Farm pigeons

Have any of you used pigeon traps successfully on farm pigeons



I plan on using a bird/bat net to capture as many as possible in flight in to barn

Firearms out of question due to livestock

We have done all methods of removal over the years. You should pattern the birds behavior/flight patterns, feed/roost areas and find a building or a reasonable trap access area to mount the traps upon and pre bait you will be successful. Many farms that we have done find the birds preferring the silo tops for roosting/safety.

Bringing them down to frequenting pre baiting areas will work but I have found it takes some time to get them there. Each job is a bit different as will be the birds behavior. You will need some time for framing a platform for the traps to be mounted upon and away from livestock access and maintenance.

Netting is an option that can be coordinated with planning but that can be tricky at times depending upon the flock size. You will need help with that work.

As Bob has said, the fixed traps (use the larger sizes) have worked well. Pre-baiting is required for success. Don't get too antsy and activate your trap early. The harder they are hitting it the more birds you will pick up in the shortest amount of trapping time. We have had up to 50 birds per check, sometimes within an hour.

We also used a drop net system in the feed aisle of a dairy farm. The best drop we caught over 200 birds at once. It was a fairly involved system made of cables, pulleys, a net frame of PVC pipe, and two inch netting. Once set up, it was left in place for several years and we could just swing by and drop the net whenever populations got high enough that the farm wanted them addressed.

WE used this system as they had hired another group that used cannon nets, the birds were spooky, and there were "city" folk near the barns that kinda freaked when the cannons went off. The herdsman said he saw a drop in milk production for a day or do after the cannon guys were there as well.

While firearms may be out, pellet rifles may be your ticket. We removed 250+ pigeons from a site in about two hours under ideal conditions.

I had considered the pellet rifle for this, just think on e the farmer sees me do that. He's gonna say. "Why pay you, I can do that, or the kid down the road can".

I think I will reserve the rifle for the stragglers

Thx guys

The reason you are being hired is that the farmer (or anyone that hires you for that matter) doesn't have the skill set, desire or in many cases the time to deal with the problem so the only way they'd wonder why they hired you to perform services would be from cheap looking equipment and/or low production. Regardless of the reason, if you feel it could be a problem look at how to address it instead of not using the proper tool for the job.

In regard to shooting pigeons, first off, look at your equipment. Would you be using quality gear or would it be something that looks like it came from Walmart's bargain bin? Even when I was using a "cheap" springer (RWS 34 w/ 4x fixed scope) I would always drop in the sales pitch that I use a $600 air rifle, which is what I paid back in 2000, (today, that could be dropped down to $200 for Gamo and Benjamin air guns) which ended most of the "I can do it myself" statements as they won't invest that much money into a tool they only use a couple of times a year at most. These days, I honestly tell them I use a $1,500 - $2,200 shooting system with a $800 night vision system when needed. Again, this stops any "I'll just buy a cheap air rifle and do it myself" comments. Then I do my best to show them what I use. If they still had doubts, those go away quickly as there's no question that I've a bit of dollars tied up with the gear. Lastly, when they see the performance of the equipment at 40, 50, 80 yards and longer they understand why I spent the money I did.

Next, look at what you can realistically expect to do and the time frame it may take. If you're working at a feed lot or milking farm they need the birds gone today and they don't care how you do it. You need to ask yourself if it will be acceptable to have traps that may need up to 4 weeks or longer of prebaiting time to work, how many birds can the trap hold and how many traps and trap sites will be required to adequately control the problem.

Then look at what the bird pressure is (high, medium, low), the time of day the birds are on the property, and if they roost there at night along with how big the roost site is. This more than anything will establish how you need to address the problem. If there aren't a lot of birds during the day, trapping is most likely the best way to go as it won't be financially feasible for you to sit around for several hours if only a couple birds are present during the day unless you're doing it just to get some practice in or test gear. Also, if only a couple of birds are roosting on the property at night, it won't pay to make a night trip. However, if a large number of birds are present during the day and/or night, then you can do an effective shooting program.

In most cases the best solution isn't just one control method but rather a combination of them. When the population warrants it, I recommend doing a shooting program first as it is the fastest method for knocking down the population and then allowing the trapping program to work on the "stragglers". When possible, you can even add other services such as exclusion, auditory/visual harassment, and nest removal to further strengthen your control services.

Yes we have several people at work that use pigeon traps 365 days a year with great success . A few decoy birds in the trap should not be over looked.

Maybe they are using the barn to nest at night. If you go after dark, you may be able to rack up numbers quickly with the rifle. This way, if you tell the farmer the best time for you to shoot is between 1 and 2 am, it adds value to the service. Its no longer "I could shoot pigeons with a bb gun, or have the kids down the road do it" to "I work all day, no way in (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) Im getting up at midnight to shoot pigeons, and I dont want the kids in the barn at that hour".

Night shoots are very sucsessful if it is in fact a nesting sight.