Starlings are a big problem in the South West with feed contamination and recent research has shown that starling proofing your buildings maybe a worthwhile investment on some farms.  It has been calculated that that starlings could be costing a farm as much as £40,000 per winter.

A recent study by the University of Nottingham on 10 farms in Cornwall & Devon in the winter of 2015, ranging from 200 – 1,000 cows fed a TMR, with some feeding inside and others outside compared weight and compositional changes to TMR samples exposed to birds or covered to prevent stealing.  Each diet used maize (or in one case wholecrop) and grass silage as the main forage element.

On average the research showed;
• Starlings ate 18-43% of ration samples, highlighting that they could be removing nearly half of the diet on a daily basis.
• There was a significant decrease in feed components less than 4mm, suggesting that the starlings are selecting cereal and protein components.
• There was a 14% reduction in dry matter concentration from morning to evening, equating to a 7.5 litre reduction in yield per cow per day.
• Weather conditions and building design did not affect the number of starlings or feed loss, it was more the location of the farm in relation to starling roosting places.

These results may even have been conservative as last winter was a mild winter and starling numbers on the trial farms were lower than in previous years.  The loss of energy & protein alone where equated to a cost of £0.97/cow/day

The removal of the concentrates in the ration and subsequent reduction in energy density not only has ramifications in terms of yields, but also to fresh cow health, potentially leading to higher levels of ketosis.  It is also worth considering the potential impact of starlings on cow health due to the transmission of diseases, such as E.coli and salmonella.

So how much are starlings costing you in lost feed, production and herd health? Contact Phil at pcooper@fcgagric.com to discuss further.