Looking for ideas to keep birds out of tortoise food and water

[JohnnyB65]

I knew the birds were eating the food, but I just found out today that they are bathing in the water as well. Nominally I would not care, but the birds are splashing all the water out of the container. I thought the tortoise was drinking a lot and now I’m not sure if he is getting enough water.

 

[lismar79]

I have a pond net over my encloser. Keeps birds and leaves out.

 

[JohnnyB65]

I have a pond net over my encloser. Keeps birds and leaves out.

I haven't thought about that. Is it easy to get through to fill with food and water?

 

[lismar79]

Mine is attached to a big dog kennel and my house so I can walk under it. The netting size (hole sizes) come in a lot of sizes. So I would gues you could reach your hands in just fine.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Small chicken wire like fencing works too. I've never had a problem with birds though...I figured they didn't want the tort greens...

 

[Yvonne G]

A big scarey cat.

 

[mike taylor]

A fake owl and netting of some sort . If all that doesn't work a 20gauge works pretty good . Kidding don't shoot birds unless of course you're going to eat them .

 

[WillTort2]

Just build a wire frame above the water bowl; either hang it from a overhead tree or bury a post and attach the frame to the post. Most birds will not enter a area that has no easy exit. You may need to put sides on it to prevent all birds from using it. Just leave 2 small entries for the tort.

 

[JohnnyB65]

Just build a wire frame above the water bowl; either hang it from a overhead tree or bury a post and attach the frame to the post. Most birds will not enter a area that has no easy exit. You may need to put sides on it to prevent all birds from using it. Just leave 2 small entries for the tort.

You gave me an idea. I have 3’x5’ frame with wire mesh I made for sifting rocks out of soil that I could use for now. It’s not that great looking, but I can easily lift it up for access to the water and food containers so it might just be the ticket except for the looks. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

The bird netting reminded me of a peach tree that used to be almost exactly where the water is now and I also had a lot of bird problems with the peaches. I never could get the bird netting to work over the peach tree, but it might not be too bad without the tree.

Oh I already have a plastic owl which is useless because they poop all over it. LOL

 

[Maro2Bear]

How about a few bird baths placed around the garden? Even a few extra larger saucers placed in various elevated locations will prob resolve your issue as well. This can be done right away while you determine your optimal solution. Heck, even a few more saucers for your tort can't hurt!

 

[ascott]

How about a few bird baths placed around the garden? Even a few extra larger saucers placed in various elevated locations will prob resolve your issue as well.

Was my first thought as well...followed up by making a shallow concrete wallow outside of the enclosures---add clean water each day and you will have birds bathing in there instead of the tortoise enclosure.....had to do this here...between the black birds, starlings and the ravens....they would all drop into the tortoise enclosures to partake of the water....so I struck a deal to supply a good watering hole for the community and they agreed to leave the tortoise water alone....lol...well, the quail and the torts do well out of the same waterers....

 

[JohnnyB65]

I do have a bird bath that I could put there, but I have a Pond Waterfall within 2 ft of the tortoises food that they use to use and they still want in the torts water.

I tried using an old gate to keep the birds away, but they would just hop underneath

 

[ascott]

Likely because the water in the enclosure is on the ground/steady....and is the tortoise water dish is a more protected area---I mean, if you were a bird and looked around (guessing of course----kinda being a bird brain, bum bum bup, could not stop my fingers....anyways, I jest) would you be better shielded from aerial assaults and such???? Perhaps there are little bugs in the still tortoise water that they like?

 

[JohnnyB65]

... Perhaps there are little bugs in the still tortoise water that they like?

Perhaps, when I pulled apart the old concrete blocks to expand it, I found an infestation of "Water Bugs ?". They look more like Coach Rroaches to me, but everyone has told me they are water bugs. Also when I picked up the water container there were a lot of baby water bugs underneath it, but I've never seen them out in the daylight and of course the bird aren't out at night.
I know the birds like the food and probably take a bath after eating.

 

[LLLReptile]

Definitely consider flat water dishes outside the tortoise area - several people around here in SoCal actually leave out bird baths and other sources of water for the local wildlife as a way to keep rabbits etc from chewing through irritation tubing. Birds love the baths, and some folks even see hawks and other less common animals come to enjoy the moisture.

The bird mesh is also a good idea - between the mesh and offering a bird bath with still water, that would likely eliminate your problem!

-Jen

 

[JohnnyB65]

Thanks Jen,
I temporally used my rock sifting box to cover it for today and have been keeping an eye on it. I have to say that I have not seen any birds and I even filled the food container with Rep-Cal Tortoise Food which the birds like.

I think I’m going to buy some bird netting, but I need to come up with a plan for a frame that works for the area and be easily moved to provide full access when needed. If I make it high enough to walk under the birds will fly under it and I’m not quite ready to enclose the entire area. I might even have some stored away from my peach tree days to experiment with.

 

[ascott]

I also noticed that once I put down a few water sources...the cactus here have been chewed on less by the rabbits...well, that and the cats around her have become premium rabbit hunters...once in awhile the cats will leave me a "lucky rabbit foot" on the porch....I certainly know that there was no luck for the rabbit....ugh...

 

[JohnnyB65]

A little off topic, but the rabbits foot reminded me of a story. They used to sell rabbets feet in the stores as charms when I was a kid and I bought one after finding a dollar on the sidewalk on my way home from school. I stopped along the way to pet a dog that I petted every day and when he smelled my new lucky charm, he open his month all the way and bit not only the foot, but took a huge chunk out of my hip.

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't know if its been said before (too lazy to read the whole thread) but some people who have fruit orchards hang strips of aluminum in the trees. The wind moves the strips and that discourages the birds.

 

[JohnnyB65]

I don't know if its been said before (too lazy to read the whole thread) but some people who have fruit orchards hand strips of aluminum in the trees. The wind moves the strips and that discourages the birds.

A few years ago I planted a new lawn in October and the birds were eating all my seed. It was close to Halloween and I bought some cheap ghosts at the Dollar Store to scare off the birds. It worked for the most part until they figured it out.