Squirrel

[chickenfan]

A squirrel has now replaced my rooks and is busy at my growers' pellets. I wonder if they pose a health risk to birds (apart from eating the eggs)?

 

[dinosaw]

Not really, they carry ticks which can infect humans with Lymes disease but beyond that I've not heard about them being infectious to chickens. They will take a lot of your feed though. I'm trying to trap one at the moment that is sometimes on the top of my run but with no luck, bit too suspicious of my trap and I never have the air rifle handy when I see it, luckily next doors cat got two of them last month, we have nut trees and I would like to manage at least one hazelnut/walnut this autumn. You could do with your growers hurrying up and growing so you can get a real life cockerel in their to chase it off.

 

[chickenfan]

Maybe I could put in an adult cockerel?

 

[dinosaw]

A bit too risky I would say, on balance you would be better putting up with the squirrel. Do you have the same problems where you keep your adult birds?, perhaps in time you could change your setup so that the adult birds move to where your growers are and they would then be more likely to chase off intruders.

 

[chickenfan]

Thanks again Dinosaw. Advice re cockerel much appreciated. The squirrel is fairly mobile, but can't get to my adult's feeders.

 

[alani]

I had a squirrel in my chicken shed a couple of days ago.It was totally panicked to see me,knocking things over and boxes flying.It eventually jumped from the back wall,shooting to the door past my leg at the speed of a bullet.If a hen had got in the way,iam sure it would have been taken out!!!