Joined: 25 Jan 2005 Posts: 5025 Location: Berkshire
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 4:57 pm Post subject: Do pigeons..............
Do pigeons eat young onion shoots ( or any other birds for that matter)
Was told by one "neighbour" on my allotment to grow them under netting to keep the birds off.
Another neighbour said not to bother, might loose one or two to blackbirds looking for worms etc.
Any advice
Dave
It's very rare to lose onion or garlic in this way although some books recomend that you cover them. I've never covered 'em and have hardly ever had any losses. Brassicas are the ones pigeons go for in a big way
Blacksmith
Joined: 25 Jan 2005 Posts: 5025 Location: Berkshire
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 5:17 pm Post subject:
Thanks for that tahir, lost all my sets a couple of years ago, but suspect it was "rodent" based damage.
Dave
I lost spring onion seedlings to starlings last year. I suspect that they weave them into their nests for the smell, whey seem to go for aromatic plants (like thyme, which they're a bugger for in my garden) to deter fleas.
JonO
Joined: 05 Mar 2005 Posts: 119 Location: South Birmingham
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 11:21 pm Post subject:
I know that our chickens ate the tips of my garlic plants but left them at that, guess they don't like garlic ! Maybe pigeons have the same idea of taste ?
I've heard that they'll pull them up out of curiosity. Never grown them myself and no one on our allotments nets them.
Tristan
Joined: 29 Dec 2004 Posts: 392 Location: North Gloucestershire
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 05 12:40 pm Post subject:
Sparrows will pull up the sets, haven't the foggiest why but they seem to get some sort of kick out of it! Pushing them in to the neck of the bulb helps if the soil isn't too wet.
We've got a pair of woodpigeons the size of turkeys, that virtually live in our garden they pounce on any brassicas.
Sounds like a job for an air rifle and a hot oven
I was thinking that. And I'm a vegetarian. You could serve them with cabbage and peas in a pleasing tribute...
We had some woodpigeon land in the garden the other day, seeing them where the chickens normally are was quite disturbing - they are huuuuuge. And our garden slopes uphill, I suspect even I could safely get them in those circumstances. It's just the problem with the small gardens and the neighbours
I've been tempted but am not sure on legality and don't posess the necessary firearms (what happened with the catapault leebu?)
Hmm, well so far as I know it might be the size/location of your garden that will cause the biggest problem (plus your skill/experience but you could solve that if you have a friend who knows what they're doing).
The exact rules escape me at the moment, but I believe you need to be a certain distance from public places, and you have to be especially careful that not even a pellet escapes your land.
Don't think woodpigeons have a season, and I think you can use a normal air rifle (ie not needing one with a firearms licence). I'm sure Joker or Deerstalker will be able to fill us in properly.
All in all probably not really possible, but nice to think of. You can always get a stick and practise your aim for the future
You could serve them with cabbage and peas in a pleasing tribute...
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