Crows alerted me about a predator!

[TennesseeTruly]

Let me say that we feed our crows. We call them our "air force". They watch over our flock and alert us to when hawks are around. We

our crows!

Friday night, during the worse storm I've ever seen, my entire White Jersey Giant flock was wiped out, save 2 and one had to be put down because of his injuries. We have every kind of predator here imaginable, bear, coyote, bobcat, cougar, raccoon, possum, wild boar, etc. Whatever it was, tore through a welded wire fence and pulled my babies through it. All 8 of them gone in one night!

Anyway, I've been out on predator patrol since it happened. Every night I take my .310 and go sit in my car. I wait and watch.

Last night around 2am, our crows started "cawing". I've never heard them before at night. A friend of mine who actually raises crows for a living was online (i bring my netbook outside with me) and I hurriedly asked her why they would be "cawing" at night. She told me to be careful. These crows are now our friends because we feed them and there's likely a predator around.

It wasn't 5-7 minutes later when I heard a ruckus from one of my pens. I immediately grabbed my lantern and gun and started running! Around the corner came a bobcat! He was trying to get the chickens from the other side of the pen because he couldn't get them from where he was before. I raised my gun, shot, he yelped and took off running for the woods! I dropped my lantern and went running behind him but he was GONE!!

I was hoping that I would take him out with one shot and I worry that he's injured out there. That definitely was NOT my intention. But I don't think that he's what took my JG's. So I'll be out there again this evening, waiting and watching.

I was on high alert because of the crows! And I thanked them this morning with some treats. I even brought them out hard boiled eggs mashed up for them.

I

our crows!

~Laurie~

 

[ryan820]

I didn't know crows would be such handy creatures to have around. They give me the creeps, actually. I blame Poe.

Although crows are closely related to ravens, which are known to "home" a place if they're well-treated. (London Tower and the Beef Eaters are an example-- hundreds of years this clan of ravens has lived near or in the Tower).

What do you feed them?

As for the Bobcat-- I hope he's not suffering either but I bet he won't return either way! Good luck securing the homestead.

 

[ellieroo]

My son raised two crows after a bad storm tossed their nest to the ground.They are incredibly smart and so much fun! Glad you listened.We are having coyote trouble and the crows are our warning system also!

 

[dkvart1]

Will definately be feeding the crows at our new place. I've always liked them, my grandmother had a small flock that hung out at her house because she fed them. Although the squirrel got the best deal in regards to handouts. He got 1/2 a popcicle in the heat of summer. She'd lay it on the picnic table and he'd come down, lay on his back supporting the popcicle with all fours and let it drip into his mouth! We would sit and watch him while we ate ours and the crows raised a ruckus above him in the catalpa tree. When he was done they would swoop down and fight over the popcicle stick! Oh how I loved hanging out at grandmas!

 

[ChickenAlgebra]

Yup, love our crows. I don't care if most people think of them as pests. I HATE blue jays, they are evil monsters here. The crows tolerate the finches, cardinals, robins, and such without too much of a fight. Basically we put food out for the crows first where they like food, then feed the other birds.

Between the crows and the guineas, EVERYTHING is alerted to. Our crows have absolute hate for coons and opposums and as soon as one is in the yard, they are screaming at them and dive bombing them. Anything larger, they caw and scream to alert. I do think they are slightly more alert than our admittedly docile roos. But the crows sound the alarm, the roos scan quick and join in to protect their ladies.

They do love popsicle sticks, the kids throw them out in the yard for the crows to have.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

Quote:
I'm a Poe fan!! Always have been!

We have parrots, 17 of them and they love to have the leftovers from the parrot mix that they don't eat. I brought them out a bucket of it today. But yesterday I was sitting in my lawn chair feeding some of them peanuts. They'll eat pretty much anything that I've tossed to them. I had hardboiled up 2 dozen duck eggs yesterday and I ran them quickly through my food chopper and bought them out a smorgasbord full of food to reward them.

They're pretty handy to have around, especially because they chase hawks away daily!

Laurie

 

[GarlicEater]

Wow this is interesting! Maybe I should try to feed and learn about the crows here, while I hate jays, crows are a little noisy but basically OK. They sure seem to keep tabs on what predator-birds are around. If I can befriend them and learn when coons and possums are around from their calls, that's sure worth some treats and a 'cease fire' from me, I'll save the .177 treats for the jays.

 

[ozark hen]

good for you! I love having crows around, that is probably why my free ranging flock is safe from the local hawks around here. I always know when an attack is imminent and run outside. wish they had seen the black snake in my coop yesterday, I would still have my eggs. but I dispatched the snake

 

[BrattishTaz]

My birds would all be hawk food in it were not for the crows and mocking birds. I can't tell you how happy I was to see them come back after a long, hawk/eagle infested winter.