Chicken repellant?

August 2, 2005 2:37 PM

How do you keep a chicken out of a tree?

No, it's not a riddle. If you live in a Latino-populated area, you may understand my roommates and my annoyance with the neighbor's rooster. No one else in the immediate area seems to care, but my poor roommate who has a window a few feet from the cock-a-doodle-dooing branch does. We have ruled out killing it, so the answer now is to lessen the annoyance and keep them/him out of the tree (which would have a double bonus of not killing our grass with their shit).

This morning I dreamt of smearing the branches with petroleum jelly or something like that, but that's just speculation and may require too much vigilence. What else might work?

posted by hellbient to Pets & Animals (16 answers total)

Cut off the branches it is perching on? If you don't mind being pecked at, do it while the bird is resting on them so it gets the picture. :-)

No perch = no bird (at least in your window). Maybe with some luck it'll hang out near the neighbours window instead.
posted by shepd at 2:43 PM on August 2, 2005

Chicken wire? It should keep chickens out, as well as in.
posted by ArsncHeart at 2:44 PM on August 2, 2005

Response by poster: oh yeah, the other problem is it's not our tree - it's grown over the fence. I've trimmed a few branches off of it, but I assume it's legal to cut the branches that violate our airspace. Unfortunately, that wouldn't really solve the problem, as there are plenty of branches on the neighbors side that are still close to the window. Plus, I'd hate to take it out on the beautiful peach tree.

And the issue of blocking their path is tricky as well. The chickens hover on the branches over our yard via the tree in our other neighbor's back yard. So if we were to put up chicken wire, it wouldn't be in our yard, but both of our neighbor's yards.
posted by hellbient at 3:01 PM on August 2, 2005

Chickens can fly and are pretty good at overcoming small obstacles.

What you need to do is to keep the chicken from roosting there in the first place. If you continually remove the roster at dusk before it sleeps, it will eventually decide to roost somewhere else. Pull the chicken off the branch and put it into your neighbors yard. Chickens have a set place to sleep, however if you get him off the tree consistently enough he'll pick a new neighbor.

If you are really annoyed, talk to your neighbor and ask him to keep his rooster off your yard! Generally it is illegal to keep poultry in most urban areas.
posted by phatboy at 3:04 PM on August 2, 2005

Response by poster: Hmmm...yes, maybe squirting them with a squirtgun at the perching hour will do it...worth a "shot".
posted by hellbient at 3:07 PM on August 2, 2005

What about this? It says for large areas like branches, you can spray it on. Or maybe this, since you can't be there with your hose all the time. And this looks a little spendy, but if all else fails, might be worth it.
posted by Specklet at 3:41 PM on August 2, 2005

Is it even legal to keep roosters in your locale? My friend is looking into getting chickens, and there's a law here that says you can only have female chickens, not roosters, within our city limits. If talking to your neighbors ends up failing as an option, you could maybe get their rooster taken away if it's illegal.
posted by matildaben at 3:47 PM on August 2, 2005

Livestock is usually illegal in urban areas, but chickens are usually legal. Since the idea is to produce eggs, roosters are usually legal also, though the number owned is sometimes limited.

Can you talk friendlylike to them and ask to keep the rooster penned in the wee hours? (The authorities have bigger "noise pollution" things to worry about than a rooster, and will likely do nothing. I know that's the case in my neighborhood.)

Who owns the trees? Could they be trimmed to provide less of a good crowing spot without chopping off all the branches on your side?

Otherwise, squirt gun, hose, small pebbles, etc. to get it to feel less comfy on its perch. Good luck.
posted by desuetude at 3:52 PM on August 2, 2005

I have no way of knowing if this would work for chickens, but my friends had an apartment where the pigeons were annoying. They bought a large plastic owl made just for the purpose. Worked very well. Hang a couple of those nearby, eh?
posted by Mo Nickels at 4:19 PM on August 2, 2005

Mo Nickels idea: install a predator. But the owl won't work very well in the dark because it doesn't move.

Hang some tin cans or bottles on strings so that they will move when the little bastard roosts. That should freak him right out.
posted by snsranch at 5:46 PM on August 2, 2005

Hens produce eggs just fine on their own without roosters around. They just don't get fertilized into baby chicks.
posted by matildaben at 5:57 PM on August 2, 2005

desuetude: You don't need a rooster to produce eggs, they are just needed for chicks. Where I live, livestock is illegal, but there is a specific exemption for chickens. There was a push for rooster banning, but there are so many people around here (honolulu) that love them that it couldn't pass. For honolulu at least, there is a legal limit to how many chickens you can have on a residential lot (2). You might want to look into that.

I have two hens who I love dearly who produce wonderful eggs, don't crow, eat cockroaches, fertalize the yard, and lay nice eggs. I honestly don't know why more people don't own chickens. They are territorial and won't even think of leaving the yard.
posted by phatboy at 6:02 PM on August 2, 2005

Response by poster: well, i was all geared up for the squirting, but they don't seem to be in the tree yet, and it's 10:30.

Here's the whole cock and caboodle:
About 4 years ago, there was a proud bold rooster, and he was really annoying. And stupid - if we accidentally left a light on he'd get confused and start crowing at 2am. At some point, the then roommate stopped complaining, so we figured he got used to it.

Then, for a year or so, there was no rooster. Everything was cool. Then, in came a less proud and bold replacement rooster. When he first came on the scene, he could barely crow, he sounded pathetic. Over the course of a year and a half, he's learned to become more annoying, like his predecessor.

And the owners are a real mystery. It used to be some ancient guy that we thought the chickens might have been one of his few pleasures, so we kinda let it go. But he'd feed them rotting vegetables right on the other side of our fence. It smelled and attracted flies. Like the first rooster, that guy seems to not be around anymore. I have no idea who takes care of them now. I never see anyone out in the 6 foot weed patch that is their backyard. Long story short - our neighbors suck.

FWIW, I think roosters are illegal in Brooklyn, last we checked. I could care less about hens, god bless em.

I'll try any and all of these suggestions, if that's what it takes, and let you all know what works.
*runs off to eBay and types in "Supersoaker"*
posted by hellbient at 7:59 PM on August 2, 2005

Chickens and roosters are pretty dim, but they can be conditioned, so the supersoaker suggestions are actually very good, but only if you are willing to spend a serious amount of time teaching the animal to get out of the tree.

It may or may not work for birds, but I got rid of cats using these two methods:

Put thorny branches where you don't want the animals to go (they won't hurt themselves, but will want to stay away)

Or liberally spread pepper - gets rid of dogs too, for obvious reasons.
posted by Grensgeval at 3:10 AM on August 3, 2005

Um, my bad. Should'a cross-checked my "logic" with "facts" regarding roosters. I suppose my assumption came from the greeting I get from my neighborhood rooster every morning as I walk to the bus, who crows incessantly for hours. (This may be a case of rooster mind-control.)
posted by desuetude at 6:09 AM on August 3, 2005

On the non-lethal side of things, I echo the garden hose/Supersoaker suggestion. But, you're going to have to be very consistent with that. It's going to have to be every night, until he gets it.

I know that you've ruled out killing it. But, if your neighbors don't actually exist, I'd consider it. A pellet rifle (NOT BB gun) shot to the head should dispatch it quite quickly and easily.

Pellet guns make very little noise, can be had for as little as $50, are generally legal for everyone over 18 (although I don't know about Brooklyn), and have enough power that they will most definitely take care of any fowl.
posted by Netzapper at 7:31 AM on August 3, 2005