Miner birds and Butcher birds keep attacking my aviary

[magna_elite]

Hi, I have a persistent problem with Miner birds and Butcher birds constantly attacking my aviary of zebra finches. They swoop in, hang onto the side of the aviary which drives my zebras nuts.

They're pretty bold and don't even care all that much if I am right there trying to shoo them off! I've even tried deterrents like cat cutouts and a fake owl (which moves in the wind) but to no avail.

Do you folks with outdoor aviaries have this problem?? If so, how do you keep these aggressors away?

[cindy]

On one of the Australian zebra facebook pages people were having issues with these birds literally working as a team to flush the zebras from one side of the cage to the other side where other butcher birds were waiting, then the birds pulled the finches through the holes. It was horrible.

Some run a finer mesh that is raised about an inch around the entire aviary or the top and the sides were covered. Others have large dogs that would scare the birds off. Others use water cannons to scare them off, only works if you are home all the time. If you are on facebook I can give you the group name and they can give you more suggestions.

[finchmix22]

What a pain ! I would think if you put a second layer of wire around the aviary, that is 2-3 inches away from the main wiring, they would not be able to reach the finches. However, if they are just scaring them, maybe an electrical security system that give a shock if they get too close. You'd run the wires on the bottom outside, middle outside and top. You need to keep it away from the main wiring, but it might work. Or, what about putting some food far away from the flight for the minor birds, to draw them away? Not sure if that would attract more or feed them so they aren't interested, but just brain storming here. Good Luck!

[Colt]

Took me forever to find/remember what this was but we carried them at our pet store. This should be pretty effective if you could get several and mount them in an array around the aviary so that the zebras don't set off the infra-red sensors but the predatory birds do.

The product is called:

Contech CRO101 Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler

It's available online from a lot of retailers. The reviews look good for it online. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars on Amazon and over 2000 reviews. There are videos, etc available when performing a Google search. This might be worth a try.

Edited to add: Some of the reviews literally had me laughing out loud at work. I never thought about you needing to turn it off before you approached the aviary as it would spray you too. Haha

[finchmix22]

That's funny. Sounds like a possible good idea. Of course, here in Texas, I'm more afraid of rats and snakes. UGh.

[magna_elite]

Cindy, yes I am on Facebook. Please let me know what the Facebook page is called. Thanks

[monotwine]

HI I feel your pain. I have Shrikes that are terrible. They kill by barely getting their beaks through my rather minimal wire and then with a broke neck the birds fall to the ground. Terrible. The only way I have solved it is to have an additional layer. I use black shade cloth on the back side of my aviary where it is not necessary for me to see through, and I have a layer of bird netting on the sides where I do want to see in. The netting is kept taunt, and is a bit away from the wire. The shrike has finally learnt to stay away most of the time, but when he is feeding young, they try their luck all the time. My birds have become wise to him and stay out of reach.

I find they swoop in from a surveying perch, so try not to have any of those handy, though its not easy in a garden setup. The only side of my aviary where the shrike does not attack from is the side which is 3m from my house wall. He tends not to like the tight quarters.

Some people have used electrical wire etc which would shock them, but not sure how exactly you would place it to ensure they got zapped.

[dutch]

magna_elite......did you solve the problem
I had a hawk attacking at day and night......set up the high pressure hose at night and sprayed him good.....never came back

Also had a butcher bird attacking a whole afternoon. ......finally had enough ..set up high pressure hose and knocked him to the ground........he also never returned

[wessel]

magna_elite

I mostly have blackbirds, blue tits and sparrows in my garden but sometimes my aviary gets attacked by magpies, crows and sparrowhawks, usually scaring them away is enough but sometimes that doesn't work and then I spray them with a water hose. I have a friend who has barn owls in their garden, and he has an electric fence around his aviary to scare them away. You could also put acrylic glass around it, that way you can still see the birds, but predators have no way to get to them.

[magna_elite]

No, I haven't solved the problem permanently yet.

The miner birds are highly intelligent and work together to attack. They are so brave they will swoop in and attack even if I am standing right next to the aviary! They really don't seem to care whether or not I am there!!

One day I had a tennis racket in my hand and sure enough, a miner bird swooped in and I instinctively took a swing like Federer with my tennis racket. I got him, and he fell to the ground. He was stunned momentarily before flying off. None of them returned for several days and I started to think I was finally victorious!

But my victory was short lived. They have since come back with reinforcements and they obviously remember me and my tennis racket because they don't attack when I am standing there, but as soon as I walk back into the house, they will swoop in immediately. It's like they are smart enough to wait for the exact moment I am gone!

I will try the water hose trick but last resort will be a clear perspex screen on the outside of the cage.

[MariusStegmann]

I have a problem with shrikes that mimics the sound that chicks make when they are being fed. The chicks hear that and think that a sibling is being fed on the other side of the mesh. They poke their heads through the mesh and that is when they get killed. Not a good sight to see, a perfect chick with the top of their heads missing.
Shrikes are a protected species in South Africa, and I would never harm them because they are also only trying to raise their young. However some of the older bird-keepers I know would think nothing of taking out an air-rifle and killing it, when they see it near their aviaries.
We get a kind of a plastic mesh in hardware stores here. It is similar to the steel mesh used for aviaries. What about putting that on as a double layer. with about a 5 cm gap between the the 2 layers. The butcher birds won't like landing on that stuff because it is soft and they will get entangled in it.