Ot chasing away birds

[Tickdoc]

So I've got this old dog...she's 16 this year. Outside dog. Used to be on an automatic feeder, but now I am feeding her by bowl by our back door so I can gauge how much she eats.

Birds keep stealing her food. When she was young, she would guard against such thievery, even killed a few over the years.

Now she could give a damn, and they know it.

First plan...scare them with a nice big pic of a hawk. Worked for one day.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Handgod/7324FFB9-5BDF-443F-B17A-346E456F0F9C_zps2f1siz2o.jpg

Second plan.....remembered I had this old toy snake that my son use to play with. It's been great for scaring the $hit out of people for years, so I figure it would work on these birds. Worked for one day.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Handgod/401B607B-D6FF-4206-980C-8FCEC47B5723_zps5bmd24wc.jpg

Any other ideas?

[dustyrider]

Get a cat. Let the dog come inside to eat. Let the dog go hungry until it decides to fend off the birds. BB gun. Slingshot is way more hip. Some kind of motion activated dohicky that the dog won't mind but the birds will. Get a bird feeder. Use auto feeder with a set amount of food. I've got more...

[Tickdoc]

Get a cat. Let the dog come inside to eat. Let the dog go hungry until it decides to fend off the birds. BB gun. Slingshot is way more hip. Some kind of motion activated dohicky that the dog won't mind but the birds will. Get a bird feeder. Use auto feeder with a set amount of food. I've got more...

Cat = no bc son is deathly allergic to them.

Bb gun/slingshot I would be fine with, but will have to move food for clear shot as there are too many windows.

I like the doohickey idea, but just don't know what that would be. That, and it can't detract from the bike budget.


They are smart birds...starlings? Aren't those the pests imported from England? Well, they are ballsey and persistent. I think they have been getting too many free meals.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Ken Robb]

I used to scare pigeons off my office balcony with fake owls and snakes but I had to move them around every couple of days to keep them effective.
OTOH we feed Eric twice a day. He only gets an amount that maintains his weight. This means he seems to always be a little hungry so when his bowl is put in front of him he gobbles all the food in less than a minute so birds would have no chance. He might not eat so fast when he is 16 though.

[dustyrider]

Cat = no bc son is deathly allergic to them.

Bb gun/slingshot I would be fine with, but will have to move food for clear shot as there are too many windows.

I like the doohickey idea, but just don't know what that would be. That, and it can't detract from the bike budget.


They are smart birds...starlings? Aren't those the pests imported from England? Well, they are ballsey and persistent. I think they have been getting too many free meals.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Starlings are horrible birds. Horrible. Don't feed them! You'd be doing all birds a favor by killing them.

The dohicky I'm think of is something like a Halloween decoration or Christmas decoration. They make noise and sometimes move parts of their bodies. They can't be too expensive.

[Tickdoc]

Starlings are horrible birds. Horrible. Don't feed them! You'd be doing all birds a favor by killing them.

The dohicky I'm think of is something like a Halloween decoration or Christmas decoration. They make noise and sometimes move parts of their bodies. They can't be too expensive.

Ok I'll have to check this out and thanks.

[pjm]

Fake owl with rotating head.

[kramnnim]

There's a hefty fine for harming native birds, but open season on starlings and house sparrows...

[Delpo]

Stand next to your dog while he eats? That is what we do and we later broom any spill overs. After a couple of days the birds realize there is no food for them and they go look elsewhere.

[Tickdoc]

Stand next to your dog while he eats? That is what we do and we later broom any spill overs. After a couple of days the birds realize there is no food for them and they go look elsewhere.

Always been an auto fed dog. She eats when she wants and never overeats. Now that she is getting so up there, I'm afraid her appetite is waning. I give her treats and scraps occasionally, but that is the only time I really see her eat.

[OtayBW]

Put some rat poison in the dog's food. That will take care of those birds and problem solved!

Wait......:confused:

[Tickdoc]

Put some rat poison in the dog's food. That will take care of those birds and problem solved!

Wait......:confused:

Trust me, I've thought about it! She is very sweet, but has the doggie version of "sundowners syndrome". She barks incessantly at nothing each evening as the sun sets. Every night. Until it's dark.

[Louis]

Have you ever tried wet food (canned or moist in pouch)? If she really likes that she might eat more right when you give it to her, which would minimize what's available for the scavengers.

[Tickdoc]

Have you ever tried wet food (canned or moist in pouch)? If she really likes that she might eat more right when you give it to her, which would minimize what's available for the scavengers.

That is a thought. I'm sure the smell would bring back memories of feeding dogs that in the past.

[Ronsonic]

There is a very large hawk in the trees across the street. I'll see if he wants to move.

[Hank Scorpio]

My neighbors had a problem with a woodpecker destroying the siding on their house until the bought this sonic bird distress call speaker. Not cheap but it was effective and annoying as hell! Before you drop any coin on a dedicated unit I would use a Bluetooth speaker or iPod speaker dock and find a distress call video on YouTube to see if that could work. This is what they bought.

http://www.bird-x.com/woodpecker-pro-products-73.php?page_id=104

[Joxster]

We had a cat feeder that would open and close with a sensor on the collar to stop other cats eating their food, can you get a similar one for your dog?