Keeping the Crows away

Wee Les

In the Brooder
May 30, 2017
6
7
11
Annahilt Northern Ireland
I have been watching the forums and trying several methods to stop the local crows stealing eggs every day. It's bad enough that they were eating most of the food that I was putting out, but they were taking every single egg almost as soon as its laid.

I tried everything I could think off and nothing worked, even a hawk kite fluttering over the paddock had no effect. Then I read on one of these forums that the sound of human voices from a radio works. I charged up my I-pad and set it in the coop playing an audio book, a Douglas Preston novel, although I don't think the content matters. Low and behold, eggs every day for a week.

Then one day I forgot to charge the I-pad so no sound in the coop, and yes, all the eggs were gone!

So that evening down to the local electrical superstore and purchased a waterproof "Shower" radio with built-in rechargeable battery. I switch it on every morning and hang it on a hook on the side of the coop when I let the girls out and bring it indoors to recharge when I shut them in at night.

Another week has passed on eggs every day so long as the radio plays.

Anyone know what style of music chickens prefer?
 

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I have never heard of crows stealing eggs dot they fly off with them? Are you sure it's crows? If it is you could make access to the coop harder for the crows. I'm just imagining crows going In your coop grabbing eggs and dropping them on people's eggs. I have never thought crows were the egg stealing kind of bird.
 
Crows are very intelligent birds and would definitely be able to get into a coup. You have definitely found a creative solution.

I thought I remembered seeing an idea:
 
Thanks to this site, I figured out that the crows were stealing the eggs.

I had thought for about 9 weeks that my 4 old, thoroughly spoilt, rescued battery hens had come to the end of their lay. Not that that is a problem, we love them anyway.

But then I saw a Crow in "Fowlcatraz" and realized what was really going on. We live in a big fox area in country Victoria, Australia and so my husband has build the chooky ladies a fantastic fortified pen, but of course we haven't figured out how to keep the crows out when we let the chooks out.

We have had very lovey eggs every day for the last 2 weeks now and the chooks have figured out to squark and raise merry hell if I one of them has laid an egg.

If we are not home they are locked in "Fowcatraz" but I prefer them out and doing chooky things as they should have from birth. So we probably still loose a few eggs, but I am happy we get a few a day.

I have to ask though - Why do the chooks let me take their eggs and not the crows?

Cheers, Ted
 
I have never heard of crows stealing eggs dot they fly off with them? Are you sure it's crows? If it is you could make access to the coop harder for the crows. I'm just imagining crows going In your coop grabbing eggs and dropping them on people's eggs. I have never thought crows were the egg stealing kind of bird.

I heard a bunch of robins in a tree outside work one day, looked and a crow was busy taking the last of the baby robins out of a nest. So, they not only will steal eggs of other birds, but the babies as well.
 
Top Rooster,

We are setting up surveillance cameras - I will post pics of the nasty thieving crows when I get some.
 

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