Hi all! :)

[HummerHaven]

You and I are SO alike! Yes, same here, when ever we have moved somewhere, first thing I do is hang the hummer feeders, bird feeders and fill the bird bath! (HUGE bird nerd here)

Your husband is not wrong, the crows ARE calling him to be fed! I have always fed the Crows and Ravens all my life. We only have Ravens here and every winter they gather in a group of about 60-70 birds. In the summer they pair off for breeding, they call to me from the trees, my porch, under the kitchen window! The winter Ravens wait for me every morning in the trees out back, to bring out dry dog food (this is the preferred food for captive rehabilitation crows and ravens). They circle right over head as I walk the path to their feeding area. It's quite moving, gets me in the soul.

And yes, Corvids will chase hawks off by mobbing them. Your birds will learn the alarm calls of the crows and will run for cover when the crows sound off.

Enjoy your wild bird friends!

That's awesome! Yes they definitely tug at the soul Unfortunately the area we live in the crows are very skittish. They stay in the trees 50 yards off until we put their food down (I hadn't thought of dog food I'll have to try that!) and wait until we go inside to carefully make their way to the pan. I make sure when I'm out gardening I have a pocket full of peanuts to throw so they see me doing it lol. I just want them to recognize me as friend not foe since they have such a good memory for faces. I'm afraid previous owners or other people in the area may have seen them as pests It may take awhile (maybe generations) but hopefully one day they will circle overhead waiting for their food The hummers certainly have no qualms flying right next to my head. I was shocked how loud they sounded when I refilled their feeders! Plus all the vocalizations! Before where we lived the hummers were shy and the crows were bold (city crows) lol Nature is so wild! So beautiful

 

[HummerHaven]

Welcome from New Orleans @HummerHaven. You have found a good friendly and knowledgeable as well as helpful community here. We are glad to have you. Just don't be shy, jump in and involve yourself in conversations that interest you. Start your own thread if you have questions and just enjoy your new neighbors.

Thank you! I will certainly try to jump in I have to say it's been a long time since I've been on forums so I'm a bit nervous but very glad to be here! I'm currently going through all the threads I can find that I have questions about and writing the answers down in my chick book lol There's SO much information here!

 

[TwoCrows]

That's awesome! Yes they definitely tug at the soul Unfortunately the area we live in the crows are very skittish. They stay in the trees 50 yards off until we put their food down (I hadn't thought of dog food I'll have to try that!) and wait until we go inside to carefully make their way to the pan. I make sure when I'm out gardening I have a pocket full of peanuts to throw so they see me doing it lol. I just want them to recognize me as friend not foe since they have such a good memory for faces. I'm afraid previous owners or other people in the area may have seen them as pests It may take awhile (maybe generations) but hopefully one day they will circle overhead waiting for their food The hummers certainly have no qualms flying right next to my head. I was shocked how loud they sounded when I refilled their feeders! Plus all the vocalizations! Before where we lived the hummers were shy and the crows were bold (city crows) lol Nature is so wild! So beautiful

If they have felt threatened in the past, they may never get really comfortable with you. I've had some Ravens that allowed me to walk within 3 ft of them, walking right past with their food. And others just the sight of me terrified them. The hungrier they are, the more bold they get too. But the act of them waiting and you feeding them is the gift. And you never know, Crows are known for leaving you gifts, things they have found on their travels. Keep your eyes out for things around the area you feed them. Oh and yes, hummers sure do a lot of squeeking and chasing! We have the Broadtailed hummers, the males ring when they fly, you can hear them a 1/2 mile off!

 

[triciayoung]

That's awesome! Yes they definitely tug at the soul Unfortunately the area we live in the crows are very skittish. They stay in the trees 50 yards off until we put their food down (I hadn't thought of dog food I'll have to try that!) and wait until we go inside to carefully make their way to the pan. I make sure when I'm out gardening I have a pocket full of peanuts to throw so they see me doing it lol. I just want them to recognize me as friend not foe since they have such a good memory for faces. I'm afraid previous owners or other people in the area may have seen them as pests It may take awhile (maybe generations) but hopefully one day they will circle overhead waiting for their food The hummers certainly have no qualms flying right next to my head. I was shocked how loud they sounded when I refilled their feeders! Plus all the vocalizations! Before where we lived the hummers were shy and the crows were bold (city crows) lol Nature is so wild! So beautiful

So, my question @HummerHaven and @TwoCrows is; do you have trouble with crows trying to attack your chickens? I read that they attack chickens, but I have at least 15-20 on my property and they have never tried, even before I was fully netted.

