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I’m worried about my 5 chickens and what happens if they catch it(I know they will die but like does the USDA come knocking and then burn my flock and coop to t
by sudden_dystopia 4y ago
I’m worried about my 5 chickens and what happens if they catch it(I know they will die but like does the USDA come knocking and then burn my flock and coop to the ground?). I’ve taken down the feeders and gotten a fake owl to try to get rid of birds in the vicinity but they are still all over the place. There is not really anything more I can do but lock them up in the coop all summer but that would drive them nuts and could stress them out to the point of death anyway. This sucks.
- javajosh 4y agoSo this would be a very HN thing to do, but what about building autonomous turrets that identify birds and shoot them with something that scares them away? (Note that killing them is not only distasteful, but adds another problem: those bird corpses will attract other unwanted animals, so it's a non-starter anyway). EDIT: instead of downvoting, please comment so I can understand why you don't like this idea.
- _Microft 4y agoAnother guess at tomorrow's top submission: "Show HN: I turned my coop into a 3D CAVE to keep my chickens from going crazy" ;)
- javajosh 4y agoWell, now that you mention it, it would be interesting to see if a screen, or the content of the screen, had any impact on the chickens. Probably the easiest thing to measure would be egg production, but you might be able to measure "well-being" in some way. (I don't know much about chickens, but I've heard they are extremely stupid, so it may have no impact.)
- rolph 4y agothey are very responsive to light spectrum; intensity; and periodicity. you can manipulate egg production, and breeding cycles by manipulating lighting parameters, and providing specific nutritional supplements.
- KineticLensman 4y ago> I don't know much about chickens, but I've heard they are extremely stupid, so it may have no impact. They are instinctive rather than intelligent, but strongly exhibit stress symptoms when kept in tiny overcrowded pens. A screen in an otherwise bare box might not provide sufficient stimulation and reward, e.g. the 'pleasure' of finding food when chasing small bugs across the floor.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- rolph 4y agojust putting in 2 cents, first is the harsh reality of using lethal means to defend a flock is not somthing most people want to handle; second is a domestic flock is a smaller priority than a large wild bird die off event. these are reasons right there, but not reason enough for me I would probably be raising chickens in something like a greenhouse/pavillion, and using hygienic technique to minimize crossover events.
- meibo 4y agoYour model would have to differentiate between birds and chicken, sounds like an interesting problem to solve. Playing a loud noise would probably be enough, but you obviously don't want to scare your chickens, so maybe a auto-aiming nerf gun that shoots 20cm below the detected target?.
- setr 4y agoI know chickens can fly a little, but I imagine they don’t really do so — so only targeting and acting on things above ground level should be largely sufficient
- pixl97 4y agoERROR: UPS man is now detected as a buzzard.
- derekp7 4y ago> Your model would have to differentiate between birds and chicken Sounds like a job for XKCD 1425.
- junon 4y agoThe noise would work for a week, tops. The birds would get used to it.
- wincy 4y agoJust actually shoot 1 in 100 or so and that’ll keep them away.
- marcosdumay 4y agoHum... Somebody posted an automated water pistol for scaring pigeons not long ago.
- ssully 4y agoPossible alternative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow
- takeda 4y agoYeah that would work, but how will I be able to put it on my resume?
- muttled 4y agoIf you could put constructing straw men on your resume then you'd be competing with tons of internet trolls.
- javajosh 4y agoThey said they tried a "fake owl", but yes maybe a human-like scarecrow would work better. If so it would certainly be simpler and cheaper!
- redwall_hp 4y agoObligatory mention that killing most birds is a federal crime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
- javajosh 4y agoWell, yet another good reason to just scare them away!
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 4y agoAlso, chickens will eat small animals, though usually more like mice than small birds. But I wouldn't put it past my chickens to at least peck at a dead bird, thus negating the whole exercise.
- softcactus 4y agoThere's nothing actually wrong with this idea but it does read almost as satire. It sounds like an Onion article.
- dehrmann 4y ago> Onion article Remember ThinkGeek's SkyTag? https://web.archive.org/web/20120218133853/http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/tracker.shtml https://web.archive.org/web/20120218133853/http://www.thinkg...
- chasd00 4y agoPut poison high off the ground out of reach of the chickens. Eventually the birds will figure out that area is bad news and avoid it.
- kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 4y agoThen you have dead, poisoned birds for them to peck at.
- pjmorris 4y agoTen years ago, somebody built a squirrel detector/watergun combo to protect their bird feeders without harming the squirrels, [0] [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPgqfnKG_T4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPgqfnKG_T4
- rascul 4y ago> So this would be a very HN thing to do, but what about building autonomous turrets that identify birds and shoot them with something that scares them away? Indeed it is a very HN thing to do: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30642632 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30642632
- chaorace 4y agoConsider installing anti-bird netting (or wires, if you have a big range)
- pcan77 4y agoSame, I live in CA and thankfully it hasn't been reported in CA at all somehow. I live by a popular bird flyway so it's a tad concerning.
- fmakunbound 4y agoUh curious how your hens feel about the fake owl watching over them.
- actually_a_dog 4y agoChickens don't seem all that smart to me. Either that, or they've become so domesticated they just assume whatever is going on around them is okay because humans are allowing it to happen. In either case, my suspicion is that they won't give a cluck about some silly fake owl hanging around their coop.
- kurupt213 4y agothe poultry free range birds are being moved indoors and still allowed to be labeled free range. The risk to flocks is so great. Sucks for everyone involved, but not as much as euthanizing the flock
- carabiner 4y agoBuy new ones if they die? Looks like they cost $20 each.
- klondike_ 4y agoPrices would go up in a bird flu epidemic
- peteradio 4y agoI'm under the impression song birds and the like don't really transmit too well, mostly its waterfowl. Having ducks, geese etc flapping about your yard would be something to worry about.