Starlings raid the hen house.

If eight rabbits eat as much as a sheep and eight sheep eat as much as a cow how many starlings eat as much as a hen?

I stopped the rock pigeons eating half of the hen food by putting the feeders inside the hen houses.

But starlings are more inquisitive, more daring and perhaps hungrier. They are helping themselves to high energy, high protein layers pellets every day.

I've seen  a flock of more than twenty perching on one hen house roof. They then take turns to raid the feeder. Even the robins get in on the act.

A hen eats about 125 g layers pellets each day and perhaps the ratio is the same; eight starlings to a hen so 20 starlings eat about 300 g hen food a day at roughly 50 p a kilo.

It can't go on ! I'll have to devise or buy a bird proof feeder.