 

[TwoCrows]

So, my question @HummerHaven and @TwoCrows is; do you have trouble with crows trying to attack your chickens? I read that they attack chickens, but I have at least 15-20 on my property and they have never tried, even before I was fully netted.

Crows are omnivores, but rarely kill, they prefer dead meat. However if they are really hungry, they will take nestlings or very small chicks, other small mammals and lizards, etc....But generally they will eat what ever is available rather than risk being hurt trying to make a kill, unlike birds of prey. This said, I'd keep chicks under 3 months old under watchful eyes if you have Crows or Ravens living in your territory. It's extremely unlikely a Crow could take out a grown chicken, Crows being smaller than this potential prey. My Ravens have never even considered coming near my chickens and they are about the same size as a medium sized hen.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Welcome to the coop! I use the Forums and Articles tabs at the top of the page to do research. You can get lost for hours. It's nice to know you are minutes away from getting help with questions and emergencies! I always check in the "What's New" section as well at the top of this page. This way I can read how I may have a similar question or help give some advice.

 

[HummerHaven]

So, my question @HummerHaven and @TwoCrows is; do you have trouble with crows trying to attack your chickens? I read that they attack chickens, but I have at least 15-20 on my property and they have never tried, even before I was fully netted.

I would think they would have to be pretty hungry to go after chickens (I haven't put my chicks out full time yet so I wouldn't know for sure) The crows in our area don't seem to bother other birds except for hawks (they mob them when they get too close). I heard they mostly ignore or work together with other animals. Crows are extremely intelligent and are great survivors. The murder we lived near at our old house would eat human leftovers as well as finding their own food. Ravens are known to work with wolves in order to both benefit from a kill. From what I understand they will find a dead or dying animal and bring the wolves to it in order to have the wolves help them. I won't go into the gristly details but it's actually fascinating how amazing Corvids are! The thing about Corvids though is, as I mentioned, they DO recognize human faces and WILL hold a grudge against them! Not only that but they teach their young who to trust and who not to. So maybe it's a vicious circle? Have no idea myself but we feed them and show them respect. We have a TON of predators here (prompting a big investment in hardware cloth) so honestly crows are the very least of our worries and if they help guard our chicks "more's the better" I say

 

[HummerHaven]

Welcome to the coop! I use the Forums and Articles tabs at the top of the page to do research. You can get lost for hours. It's nice to know you are minutes away from getting help with questions and emergencies! I always check in the "What's New" section as well at the top of this page. This way I can read how I may have a similar question or help give some advice.

Thank you! Those are awesome tips I've already experienced hours and hours (days even lol) of reading through threads. I guess they call it lurking? I've been researching a couple of years and always ended up here lol so finally realized I should really join! I'm compiling a chick book (helpful info I can take outside and actually read in the sunlight lol) so I'm excited to be here

 

[PetalAndPlume]

Welcome to BYC! It's so amazing to have you here!

 

[HummerHaven]

If they have felt threatened in the past, they may never get really comfortable with you. I've had some Ravens that allowed me to walk within 3 ft of them, walking right past with their food. And others just the sight of me terrified them. The hungrier they are, the more bold they get too. But the act of them waiting and you feeding them is the gift. And you never know, Crows are known for leaving you gifts, things they have found on their travels. Keep your eyes out for things around the area you feed them. Oh and yes, hummers sure do a lot of squeeking and chasing! We have the Broadtailed hummers, the males ring when they fly, you can hear them a 1/2 mile off!

Yeah I suspected as much (about them feeling threatened) and you are absolutely right the gift really isn't closeness it's their majestic presence, anything above and beyond is just gravy! They are after all wild animals so I would keep a respectful distance anyway. But it is nice that some of them let me watch them eat through the kitchen window (if I crouch and don't move a lot) The ones that are the most skittish appear to be juveniles or maybe lower on the pecking order? I don't know but there's one that watches me back and seems to be the leader, I call him Muninn 'cause he's the biggest :lol
The hummers we get here are ruby throated and calliope's (once last year I think we got a rufous) but mostly ruby throated. We ended up having to separate our feeders pretty far apart because of all the fighting. This year I'm going to hang hummer houses in the old oak tree as well as planting a TON of hummer favs like salvia, sunflowers, honeysuckle and beebalm. There's a lot I'm forgetting lol. Not to mention the herbs I want to plant by the chicken run! So many plans! Lol