will crows kill ducks

[binji]

there are some crows that come around every once in awhile, and i would really like to befriend them because crows are incredible and i want to know them personally, but im also worried about my ducks.
i think theyre both female muscovies, and theyre about 3 months old now, so if i get crows to hang around will they attack the ducks?

 

[sourland]

Crows might kill/try to kill ducklings, but I don't think they would attack larger ducks. I feed the crows daily. They are waiting back in the brush after I feed my dogs they know I will put some dog food in their 'spot'. Any unused leftovers or outdated bread, etc goes there too. They are a help in keeping away and warning about hawks. When they start yelling 'hawk, hawk, hawk' the pigeons leave their aviaries and run into the lofts, and the chickens head for the bushes.

 

[binji]

oh thats really cool! i think ill wait until the ducklings are bigger to feed the crows

 

[Duck Drover]

The crows will get your eggs. Sadly they usually just break them open and don't eat them if there is no duckling developing so you will find eggs with holes in them. They can also carry off the eggs so you don't even see the egg to know it was there. They raid the nests of sitting hens and they will kill ducklings. The nice thing about crows is that they chase off larger predatory birds like hawks and eagles that will take your adult birds so it is mainly your eggs and ducklings that are at risk. This is not a problem if people have drakes as pets or they are not interested in having eggs or ducklings but it is a problem if you want to eat the eggs or let the hens hatch their own ducklings.

 

[binji]

both of my ducks are hens and im not going to eat or sell the eggs so it really shouldnt be a problem

 

[Amiga]

I have similar experience and philosophy as sourland. The crows are our allies - they are on the lookout for raptors, just as we are. And they will go after eggs and small ducklings, from what I have been told. So we appreciate them. We have all adult ducks, and the crows will sit in nearby branches and watch us sometimes. The ducks know the alarm calls of the other birds in the area. It's like the internet . . . we get raptor warnings minutes before we can see them.

It took me a while to catch on that when the ducks are making an alarm call and I cannot find anything nearby, likely they are picking up and transmitting the general alarm call. They are part of the network.

 

[Lilki]

I know for sure they eat baby birds but I've never seen them be interested in something as large as a duck. Hawks, on the other hand, are another story. A few days ago I came outside to a scene of mayhem. A group of about 50 crows were going ballistic. They flew from tree to tree, all facing the same direction, harshly scolding something. That something turned out to be a hawk that they were chasing all over my yard. I'd never seen anything like it. It gave me chills.

They really are fascinating birds. So intelligent. I regularly see them dropping nuts in front of my car n the hopes that I'll run over it and crack it for them. Their problem solving abilities are quite impressive.

Oops, not sure if you're talking about crows or ravens. Ravens are what we have here.

 

[binji]

crows and ravens are both very intelligent and thats why i wanted to befriend some. and the hawk thing is an added bonus, so i guess ill start dropping peanuts for them lmao

also thats incredible and i wish i could have seen that tbh

 

[quackers619]

i feed the crows like people said the always let us know when hawks are around and they are fun to watch and yes they love duck eggs but i don't mind sharing