Bird in Stove Pipe

[Woodcutter Tom]

I loaded up my stove this morning so that it would be ready to go tomorrow when it gets cold. (It was 75 today; tomorrow morning 33). A bit later I heard a rattle by the stove. I thought I had packed the stove pretty tight, so I did not think any splits would move. I heard the rattle again. Went up on the roof, took off the chimney cap and looked down. At the bottom was a small bird. It was resting on a damper I have in the stove pipe, which was closed. After scratching my head a bit, I removed a section of telescoping double wall and my damper assembly. Covering both ends, I took the section outside and let the bird go. It was a small thing, maybe 2 -3 inches long.

This is the second bird I have had in my stove set up. The other one made it into the firebox. At that time I did not have dampers in the stove pipe.
My stove cap is a SuperVent Deluxe Rain Cap. JSC6DRC by Selkirk. There is not any wire mesh to prevent critters from entering the chimney pipe. That is why I remove it in the summer and seal the top of the chimney with a rubber boot.
I am looking for comments from users who have added a wire mesh to their chimney caps, or who have chimney caps with mesh that prevents critter from entering the chimney.
Even if the bird got cooked and tasted like chicken, there was not enough for a meal.

 

[mark cline]

I put mesh around my cap last spring after I had 3 starlings in about a week, fall down my 30 ft of pipe into the wood stove. Anybody that knows anything about starlings , they are like rats with wings . They crap all over everything, sorry I have no passion for them. I shove a bit of cardboard into the stove and light it up.
If your stove burns clean with dry wood, 16-18% , you won’t have creosote build up on the mesh screen. I run a brush down the pipe every spring but never get anything more than dust.

 

[begreen]

Supervent sells a spark arrestor screen for this cap - JSC6SPAR. Ask your dealer for one. The dimension for the Supervent spark arrestor screen is 4.5" x 26".
Or, make a cylinder out of 1/2" mesh stainless and affix it to the interior of the current cap.

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

Supervent sells a spark arrestor screen for this cap - JSC6SPAR. Ask your dealer for one. The dimension for the Supervent spark arrestor screen is 4.5" x 26".
Or, make a cylinder out of 1/2" mesh stainless and affix it to the interior of the current cap.

I thought about making one from stainless mesh. Was not sure of the opening size. This solves that problem. JSC6SPAR. $41.24 on ebay. $8.99 from Menards, shipped free to my house. Just bought it. Big thanks to you, begreen!

 

[Gearhead660]

After a handful of birds decided to venture down my chimneys, I added 1/2" mesh to the caps. Problem solved.

 

[guylavoie]

I had that happen many years ago...and once again just last week. This last time, the bird actually came out of the firebox, after I had started the fire. It was, well, black. I opened the nearby door and managed to get him to fly outside after a bit of chasing around. I didn't get a chance to thank him for the chimney sweep...

 

[bholler]

1/2" mesh is pretty fine and can clog pretty quick. I would recommend 3/4"

 

[RockyMtnGriz]

I'm going to swim against the tide and urge caution with the cap screen. I've seen a lot of those gunk up pretty badly. For me, it would depend on what I know about the dirtiness of my stove, how accessible the cap is, and how much I depend on the stove working until I can get back up there if it means waiting until spring.
My Kuuma is pretty clean, but the cap does need cleaning annually and I depend on the furnace, plus I only go on my roof in the winter if I have to shovel it because then there's no longer that big drop off the edge, so for me, it would be a "no".

 

[woodey]

starlings , they are like rats with wings

A little off topic here but I have often referred to both starlings and English house sparrows as rats with wings. Both are invasive species and are the only song birds in this country that are legal to kill. I bought a .22 rifle solely for this purpose.