coqui

[Devany]

Rbakker & Damon,

I know this is not at all scientific, but we stayed at two properties in Kukuihaele and one in Ahualoa on our last trip buying real estate. All three of these people swore that they had tons of the Coqui before buying chickens and letting them roam. I did not see a single cat. Two of these places had also done work to eliminate water holding plants. And let's keep in mind that last summer there was a bit of a drought up there. Only one place had more than 2 acres and they had 50 chickens roaming the property, no fences, but creeks and cliffs on both sides. BTW, these were "Jumping/Flying chickens" I saw them up in the trees, as high as 8'- 10'. That sounds good to me. Regardless, these frogs are a menace and anything that works, even a little bit is something.

quote:

---

Originally posted by rbakker

According to
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/coqui/bio_control.asp
chickens may not be so helpful in getting rid of coquis:

Chickens

Since there have been numerous reports of chickens consuming coqui frogs, trials were conducted with wild chickens and have yielded mixed results. Chickens are active during the day while the frogs are taking refuge from the sun. Chickens will eat coqui frogs they encounter when scratching if the frog is moving, but frogs are not their primary food source. These trials have only been conducted in cages where frogs do not have a clear means of escape. In large, open areas frogs will likely hop away before chickens have a chance to catch them. Similarly, feral cats, rats, and mongoose may opportunistically eat coqui frogs, but frogs are not their primary food source and it is highly unlikely they reduce frog population sizes.

Given the potential for an increased number of feral chickens, cats, rats, and mongoose, and the ecological problems and noise disturbances associated with them we do not recommend the use of these animals as a coqui frog control measure.

---

Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

Devany Vickery-Davidson
East Bay Potters
www.eastbaypotters.com