Vultures Won't Let Colony Eat

surya

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Does anybody have experience with getting Vultures away from a dumpster? They won't let my colony there eat their food.
 

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I know nothing about vultures.. Maybe something that makes a lot of noise? I hope someone chimes in!
 

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Does anybody have experience with getting Vultures away from a dumpster? They won't let my colony there eat their food.
OK, so my first reaction is to say "just move the dead bodies somewhere else". But yes they do get into anything, much the same as sea gulls. And since they are bigger than the cats they pretty much take over. I have had magpies steal the cat food right out of the dish while the cats were eating. They would do a tag team thing, one on each side. One would distract the cat while the one on the other side grabbed a mouthful of food. One of the cats got one of the magpie fledglings and killed it. The parents went after that poor cat everytime it set foot outside.
You might have to make some kind of canape low enough to the ground to let the cats in but keep the vultures out.
 
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surya

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I was thinking that too. But it's hard to make something they can't lean down and stick their beaks into. I just found a video on youtube, where someone was using a squirt gun to keep vultures away while the cats eat. I will try that, but I just don't have enough time to wait for all those cats to eat. And I am covered from bug bites from head to toe from being out there by them. So I'm really irritated by those ugly birds. I chased them around for a while screaming at them but they were not that afraid of me and would sneak behind me to get the cats.
 

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Goodness! First it was a man letting his dogs chase the cats, and now vultures.

What happened to the man and his dogs? Did you give him the letter?

It sounds like things are rotting in the dumpster, which is attracting vultures. Is the dumpster emptied on a regular basis?

Are you able to move the food away from the dumpster?

Have you had any luck trapping any of these cats yet?

I'm sorry you have to deal with all this in order to feed the cats. Kudos to you for sticking it out though!
 
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surya

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Fixing cats is slow, not much progress. Right now we are rescuing lots of kittens and they are taking up the vet budget. I have five babies in my apartment now. That dumpster is always full, but there's nothing I can do about that. I haven't seen dog guy, but that doesn't mean anything since I only go there once a day. I can't move far enough to get away from the vultures. The dumpster is kind of a safe area for the cats because there is a wooded area behind it. There is not a safe place for me to try to move them. I wish I could, it is such a nasty place. Down towards the carwash somebody is killing cats.
 

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Try squirting them with vinegar. Vultures are one of the only birds with a good sense of smell, so the acridity of the vinegar might be enough to send them flying.
 

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Try squirting them with vinegar. Vultures are one of the only birds with a good sense of smell, so the acridity of the vinegar might be enough to send them flying.
Problem is, vinegar is a cat repellent, too, and you don't want vinegar all over an area where you are trying to feed the cats.

This is really a tough problem. I think vultures are a protected species?
ugh
 

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Oh no! Good point. I use so much vinegar in my house that my kitties have gotten used to it, I guess. :p

Pretty much everything is a protected species in the US...turkey vultures are, yes. Spraying them with water is probably your best bet. /:

Vultures are one of the few creatures I have a genuine fear of...I'm so sorry you have to deal with them.
 
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surya

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Yeah, all birds of prey (almost all birds, actually) are protected and if the wildlife guys get really cranky they could make a big deal about "harrassing" the vultures even with mild methods :/. But they usually have better things to do.

Any way to move the food farther back into the trees? The vultures might find it harder to get to that way. You could also try large storage tubs with smallish holes cut in them, but some cats are (understandably) suspicious of small spaces and you wouldn't want to be hauling those things back and forth anyway. Maybe a few umbrellas put up while the cats are eating? If you remove them when the cats are done they should retain the element of surprise for the birds, for a while anyway.

Certain times of the year, I lose a few pounds of kibble to starlings (which are NOT protected but I could never kill anything anyway), and that's super annoying. I'm not paying money to help raise healthy starlings, thanks! Maybe Purina would like to make a commercial about that---"Cat Chow Strong, even for starlings" :D.
 

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... There is not a safe place for me to try to move them. I wish I could, it is such a nasty place. Down towards the carwash somebody is killing cats.
Yeah, all birds of prey (almost all birds, actually) are protected and if the wildlife guys get really cranky they could make a big deal about "harrassing" the vultures even with mild methods :/. But they usually have better things to do. ...
I wish cats were a protected species. Vultures seem to have it easier than cats.
 

