Birds pecking milk bottles

[SantaMonicaPier]

I love our milk deliveries but birds have started to peck open every single bottle before we wake up...I can see dirt in the milk so need to tip it away - so much waste. I can only find doorstep bottle holders with open tops which would not protect the lids. I've left out small plastic boxes to cover the bottles but our milkman tends not to use them. Any recommendations gratefully received.

We used to put a rinsed out yoghurt pot on top.

Sorry, if you leave them out and ask the milkman to put them on. Or milk and more sell a milk caddy with a proper lid you can leave out.

Does your milk provider sell these?
We have milk and more and can order them on the app

No helpful advice op but your post takes me back to the 1970's when we had milk delivered daily and it was full cream milk back then, every day the birds would peck the foil tops out if nearly all of them if we didn't get it in straight away. Used to infuriate my mum. 😁

When I was a kid the milkman put a slate across the top. You just left it on the stoop.

Something like this should work a treat.

Or leave out an old cool box with a lid so the bottles can be put in there.

Yes we have the milk minder posted above. It only comes in a four Pinter though

Have you left notes and asked the milk man/the office to make sure they leave it under. I'd be persistent in asking them to leave it under the box. No point buying another cover if they won't use it

Yes, had exactly the same.
Plus in really cold weather the cream would freeze and push its way out and sit there wearing a tinfoil hat! 😁

A small coolbox is the answer and stick a note on it insisting the milk is placed inside. First though check with the delivery company that their operatives are allowed to use such a box and if so, make a formal request that it is.

We have this problem with a very bold local magpie and our milkman has been very helpful. We have a small plastic tray (which originally had mushrooms in) which fits over the top of our milk holder and he always puts it back over the milk. Neighbours don't have a holder so he lies their bottles down on their sides, the magpie can't get to the tops that way. The neighbour on the other side has a small yoghurt pot over his milk bottle.
I looked at the Milk & More covered holder but they don't deliver in my area

I've left out small plastic boxes to cover the bottles but our milkman tends not to use them. Any recommendations gratefully received.

I'd ask the milkman to make sure he uses them (or if they're too awkward for him to use, get something easier). Tell him that when he doesn't cover the bottles the birds ruin the milk, which you then have to throw away, and that if it keeps happening you'll need to cancel the delivery due to the waste.

When everyone used to get milk deliveries you had a gadget for that .. I'm sure you can still get them , the milkman puts it on the top of the bottle or you had a container on the doorstep they went in .

Am I the only person who immediately thought of The Two Ronnies' sketch?!

Echoing what other people have said that you can buy special boxes, some of them lock I believe.

Do you a porch or similar? Our milkman puts ours is in the porch. We very rarely hear him though!

This also takes me back to my childhood. When this happened my mum used to just pour a little bit of the milk away and we still drank the rest!

Is it whole milk? They'll be less interested in skimmed.....

Our milk was always tested for poison by those selfless little birdies, all through the 60s and 70s. I think mum just fished the grub out when it appeared - we all had magnificent immune systems as children and no allergies!

Our foxes love milk fresh from the bottle. We have a milk minder! It keeps it cool in the summer too.