I'm So Upset

[Jay3]

I think we should take up a collection to help Louise pay for the seed. I mean, it is a good cause, and it is going to take a lot of seed. I for one wouldn't mind being in on that. Anyone else?

[rainbows]

We know you have a car, so, ....do you have a granary in the outskirts of Las Vegas where you might buy feed directly from there?

[lwerden]

Thanks so much for all the kind words, but honestly I would feel totally uncomfortable accepting any donations for the seed. It is our pleasure to take care of these birds. I am going to contact the local farm feed store and purchase the seed in 100lb bags. It is really much cheaper that way and it is not a financial burden to us at all.

Donations should go to a much more needy cause. I don't know how many of you are aware that Egypt Swift Lady (Robin) has a Wild Animal Sanctuary that is totally privately funded by her family.She has all sorts of animals including Pigeons that she cares for. None of them are ever adopted out. They live out their lives in the comfort and care of her sanctuary. She surely could use the donations.

Regards to all,
Louise

[Grimaldy]

There should be a farmers grain and feed store somewhere around there, hopefully not too far away. There you can buy 50 and 100 pound bags of shelled corn, they love it and it is very high in calories, for about $12-$15 per hundredweight. They often sell other seed products as well.

Look for horse supplies and feeds.

[KIPPY]

I've been buying the big bags of wild bird seed at Wallmark.

Is that suppose to be Walmart? If so they are way more expensive.

They have 40lbs bags of bird seed on sale at Petsmart for $9.99.
Petco has there's on sale at times also.

[feralpigeon]

Iwerden, I hope you can lift a one hundered pound sack, lol. You should be able
to get a fifty pound sack of 15-1/2% pigeon mix at a local grain and feed store
for under $20 and if you measure out the amounts per feeding it might last you
for the best part of a month.

If you continue to see birds killed in the road, I would put the dead bird(s)
in a plastic bag and show the neighbor who that is feeding in the middle of the
road what the results are.

There have been a couple of folks around here that have fed in the middle of
the street and folks just run over the birds. I started sweeping the seed out
of the street and one of the street feeders stopped....the other one stopped
when there was a really bad accident.

Sometimes folks just don't stop and think about the repercussions of their
actions.

fp

[Jay3]

It doesn't really seem all that hard to figure out. Street.......cars.......squash! Would they put their kids toys in the middle of the road and then tell them to go out and play? HELLLOOOOO? Anybody home?

[lwerden]

The old man that was feeding them in the street has stopped, however the habits of the pigeons are that they wait in the street for him. What I have done now to discourage them from the street, is that I put seed in the driveway before I go to bed at night. So now, by the time I get up at around 5:30/6:00AM some of them are already in the driveway eating. The rest are either up on the roofs waiting for me as well as some of them are still in the street. When I spread the rest of the seed they all come into the driveway. Thankfully when all the seed is gone they take off for the park or other parts unknown. I have not had any luck trying to lure them into the back yard. The only birds that feed in the back are my own flock which feeds when they return home to roost before sunset. I have left seed and bowls of water in the back all day long, hoping that some would see it and come back, but the only luck I have during the day is from the little sparrows.

I went to Petco and was able to get two 25lb bags of seed for less than $16. It's just wild bird seed, but it will do until I can get to the farm feed store which is quite a ride outside of town.

Thankfully there have not been any more deaths in the street and little by little I think the birds are getting the idea that there will not be any more food in the street. Every morning there are less waiting in the street and more waiting up on roof tops. They are starting to know me and don't seem to fly away as much when I try to approach them.

Regards to all,
Louise

[Jay3]

You sure are doing a great job. It's funny, if you didn't want them in your backyard going after the seed for the songbirds, they'd find it and be there all the time. At least you've pretty much gotten them out of the srteet, and safer.

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by lwerden

I went to Petco and was able to get two 25lb bags of seed for less than $16. It's just wild bird seed, but it will do until I can get to the farm feed store which is quite a ride outside of town.

Regards to all,
Louise

Try Petsmart .. much less expensive. The current "regular" price for 40 pounds of Wild Bird Seed Mix at Petsmart is $10.99 though it has been on sale for the last week or so at $9.99 for 40 pounds. The comparable product at Petco was running $17.99 per 40 pounds .. definitely out of my price range for as much of it as I go through.

You may be in for a surprise at the feed store .. last time I was out in Norco, the seed/feed was even more expensive than here in the pet stores .. didn't use to be that way.

