A technical question about cockatoos.

[wally]

OK, here's a technical question for you technical people. I have an orchard with several kilometres of poly pipe raised off the ground for irrigation. Sulphur-crested Cockatoos like to perch on it, and then for amusement they proceed to vandalise everything within reach, leaving the pipe full of holes and sprinklers pulled apart. This requires an enormous investment in time to repair constantly. So I figured that if I spray something onto the pipe that they find unpleasant then they'll choose to leave it alone. I'm therefore looking for suggestions on the best product for this purpose. I recently did a trial with CRC TAC2 Adhesive Lubricant. It was nice and tacky when it went on but I was surprised to find that the recent heavy rain has all but washed it off. Whatever I use needs to be slippery or tacky, not wash off in rain or run off in hot weather. I'm thinking of trying belt lube next. Any other suggestions?

[isuzutoo-eh]

Sikaflex?

[mick88]

Maybe spray some "lead" out of a 12 gauge!
That may do the trick.


Cheers, Mick

[Pedro_The_Swift]

how about marine bearing grease?

would like to think it would be non toxic whatever you end up with,,

[discoteck]

What about runing 2 strands of fencing wire across the top 1 earthed to ground and the other to a electric fence module, then when they come to perch...zapo!

Cheers Adam.

[Blknight.aus]

silocone spray

or motorbike chain lube.

[PhilipA]

How about this?

Hot Foot Bird Repellent in South Brisbane 4101 QLD - Get a Quote for Trade & Professional Services (http://www.smartbuild.com.au/business-listing/hot-foot-bird-repellent/south-brisbane/qld)
Regards Philip A

[Don 130]

This might sound stupid, but it worked on another destructive parrot, the kea, in NZ, and it's cheap but may be a bit time consuming. Tie some inflated kids party balloons to the lines. They see the new toy, peck it and it blows up in their face. Big fright. Might be worth a try.
Don.

[RR P38]

Im not so sure about using all these toxic remedies on an orchard.

Replace the PVC with pipe copper/Gal.......expensive.
Can you run fishing line above the PVC so they cant land......if they do they will do this in as well i guess.

Can you cover the PVC with sock?.......expensive?
Stick the PVC in the ground with pop up sprinklers.

Talk to the Boss Cocky:angel:

[goingbush]

Try a Border Collie

problem solved

[lotsmaw]

Sure am hoping someone comes up with a solution to this one.

I have 27kms of drip line on my property and hundreds of cockys in the area on any day.

I chase them out of the place on my quad, so does my wife, I strategically fire the shotgun (I would never hit one of course - they are protected, unlike we farmers) and my dog chases them.

I have seen them strip an acre of a vineyard on one day - just for fun because there is no food in it for them. I have seen one sitting on a gas gun in the neighboring orchard when it was firing. The bird must have been deaf.

The best defence I have worked out is physical presence and perseverence and also to hope that somebody plants something up the road from you that is more interesting for them.

Good luck,

Bill

[PhilipA]

I recall talking to a fruit orchardist once about the bs and him telling me they were impossible to deter.
He even shot some and hung them in the trees , and the live ones then came and played on/with the corpses.

Around where I live I am in tall forest , and I feed the King parrots , Cuckoo doves, white headed pigeons, and the thugs (rainbow lorikeets).

The cockys get interested sometimes and I had a super soaker to blast them. They seem to finally get the message and the lorikeets will drive them away by biting their feet. But let down your guard and you will be having breakfast on the deck, and suddenly feel a presence and look up to find one standing a foot from you on the table , saying aren't I cute?
NO YOU ARE NOT BLOODY CUTE.
So maybe the answer is to encourage rainbow lorikeets with some sunflower seeds on the pipes , and they will chase the cockys away.
Regards Philip A

[OffTrack]

You could try to get in touch with Ian Temby at Dept. of Sustainablility and Environment, He was based at their Box Hill Office (Vic) last time I spoke to him. Ian is a bit of a guru on these matters.

Box Hill Office*-*Department of Sustainability and Environment*(Victoria Online) (http://www.vic.gov.au/contactsandservices/directory/?ea0_lfz99_120.&officeLocation&94489e87-72ff-47cf-9087-80c4dfac2c31)

Cockatoo - Department of Primary Industries (http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-animals/reducing-cockatoo-damage)

cheers
Paul

[austastar]

My Grandfather used to have a pair of V planks about 3m long with grain in the groove, and a shot gun mounted at one end.
A length of string to the house activated the trigger.
Not too sure that it would be allowed these days though.

