What is your experience with ravens and your chickens?

[DDRanch]

We have lived in harmony with crows and their nests for years and they have never posed a threat to my adult hens as they free ranged.

Yesterday however, I answered two "predator calls" from the hens and found a large raven standing near them as they huddled in the bushes. There were only two hens out at the time. They are large breed.

I know both crows and ravens will take a chick, but will they harass or injure adult hens? I am more concerned with the ravens just because of their size.

 

[chooks4life]

Well, my experience is with crows, but they're very similar birds overall.

My tiny little banty hens would fuss about them, making those predator noises, and the crows would stand on fenceposts looking wistfully at the chicks with the hens, but nothing ever came of it. However a guy I know had crows kill his adult chickens.

They, like ravens, are very smart and very adaptive predators, so just because they were safe in past does not mean I would put it past them to try something new; in fact, I would expect it of them.

Best wishes.