Hello all!
I’ve recently put up a barn on my property and at first, all was well. Snug, cozy, and very convenient. But now that spring has sprung, my water buckets appear to be deathtraps for the resident barn swallows. Short of filling water buckets all the way to the brim, or nonstop bucket monitoring (not terribly feasible with my real job), is there anything I can do to stem the suicide swallows?
Is there any way that you could put water out for the swallows in a flatter container, or put a birdbath in?
Could you put some sort of float in the buckets that the swallows could access and get out? We’ve had problems of squirrels drowning in water tanks and attached a chain to a hole drilled in the top of the tank so they can get out. Good luck!
You could also try creating hay string escape ladders for them - free material that you can easily replace if it gets yucky.
I had this problem with squirrels in the trough :-/ Various attempts at different ladders to allow them to climb out never worked, but a shallow feed pan on the ground next to the trough did. I just filled it every time I filled the trough.
Might work for the birds, too?
wow - ive never had a barn swallow drown in my waterers. And I’ve got 34 stalls. I do see them drinking out of the puddles, but never a bucket. Are you in a very dry area?
I have never had that issue either-- in 40 years of horsekeeping! My barn has 3 resident nests, full each year, that I love to see them produce little bug eaters.
OP- do you mean adult birds or babies? Are you sure they’re swallows? (sorry if that sounded condescending, just trying to get all the info!) I suggest a low pan of water or a muddy spot you make with a hose. It could be they are trying to “make” mud for their nests by dipping into your buckets. Do you live in a dry climate?
I would try leaving some water bowls out and see if they’ll use that instead.
Nets across the top of the buckets? Bird netting to keep them out of the barn?
I spent 30 minutes today chasing baby birds in the barn. I knew I would need the stalls for severe weather and the baby birds decided to leave the nest today and were cuddled up on the stall floor. I finally caught them all and deposited them in a bird cage and relocated them to the hay room. I left the cage open. Hopefully either mommy flies in with food or they find the cage door.
I don’t want squished baby bird in my stalls and I certainly didn’t feel comfortable tossing them out in severe weather. Mommy bird nested in the sliding barn door again this year. I think I should just go buy some birdhouses. I don’t want them nesting in the barn door again. These are house wrens.
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Water buckets are death traps to baby birds that are poor fliers. The baby birds hit the wall, slide down and land in the bucket. My buckets were left empty for this reason… Hope the horses aren’t in their stalls long enough to need water.
We had tornado warnings tonight so the horses are out.
Put a block of wood in bucket, or leave a piece of rope tied to handle and draped into bucket.
I use plastic chain in all my water buckets. Get it long enough to float on top as the water level decreases. Cable tie a link to nearby fence or bucket handle. The links are big, like 3 inches or so. Home Depot sells. Horses haven’t been bothered and I don’t find dead rats.
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