I grew up in SC around chickens, but as anyone with chickens know, you gotta fight for your eggs. I don't mind that rat snake that comes in for a few eggs, they at least decimate the rat and vole population, I just pick Mr. No Shoulders up and take him out to the woods and release him. Now, having an electric fence helps with Coyotes, foxes (the grey ones climb trees), racoons, opossums, armadillos, and a myriad of other ground critters that like to eat eggs. I remember finding one armadillo fried in the fence, well, no eggs for him. The most exhilarating nights where the ones when I'd spot a 'possum, man I'd chase that guy down with my break barrel .177 and smash him (we also had guinea fowl, and we lost 14 of 'em to 'possums). Now these guys talking about using 50 cals for opossums is ridiculous, I would kill a 'possum one shot with my .177, put a round through his head to make sure. Now I enjoy the firepower of a .22 cal slug speeding along at around 900fps, no turning back now. One time I remember seeing this grey blob looking at me (to this day I don't know what it was, but once it was in the tree it acted like a racoon, but I didn't see its trail, it looked like a big cat at first) from 15 yds away as I approached it, it finally scampered off to a massive oak tree where I put 200 rounds of .177 up with no results (the scope came off my gun so I couldn't make an accurate shot, don't judge, this was little kid me). There, up in the top of the tree I saw a pair of eyes (then half a dozen smaller ones) just looking at me, man! That made me mad, but I couldn't do anything about it. Then the eyes started bobbing up and down, I believe that is what racoons do, correct me if I am wrong. Now having an electric fence and all of that is dandy, until you get a flock of crows to get into your chicken coop and make a mess. I remember battling them off (they never dropped immediately, but I shot dozens right out of the air) with my .177 break barrel, I was defending the flock. Now, after reading an article on a DWR (Department of Wildlife Management) website, I became inflamed with hate for these nasty birds; The article was about how crows kill on average 25% (in the northwest) more ducks and waterfowl young and eggs than hunters kill adults countrywide. After witnessing first hand the decimation of 75% (you read that correctly) of all of the songbird nests on my property by these birds, I had had enough. I went to war. I've taken dozens of them with .22 shorts, nocked two off the same branch because they didn't hear me as I was using subsonics. I'd blasted a chunk out of a flock of them invading a nest, now, they won't even take a look at my property, they won't even fly over it anymore. I went to a friend's house who also had a problem with them raiding, nocked one out at 150yds with a .17HMR. Now, for those freaks who want to eat them, well, when the season comes around, and I start shooting, I don't think about the pounds of meat I am going to eat (it is just a nasty skinny chicken, why go through the trouble on a winged rat?), I think of the birds and eggs that I am saving. So, if anyone likes crows, think again, they have their place, but they also have no predators, they are out of control. It is our job to save the species that do have predators, and are suffering as a result.
Why kill crows?
- Thread starter MightyMo
- Start date
I forgot to add that with the advancements in gun scopes, I have been able to knock crows right out of midair with my .22 airgun, which I now use instead of the .22lr. It is way quieter, plus it is easier on the wallet.
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Ditto what your wrote for Starlings also! I refer to Starlings as, 'Vikings of the bird world' for the savage attacks on native bird nest!
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Paragraphs would make for better readability.
Anyway...around my area, domesticated dogs kill a lot of poultry and livestock. You know what the next question would be, but I'm not going to spell it out.
Personally, I like crows but am fully aware they can be real pests in some circumstances.
Anyway...around my area, domesticated dogs kill a lot of poultry and livestock. You know what the next question would be, but I'm not going to spell it out.
Personally, I like crows but am fully aware they can be real pests in some circumstances.
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My questions is, if they're badly behaved..... Why not? I make a point to very publicly execute a few in front of the murder so they stay away for a couple years.
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Because they ruin the native song birds I just wreak havok on starlings for the fun of it. I make no illusions of it. 100 yards or 150 yards they park on some safe spots to get them. It's sport.
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Man, you think I am here to write papers LOL? Sorry, I should have made it into paragraphs for easier reading, but hey, the upside, it makes it stand out more
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I would expect a lot of crow here , but very few . I drive around a lot and i don't see any murders (flocks) South Central Kentucky east of I 65.
