How do I keep wild birds out of my coop?

[Firsttimehens1234]

I have a little flock hens and a rooster who keeps getting visits from wild birds all year around, the chickens don’t mind but i do because they keep bringing unwanted diseases in.
First they bought in lice, then red mites and after I treated them and made my coop free of mites and lice the birds infected them again a couple months later

In Denmark we have had a lot of trouble with the bird flu and a lot of birds and chickens have died bc of it and I’m really worried that some of the wild birds will bring that to my coop.

What can I do, I’m already thinking of putting a net over the coop but is there anything else I can do?

 

[Luv Ducks]

I have a little flock hens and a rooster who keeps getting visits from wild birds all year around, the chickens don’t mind but i do because they keep bringing unwanted diseases in.
First they bought in lice, then red mites and after I treated them and made my coop free of mites and lice the birds infected them again a couple months later

In Denmark we have had a lot of trouble with the bird flu and a lot of birds and chickens have died bc of it and I’m really worried that some of the wild birds will bring that to my coop.

What can I do, I’m already thinking of putting a net over the coop but is there anything else I can do?

Netting is the only way I can keep the wild birds out of my large pen for my Ducks. They do carry diseases and also eat the feed so the netting pays for itself once applied. I hold mine up with long stakes made of metal and topped with plastic so they don't tear the netting. In some places I have painter poles holding it up. It doesn't look the prettiest but my birds are safe and the wild ones stay out. Good luck with yours. That is the only solution I have found.

 

[Firsttimehens1234]

Netting is the only way I can keep the wild birds out of my large pen for my Ducks. They do carry diseases and also eat the feed so the netting pays for itself once applied. I hold mine up with long stakes made of metal and topped with plastic so they don't tear the netting. In some places I have painter poles holding it up. It doesn't look the prettiest but my birds are safe and the wild ones stay out. Good luck with yours. That is the only solution I have found.

Thank you for the answer gray idea with the plastic, how big are your net holes? I don’t want any small birds to get stuck in the holes or trapped inside the coop

 

[Luv Ducks]

Thank you for the answer gray idea with the plastic, how big are your net holes? I don’t want any small birds to get stuck in the holes or trapped inside the coop

You are most welcome. Mine are only about a half inch. The plastic I bought is not the strongest but it keeps them out and they cannot get stuck in that tiny of holes.

 

[Jmml219]

I have a little flock hens and a rooster who keeps getting visits from wild birds all year around, the chickens don’t mind but i do because they keep bringing unwanted diseases in.
First they bought in lice, then red mites and after I treated them and made my coop free of mites and lice the birds infected them again a couple months later

In Denmark we have had a lot of trouble with the bird flu and a lot of birds and chickens have died bc of it and I’m really worried that some of the wild birds will bring that to my coop.

What can I do, I’m already thinking of putting a net over the coop but is there anything else I can do?

Did you find a solution? I have the exact same problem. It’s driving me crazy. Do any of the ultrasonic sound machines work without harming the chickens? Do any of the sparkling spinners work?

 

[Luv Ducks]

Did you find a solution? I have the exact same problem. It’s driving me crazy. Do any of the ultrasonic sound machines work without harming the chickens? Do any of the sparkling spinners work?

I have the CD's that I hang that sparkle but they don't keep them out. I use netting all over the pen, I have 6' dog panels that make the pen up and I use netting on all sides of it plus the top. If there is one little opening they will find it. I am always finding areas where there might be a small opening and they surely find it so I fix it to keep them out.

 

[linguini]

We use nylon avian netting to keep birds out of chicken run area. And in summer, we added shade cloth on top of the avian nets - for shades and also to keep them from wild bird droppings when avian flu was go around in the area.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Thank you for the answer gray idea with the plastic, how big are your net holes? I don’t want any small birds to get stuck in the holes or trapped inside the coop

I can barely get my finger in the hole is how small mine are. I also go out and knock the snow off when we have snow which today I used my leaf blower to get it off and that worked well. Otherwise if you are where there is snow the weight of it can pull it down.

 

[linguini]

I can barely get my finger in the hole is how small mine are. I also go out and knock the snow off when we have snow which today I used my leaf blower to get it off and that worked well. Otherwise if you are where there is snow the weight of it can pull it down.

Our avian nets are mostly one inch grid (some areas with 2 inch net, still seem ok to keep small birds out). On icy days (not often), I simply knock them off! We've had these nets since 2020, so far so good!