Hahaha... I am pretty certain that we can shoot ravens around here too as they are considered a nuisance but if you can't use a firearm with so many feet of a house, I don't see how that helps. Anyway, I was assuming that my surplus of ravens also keeps the hawks away. A few weeks ago I had a bald eagle sitting on a telephone pole a few hundred feet away. He sat there for several hours and then just left. That was very rare! We have them in Arizona but around here you can usually only see them (also rarely) in the pine forests at the lakes, not out in the open prairie where I live. It was cool to see!
As for the difference between ravens and crows, I do know the ravens are a bit more massive than crows. I've never seen a crow around here - supposedly we don't really have any crows; they are officially ravens. They seem like a scavenger bird - always eating all the roadkill and getting into everyone's trash cans. I wasn't sure if they would swoop down and try to attack my chickens and ducks. The reason I got concerned is that all of a sudden, lately, they have been landing on the top of my run watching my birds and flying down lower than they usually do over my yard, even with me out there. I hope they're not stressing everyone out because I am VERY anxiously awaiting my first egg! Maybe I should put a "scareraven" on my coop - lol. My birds aren't full grown yet, but not chicks anymore either. However, my white silkie is a tiny little thing, so I am hoping they don't have their eye on her! The funny thing is that my big EE roo seems oblivious to everything and it's my little vicious red silkie roo that is always watching and making any warning calls. I'm glad he's not big because he is a little attack silkie. I wear gloves when I get close to him! He doesn't just peck, he holds on and twists!
If you give course ground pumpkin seeds to chicks, do you need to provide grit? And what do you mean by "dust it extra" on the garlic? Should the kerosene treatment be done as a preventative like once a year or something, or just if you notice symptoms of an overload of worms? My chickens are 4 1/2 months old and all seem healthy so far. They get organic FF, ACV in the water, an occasional whole pumpkin, occasional homemade bowl of yogurt, healthy table scraps, & extra greens when I have them.
Im a little scared to tell my DH..He does not know about the Orpingtons..I think I am not going to until they arrive. Maybe he will not notice. The sales will be great this year at the fair.
