Birds in the Horse Stables

April 28, 2017 1238

If you own a horse, the question of what to do about birds in the stable has probably crossed your mind at least once. The answer to this question depends on not only your own personal preference, but also on how much you’re prepared to deal with the possibility of salmonella, regardless of how remote.

Nesting birds in the stable can be great when it comes to keeping the number of insects under control, but could their droppings be putting your horse at risk? Here are just some of the main reasons why allowing birds to nest in the stables might not be a good idea.

Bird Waste:

Bird faeces may be nothing to you when you shovel a ton of horse manure out of the stable daily, but at least that’s (usually!) on the floor. Bird droppings, on the other hand, gets everywhere – on the rafters, in your horse’s water, clumping in their haylage, or even landing splat on their back for you to scrub off. Cheers, pigeons!

In small amounts bird faeces won’t harm your horse (although care should be taken with regards to foals and young horses), however in large numbers bird faeces can result in Salmonella (which can be deadly) and Coccidiosis.

Bird Mites:

By letting birds into the barn, you’re increasing the risk of mites being spread from them. Not only will mite-infested birds infect your horse with the mites, they can also infect any cats or dogs at the barn, including any pets that you bring along from home when you visit. In some cases, the mites could even be spread to you.

Birds in Water Buckets:

Horse owners who allow birds to nest in their barn commonly find dead birds floating in their horse’s water buckets.

Structural Damage to the Stables:

Not only does having birds around increase the risk of mites and salmonella for your horse, it also puts your barn itself at risk. Since some birds create their nests with saliva, mud and other sticky ingredients that will cause damage to the structure of your barn over time. What’s more, these nests can also clog drains and gutters (leading to water damage), birds can destroy insulation and their droppings can corrode farm equipment.

How to control Birds around your stables/barn/farm.

If you’re experiencing large number of birds in and around your horse stables it’s time to take matters into hand. Firstly you will need to identify which bird is causing you problems. Check out our pest bird identification page, as the species of bird will determine which method of control will be most effective. Call National Bird Control fix the issue for you.

Depending on the bird species, we may employ:

Strategies to reduce the attractiveness of your location for the bird to roost or nest using bird spikes, netting, energised systems or even ultrasonic systems.
Manual Nest removal
Trapping
Lethal methods – depends on species and legal restrictions.

Controlling birds around buildings is difficult, and you may need to use a combination of techniques. In most cases, it is necessary to hire a professional, such as National Bird Control to deal with the problem.

National Bird Control offer the latest bird control technologies and best practice procedures from bird control experts around the world. With many years’ experience in the pest control field, only National Bird Control will custom-design an effective, humane and permanent solution to your pest bird problems based on your location, the pest bird and other extenuating circumstances.