Birds like European Starlings will soon descend on feedlots and dairies, often roosting in nearby towns. Flocks ranging from 1,000 to 100,000 birds start showing up in October and will stay through March. The goal of a bird eradication program is to make the birds so uncomfortable that they don’t want to be there.
One starling will eat about a penny’s worth of feed per day.” – Ricky Woods, USDA Wildlife Services specialist
Source: Dairy Herd Management, September 22, 2021. Link. Woods said the feces and feathers from invasive birds can spread E. coli, salmonella, cryptosporidium and histoplasmosis to cows.