“I like wild birds. I used to feed them on purpose, but now that I have chickens the wild birds have become a cost and potential risk. The wild birds were eating more of my chicken feed than were the chickens.
I dealt with the doves with a shade cloth curtain over the chickens’ door but the little sparrows were undeterred. They wormed their way straight through the layers of cloth and get inside. Then I worried about all the pests and pathogens vectored by the little beasts.
I reduced the risk by feeding outside where they free-range, but if I didn’t get the amount just right, the wild birds finished it off. I came to realize that a treadle feeder would be my best solution; it would also allow my birds free access to food…”
