I have found this kind of interesting. I have a Red tailed hawk nesting in the neighbors pasture, about 2 acres away. so these hawks circle our place regularly. I happened to be sitting ,watching my flock the other day and noticed 2 large crows in the woods about 50 feet behind my chicken yard. I could not find a nest but I highly suspect there must be one because these crows will chase and run off the hawks when they get close. I would love to think the crows are protecting my chickens! HaHa! Anyone else ever notice this? Micah
Same situation here. We have a hawk nest not far from the house. Crows do gang up on owls and hawks. I glad I have a net over my runs.
We were terrorized by Red Tailed hawks last fall...then the crows moved in! They keep the area free and clear of hawks, I've even seen them take off after a Bald Eagle that occaisionally cruises by. The crows nest is about 50 ft from the chicken coop and they come down and grab snacks with the chickens. I hope they never move out! The chickens also pay close attention to the crows, any alarm sounding and they hit the deck!
Yep, my chickens have been warned of hawks many times by the ruckus the crows make when chasing the hawks. The crows have harrassed our resident pair of golden eagles too. It's interesting to me that the crows can be around, making a ruckus, and my chickens pay them no mind. Then the crows make a certain kind of ruckus - when they are chasing the hawks or eagles - and every one of my chickens hide. The chickens know the difference between the different vocalizations of the crows. Something else interesting I've noticed - I was told by our local fish and game officer that a hawks main feeding times are between 10 and 11 AM and again between 3 and 4 PM. Go out to my chicken yard at those times and you'll never find my chickens out and about. They are either deep in the woods or down in the culvert in front of our storm shelter; where they are next to impossible to spot.
