Swallows in stable

I hope not - we have loads in our stables! I love to watch them and see the babies develop. I clean the stable walls and windows every year but apart from that I leave the pooh. I just make sure I don't leave rugs/ feed/ water under the spots where they go.
 
They are lovely but I'd rather have a swallow free stable. I'm unable to leave rugs hanging, water buckets uncovered and have to scrub the floor as it falls where the hay drops onto the floor.

Blooming nuisance but I still make sure the babies are ok and have been known to stop working in the stable to let the mother feed the young.
 
They annoy me in the stables too, but I just live with it, its worth it when the little fat faces peep out of the nest at you! I even have a good few empty stables, yet they always choose the ones with the horses/rugs etc in!

Just move your buckets/haynets a bit if need be, add straw to where the droppings fall, so its easier to clean up.

Is it not illegal to interfere with a nest anyway?
 
Rudders74 said:
Do you leave them be? Does their poo pose a health risk to the horse?
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Yes they poo on the horses
yes they poo on the rugs
yes they poo on the cars
yes they poo on the court yard

They also poo on my rugs hanging up in the stable, So what when horse wears rug and it rains it washed clean off - I don't wash the walls down and I do move the manger to the floor out the bracket or it goes into the feed


No I don't care - I put up with it as I love them - Beautiful birds ours arrived Sunday and we feel honoured to have them

Yes we leave them alone
 
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Rudders74 said:
Do you leave them be? Does their poo pose a health risk to the horse?[/

Swallows, swifts etc fly thousands of miles to breed their young here. They eat plenty of midges, flies etc which helps us and horses. Be good to them. We need them. They have a hard enough time getting here what with some on the continent wanting to turn them into pate (can't get an acute accent in that).
I agree the poop can be annoying, they used to do it all over my pony's back. But can't see how it would be a health risk. Move horse's food and water out of range. And just enjoy an amazing free show by nature. It is a privilege.
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Ah the little crappers my first four arrived this morning busy cleaning out nests and generally being busy .
I love them .
 
madmav said:
Rudders74 said:
Do you leave them be? Does their poo pose a health risk to the horse?[/

Swallows, swifts etc fly thousands of miles to breed their young here. They eat plenty of midges, flies etc which helps us and horses. Be good to them. We need them. They have a hard enough time getting here what with some on the continent wanting to turn them into pate (can't get an acute accent in that).
I agree the poop can be annoying, they used to do it all over my pony's back. But can't see how it would be a health risk. Move horse's food and water out of range. And just enjoy an amazing free show by nature. It is a privilege.
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This :)
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They are so special, such amazing birds I happened to be sat on the wall this morning thinking about when they would arrive as I've been desperate to see them and sure enough at that moment the first two arrived looking a bit perplexed but by this evening they were zipping about happily, I have about 4 pair's and I couldn't be happier.

So yes I always leave them be and feel very lucky to have them.
 
Loads of them always descend on one of our stables and have chosen this week to move in - complete madness throughout their entire stay as they don't like anyone going in / out and there are so many of them that they are hard to ignore, but we leave them be and do rescue the ones that fall out of the tiny nests (...every year)
They don't do any harm so nothing to worry about x
 
Rudders74 said:
Do you leave them be? Does their poo pose a health risk to the horse?
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Leave them.

We used to have them in the stable and if you turned the light on when it was getting dark the chicks would pop their heads out with their beaks open waiting for food:D Don't do it on purpose though because that's mean.

They used to drive the cats crazy dive bombing them but staying a few inches out of reach. I love them, they are just gorgeous.
 
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Yes, leave them. And as another poster has said - it's illegal to disturb their nests.

They're such wonderful, special birds who've survived a monumental journey to get here. I love them.
 
My lad has a nest in his stable. I haven't seen them yet this year, but last year they were in and out all the time.
Apart from pooing on the floor (in missdle of stable anyway) they were no trouble.
The worst thing was a couple of teeny chicks fell out and were killed. That was upsetting :(
 
love them :)

we put plastic mesh over the wash box roof so they can nets above it and the mesh catches the poo (easy to sweep out on a ladder) but in the stables we just put up with the poo.

they absolutely dessimate the midges and flies bless them!
 
lovely pictures and lovely so many people accept them and appreciate them. Not many people appreciate the little things mother nature gives us anymore
 
I also make sure in very hot weather that there is a small patch of mud in the yard so they can mend nests! The centre of our small yard has a grass area so i just chuck a few buckets of water on a bare patch for them!
 
We had a nest in the stables during that long drought. One day I realised the parents were no longer visiting the nest. We waited and watched for ages thinking we must have missed their visits but the peeping was getting weaker and weaker, so eventually we got a ladder and climbed up. Sadly two of the chicks had starved to death but the other three were alive. We hand reared them in the utility room, they learnt to fly and zoomed around like rockets pooping all over the freezer and washing machine!
We never saw the parents again, I guess they just couldn't find enough food.
When we set them free they soared up into the air chirping away and all the swallows in the area came over and took them away with them. I've always wondered if they were ok. It's very odd to have a swallow perch on your finger.
 
They used to come back to our old yard every year. They would poo on everything and dive bomb you if you dared to switch the lights on after dark but we loved them and it was a sad day when they left for the winter.
 
Apparently, the Romans would trap a swallow at the nest and take it off to the chariot races. Then after the race they'd tied a piece of thread to the bird's leg, the same colour as the winning charioteer's colours, and release it. The bird would fly home where someone would see the thread on it's leg and rush down to the bookies and put a bet on before the runner got back with news of the winner! Sorry, totally OT but I love the story! Some things never change.
 
Love your pictures and Roman story Dryrot. I only saw our first ones yesterday as it dived in while I was mixing my milk powder for the calves. for quite a few years they were in the porch which made getting in and out the house interesting. They would also come in to the kitchen if the door was left open. I put a hanging basket under the nest to collect the poo.
 
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