You’ve probably heard people say that crows will eat chickens. But do they actually? In this article, I’m going to give you the real answer. Most of us have seen a crow flying around the farm and wondered if it’s safe around our flock of chickens.
Do Crows Eat Chickens?
Crows are omnivorous, meaning they eat both meat and plants. They will eat insects, small mammals, earthworms, berries, and seeds. Crows have been known to eat the eggs of other birds as well as their young.
While crows do not normally hunt for chickens or other poultry, they will occasionally eat them if they are available. Crows are also known to scavenge dead chickens from farms. This behavior is more common in urban areas where there is more open space and fewer natural predators for the crows to worry about.
Can A Crow Kill A Chicken?
The short answer is no, crows cannot kill chickens. However, they can be a nuisance to your flock and cause potential harm or death if the birds are left unchecked.
The main problems with crows are that they’ll eat eggs and young chickens. These birds will also pick at a carcass left out by other predators such as coyotes or dogs.
In larger flocks, this can become a problem because the birds will pick off one chicken at a time until there are none left for them to eat. The only way to prevent this from happening is by creating an area where the crows can’t get to the chickens without having to fly over protective fencing or through an open doorway.
Are Crows A Danger To Chickens?
In most cases, crows are not a threat to chickens and other animals, but they can be quite annoying if they feel threatened or if they have young in the nest.
When crows have young in the nest, they will often become aggressive towards anything that comes near them. This is their way of protecting their babies from predators such as raccoons, foxes, and coyotes. Unfortunately for farmers, this means that it’s very difficult to get rid of them if they choose to make your property their home for the breeding season.
How Do I Keep Crows Away From My Chickens?
Chicken owners have long been trying to find ways to keep crows away from their chickens. The crows are relentless and will stalk a chicken coop until they get what they want: an egg or even a young chicken.
If you’re determined to keep crows away from your chickens, there are several things you can do.
Hanging A Dead Bird
One of the most effective methods is to hang a dead bird nearby. Crows have been known to be afraid of the smell of death, so if they think another crow has died in the area, they tend to avoid it.
Hang Up A Balloon
A way to keep crows away from your chickens is by hanging up a ballon. Crows are very territorial and they will not like an intruder in their territory. If you hang up a balloon or other object near your chicken coop it will deter crows from entering the area and possibly harming your chickens.
Crows are afraid of birds that are bigger than they are, so they will not want to mess with your hens if they think there is something bigger nearby like a ballon.
Install A Scarecrow
A scarecrow is a great way to keep crows away from your chickens. It’s also a good way of deterring other predators such as raccoons and foxes. However, it will only work if you install it correctly. A scarecrow that looks like a human won’t work because crows don’t see humans as predators.
Instead, use something that looks like a large bird. This might be an actual stuffed bird or even just a stick tied up in the shape of one!
Use an Owl Decoy
Another good way of keeping crows away from your chickens is by using an owl decoy (or two!). Owls are natural predators of crows so they’ll often chase off or even kill any crows that come near them (as long as they’re not too big).
Aluminum Foil
Another method that works well is hanging strips of aluminum foil near the coop. Crows hate shiny things, so this might give them pause before they dive in for an egg or young chicken dinner.
Keep Your Chickens Inside Or Covered
One of the best ways to keep crows away from your chickens is to keep them inside or covered during the day. Crows are most active during dawn and dusk hours, so keeping your flock safe in the coop during those times will help keep them safe from crows.
If you don’t want to keep your chickens indoors all day, you can try covering them with a sheet or tarp in the early morning and late afternoon when crows are most active. This may not be an option if you have free-range chickens who roost on trees at night rather than staying cooped up all night long.
However, covering them up during the day may give them enough protection against crows until they get used to being covered at those times of the day.
Remove Food
Keeping crows away from chickens is to remove food sources from the area. If you have an area where there might be mice or other small animals, make sure you clean this area out.
You can also use a product called Critter Ridder that can be purchased at most hardware stores. This product is made with a scent that will scare off crows and other pests such as dogs and cats.
Do Crows Protect Chickens?
A crow’s natural instinct is to eat small animals, so it’s not surprising that crows will swoop down and attack chickens. However, there are some situations where crows may actually be protecting the chickens from predators.
Crows may protect them instead by warning them about approaching predators such as hawks and eagles. They will crow loudly and this will alert the chickens, which will make them run for cover.
Finally
Crows do not eat chickens, contrary to what some people believe. They will eat dead chicken carcasses if they can find them, but they are not known to actively hunt chickens, which are not an easy meal for a crow to acquire.
