Birds & bales

kay 9

How do you all keep birds from damaging bales whilst your bringing them in.
There's one field in particular that they're notorious and don't bother in other fields.
They damaged near 30 bales last year on me while I was moving others.
I shot about 9-10 of the bastids from the cab when bringing them in but it didn't help.
They were like yokes possessed.

Reggie.

kay 9 wrote: »

How do you all keep birds from damaging bales whilst your bringing them in.
There's one field in particular that they're notorious and don't bother in other fields.
They damaged near 30 bales last year on me while I was moving others.
I shot about 9-10 of the bastids from the cab when bringing them in but it didn't help.
They were like yokes possessed.

Wrap them elsewhere

Attie

Let the birds go to bed.

cute geoge

I have a banger ,it usually does the trick but only for the field that the banger is working in ,

lab man

K9 pm sent

Birdnuts

Attie wrote: »

Let the birds go to bed.

Yep - if you wrap late in the evening the crows will be going to roost so should not be a problem

_Brian

Draw in that field first ?

Say my name

A drone.
A flying kite hawk.
A bird squeeler played full blast. (Heard one at a car sales yard next to an abattoir).
A falconer.
A team of lads running laps around the field.

Donegalforever

kay 9 wrote: »

How do you all keep birds from damaging bales whilst your bringing them in.
There's one field in particular that they're notorious and don't bother in other fields.
They damaged near 30 bales last year on me while I was moving others.
I shot about 9-10 of the bastids from the cab when bringing them in but it didn't help.
They were like yokes possessed.

This is a problem that I had in the past also. The birds would pick holes in almost every bale. Each day I had to repair all the holes, (that I could see).


I got this idea in my head about covering the bales with netting that fishermen would use. I tried it out and it has been a complete success.
It is necessary to cover the two sides and across the top of the bales.
I keep the netting up higher than the stacked bales and also a bit out from the sides of the bales.

Of course this does not help until you actually have the bales stacked.

Kuva

Donegalforever wrote: »

This is a problem that I had in the past also. The birds would pick holes in almost every bale. Each day I had to repair all the holes, (that I could see).


I got this idea in my head about covering the bales with netting that fishermen would use. I tried it out and it has been a complete success.
It is necessary to cover the two sides and across the top of the bales.
I keep the netting up higher than the stacked bales and also a bit out from the sides of the bales.

Fair play to ya for getting off your hole and trying anything, round here it's poison all the cats, shoot all the birds, useless lazy who#res never stop whining but would try nothing, Same thing every year, Dumbo's. Seen one of them had a "land poisoned" sign up in his field whatever the hell he did to it???

Donegalforever

Kuva wrote: »

Fair play to ya for getting off your hole and trying anything, round here it's poison all the cats, shoot all the birds, useless lazy who#res never stop whining but would try nothing, Same thing every year, Dumbo's. Seen one of them had a "land poisoned" sign up in his field whatever the hell he did to it???

My spouse says I think too much, that I have a habit of analyzing everything.

She could be right ?

kay 9

_Brian wrote: »

Draw in that field first ?

I do but they can have a lot of damage done whilst drawing even the first one.
Have the grease ready and shottie in the tractor.
See how it goes in an hour or so.

st1979

Does white wrap help. My first cut was attacked badly in a field beside the sea by crows and seagulls. The 2nd cut I used white wrap and had no problems but it may of been something with the weather or something and there were less birds around that day

foxy farmer

Some lads here swear by putting a small daub of grease on each bale. Just a small lump on the finger and just cling to the bale. No need to rub it over the wrap. Handy job for a young person as the bale come off the wrapper.

lab man

kay 9 wrote:

I do but they can have a lot of damage done whilst drawing even the first one. Have the grease ready and shottie in the tractor. See how it goes in an hour or so.

Grease is yer man no need of the catridge

Say my name

foxy farmer wrote: »

Some lads here swear by putting a small daub of grease on each bale. Just a small lump on the finger and just cling to the bale. No need to rub it over the wrap. Handy job for a young person as the bale come off the wrapper.

The trouble is any holes on top are fairly obvious. It's the holes where the bird just walks up to the bale on the ground and gives it a good pecking that are not so obvious. I doubt anyone would be putting grease at the bottom of the bale to stop that.

Some people say the black plastic reminds the birds of the black plastic refuse bags at rubbish dumps.

The more I think of it a pick up or an atv with a deck a petrol genny and then a bird sqwaker/scarer/distress caller plugged in might be a right job.

patsy_mccabe

Baled here last night. Drawing bales in from 10pm to midnight - not a bird in sight. Started again at 5am this morning and the birds were everywhere.

It got me thinking, could it be the tide? Yep, low tide last night around 11pm and high tide this morning at 5am. No food at high tide.:cool:

Say my name

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Baled here last night. Drawing bales in from 10pm to midnight - not a bird in sight. Started again at 5am this morning and the birds were everywhere.

