He was just an ordinary bird, this black and brown speckled starling in my apple tree. But he started a chain reaction that made me rethink the wisdom of feeding him and his many winged cousins.
I had hung the seed-filled suet from the tree in the backyard. Starling hacked it apart, letting big chunks fall to the ground.
Sadie and Charley wolfed down the chunks while my attention was focused elsewhere.
Seed-filled suet and sensitive-tummy dogs don’t mix.
Sh*tspolsion happened while I was out yesterday afternoon.
Twelve paws (eight large and four small – Oliver was crated and couldn’t participate) traipsed through the mess and redecorated the mudroom, bedroom and office.
The feeder has now been moved to the front yard, where the dogs have no access.
Neither the dogs nor the birds are impressed.
4 comments:
Oh dear! I'm so sorry! Your excellent writing skills have me envisioning the scene very graphically. Seeds and suet don't seem to like dogs. I noticed that with Black Jack too, although the birds only left small bits, so it wasn't quite such a disaster. Still, we finally had to stop feeding, which made me feel really guilty. A front and a back yard have definite advantages.
Ah-hah! I had been trying to figure out what had triggered the recent tummy trouble in my own digestively challenged herder. The lightbulb just flashed thanks to your post. Sorry about the mess, but if it's any small consolation, you may have helped prevent a similar scenario at our house.
Deb S.
I just started feeding the birds suet on my deck - what I bought is one of those wire "cages" - about 2.5" x 5" x 4", comes with a chain and hook. Two packages of suet fit very nicely in there (the ones that come in packages that are the same size as Ichiban noodles). No big chunks fall out, just crumbs which Crystal has ignored so far (or not noticed?).
The tiny birds come in bunches - it's quite fascinating - up to 12 at a time.....they are beautiful.
Sharon
I do use one of the wire suet cages, Sharon. I find the big square blocks work fine - the ones that fell out in chunks were long round ones instead. They seem to be drier (more seed, less suet) than the square blocks.
But even just plain bird seed gives my guys the poops.
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