Crows R Friendbirds: Crows Save Chu From Hawks

[EggSighted4Life]

We have ravens around here, but agree that they (like crows) can be the warning call for avian predator mischief. My girls thankfully go into alert mode when they hear the ravens squawking. My girls also know the difference between turkey vultures, black vultures (which, for 7 years now have never been a problem) and hawks.

If my girls hear wrens fussing or squirrels chattering and "chuk-chuk-ing" they associate those sounds with predators. Having these types of 'wildlife watchdogs' around can be helpful!

Ravens are chick predators and egg thieves as well.

How can turkey vultures or black vultures be a problem? They are scavengers not predators.

 

[sourland]

Black vultures can be far more aggressive than turkey buzzards, and can occasionally cause problems with new born calves.

My original crow family was wiped out several years ago when West Nile virus first appeared here. The new family was at 5 this spring. The parents and 3 of last year's young. 3 young birds were fledged this year, and they were up to 8. Lately I am just seeing the flock of 5. Perhaps West Nile again, or perhaps last year's young have moved on.

They wait every evening, and I feed them dog food after feeding my dogs. For me they have served as great alert systems and will torment the red tail hawks, but are ineffective against my nemesis the Cooper's hawks.

 

[deepbluesea]

Interesting thread! My chickens definitely listen to all of the wild birds, including the crows. I've never seen them chase a hawk (we have cooper's and red-shouldered here), but I can hope.

And they are not only very intelligent, they can hold a grudge AND teach other crows to do the same. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/science/26crow.html

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Ugh, yesterday there was a Northern Goshawk screeching in my trees above my chickens. They were all huddled inside the coop when I went out.

It was a beautiful bird! But I've seen him fly low close to my coop on 2 separate occasion. That means this guy has decided he will continue to hunt my flock. Most my cockerels were huddled under their rain shelter with one rooster standing out there proudly crowing.

I just recently reduced my flock to my BARE minimum with ONLY birds I really like or have for breeding. I can't afford to lose my favorite one or my only one of a certain variety either, cuz you know those will be first. Never considered locking my birds up before but there's a first time for everything...

 

[ChuSayBok]

@sourland, thanks for fyi. I've had a Cooper's at large here now for over a week and same thing; crows don't seem to have stopped his mischief. (Also never had trouble w vultures; they are the cleanup crew when a large animal dies, which happens often beyond our boundaries. I still have a instinctive revulsion to them flying overhead.)

This is the first day in almost a week I've been off work to be able to observe, but I lost another sick bird 2 days ago (one that was functioning, but a probably carrier, and my sweetest baby, Jean-Luc. He hatched with one blind eye and his growth was stunted from catching the C-plague. I guess Cooper is doing for my flock what I have been unable to do and culling the infected and genetically compromised. He apparently took out a young cross-beak who wasn't present when I got home yesterday and took role call.

 

[BantyChooks]

I also don't mind crows around. They will clean out the feed bowls if I give them a chance, but they spend more time antagonizing the hawks than they do gobbling down feed, so I'm happy. I hope they stick around.

 

[sourland]

@EggSighted4Life , one year a Northern Goshawk showed up here. It would land on the ground and run under the bushes to flush the chickens out into the open. I finally locked everything up until it left. I apologize for the Hi Jack, ChuSay.

 

[ChuSayBok]

@EggSighted4Life , one year a Northern Goshawk showed up here. It would land on the ground and run under the bushes to flush the chickens out into the open. I finally locked everything up until it left. I apologize for the Hi Jack, ChuSay.

not at all
totally relevant.
adversarial intelligence can be so frustrating. Wish you the best on that situation, and still working on mine.