It got me thinking, could it be the tide? Yep, low tide last night around 11pm and high tide this morning at 5am. No food at high tide.:cool:

Ah I don't know.
I think it's just that they get really busy and feed during the mornings straight from their roost.

I had a field here where it took me a couple days drawing bales. It was baled around 8pm but there were no crows that evening there. Then the crows landed in the field the next day to feed but it was a wet day. So they didn't land on the bales.
Then the following days were fine but they ignored the field as their feeding was finished.
There was very little bales damaged but the ground was full of holes from them like it got a run of an aerator.

hopeso

Does anyone remember when twine was used on the bales before net became the norm? I seem to remember having far more bird damage back then. My theory was that the bird felt the strand of twine under the wrap, and thought it was a worm or something.

gerryirl

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Baled here last night. Drawing bales in from 10pm to midnight - not a bird in sight. Started again at 5am this morning and the birds were everywhere.

It got me thinking, could it be the tide? Yep, low tide last night around 11pm and high tide this morning at 5am. No food at high tide.:cool:

im a long way from the tide and got an awful doing one year from birds so the next year I stayed up all night form about half 4 onwards in the morning they were back with a bang again. Was thinking of the kite but there dear for a kite

MickeyShtyles

gerryirl wrote: »

im a long way from the tide and got an awful doing one year from birds so the next year I stayed up all night form about half 4 onwards in the morning they were back with a bang again. Was thinking of the kite but there dear for a kite

A kite will only work for so long. The patio company next door to me are currently using a decoy bird noise machine thing with great results.

hopeso

What are those bird noise machines? Something battery powered, I assume. What acreage would one cover, or would you need a number of them spread out around the field?

Water John

If you can't draw for a day or two, gather them together in one place. I think it's mainly the crow on lookout that damages bales with their claws perched there. Little damage when in a bunch. The crows have the rest of the field to themselves.

gerryirl

i moved them into a green field one year. came back next morning at 6 they had them destroyed. Must have spent 4 hours patching them. bits of holes all over the place. the ones on the ground were the buggers .Stay up all night now if I have to get them in yard. I've taken a awful dislike to birds

moneyheer

Never had much of a problem here but noticed when this year when after bales were barrel and 3d wraped no damage at all. Just wondering were birds mistaking the net wrap for worm through the plastic?

tabby aspreme

What I've noticed with wrapped bales , is that they are covered in small spiders and other insects early in the morning, I think this is what attracts the birds

cute geoge

I use a banger and it scatters them fairly fast!!!

Say my name

tabby aspreme wrote: »

What I've noticed with wrapped bales , is that they are covered in small spiders and other insects early in the morning, I think this is what attracts the birds

I see on the bales here in the field in the hot sun with the black plastic, little beetles land on the plastic and they go cast upside down on their backs and can't right themselves and die.
I don't really think they're after anything on the bales. I think they're just their brains are so shook from the headbanging with pecking in the ground that it's just a reflex action when they land on the bales.

Clareman

Something like this should sort it.

Say my name

moneyheer wrote: »

Never had much of a problem here but noticed when this year when after bales were barrel and 3d wraped no damage at all. Just wondering were birds mistaking the net wrap for worm through the plastic?

Oh they'll go at the barrel wrapped bales too. Give it enough time and you'll see them at them.

moneyheer

Bales could be out in field here up to week, haven't seen one pecked this year yet

hopeso

Clareman wrote: »

Something like this should sort it.

Not worth a damn for the gulls though........

older by the day

A few dabs of grease. I know it's been mentioned. If I can't draw them til the following day. It never failed

uck51js9zml2yt

I was told to put crosses and smily faces on mine.
Don't know if it keeps the crows off but it makes me smile when I see them.:)

Water John

I wonder do the bales in Drumshanbo get damaged by the birds?
https://www.rte.ie/news/connacht/2019/0629/1059231-stylish-silage/

gerryirl

older by the day wrote: »

A few dabs of grease. I know it's been mentioned. If I can't draw them til the following day. It never failed

just a dab on the top is it. youd have alot in by the time youd have a few hundred done. Job for the young lad I think.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

kay 9 wrote: »

How do you all keep birds from damaging bales whilst your bringing them in.
There's one field in particular that they're notorious and don't bother in other fields.
They damaged near 30 bales last year on me while I was moving others.
I shot about 9-10 of the bastids from the cab when bringing them in but it didn't help.
They were like yokes possessed.

I'd be very careful mentioning that part in bold, and that you are not caught shooting from the cab. Could land you in a spot of bother.

Do you have access to a gas banger? Lads around here are using them regularly, must be doing something. Just don't forget to turn it off after dusk

gerryirl

Manuel Hundreds Labyrinth wrote: »

I'd be very careful mentioning that part in bold, and that you are not caught shooting from the cab. Could land you in a spot of bother.

Do you have access to a gas banger? Lads around here are using them regularly, must be doing something. Just don't forget to turn it off after dusk

you could also shoot them out through the sun roof