Ugh! The Crows

[FeedYourself]

I put my latest purchase of CornishX out on grass today at 3 weeks old. It has been a little cold at the end of the earth in NW WA.

I decided after several "seasons" of tractor usage, that the time had come to buy electronet from Premier. Well, I like the fence, but the crows like my crow-sized chickens.

I put them out at 8:00A, put a "piece" of the tractor in the pen for shelter, put the watering manifold together (consists of a 55 gallon CPVC barrel, a hose, and the orange nipple waterers in a 10' PVC pipe), and tested the voltage on my fence. It was great.

All was well, until the crows came today. Within twenty minutes or so, 4 chicks were outside the pen...1 getting attacked by 2 crows, and one dead with 2 more crows feasting on the carcass.

The amazing thing is how smart crows are. I usually ignore them, but have notice an increased presence over the last 3 months. I also started having eggs eaten on a daily basis...at this point, I think it is the crows. At any rate, I sat in a lawn chair for a couple of hours inside the barn watching for the crows to come back. Since they didn't, I'm thinking they knew I was there, and are way smarter and more patient than me.

So, I lost 1 bird today. Probably will lose more going forward, as I just refuse to put them back inside. I already chopped up my tractor in favor of electronet...so it is what it is. Hopefully, they stay smart and keep away.

Any suggestions..., short of a covered run?

 

[wyoDreamer]

Would you be able to hang fishing line with CD's across the top?
Don't know if it would work with the crows or not ... they are quite a bit smarter than your regular ol' regular raptors.

 

[FeedYourself]

Great idea, and easy to implement.

I will give it a go.

 

[wvtim]

A 12 gauge shotgun works wonders on crows

 

[OldGuy43]

A 12 gauge shotgun works wonders on crows

Not really. Crows are some of the most cautious birds around.

Quote: http://www.crowbusters.com/facts.htm

 

[peteyfoozer]

Wow, that's interesting! Our crows have never bothered the chickens. My LGD's run off owls, and hawks, but even they don't care much about the crows. I imagine if they tried to attack the chicks they'd go on the dog's list of 10 most wanted tho...

 

[FeedYourself]

I think you are both right. If you get a chance, the 12 gauge would work. The problem is getting the chance.

I hid for what seemed like an eternity, and they wouldn't come near...it seems they are one opposable thumb away from being human. It was like the most dangerous game, and I was being watched.

 

[FarmTillURdead]

I have heard that red blinking (twinkle lights) mimic predator eyes and they will leave. I get INCREDIBLE use out of metallic pinwheels from Walmart. The ones with red and silver fans. The red mimics the eyes and the silver flash they can't get a depth perception on and they think it will hit them. A grown rooster also crows to mark territory. Bantams are high pitched and one keeps away our falcons. We have crow infestations. Hawk trouble and falcons on every corner. We lost 80 chickens our first year.
My best defense has been a few big goats (birds don't know they aren't dogs and they eat weeds and are cheap to keep), A bantam rooster that crows constantly and the dumb pinwheels.
I found after one shot with a 12 gauge they get wise and see the gun and leave - but come back.
Hope that helps. The frustration with predators is incredible… but keep at it. You may lose a few more… but you can win the battle.

 

[OldGuy43]

I find this thread to be most odd, since while we have a large hawk and crow population in the area (I've counted as many as 11 hawks in the air hunting and seen the pastures around our house literately black with crows) I have yet to lose a bird to any aerial predator. The same is true of night predators. I hear and see owls and falcons regularly, but...

It could have something to do with the hens run. It abuts on the house and <50% is under a tree, but the birds spend most of their time in the end that isn't covered. I've even seen hawks flying low about 30' from my window and watched one catch a wild rabbit about 200' from the run.

I guess I'm just lucky.

 

[FarmTillURdead]

I would chalk that up to your run. A bird of prey can't fly straight up with a meal to take it to it's dinner table. They have to fly at an angle to gain height or circle up slow in huge sweeps. Likely, they see your run as some sort of a trap. I have my birds on open pasture. Many evenings our first year here were spent on a march with a very heavy gun.
Luckily, our crows/ravens haven't figured out the chicken meal yet. They seem to be content with the field mice and bugs.
Screaming crows one evening alerted me to a hawk in the field. I grabbed the gun and ran outside - a good 100 yards to the coop to find not one - but TWO hawks on the ground each with a chicken in their talons. Perplexed about shooting my own chickens or which one to shoot first, left them both of them time for a get away and me with two chickens full of puncture wounds.
Other times I have seen falcons grab chickens the same size as they are and try to "hop" off with them.
Your wit and perhaps genetic farm knowledge led you to build something marvelous!

I still fret every evening.
One morning I saw a falcon sitting looking in the chicken coop door picking out his evening meal.
Somehow they seem to know how to park themselves where they know you can't shoot.
I would like to build a run someday… until the birds are big enough to not get grabbed. …just another expense. It never ends!