post your chicken coop pictures here!

[lynnehd]

Well, I never would have thought crows would attack and Cary off a chicken but today there was a flock flying around my house and now my last bantam is gone. I saw some shadows of large birds close to me but never saw the birds. She was running around the yard all morning but tonight she didn't come back :-( looks like my chicken's free ranging days are over :-(

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So sorry to hear this! But I've got to agree with crazyhen. If the crows were in a group and agitated, there was definitely a hawk. The Cooper's Hawks are amazingly stealthy.
In fact, when the crows in our area congregate nearby, my hens and I get nervous and watch the sky, because there is usually a hawk around somewhere.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yeah, I've got to agree too. One time I heard this huge racket and looked up and saw a couple crows chasing a Red Tail around the sky lmao still hear the crows often. We have a red tail family. Although lately (like few months) I've heard this bird screaming most of the day off and.on and.it is very annoying and I don't get what happened because we used to have nice birds. Well one day this week I didn't hear them but saw literally about 5 blue birds (I think Blue Jays but I can't tell blue birds and jays apart lol in the yard at the same time but saw a few first then the others, etc. And they were in different places. Well next day or a few days later there were some sparrows or finches in a tree in the garden right next to the house (i wss outside) and a chickadee or two and a blue jay or two flew in and most of them flew out lol but then the Jay flew out to another, higher tree, and ANYWAY. They were really really loud and I figured out the culprit that has been making all the obnoxious noises are the blue jays lmao now, the thing i don't know is if they just like being annoying or if they too hate hawks?

 

[townhen]

Well, I never would have thought crows would attack and Cary off a chicken but today there was a flock flying around my house and now my last bantam is gone. I saw some shadows of large birds close to me but never saw the birds. She was running around the yard all morning but tonight she didn't come back :-( looks like my chicken's free ranging days are over :-(

Did you see the crows take your chicken? Often the first sign of an aerial predator in my neighborhood is a flock of crows ganging up on the hawk, making a racket and trying to chase it off. Whenever I hear the crows start making noise, I know to get my chickens in their coop asap.

 

[perchie.girl]

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Crows and Ravens cannot grasp anything to carry it off. They will how ever dine upon something that is already dead, Road kill... is what i see mostly.

 

[MeepBeep]

Crows and Ravens cannot grasp anything to carry it off.  They will how ever dine upon something that is already dead, Road kill... is what i see mostly. 

They do mostly scavenge but they can prey if they have to, they will not carry off larger prey but they will attack larger prey and can carry off smaller prey in their beaks or claws as has been observed many times...

Raven have been observed attacking new born lambs and other large animals...

 

[lynnehd]

They do mostly scavenge but they can prey if they have to, they will not carry off larger prey but they will attack larger prey and can carry off smaller prey in their beaks or claws as has been observed many times...

Raven have been observed attacking new born lambs and other large animals...

We don't have Ravens (much larger, tend to travel in pairs), we only have Crows (operate in flocks).
Since I have had chickens, I like Crows. They are always watching for hawks. I watched a hawk attack one of their nests, and wow, did all of the crows all pour in to help.

 

[Beekissed]

Crows are a part of my free ranging success, so I listen up when I hear them getting excited. I also have learned to not have chicks in the fall out on range, as the crows are a little less attentive then and migrating hawks are coming through and hungry, but without a lot of easy, young prey to eat...except our chicks.

That's why the old timers always said to have chicks in the spring when the crows are nesting, as the crows are much more vicious to the hawks during those times and really keep them on the run. I love to watch those aerial battles between the crows and hawks...I've never seen a hawk win.

 

[MeepBeep]

We don't have Ravens (much larger, tend to travel in pairs), we only have Crows (operate in flocks).
Since I have had chickens, I like Crows. They are always watching for hawks. I watched a hawk attack one of their nests, and wow, did all of the crows all pour in to help.

Yes, crows and ravens do not like birds of prey and will swarm/attack them...

 

[gpeters3]

Yes, crows and ravens do not like birds of prey and will swarm/attack them...

What about crows that ARE birds of prey? Both bantams are gone now and I'm pretty sure the second one was taken during a flock of crows fly by (actually they hung around a while flying in circles like vultures) I'm afraid to let the bigger one out now. How big a chicken can a crow take?

 

[Adorkable]

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Crows can be opportunistic and capable of eating chicks if they free ranging and the mother isn't very attentive, but I've never heard of or seen a crow take a full grown chicken. I have seen crows chase off red tail hawks and coopers hawks several times. I like having them around my free range flock for this reason.