Our local council puts 150mm long wire spikes on top of street lamps to deter seagulls landing on them.

cheers

[Mike_S]

I'll just add caution to applying anything greasy / oily to the pipe. If it's poly then you may find it'll leech into the pipe and into the water, may not do you any harm but it'll cause the pipe to fail over time.

I'm a clean water pipelines engineer by 'trade' and any kind of ground contamination of a chemical / petroleum nature we have to lay barrier pipe. It's surprising just how fast anything petroleum based can eat through a plastic pipe.

[gusthedog]

Unfortunately the only economical way to rid yourself of the problem is to get a permit and shoot them. As many have stated, all of the tricks eventually do not work - the cockey's will either get used to them or ignore them.

Again unfortunately, once you start controlling them, you have to keep controlling them - ie you have to do it each year from now on. You cannot shoot some and hope the others get the message. And you must do it each year they come through. This practice is used throughout Australia in many areas.

When I went to Uni back in 1999 and studied Parks at CSU, this was the message from the head lecturer in the science faculty. Unless some new research has shown otherwise, unfortunately it may be the only solution. I am not advocating animal cruelty and I have worked in the environmental field for over 10 years (for you nay sayers!).

Sometimes Agriculture and nature clash and sometimes agriculture wins.

[blitz]

I think the idea of 2 wires close together attached to an electric fence is a good one well worth a try on a section of the polly and if it works then do the whole lot

you could even tape / cable tie the wire to the poly so that when they grab the poly as they land wammo - cheap and I think it would be effective

[Bigbjorn]

Sulphurs are very intelligent. Supposed to be smarter than dogs. They can mostly and quickly work out how to circumvent repellent devices. Witness the one sitting on the scaring gun. They can do amazing damage with those hooked beaks. The beaks can also do the most delicate work. I have seen them sit on a pea trellis and hold a pod of peas in one foot whilst opening the pod, and then peeling an individual pea to expose and eat the two halves. DO NOT FEED THEM!!!!!! They will be waiting for you and chew **** out of anything on your porch whilst waiting for room service. They do not like wedge tail eagles. A possible solution is to stake out some road kill, wallabiroos, hogs, etc. for the eagles and the sulphurs usually leave when the eagles arrive to deal with the carcasses.

[Titch101]

I wonder if something like this would work if sprayed along the pipeline?
Www.predatorpee.com (http://Www.predatorpee.com)

Not sure what the natural predator of the cockatoo is or how you collect it's pee!

[POD]

Something else that might be worth experimenting with on a small section; the DSE (Department of Scorched Earth) near us came up with a solution for deer & wallabies destroying seedlings when they replanted logged areas of forest. The seedlings were sprayed with egg white and then sprinkled with metal filings. Not sure if egg white would be a durable enough adhesive for a sprinkler system, or even if cockies would be deterred by iron filings, but some variation on the theme might be worth considering.

[wally]

Sikaflex?

Sikaflex would go too hard.

[wally]

Maybe spray some "lead" out of a 12 gauge!
That may do the trick.


Cheers, Mick

It doesn't. They're very very difficult to move on. Shooting one or two doesn't deter the others. They're very cunning too. They make heaps of noise most of the time but when they're in the orchard they're silent. They know that if they make themselves conspicuous the grumpy farmer will come down and do something unpleasant. Also it's difficult to get a clear shot in the orchard and they know how to stay concealed or just out of range. Apart from all that, shooting native wildlife isn't exactly one of my hobbies. I have tried many things to get them to move on with limited success. If I can just keep them off the irrigation pipe we can all be happy.

[wally]

how about marine bearing grease?

would like to think it would be non toxic whatever you end up with,,

That would probably work but how would I apply it? I need a method of application that's not too tedious.

[wally]

silocone spray

or motorbike chain lube.

Yep, both worth a go. I've just done a small trial with belt grip - will see how that goes.

[wally]

How about this?