Terry

[lwerden]

Terry, that's a great price. I'll go to Petsmart tomorrow, I hope the sale is still on. I'll stock up seeing that I am now feeding 50/60 piegons a day. It surely won't go to waste.

Thanks for the info.

Louise

[Margarret]

Louise,

I am so glad that you have been able to get the street feeding stopped and at least lure them to your house. One consideration though. If you have already factored this in, then disregard my post.
You don't want to feed them so much that they come to be dependent on your feeding and don't forrage for themselves. So that in mind, I would limit the amount of feed put out each day as it is easy to feed more and more as their friends arrive. And they will! When we lived in another town, I fed the ferals in my yard and what began with a few swelled to fifty in no time at all.

How have others that feed feral flocks handled this?

[lwerden]

Margarret...........This has been a serious consideration for me.

This neighborhood is heavily populated by pigeons as it is only one block (less than 1/4Mile) from a park. Within the houses that surround me there are atleast 1 or 2 pairs that nest on each roof. I believe my roof has the largest concentration of birds approx. 25.

Within 2/3 days after I started feeding in the driveway I have about 50 birds. I haven't seen any increase in that amount for about a week. I haven't actually measured how much seed I put out, but I would estimate it to be about 10 cups of seed. It takes them about 10 minutes to completely finish all of it. It appears that they all get a fair share of it.
Thankfully when all the seed is gone they do not hang around. They all take off for the park or other parts unknown.

My biggest concern is the neighbors!!!! I haven't had any complaints yet and I think it is because I am doing this right after dawn each morning when almost everyone around here is still asleep.

I would be really interested in hearing from other members who feed the ferals and what problems they have encountered.

Louise

[Jay3]

Hi Louise. First of all, I want to tell you that I think you are doing a wonderful thing in getting the pigeons off the street. I would have probably done the same thing. I commend you for caring so much about them. God knows, we need more people who are willing to step up and help the ferrals. It's too bad that the older gentleman created the problem to begin with. And you, like myself, could not just stand by and watch as the poor things were needlessly killed in the roadway. But all that aside, I do believe that you could be letting yourself in for more than you bargained for. You said that you have now, about 50 birds, and that you put out about 10 cups of seed. Please tell me that you don't mean that you put that much out all at one time. If you are, you are feeding them enough to fill them up. They will breed and bring back their offspring, and you will have 100 coming every morning. I started feeding the ferrals that come to my rooftop because of the bird feeders that I put up for the songbirds. I think I started with about 10 birds. That was a few years ago. Now I have about ( and I counted them yesterday ) about 35. Not sure if they were all there or not. I felt bad for them up there in the cold of winter, and the heat of summer. I love the ferrals, but I know the neighbors don't. I don't ever throw enough to fill them up. I would love to be able to meet all their needs, but all that will do is bring more and more. Plus the fact that they will then become too dependant upon me for their survival. I don't want that. I throw out only a small portion of what they require, and they must somehow forage for the rest, just as they were, I am sure, doing before I began feeding them. I would love to be able to give them all they need, and I must admit, that on occasion, I put out a little bit extra. Usually though, I put down just so much, and I try to harden myself to putting down more. It's not easy. I'm a softie for any animal. But I don't think it fair to make them totally dependant on me. Sure, it helps them for that moment, but in the longrun, I don't think so. And they must be finding food somewhere, because the flock actually looks very healthy for the most part. And they grow in numbers. What will you do when there are 100 coming? Put down 20 cups of seed? You have done a wonderful job getting them out of the street. Maybe, once that is accomplished, you could try to cut back by a cup a week say, until you had it down to just a few cups. I know you wouldn't be filling them up, but you would be helping them to get by, and you have accomplished saving them from the roadway. May I ask you how much the older man was putting out for them? Surely not 10 cups, and they were probably doing fine. You are making it easier for them not to have to look for food. Think about it. I don't know what's the right thing to do. I just wanted to tell you what I do and why. I guess it's an individual decision. If you can afford to put down more and more as their numbers grow, and if it won't cause any problem with the neighbors, then fine, but if not, just think about cutting back to less, and letting them forage for the remainder. Good luck.

[SerendipityCA]

Oy, I think I've been feeding too much as well. I take a handful and throw one up on the carport roof for every two birds, roughly. Sounds like I'm feeding too much. Did I read that it should be 1 tablespoon per bird per day?