xx&## birds on big bale silage

andybk

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Mendips Somerset
baled up some lovely clover ley thursday morning for pre lambing ewes , all wrapped up with 6 layers , was then left due to the rain ,to be picked up this morning , damn birds made holes in all the black bales , all the green/ white ones which was about half untouched , all patched up and stacked on end now in the stack ,
is this much of a problem , and what do you do ?
 

Gulli

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
we used to paint o and x's on the stack. supposed to confuse them so they dont land or something. seen people wrapping with a twin satellite wrapper using one black and one white roll, which i assume does the same job.

we just put it all in the pit now, saves spending all day swearing at the birds!
 

lim x

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Nottinghamshire
We had the same problem last year. Had to patch around a third of them and then once stacked i bought some of those childrens windmills, the sort they would stick in sandcastles, and i taped them to the top bales on the stacks. Looked a bit weird, but seemed to keep them off.
 

jdh

Member
Location
lecistershire
we put a bird scarer in the field until they are picked up, then we put a green net over the stack about a foot higher than the bails using scaffolding poles.
 
huge problem here 5/6 miles from the sea. I try and keep going until they are all moved after the baler, often all night. worst offenders are sea gulls then buzzards and owls at night with their claws then rooks!! they will all ruin bales yet time and time again i see bales left out for weeks.
 

Old Boar

Member
Location
West Wales
String a bit of old cassette tape to the end, so it flaps around and glitters. Strung between bales it hums and glitters and seems to work here. I get old tapes from charity shops, dont use your favourate tape!
 

Monty

Member
Lots of trees around us so lots of bird holes. Just have to get them stacked as quick as possible. A neighbour used to drop them off the wrapper on their ends to stop the birds but they perched on the edge and pecked a ring around the top of some of the bales.
 
we used to paint o and x's on the stack. supposed to confuse them so they dont land or something. seen people wrapping with a twin satellite wrapper using one black and one white roll, which i assume does the same job.

we just put it all in the pit now, saves spending all day swearing at the birds!
I always thought the two colours were so you could see both were being applied
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
we can leave bales out for weeks, only once had some trouble in one field, neighbour has lots of frouble with bales stacked in yard, they even stack a lot inside

I baled 2 fields last Wednesday, both have woods alongside and are about 1/4 mile apart at most. One has had most of the bales spattered in rook sh*te and quite a few bales that needed patching, the other field had been completely left alone. Can't figure that one out.:confused:
 
I have the same problem. My neighbours don't.B*****ds. Bird scarer best deterrent. Also if your can get your contractor to leave wrapped bales as close to a hedge as possible, the rooks never seem to attack them as much. The reason they attack them in the first place is the bugs which the wrap seems attract. Often wondered if fly spray or sheep dip would work though is suspect the former may damage the wrap.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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