Hot Foot Bird Repellent in South Brisbane 4101 QLD - Get a Quote for Trade & Professional Services (http://www.smartbuild.com.au/business-listing/hot-foot-bird-repellent/south-brisbane/qld)
Regards Philip A

Excellent. Thanks for that. I am aware of hotfoot and I sent an email to them in the States but I never got a reply. Back then I couldn't find any Australian contact or distributor for them. I'll give them a call and see if I can get some to trial.

[wally]

This might sound stupid, but it worked on another destructive parrot, the kea, in NZ, and it's cheap but may be a bit time consuming. Tie some inflated kids party balloons to the lines. They see the new toy, peck it and it blows up in their face. Big fright. Might be worth a try.
Don.

Interesting idea. Could be worth a go.

[Basil135]

If you string a single wire between the posts that are currently holding your poly, and then suspend the poly from the wire on hangers about 150 mm long, then the birds shouldn't be able to land on the poly.

If the wire is thin enough, they wont be able to grab it, and if at the right height, they wont be able to land on the poly either.

[wally]

Im not so sure about using all these toxic remedies on an orchard.

Replace the PVC with pipe copper/Gal.......expensive.
Can you run fishing line above the PVC so they cant land......if they do they will do this in as well i guess.

Can you cover the PVC with sock?.......expensive?
Stick the PVC in the ground with pop up sprinklers.

Talk to the Boss Cocky:angel:

It's poly, not PVC. Most of these ideas are cost prohibitive and/or very time consuming. The fishing line idea is one I had thought about and may have some merit.

[wally]

Try a Border Collie

problem solved

I had a Blue Heeler that was pretty good, but as soon as he was gone, they'd come back.

[wally]

I'll just add caution to applying anything greasy / oily to the pipe. If it's poly then you may find it'll leech into the pipe and into the water, may not do you any harm but it'll cause the pipe to fail over time.

I'm a clean water pipelines engineer by 'trade' and any kind of ground contamination of a chemical / petroleum nature we have to lay barrier pipe. It's surprising just how fast anything petroleum based can eat through a plastic pipe.

Thanks Mike, I hadn't really considered that.

[wally]

Unfortunately the only economical way to rid yourself of the problem is to get a permit and shoot them. As many have stated, all of the tricks eventually do not work - the cockey's will either get used to them or ignore them.

Again unfortunately, once you start controlling them, you have to keep controlling them - ie you have to do it each year from now on. You cannot shoot some and hope the others get the message. And you must do it each year they come through. This practice is used throughout Australia in many areas.

When I went to Uni back in 1999 and studied Parks at CSU, this was the message from the head lecturer in the science faculty. Unless some new research has shown otherwise, unfortunately it may be the only solution. I am not advocating animal cruelty and I have worked in the environmental field for over 10 years (for you nay sayers!).

Sometimes Agriculture and nature clash and sometimes agriculture wins.

No, the prevailing wisdom for reducing damage caused by these and most other pest animals in agricultural situations is to use an integrated approach. Shooting on its own will not work. What's generally advocated is to use various techniques of scaring and deterring, backed up by some shooting. I'm already doing some of these things, and now I'm looking for something that will keep them away from the pipe. I can tolerate the crop loss - I don't think it's significant anyway. It's the time involved in fixing damaged pipes that is the problem.

[wally]

If you string a single wire between the posts that are currently holding your poly, and then suspend the poly from the wire on hangers about 150 mm long, then the birds shouldn't be able to land on the poly.

If the wire is thin enough, they wont be able to grab it, and if at the right height, they wont be able to land on the poly either.

Yep, similar to the fishing line idea. It's worth thinking about. The pipe, though, is attached to the trunk of each tree, so the fishing line or wire would probably also have to be. Going from one tree to the next as it does, also means that the pipe is not dead straight.

[scarry]

If you string a single wire between the posts that are currently holding your poly, and then suspend the poly from the wire on hangers about 150 mm long, then the birds shouldn't be able to land on the poly.

If the wire is thin enough, they wont be able to grab it, and if at the right height, they wont be able to land on the poly either.

And if that doesn't work run another wire along the poly,and use the electric fence thingy,Therefore once they touch both wires,they will probably get tangled in them,they will get the shock.But it may have to be isolated every time you water,& of course before anyone goes near it.

