Fed the birds, 3 dead so far..

BengaLover

So I went out and bought a 20kg sack of layers mash as a cheap way to feed all the wee birds that are starving right now..
Filled the things that you hang in the trees, lined the windowsills with it, and sure enough there were literally HUNDREDS in the garden to feed all day.
Down side is that the cats today have had 2 robins and a tit..
Any tips on feeding them with any receptacle that will go up high so they can stay out of reach of cats?

chucken1

Last year I made a sort of trough with some plastic pipe.Just split in in 2 and hung it from underneath the overhang on the garage. Im not explaining that very well

Tell me..whats this mash you're buying and where do you get it? Im spending a fortune and to be honest Im finding it difficult to keep up.

BengaLover

Chicken feed, under 10 euro a sack..

chucken1

BengaLover wrote: »

Chicken feed, under 10 euro a sack..

Thanks for that. I suppose the co op or creamary will have it.

Did you understand my great invention above?:o
Like a gutter under the overhang of the garage,hanging from wire.

ender ender

Chucken1, do you get much spillage from your feeder? I can't keep birds off the ground no matter how hard I try, some just won't use feeders.

Try keeping your cats in as much as possible BengaLover, or supervised in the garden. Not easy I know! I have a very small garden so it's easy to watch the moggy when she's out, but I try and keep her in during the day anyway. Keeping a litter tray is a pain but I don't have much choice cos she can't dig in the frozen ground.

goat2

i caught my cat with a bird in her mouth, thank god i got her on time, bird was saved and flew off, i then got bells of an old christmas ornament and put them on the cat, there are five good sized bells hanging from cat now, she is like rudolph can hear fifty yards off, no birides no more for her, i hung them low so they hit her legs when she walk and it make them gingle louder

chucken1

ender ender wrote: »

Chucken1, do you get much spillage from your feeder? I can't keep birds off the ground no matter how hard I try, some just won't use feeders.

Try keeping your cats in as much as possible BengaLover, or supervised in the garden. Not easy I know! I have a very small garden so it's easy to watch the moggy when she's out, but I try and keep her in during the day anyway. Keeping a litter tray is a pain but I don't have much choice cos she can't dig in the frozen ground.

I dont get much spillage,but whatever does fall,theres always someone ready to swoop on it.
Ive been feeding the birds for years so you learn their feeding times,so between those times the cats go out. The second I see the birds gathering,I call them back in. They dont want to out too long these days anyway!!

Btw..Bengalover,I got a bag of the food today. 9euro.Brilliant value. Thanks for the tip.

ender ender

Yeah I hate seeing them get anything, I know it's instinct but still. My cat has only caught one tit in about 2 years so it's not too bad, she's being carefully supervised These days!

This is the first winter I've been feeding the birds around here so I haven't figured out their feeding routines yet. With the weather as it is the garden is teeming all day long, there's easily 20 birds from dawn to dusk, so I just let the cat out for a run after dark for some fresh air. A bell could be a good investment...

cubix

Bengalover, any other type of feeds or seeds that would be suitable from a farm store besides mash. Like a lot of people spending a fortune on regular bird feed and would be interested if there was various farm feeds that could be mixed to attract the wild garden type bird.

Cheers

WalterMitty

Survival of the fittest this year.

BengaLover

chucken1 wrote: »

Thanks for that. I suppose the co op or creamary will have it.

Did you understand my great invention above?:o
Like a gutter under the overhang of the garage,hanging from wire.

yep i got it, but going to use it on an area cats (hopefully) wont notice..

bonerjams03

goat2 wrote: »

i caught my cat with a bird in her mouth, thank god i got her on time, bird was saved and flew off, i then got bells of an old christmas ornament and put them on the cat, there are five good sized bells hanging from cat now, she is like rudolph can hear fifty yards off, no birides no more for her, i hung them low so they hit her legs when she walk and it make them gingle louder

As good as that is for the birds, it's a little cruel on the cat. It'd make her go insane, every step they take anywhere they have to hear a jingle.

Delia2

Hi there and well done. You saved more than were killed, I bet! I would try a bell on the cat if it's yours. Early warning system!
Also, I bought a feeding "station" in Argos. It consists of a metal pole about 6 foot high with hooks to hang the feeders off, a little bird bath (not great with frost!) and a tray for putting seed on. All of these are well above cat reach. If you fix it into the ground, maybe a few feet from walls the cat can walk along, you have a better chance of not giving your feline friend any advantages.
One of my dogs has a taste for birds, (she's re-homed and must have gone hungry and so started hunting in her old life) but I keep her out of the area where I feed the birds. Hope this helps.

googsy

Thankfully the only fatalities I seen this year out the back garden was the sparrow hawk coming in and lifting a few black birds.

Delia2

Apart from my beloved canine bringing me a present (I was sick!) I actually saw a magpie come and steal a little sparrow chick. I was out the back door like a shot, but too late. I have seen a sparrow hawn in action once and although it is heart-breaking, you have to wonder at it's skill. My dog is so gentle and affectìonate, and she's a cavalier so there's v little hunter left in her genes, I know she must have had to hunt in the past and got the taste. I find it hard, but nature can be cruel and beautiful. I have had a great Christmas watching all the birds over the snowy days tucking in in relative safety. We had sparrows, tits, finches, blackbirds, a pigeon,(spelling?) starlings. I got the feeding gadget before the snow came & was set up. I could watch them all day!!

dudara

ender ender wrote: »

Chucken1, do you get much spillage from your feeder? I can't keep birds off the ground no matter how hard I try, some just won't use feeders.

