# Warning About Crows



## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

Two crows killed one of my 4 week old Cornish Cross chicks. I caught them in the act, so beyond a doubt it was the crows.

This was not a small chick. He was bigger than most bantams.

Also today, someone else (on another forum) writing that crows killed several of her 3 week old Cornish Cross chicks.

I knew they would kill day old chicks but mistakenly thought that a 4 week old Cornish Cross would be too big for a crow to attack.

So, it was into the covered run with the chicks and I guess I'll sit out in the orchard with a lawn chair and a shotgun when I let the chicks out to forage.


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

nothin like the smell of coffee,lead and gunpowder in the morning! lol. just think about it as target practice.


----------



## suelandress (May 10, 2002)

So far, the crows have left my brabanter babies alone. I like having the crows around, as they chase off the hawks.....and the hawks around here think my chickens are a buffet.


----------



## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

That is really, really strange.

Like Sue, most of my experience has been with them warding off hawks. I cannot tell you how many of my chickens have been saved by crows.
We saw the first hawk in years last week and the crows handily took care of the problem and I ahve seen it back again.


----------



## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

Crows will kill chicks and eat eggs.
Usually a good rooster will keep the crows away but hawks are different.
My muscovey drake does a good job on all flying predators.


----------



## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

Any corvid big enough will kill and eat smaller birds, especially new chicks. About twenty minutes north of me is the winter home for hundreds and hundreds (at one point, over 1.5 million!) crows. I live in NorCal, orchards abound, so they thrive here. Smart, amazing birds. We're all just lucky that jays tend to be too small to be a threat.

I love the ravens here, but they do make me a bit more cautious with my young birds. Down near Tehachapti, I pulled into a gas station where ravens were relaxing on the ground; I've seen smaller hawks, no joke. Yeesh.


----------



## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I'd rather have the hawks. The hawks don't steal eggs, dig up the vegetable garden, destroy the fruit crop, steal the poultry food, attack broodies on the nest to steal eggs, peck out adult bird's eyes, or steal small shiny objects.

Also, they don't make that horrible loud cawing noise for hours on end.

It doesn't help much to have the crows chase the hawks away and then take their place at killing the chicks.

There are very few species of hawks large enough to kill adult chickens. Most hawks don't bother chickens larger than a few ounces.


----------



## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

I have quite a few crows around here and some of them are BIG! But, they have never bothered my chickens in all the years I've lived here (40 years) They will eat leftover chicken food or kitchen scraps and drink some water but that's it. THANK GOODNESS!!!


----------



## nickcottage (Apr 26, 2021)

I feel your pain... a pair of crows inflicted severe damage on our little flock of cornish crosses. 19 out of 30 birds dead in just one morning. Our birds were 3.5 weeks old and just small enough to squeeze through the electric netting. It appears the crows flushed them out of their run and then pecked them off one by one... my entire backyard was scattered with dead birds all with a single peck mark to the vitals. By the time I got up in the morning and headed outside the crows were still there eating on one of them and flew off once they saw me... devastating!


----------



## Gayle in KY (May 13, 2002)

It sounds like crows have something against Cornish Cross,


----------



## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

Gayle in KY said:


> It sounds like crows have something against Cornish Cross,


To be fair, they're as tempting as marshmallows and bred to be just as helpless. I don't blame the crows or foxes.


----------



## Wingdo (Oct 5, 2002)

oregon woodsmok said:


> Two crows killed one of my 4 week old Cornish Cross chicks. I caught them in the act, so beyond a doubt it was the crows.
> 
> This was not a small chick. He was bigger than most bantams.
> 
> ...


I take it you have no guardian dog to see that the birds are living a good, clean life. Big Girl (BG for short) absolutely hates buzzards/hawks/barn owls and virtually anything else that wakes her up overnight. Her territory is the entire length of a two mile ride we live on and you won't find a den of any kind on the entire stretch of dirt!

I saw her lay an ambush one morning with a hen/chicks. She was sheltered in a run-in shelter waiting for the second attack, as the spotted winged buzzard snatched a chick right out from under the hen's beak. The next day, she had buzzard feathers for brunch, and we had a nice little fire to roast the bird out of existence. A "protected" animal is only protected when they aren't eating my livestock... otherwise they are taking a chance on that which will not turn out well for them or us (by the one loss that required a solution).


----------



## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

I like Ravens, they are fun to watch, and they warn you of strangers or predators. That is if you are smart enough to understand what they are doing. If you raise chickens then you should protect them from predators. Around here that means a covered run, chain link or heavy chicken wire. Not because of hawks or ravens, but Mountain Lions.


----------

