Unsecure chicken perches

[cavysqueak]

I love my chickens and there are long lists of benefits of keeping them, but one of my favourites is that they encourage wild birds into the garden. We do feed the wild birds as well, but they flock to our garden. I wonder if seeing the chickens makes them feel safer?

 

The other day I was sitting on the bench cuddling our 'retired' chicken who is feeling the cold this year when a beautiful daddy blackbird flew down, sat 1m away and looked at us. He then got chased off by Lavender, but when the other girls went to the top of the garden he flew down and stood drinking out of the water dish which was just at the end of the bench. It was a lovely close up sight to see.

 

Then the next day I was finishing with the girls' morning routine and I had to fill up the wild bird food as there wasn't enough, so I was stood in the shed filling up the tub. I looked around and right in the shed door was Robin ... looking sideways at me as if to say 'what's taking so long?'. So I gently tossed him a dried mealworm, which he jumped forward to eat, so I tossed him another one and he ate that as well! I think I'm now being trained by him / her as well as my girls!

 

Does anyone else find that the wild bird population has increased in their garden since getting their chickens?

[jackian]

We always have had a lot of birds as our house backs on to a wood , but they have defineatly increased.

I have a WIR and robins especcially love being in it . One stands on the edge of the omlet feeder and dives in for a pellet and then flys off. .The girls don't seem to worry about him.

[Chortle Chook]

Yes, we certainly have more wild birds since I started chicken keeping. Our house used to back onto an old Victorian orchard which had lots of birds singing all day long, but this was grubbed up sadly, in favour of 13 new homes and with all the building going on the wild birds vanished. Even when the houses were complete the gardens remained pretty stale so few birds returned, but now I have my chickens, I find my garden has loads more birds again including robins, black birds and dear little sparrows . . . but still no thrushes

[Mum]

I've always fed the wild birds. In my last garden I was even fortunate enough to train a male blackbird to eat from my hand - very humbling! Better yet, *he* then taught Mrs Blackbird to come to the back door for food too; she wouldn't get quite as close, but close enough that, in turn, she brought her fledglings along. One of the most magical Spring/Summer's ever.

 

My girls love chasing off the collared doves, wood pigeons and magpies; sometimes they'll chase the blackbirds (who just fly round the back of me and because the girls can't see them They never chase the dunnocks, robins, blue tits or bullfinches.

 

When the Spring comes and the ducks arrive the girls don't even bat an eyelid. Herring gulls are another matter! The girls do not like them one bit