The Department of Environment and Natural Resources offers a free public service to remove infestations of feral birds, including feral chickens, pigeons, and crows.
How do I report a feral bird problem?
You can submit a request to have feral birds removed from your property. After receiving your request, a technical officer will come to your property to assess the nature of your infestation and determine the most efficient method(s) to address the problem.
Methods include a variety of traps, nets, licensed shooting, and sedative bait.
Why do feral birds need to be controlled?
In Bermuda, the once domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus) has now established an extensive breeding population in the wild. They are referred to as feral. Feral chickens cause destruction of habitat, damage crops and gardens. They are a source of noise nuisance and potential disease vectors impacting human health.
Other invasive bird species in Bermuda include feral pigeons (Columba livia) and the American crow (Corvus brachyrhychos). These invasive species compete with our native and endemic bird species and are also potential disease vectors.
Feral Chickens cause damage to Farmer’s Crops
Collectively, farmers are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in crop damage caused by feral chickens, crows and pigeons. Every farmer in every parish has at some time been negatively impacted by these losses. Feral chickens feed on the tender green leaves of newly germinated crops, stripping them bare causing the plant to die or become severely stunted. It’s not unusual to find a field of young broccoli, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, beans or bok choy completed destroyed by chickens. Feral chickens also feed on maturing fruits and vegetables causing damage to crops such as bananas, strawberries, cucumbers, carrots, corn, peppers and tomatoes. The loss to the farmer is not only the crop but also the seed planted, the fertilizer used, as well as the time and labor involved getting the plant to the stage where it was destroyed. These losses along with those already faced by farmers from inclement weather, pests, disease and theft cause great concern for Bermuda’s food security.
Crows can damage crops in several ways. Crows peck at maturing corn as well as poke holes in cantaloupe and watermelon. They can also be a nuisance pest by pulling up seedlings and transplants as they casually walk down field rows, looking for an attached seed or grub. In dry weather they have been known to pick holes in the plastic drip irrigation lines to get a drink of water. This can lead to a huge waste of water and a large water bill for the farmer.
Pigeon damage is usually seen in newly ploughed and seeded fields where pigeons come and search for seeds to eat. This causes patchy crop stands and a diminished harvest. Pigeons also descend by the dozens into the feeding troughs of cows causing the skittish cows to back away while the pigeons eat the feed and defecate in the troughs. The cow’s eating habits are disrupted and will reflect in less milk produced when not eating sufficiently. The loss of feed and reduced milk production is a double whammy for the dairy farmer.
Tips on keeping feral birds out of your yard
It may not always be possible for us to remove all the feral chickens, pigeons or crows in your area. However, here are some tips for how you can keep them from coming into your yard.
Use trash bins: Put your trash bags into bins with lids to prevent birds and other pests from getting into them.
Feed your pets inside: Do not leave bowls of cat or dog food laying around outside. This will attract feral birds and other pests into your yard.
Do not feed the birds: Providing a regular source of food will encourage pest bird species to return to your property.