Crows stealing my eggs!!!!

[pattgal]

I saw one do it like right now!!!
I happened to glance out my window and saw a crow (or raven I was in to much of a hurry to notice) had an egg in his mouth in the chicken run
I dashed out the door and ran into the run, he was startled and couldn't find the way out so he dropped the egg. then he found the door
I let my hens free range so I just leave the run door open. by now the crows (or ravens) are smart enough to know where these eggs are coming from and if he was in the run I would be surprised if they weren't in the coop stealing right from the nest boxes
I have a live trap set with eggs in it but the crows wont go in there. they are frustratingly smart.
I can collect eggs often but I'm sure one will get in and get some in between my visits. and I don't want them in my coop anyway
I'm not gonna stop free ranging so what can I do to deter them????

is anyone else dealing with this?

 

[wyoDreamer]

Oh no, another thing to consider when building my coop! We have ravens here that love to torment the dogs. They will land outside the dog fence and walk up and down along the fence until the dogs run up and bark. Then they will fly to the roof and cackle at the dogs until the dogs give up and leave. Then the ravens will land outside the dog fence, walk up and down ... I was home sick one day and watched this go on for over 3 hours.
I am sure these black demons will love to get some free eggs.

I don't know, but would a roll-away nest box work in your set-up?
I am thinking it may keep the eggs out of reach and if the crows can't get to the eggs maybe they will eventually give up.

 

[pattgal]

I don't know what a roll out nest box is
I wonder what kind of poison could kill a crow? I hope that's not illegal, I could bait a few eggs with it

 

[blefky]

I would give serious consideration to the idea of poisoning the crows. First, crows are incredibly bright - they not only figure things out, they teach their offspring, siblings, cousins, etc. You'll never poison all the crows - and you almost certainly would be poisoning other things that aren't your target. Second, the crows in my area go gang busters after the hawks around here. I sit in their cheering section and watch with a smile as they drive out the redtails. One of the ways I cut down on lost eggs is that I don't open up the run for free ranging until afternoon, when I know most eggs have been laid for the day. This is just my opinion, but I believe that it's almost always a better idea to work around nature than to try and conquer it - we almost always lose in the end one way or another. Good luck!

 

[bryan99705]

Sorry to hear someone else is locked in a battle with ravens too. I've lost eggs, chicks, goslings, ducks, standard size chickens and 1/2 grown geese to them. One observation is our ravens will not enter a closed area ie dumpster or building etc. They will sit on the edge and reach in but seem paranoid about getting inside and trapped. Maybe if you can set up a tunnel / runway type entrance for your chickens and throw some deer or fruit tree netting over it. The chickens figure it out easily but the ravens aren't to crazy about the enclosure. If you want to kill the robber, you could even set a trap door on the end so the bird is trapped and helpless, or maybe you just want to knock him around a little and let him loose.

 

[pattgal]

Quote:
I really like this Idea. it sounds pretty easy and affordable and it would save me alot of effort. I wonder if I put a cat flap on the run door would that be enough to keep them out? I can build a live trap looking entrance for them but the cat flap would be easier
I usually opt to let nature fight nature, lol, I just lost it when I saw this

 

[bryan99705]

Quote:
I really like this Idea. it sounds pretty easy and affordable and it would save me alot of effort. I wonder if I put a cat flap on the run door would that be enough to keep them out? I can build a live trap looking entrance for them but the cat flap would be easier
I usually opt to let nature fight nature, lol, I just lost it when I saw this

I don't know if you can get you chickens to push thru a cat door. Mine get confused if part of their opening get accidently blocked

 

[gofasterstripe]

Oh WOW...why would you poison the crows, I feed mine every day and they keep a look out for hawks. Most days I hear my crows cawing up a storm and chasing off a hawk. They have never bothered with any eggs laid in the yard either. If you feed them regular they wont have to go scavanging for eggs. Mine get fed every day after Ive fed all my animals, I can see them thru the trees waiting for me to go to the back lot to throw a scoop of cat kibble and what ever veggies I have, sometimes scrambled eggs. I Love my crows, they keep my ducks safe and I reward them for it.

 

[gryeyes]

I like the crows too, but I do not like the jays - they are big egg thieves! I saw one carrying an egg, in flight!

The crows may be egg thieves, but they ARE great hawk chasers!

 

[neverbdone]

Crow chaser