They may learn quickly it is a no go zone,then you can leave the electric fence thing off.

At some of the sites we work at the use a metal strip that has heaps of kind of bristles coming out of it,to keep pidgeons off ledges.Seems to work well.If you could get some of it & attatch it to the top of the poly pipe,they would not be able to land on it.

Google Pigeon spikes & you will find them.
but you will need a lot to do 27k's.......!

[Blknight.aus]

applying the marine grease is easy....

grab a pneumatic grease gun put a nipple in the end of it and give it a squeeze...

:)

want more range?

solder a ball inflation adaptor to the end of that grease nipple and run the grease gun on 110 psi...

the best bit is that they dont use that much air so a large precharged airtank will work nicely and a decent 12v compressor will stay in front of it as will one of the $90 supercheap 240v units.

[SuperMono]

Not going to be the solution for this particular case, but if you have a smaller set of Cockatoo problems (shredding your house and deck for an example) this could be an additional tool.

I bought a small remote control helicopter and chase them back to the control range of the 'whirlybird'. They don't like it and I think it is worth buying a more capable unit that can cope with a bit of breeze (and carry a weapons pack).
Only works while you are there, but is fun at the same time and you get to learn a new skill.

[wally]

applying the marine grease is easy....

grab a pneumatic grease gun put a nipple in the end of it and give it a squeeze...

:)

want more range?

solder a ball inflation adaptor to the end of that grease nipple and run the grease gun on 110 psi...

the best bit is that they dont use that much air so a large precharged airtank will work nicely and a decent 12v compressor will stay in front of it as will one of the $90 supercheap 240v units.

Thanks Dave. I don't have a pneumatic grease gun but I can look into that.

[Blknight.aus]

FIT Pro Pneumatic Air Grease Gun / Greaser High Quality | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FIT-Pro-Pneumatic-Air-Grease-Gun-Greaser-High-Quality-/270806269068?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f0d4fbc8c)

Thats the same as the one that Ive had for about 10 years now,

only capable of semi auto fire, effective direct firing range individual 30m, as a section about 50m with indirect area saturation being out towards the 70M mark. you probably dont want to ask too many questions.

[blitz]

I bought a small remote control helicopter and chase them back to the control range of the 'whirlybird'. They don't like it and I think it is worth buying a more capable unit that can cope with a bit of breeze (and carry a weapons pack).
Only works while you are there, but is fun at the same time and you get to learn a new skill.

funny as I was reading the latest posts a remote control helicopter came to mind and I was going to say as such but you beat me to it.

it would still be rather time consuming but they are as noisey as hell very manuverable so you could use it to herd them off

[Chucaro]

Bird Netting (http://www.haverford.com.au/birdnetting.html) is the best solution but big investment
100m roll 5m wide 16mm x 16mm 16kg $176 cost per meter $3.00

[Fluids]

Electric fence tape. Not wire. You've seen the stuff, looks like a 30m/100ft tape measure. Used around cattle yards, horse fences, strip grazing areas, etc.

From tree to tree, to keep it on/above the poly pipe, put loops/cable ties (something like an o-ring maybe) on/over/around the pipe, thread the tape through the loops and tension it between the trees, so it pulls upwards and sits just above the poly pipe.

They'll have to contact the tape before they contact the poly pipe when landing.

Any type of petroleum product applied to the pipe will progressivley wash off as you irrigate/when it rains and will contaminate the ground. Not good.

A shotgun works well, but you'll be repairing shot holes in the poly pipe all the time :)

POLY TAPE 400M X 12MM - ELECTRIC FENCE POLYTAPE WIRE | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/330583516334?hlp=false)

Fencing wire braid and tape | Fences, Australia, Standard, Fence, Hishock | Electric Fence Australia - online electric fencing (http://www.electricfenceaustralia.com.au/electric-fence-online-store/fencing-wire-braid-and-tape.html)

[Blknight.aus]

cat spray.....

[bob10]

Don't know if it has been suggested, but replace the poly. with galvanised pipe. Bob

[wally]

I finally found hotfoot gel in Australia. I just ordered a tube to trial from Townsville. We'll see how that goes.

[goingbush]

make one of these, youve already got all the irrigation fittings

probably works on cockys better than moggies

lemon juice cat repellant.mov - YouTube