I've noticed that wagtails in particular seem to throw their food onto the ground, where they then eat it. It's as if they don't like to perch on things, but instead prefer the ground.

googsy

Delia2 wrote: »

Apart from my beloved canine bringing me a present (I was sick!) I actually saw a magpie come and steal a little sparrow chick. I was out the back door like a shot, but too late. I have seen a sparrow hawn in action once and although it is heart-breaking, you have to wonder at it's skill. My dog is so gentle and affectìonate, and she's a cavalier so there's v little hunter left in her genes, I know she must have had to hunt in the past and got the taste. I find it hard, but nature can be cruel and beautiful. I have had a great Christmas watching all the birds over the snowy days tucking in in relative safety. We had sparrows, tits, finches, blackbirds, a pigeon,(spelling?) starlings. I got the feeding gadget before the snow came & was set up. I could watch them all day!!

what type of bird did your dog get ? that's one skillful dog ! and yes I've often lost all track of time staring at all the birds out the back window.. it's usually more entertaining than the rubbish they put on at Christmas time on the telly anyways lol

goat2

IRcolm wrote: »

As good as that is for the birds, it's a little cruel on the cat. It'd make her go insane, every step they take anywhere they have to hear a jingle.

she is a house cat, but go out for a run now and then, it sounds christmassy every time i hear coming down stairs, you know the way they jump from step to step, you should hear them jingle, at least the birds hear her coming, it is doing her no harm, does not hurt, feather light, and i know where she is all the time, as she has a habit of sneaking into the bottom of my wardrobe where i dont want her to be, she has her own chair in one of the bedrooms

Delia2

To the best of my knowledge it was a Pied Wagtail, but I have to admit that I was too upset to manage to look at it properly. I came in one afternoon & found my two other cavaliers in panic at one end of the kitchen. I let them out only to find that the budgie was in this "bird cathchers" mouth. It's wing was sticking out but the bird was dead. I must not have closed the door of the cage properly in the morning when I was doing "The Ward Round". I could not believe it. She ate it; there was not a feather left. She wasn't sick after, nothing! I have seen her sit and watch a bird and she can be as still as a cat. The wag-tail was a present to me, something cats often do; she had just been fed and she brought it to the back door to me. The breed (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) is a cross between the short snouted King Charles (a toy dog) and the Cocker Spaniel. I have seen one of my other Cavaliers kill a rat (which had come to visit the crumbs from an old bird-table). Nature will out, despite humans playing God!
One of the most beautiful moments I ever had was when my first child had just started walking. She was looking out the sitting room window, which was low-ledged and there was snow in the small Dublin housing estate we lived in. I looked out to see what she was looking at and it was the most beautiful fox. My little one was too young to know how special it was but that moment when I locked eyes with it was something. I know they kill to live, but you cannot make moral judgements about animals when it is in their nature. But looking at the birds is lovely. They have to work so hard to survive and every hard Winter gotten through is a victory! Derek Mooney has done great work on "Mooney goes wild" on Radio 1. He has a website within the RTE radio website full of info.

Mountainsandh

My cat caught one blue tit, 2 coal tits, and a wagtail, since the first cold spell

The wagtail especially I'm heartbroken about, since we've had a family who are nearly like pets at this stage, they're just always there. They're usually well used to the cat, and too fast or cute for him, plus he's so used to them he doesn't usually go for them...
tried to keep him in most of the day to limit damage, just let him out one hour a bit after lunch, that is, after the morning feed, but before the evening one. My cat's victims are usually mostly juvenile blackbirds or thrushes, tits and wagtails are just too agile and cute for him, but they're just so weak in this weather.

I had stopped feeding throughout the year for that very reason, my cat is too much of a good hunter. But what with the extreme cold, I didn't have the heart not to feed this time. Well, I reckon I probably saved more than were killed, so it has to be worth something.

Very hard to find a spot in my garden where I could hang something out of reach of the cat, he's able to climb every tree or shed there is. But I do like the idea of the half pipe, if only I could figure the right spot for it.

Delia2

dudara wrote: »

I've noticed that wagtails in particular seem to throw their food onto the ground, where they then eat it. It's as if they don't like to perch on things, but instead prefer the ground.

That's interesting and yes, they do seem to prefer the ground. That would account for the success of my dog's hunting activity too!

Delia2

Mountainsandh wrote: »

My cat caught one blue tit, 2 coal tits, and a wagtail, since the first cold spell

The wagtail especially I'm heartbroken about, since we've had a family who are nearly like pets at this stage, they're just always there. They're usually well used to the cat, and too fast or cute for him, plus he's so used to them he doesn't usually go for them...
tried to keep him in most of the day to limit damage, just let him out one hour a bit after lunch, that is, after the morning feed, but before the evening one. My cat's victims are usually mostly juvenile blackbirds or thrushes, tits and wagtails are just too agile and cute for him, but they're just so weak in this weather.

I had stopped feeding throughout the year for that very reason, my cat is too much of a good hunter. But what with the extreme cold, I didn't have the heart not to feed this time. Well, I reckon I probably saved more than were killed, so it has to be worth something.

Very hard to find a spot in my garden where I could hang something out of reach of the cat, he's able to climb every tree or shed there is. But I do like the idea of the half pipe, if only I could figure the right spot for it.

I think that the birds take greater risks in the severe weather and are probably weaker, using up their reserves of fat and strength. I notice that the sparrows are still taking care of their young. My own garden seems to be a no-go cat zone because of the dogs.