Anyone used these bird deterrents?

[Alien]

We have poultry that seem to delight in pooing on our porch. No matter how many times we chase them they come straight back.
I know you can buy sensor activated water sprinklers and expensive devices but I ordered a cheap one to see if it is going to work OK. It claims it works for birds etc. If it does work OK I will order another one. I have 3 little dogs that I don't want to scare or they might decide that inside the house is a safer place to do their business.
As we have high water pressure, the hoses may not stand being connected 24/7 to the tap for the sprinkler type device. The one I have ordered is dispatched in Australia, not China. I don't trust Chinese ebayers after dealing with some in the past.

Solar Ultrasonic Animal & Pets Repeller Motion Sensor Bird Rat Possum Repellent | eBay Australia

√Solar powered -The top of the insect repellent is equipped with solar panels that can use solar energy. 1 x Ultrasonic Animal Repellent. Infrared sensor cone angle : 110 degrees horizontal, 55 degrees vertically.

www.ebay.com.au

 

[Jchonline]

Are they perching in rafters? Where are they flying to and standing around in your porch area?

 

[Alien]

They just wander around looking for something to peck at. The trouble is that they wander through the carport to get there and it is covered in droppings as well. Night time they roost behind the barn and they decide early morning is the best time to start wandering and this poo event happens several times a day.

 

[ponytug]

We don't have that model, but I do recommend the infrared versions that aren't fooled by blowing leaves, moving branches, etc. We have tried reflective Mylar tape and my takeaway was that it takes a lot of it to dissuade our jays, which are pretty intelligent, though not in the same league with gallahs.

Have you tried to make some other area more attractive to the chickens? I.e. water a patch of grass, or closing curtains to reduce the number of dead insects on the porch, or...?

I am still looking for a durable bird netting to enclose our orchard. I am starting to think it will need to be galvanized chicken wire.

All the best, Peter

 

[Alien]

Thanks Peter. The problem started when we removed a lot of bamboo shelter, however there is still plenty of shelter / grass area for them behind the house. Several acres in fact. It seems they just want to be where we are. I can mount this device where there will be no false alarms from leaves etc. We tried netting a few years ago but they flew up over it. Anyway, it will be here this coming week so I will keep posted on the outcome.

 

[Fuddy1952]

I saw something made for chickens, plywood ends and chicken wire. Bad drawing but you get idea. It had a door one end, handles both ends, easy two people to pick up and move around yard.

 

[Alien]

We have a pen for them but my wife doesn't like them being locked up and the pen needs constant cleaning too. Being able to move it around like that would solve some of the problems. (So would selling them) I think the repeller is the way to go for us if it works. It allows them to roam yet keeps them away from our living area. It may also keep possums away that frequent occasionally.

 

[JethroB]

I purchased one of the motion sensor water sprinklers to discourage resident geese. it seemed to work sorta OK but I was shy about leaving a charged hose connected all the time. It certainly got me a few times.

 

[Alien]

Lol JethroB. I saw those and had the same thought. I didn't want to be getting up at midnight to turn off taps after the hose fittings let go. I saw one on youtube used as a thief deterrent. It worked very well.

 

[cqaigy2]

I saw something made for chickens, plywood ends and chicken wire. Bad drawing but you get idea. It had a door one end, handles both ends, easy two people to pick up and move around yard.View attachment 690863

I've seen something similar, one side had wheels, the other bars to pick up one side, and move everyday.

 

[ning]

I've found if you put them away at night, and have a feeder where you house them, chickens mostly will "go home" in the evening. We open the coop in the morning, and they're usually all home before the sun goes down.

I've had the occasional chicken that prefers a tree but here that's usually a temporary issue...

 

[Alien]

We have a couple of chickens like that. Actually we have a weird one. It thinks it's a rooster. It has the weirdest crow at 6.00 am in the morning. The other roosters leave it alone. (If you know what I mean)

 

[ponytug]

When we had chickens, there always seemed to be one or two confused hens. At least they are quieter than peacocks (not mine, wild locally around here, and prone to 2am calls).

I have never lived anywhere that the predator pressure wasn't intense, and have come to the conclusion that everything tastes like chicken to any predator. Skunks, raccoon, foxes, weasels, coyotes, hawks, kites...

I like the movable coop ideas. I have friends who have them and love them.

All the best, Peter

 

[Alien]

Not sure when the item will arrive due to the massive flooding event NSW is going through. Roads are closed.

 

[oosik]

When we had dogs that were fed outside, it was magpies. A plastic owl on the roof of my work shed worked for a while. Then a portable radio on the porch of the work shed. Then the bulb went on - fed and watered the dogs inside the work shed.

 

[Alien]

Well, it arrived and has proven totally useless. Even my dogs can sit in front of it and the hens couldn't care less either. In the bin it goes....

 

[BeezFun]

Birds can't hear in the ultrasonic frequency range so devices like that can't work for birds. Humans hear higher frequencies than birds, so if you can't hear it, they can't hear it either.
I had a very bad experience with ultrasonic devices. I bought one that is supposed to activate when a dog barks, so they train themselves to stop barking. I hung it outside on the fence and then our dogs wouldn't go out the back door, they were terrified even though neither of them were barking. It occurred to me the device must be malfunctioning and making its noise all the time. I installed an app on my phone that can detect ultrasonic frequencies and sure enough, the device was always on. So I sent it back to amazon and got my money back. My lesson was that I'll never buy an ultrasonic device as a deterrent because there's no easy way to know if it's on or off.