Jackdaws eating the chickens feed

[Red Rocky]

I have now got quite a serious Jackdaw problem, I suppose about 30 of them, just gobble up all the chickens feed. One or two of my chickens are brave enough to try a scare them off, but mainly they just walk in the houses, go to the feeding station(s) and empty it.

So, I went and got myself a little .177 air rifle.........I have put some corn down just outside the run, and have my rifle ready....

 

[chrismahon]

Good luck Red Rocky. .177 is a good choice for jackdaws as the pellet drop is less and so not so difficult to adjust for the range. I would sight it up at the exact distance you are shooting at though to give yourself the best chance. You may find, if they have the flock mentality of starlings, that you only need to shoot one and they will all move on. If not you may be there a long time as they are intelligent birds with good eyesight and will fly around first to make sure you are not there.

Very annoyingly in France the legal power limit of an air weapon is just 10 joules, or about 8 ft lbs. No good for anything much but it is illegal to shoot any sort of wildlife without a hunting permit and illegal to shoot anything even with a permit using a 10 joule air weapon anyway. So rabbits are literally around your feet here and your only defence is caging. To get a permit you need to attend a hunting course of one day and two evenings, then sit two tests, one written and one practical. If you want to use traps instead you need a trapping licence which involves the same.

 

[Red Rocky]

that's interesting Chris....

I tell you, you are right about them being clever, I think they have a couple or three "lookout" birds, that warn the others. I have the rifle on rests out of my bedroom window, but they spot me straight away...think we need to be a bit better concealed!!

I am going to the local HFT (Hunter Field Trail) meeting tomorrow,to shoot at 30 targets, and can pick up some useful info, all for £6.....looking forward to it

 

[elmdene]

I have the same problem with 2 ducks who seem to have taken up residence on our pond. Every time I let the chickens out in the garden they are in there like a shot and just hoover up all the food. Today I put the food hopper upstairs in the coop but Basil was not happy about it and I'm worried the ducks will just go upstairs and put the girls off laying. Any ideas on duck repellents, other than shooting them?

 

[chrismahon]

We had a duck try to take over the chicken coop Elmdene, despite all our efforts to rehome him. Refused to let them inside, just stood at the door hissing. Had to despatch him and so I think shooting will be your only option Elmdene, as they can be very aggressive and can't be scared off easily.

 

[elmdene]

They aren't aggressive - just very cheeky. The chickens seem to put up with it and don't seem in the least bothered, although they are definitely higher in the pecking order, despite the ducks being bigger than them (they are only pekins). It's just costing a fortune in pellets. I was wondering if I started feeding the ducks whatever ducks eat they would stop eating the chicken food, as I'm also a bit concerned about any diseases they may carry. At the end of the day I suppose I wanted a wildlife garden and that's what I got!