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But, my point is the murder will go on to other properties and continue to wipe out songbird populations, if you look at it from this perspective, there are relatively few of us airgunners to manage their numbers, the more we shoot, the more we even the ratio in the area around us. Crows are migratory, generally (there is something called a 'native population', also found in Canada geese), so that means that a few will stay around the area while the rest will migrate north and spread out. Now, a healthy crow population is one that is about 2 to 4 crows per square mile (this sounds like a large area, but it actually isn't at all). With numbers in the 10s and even up to 25 crows square mile near cities and farms, the results are disastrous.
I will make one argument for crows, they do eat copious amounts of voles, which tear up gardens and landscape, but... hawks and owls do the same exact thing. What crows do in the process is eat large amounts of moles, which help irrigate and aerate the soil. I have found many dead moles left uneaten by a murder of crows.
To conclude, we cannot ignore that crows are here for a reason, and that reason is to balance the ecosystem. That ecosystem is currently off balance. We have too many crows, we have introduced starlings, trees of heaven, lantern flies, house sparrows, and the list goes on and on. Our duty is to do our part in trying to bring balance back to the ecosystem. We cannot bring back the 1700s, we have ruined enormous amounts of wildlife habitat, but what we can do is help critters to coexist with us humans. Now songbirds can't do that when most of their young are being eaten by crows and starlings. So I encourage you to help things out and take out a few crows and all of the starlings you can get your sights on.
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That is strange, I would expect Ol Kentucky to have more crows, what do y'all have over there? I have always loved to drive through Kentucky (depending on the place, of course)
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Reminds me of Wisc. eradicating the wolves , then years later they "discovered " that wolves are a necessary part of the ecosystem (who would have thought ?
So then they had to Pay for live trappers to import the Wolves back to Wisc.
So then they had to Pay for live trappers to import the Wolves back to Wisc.
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I am sure other areas have crows just in my area we lack crows . I moved here 12 years ago , maybe because as a kid we played Deniel Boon and Indians .
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Retired to Florida in 2005 to a neighborhood under siege by crows. Songbirds nearly gone, trash cans raided and noisy pre-dawn raucous. Neighbors tried yelling, banging pots and decoy owls, all to no avail. Battled with Crosman 760 for years but they learned to cuss me just out of range. Stumbled onto PCPs five years ago, hasn't gone well for them since. Made a special effort to keep my activities below the radar so neighbors credit bird flu for the save. Just nod my head. WM
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My wife and I are discovering how invasive and destructive crows are to our chickens eggs which they just started laying. It was mainly the poultry seed block that attracted the crows and ravens but when that got ate up most of them left.
I've seen of few of the ravens take off with an egg but I think those eggs fell on the ground so fair game I suppose.
It's actually a catch22 because I like the ravens, not so much the crows though.
Man I wish our ravens and crows would get my moles which need kilt bad!
Had to take action against the Yotes because we've had problems with them overpopulating but they pretty much stay off the property now.
I've seen of few of the ravens take off with an egg but I think those eggs fell on the ground so fair game I suppose.
It's actually a catch22 because I like the ravens, not so much the crows though.
Man I wish our ravens and crows would get my moles which need kilt bad!
Had to take action against the Yotes because we've had problems with them overpopulating but they pretty much stay off the property now.
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we take as many crows as we can. we grow and process our own cattle feed on our farm and the crows cost me around 15-25K$ every year on crop damage
between corn, soybeans, cane and wheat. we also grow peanuts for market and they feast on them after we turn peanuts above ground.
i would take out the blue-jays if i could in a minute also, but i can't.
between corn, soybeans, cane and wheat. we also grow peanuts for market and they feast on them after we turn peanuts above ground.
i would take out the blue-jays if i could in a minute also, but i can't.
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They are fun to hunt as they are smart and not easy prey as far as birds go. Don’t really hate them by any means. Predator prey is how life flows and works. I see plenty of song birds and ducks. All seems ok with the crows around.
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Had one for a pet as a kid. Very smart and great pets. They can even mimic human voices. Mine was free to come and go from my garage. He stuck around for about 3 years and them disappeared. I always figured he probably got shot. His name was Edgar.
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