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From an ecology standpoint, vultures are far more beneficial than feral cats...probably why cats haven't been protected yet, LOL. Doesn't change the fact that vultures look gross, whereas cats are incredibly adorable, sweet, smart, etc. etc. etc. :p
 
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surya

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Yeah, all birds of prey (almost all birds, actually) are protected and if the wildlife guys get really cranky they could make a big deal about "harrassing" the vultures even with mild methods :/. But they usually have better things to do.

Any way to move the food farther back into the trees? The vultures might find it harder to get to that way. You could also try large storage tubs with smallish holes cut in them, but some cats are (understandably) suspicious of small spaces and you wouldn't want to be hauling those things back and forth anyway. Maybe a few umbrellas put up while the cats are eating? If you remove them when the cats are done they should retain the element of surprise for the birds, for a while anyway.

Certain times of the year, I lose a few pounds of kibble to starlings (which are NOT protected but I could never kill anything anyway), and that's super annoying. I'm not paying money to help raise healthy starlings, thanks! Maybe Purina would like to make a commercial about that---"Cat Chow Strong, even for starlings" :D.
Yes, I could move the food back into the tree's. I had decided to quit going back into that wooded area. I got covered head to toe with bug bites and they are making me miserable. I also think I caught something hanging out behind the dumpster the druggies use as a toilet, hopefully nothing serious. It's hard to get back there too because you have to lift up this really heavy fence which is quite an ordeal. I could probably slip the food underneath the fence. I am going to try and catch a kitten tonight. I am worried about the vultures hurting it. I had been thinking about making a feeder out of totes. I'm kind of afraid they will just get tossed when the people who work there get around to cleaning up the area. I really like the umbrella idea. I am going to try that. I can get some at the dollar store and I can also use them to try and scare them away, flapping them open and closed. I was also thinking I could spray some kind of aerosol spray around them (not at them), my cats really fear the sound of spray starch. I don't really want to hurt the vultures, just make they obey my commands!
 

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Thanks, I looked at that, but didn't see anything that I could use. They are not on my property, they are behind a strip mall. The loud noise thing is good, but I don't have a lot of money to spend and the loud noises will scare the feral cats away too.
You don't need it to be loud. The bird in distress played through your phone is more than enough to scare away nearby birds and will likely attract the cats who will think it's an easy meal :)

Edit: Some background... birds are very sensitive to new sounds. Birders (bird watchers) will use a technique known as "pishing" - just a normal volume pish will draw birds from up to half a kilometre away. Annoying sounds/vibrations/etc can scare them away if they're sensitive to that particular noise - which is part of the reason why a lot of species don't adapt well to city life.
 
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surya

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You don't need it to be loud. The bird in distress played through your phone is more than enough to scare away nearby birds and will likely attract the cats who will think it's an easy meal :)
I don't have one of those fancy smart phones that can play stuff.
 
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surya

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You don't need it to be loud. The bird in distress played through your phone is more than enough to scare away nearby birds and will likely attract the cats who will think it's an easy meal :)

Edit: Some background... birds are very sensitive to new sounds. Birders (bird watchers) will use a technique known as "pishing" - just a normal volume pish will draw birds from up to half a kilometre away. Annoying sounds/vibrations/etc can scare them away if they're sensitive to that particular noise - which is part of the reason why a lot of species don't adapt well to city life.
Maybe I can watch some youtube video's of those sounds and practice imitating them. The people around there must think I'm so crazy, feeding stray cats, running around screaming at vultures, and now making strange bird noises. :)
 

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I don't have one of those fancy smart phones that can play stuff.
An excuse to get one? ;) An older smart phone can be picked up second hand for $15-30 or cheaper at a garage sale. You don't need a phone plan to use the "fancy" parts. Imitating distress sounds would be pretty difficult
 

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Maybe vultures might be afraid of a swarm of bubbles? lol.
You could get one of the those bubble-making toys and set it on a timer (or if battery-operated, just turn it on). If you do try to move the feeding station over to the tree line, duct tape the bubble source to a nearby tree. Put the food just behind the tree line/ bubble maker, and the bubble maker on a tree at the edge facing outward (hopefully facing the vultures). Bombarding the vultures with 500 non toxic bubbles a minute could give the cats some time to eat.

ok, well, maybe not. :dunno:
 
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