Jackdaw Nests

[keyplayer]

I have a nest in my chimney which has been active for years and although I've waited for this year's brood to fly I am now trying to dig it out. I have removed about 3 feet of material which is as far as I can reach, but there is still a load in there. A chimney sweeps site said it might be possible to batter it all loose with a ram and then it would all break up. This clearly hasn't happened, and I have just pushed the whole mass further down the chimney. The stack branches into two in the attic, like a tuning fork if you like, and the nest must be approaching this point.

So, are there any techniques I could employ to break up and remove what's left, or as the only option I can imagine, do I have to remove some bricks from the stack in the loft and remove it all that way? I'm having the stack flashed and rendered next week so I want to sort this out before the scaffold comes down and I put a proper cowl on.

 

[jay679]

Could you try to fish it out? I'm thinking attaching a large hook to the end of a broom handle, poke it down and twist a bit and then pull the material out?

 

[keyplayer]

Sorry, only just seen your reply. I tried all that and more with no joy. In the end I took a brick out in the attic and fished it all out that way. Pain in the ar5e, but done now. Am leaving the brick out for a few weeks to let a bit of air through there for a while.