House sparrows, blackbirds, magpies, starlings and several more birds aren’t a typical invasive species – but to any livestock operation, they’re detrimental.
Virginia Tech Extension specialist Jeremy Daubert says feedlot operators deal with birds year-round, but winter is the worst time of year. “Birds concentrate where the food is,” Daubert says. “Especially at beef operations.”
Nebraska-based feedlot operator Shane Symons notices the prevalent bird problem increases from October to March. “I would like to do something about them, but the wintertime is so busy at a feedlot,” Symons says. “I start to get frustrated, and then they are gone again.”
Symons says he doesn’t really think about the costs and impacts the birds are having on the operation. “It’s hard to quantify the damage,” Symons says. “But if you only knew, a person wouldn’t wait too long to do something about it.”
National Wildlife Research biologist George Linz says the European starling is one of the world’s top 100 most invasive species. According to Linz, there is no question that starlings are probably the bird to be concerned about.
“A thousand starlings can eat up to around 40 pounds of food a day; that’s a lot of food,” Linz says. “Depending on the price of corn, or whatever is going into the feed, that’s costly.”
Birds like corn and grain just like any other animal and, according to Daubert, a bird can eat a pellet six times as fast as grass feed. Daubert discourages producers from using pellets just because of this reason.
“Just try not to have feed available to them,” Daubert says. “Sometimes it’s not feasible, but really it’s the only successful way.”
Only so much can be done to store feed safely covered away from birds. At some point, the corn has to fill the bunk to take care of the cattle, and that’s when the birds peck away at your bottom line.
“They are lined up on the bunk eating the corn,” Symons says. “They know there is food in there.”
Symons says he doesn’t see a lot of birds eating the stored feed, which he leaves out in the open, but he believes the bunk filled with processed corn makes it convenient for birds to consume a lot of feed.
“It’s probably expensive to feed all those things,” Symons says.
How to solve the problem
According to Linz, if a feedlot owner has a serious bird problem, it’s very difficult not to use a lethal method to chase the birds away. Linz suggests chemicals are most effective and a popular method.
“A chemical that’s used is DRC-1339 (Starlicide),” Linz says. “When it’s used by wildlife service people who are trained to use the product, it’s effective and safe.”
Linz says the chemicals used to eradicate the birds are targeted for blackbirds and starlings, and mammals are safe to eat it. The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) is willing to send wildlife service specialists who are trained to help livestock operations with invasive birds.
“They will come assess the situation, and they are trained to take care of it,” Linz says. “It’s effective and it really cleans the place up, and production is better.”
Linz points out that once the population has decreased, the feedlot won’t have the same problem for a few years. “They are creatures of habit, and they know where the best food is, so if you kill these birds, it takes a while for other birds to find the feedlot again,” Linz says. “It’s not elegant, but it’s effective.”
Propane exploders, firecracker projectiles and ultra-sonic sounds are used to chase away birds, but it won’t be as effective with a large number of birds, Linz says. The birds just get used to noise after a while.
“In some situations, you can net openings so starlings can’t get in,” Linz says. “But I am finding as the years go by, operations are bigger and bigger, and it’s very difficult to exclude birds with netting.”
Richard Nielson, who operates a feedlot in central Utah, says he isn’t a fan of poisons and he won’t use them. “I’m more tender-hearted,” Nielson says. “If you put poison out for birds, you don’t know when they are going to die, and next thing you know they pile up on someone’s lawn.”
Nielson, who is an avid sporting clay shooter, uses a shotgun to get rid of the birds. “I am a feedlot guy, and we always have birds around,” Nielson says. “But I don’t have a big problem with it because I own firearms.”
Nielson says the small feedlot doesn’t have a very big problem year-round, just from January to March. He is vigilant and deals with the problem as it comes and, after a couple shots from the shotgun, the birds stay away for a while.
“You know how birds go south for the winter – well, Utah isn’t south,” Nielson says. “We have so much winter here, they go on past us.”
Nielson has a small compact area with a pond and trees near the feedlot and he says, at certain times, there can be at least a dozen bald eagles. “As long as those birds are around, the other birds stay away,” Nielson says. “After the snow melts, they leave and go terrorize my wife’s garden.”
Realizing the health risks
Linz, who has conducted many years of research for the USDA-APHIS, has found more and more evidence showing that birds (especially starlings) harbor foodborne pathogens. According to Linz, starlings can migrate as far as 500 miles.
“They move from feedlot to feedlot,” Linz says. “They move around the foodborne bacteria.”
Linz and his research staff say strong evidence is showing that if the bird population is controlled, the amount of foodborne pathogens they are carrying is reduced – creating a safer environment.
“There is not a lot of push-back from environmental groups for using chemicals to reduce starling populations,” Linz says. “Because number one, they are invasive – and number two, they use the same nesting as woodpeckers and bluebirds.”
Symons, who feeds nearly 25,000 head of cattle, has never seen the disease aspect of birds affecting his feedlots. But it’s always smart to be aware of the health risks.
“The birds poop all over everything,” Symons says. “I just don’t really think about the impact they are having.” 
Jamie Keyes is a freelance writer based in Utah.
PHOTO: Losses can add up when a thousand starlings can eat up to 40 pounds of food a day. Photo provided by USDA-APHIS.
