safe in my backyard.

    reply to comment
  54. Mushi Johan says

    September 25, 2019 at 4:26 am

    Hi! Your blog guide is really helping me, I worked on pottery form and having good experience with birds! well, I will share guide book as well with you!

    Thanks

    reply to comment
  55. Renee says

    September 26, 2019 at 9:07 pm

    Hi. I tried the CD idea and it’s working! Amazing!

    reply to comment
    • Kayla- Prairie Homestead Assistant says

      September 27, 2019 at 1:32 pm

      Yay! We’re so happy that it’s helping you!

      reply to comment
  56. Margarita Villoch says

    October 9, 2019 at 8:06 am

    My issues are regarding pigeons and doves, There are approximately 40 pigeons that show up in the morning and don’t leave until evening. Pigeons have a lot of diseases including the most obvious POX which is what I am concerned about with my hens. I live in a tropical climate. I can see those pigeons that are sick because they have all kinds of growths around their eyes, head, legs, etc. I know that even those that don’t show the POX externally yet are carriers. They come early morning and take over. Mu hens sleep in a nice large coop but free range during the day. I will appreciate any suggestions to get rid of these darn pigeons around my home.

    reply to comment
  57. Provident Estate says

    October 21, 2020 at 12:59 am

    This guide will surely help those who’re running their own pottery forms.

    reply to comment
  58. Provident Estate says

    October 21, 2020 at 1:00 am

    Good for pottery forms

    reply to comment
  59. TBI Mauritius says

    October 22, 2020 at 6:37 am

    This guide will surely help those who’re running their own pottery forms.

    reply to comment
  60. Carrie Haddican says

    December 1, 2020 at 2:28 pm

    I’m going to give this a try, it worked in my garden in Georgia so maybe Colorado birds will get lost too! I bird proofed the coop last year for my 18 rescued chickens and it took a lot of work because sparrows are determined. But this spring I decided to open the door and let the chickens roam during the day. This winter now I have so many small birds coming and going the ground looks like it snowed from all their poop, especially around the water bowl and tree branch perches I made for the chickens. I have to find a solution so will give this a try, thank you!

    reply to comment
    • Carrie Haddican says

      February 1, 2021 at 12:43 pm

      It didn’t work they fly right by them. I have almost 10 cds at various heights by the door and a couple inside. They almost keep me out, I have to dodge flying cds when going in and out because we always have between 4 and 40mph winds (weekly hourly avg is 7+mph); we live in a valley with lots of wind. I also had reflective tape that’s a bird deterrent but it keeps breaking off on windy days and the chickens try to eat it, I’m scared it’ll kill one of them. I cut strips of an aluminum pan we used for Christmas dinner and put it by their door, that did nothing. These sparrows are determined. So I’ve changed my chickens routine. Now that I finally have the 10×20 run secure, only one or two of the smaller ones if any squeeze through the netting, instead of letting my girls and guy roam all day they stay “cooped up” half the day so I can be sure they get food and clean water then I open the door to the run and let them roam the yard the second half. I also added a big tub of water in the garden for the sparrows because they were using my chickens water for bathing, they still do! Maybe I’ll add even more cds but I just don’t think more will do any more for me. It’s interesting how it works in some places and not others, thanks anyway!

      reply to comment
  61. skywaystranportation says

    January 23, 2021 at 5:38 am

    Skyways Express Transport LLC has a range of refrigerated fleets (chiller and freezer) from 1 to 5-ton vans and trucks with and without drivers on a daily weekly and monthly basis.
    https://www.skywaystransportation.com/

    reply to comment

Trackbacks

  1. Do Wee Wild Birds and Chickens Mix? | Pumpjack & Piddlewick says:
    May 15, 2015 at 9:25 am

    […] I never really thought about whether I should try and hinder them eating the chicken/duck food, that is until today when I read this post from The Prairie Homestead ‘Wild Birds Out of the Chicken Coop‘. […]

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  2. Do Wee Wild Birds and Chickens Mix? ~ Pumpjack & Piddlewick says:
    January 27, 2018 at 3:12 am

    […] I never really thought about whether I should try and hinder them eating the chicken/duck food, that is until today when I read this post from The Prairie Homestead ‘Wild Birds Out of the Chicken Coop‘. […]

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  3. Brilliant Keeping Birds Away From House | Bird House Designs says:
    February 7, 2018 at 3:13 am

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