The Ugly
I know that beauty is in the
eye of the beholder but let’s face it crows and ravens are not the most
beautiful birds in the world and their noise is absolutely raucous. Their deep
black shiny feathers are kind of pretty but their gnarly beaks firmly put them
in the ugly category.
The Bad
We like to feed our chickens,
ducks, and goats old bread but invariably this attracts crows. Sometimes they
fill the treetops with their cacophony. This can cause a little friction with the
neighbors. Besides the noise one of these huge birds can pick up an old bagel
and drop it in their yard. Then their beloved dog promptly picks it up and
scarfs it down. Not long afterward said beloved dog barfs it out, not exactly
causing feelings of endearment to one’s neighbors.
We have also at times let
mother hens raise their own chicks. They are so cute walking around the pasture
with their mothers. However, we at times have seen crows in their vicinity and
then all of the sudden after the activity, behold, no more chicks. We have lost
several chicks and ducklings before figuring out what happened.
Well, before you get out your
shotgun or .22 rifle think about this. First of all, where are those bullets
going to fall if you miss. Although it is a rare occurrence people occasionally
DO get hit by stray bullets. Also consider this…
The Good
On a few occasions we have lost
birds to hawks. Hawks can be devastating to a free ranging poultry flock. But
often I have noticed hawks hovering up above the farm being systematically
dive-bombed and harassed by crows. We have had very few losses to hawks.
We now do not let mothers raise
chicks on their own unless it is in a caged area. We put the chicks in brooders
after they are hatched by their mothers usually.
Conclusion:
We try to discourage too much
crow activity but not to the point where it is taking up too much of our time,
only when it is convenient. I don’t want them to drive us to become “raven”
maniacs.
