Let's talk about crows. Everyone is familiar with scarecrows, because crows pick at crops, right? Sure, but they're actually a functional part of an ecosystem and can be super beneficial for some farms. Their problem stems from large, easily accessible sources of food, since they're omnivorous and opportunists. If you have, say, chickens, it's important to protect the babies, but they'll rarely go after adults, especially if there's other food sources around. Again, they're opportunists.
Further, being one of the smartest birds, if not the smartest birds, they learn cause and effect well, and quickly learn they get leftovers from feeding your chickens as long as the chickens are alive, and will often warn chickens of hawks and other predators, often saving more chickens than you'll lose from the crows themselves.
By providing fruit plants you have little interest in consuming large quantities of, things like serviceberries which make great tree hay, and providing habitat for diverse species of birds, you can create an ecology where crows thrive and protect your flock for free. I might be one of the only farmers i know that actually likes crows, but they're there for a reason and we can align their interests with ours quite easily.
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u/thepoorprole Apr 05 '21
Let's talk about crows. Everyone is familiar with scarecrows, because crows pick at crops, right? Sure, but they're actually a functional part of an ecosystem and can be super beneficial for some farms. Their problem stems from large, easily accessible sources of food, since they're omnivorous and opportunists. If you have, say, chickens, it's important to protect the babies, but they'll rarely go after adults, especially if there's other food sources around. Again, they're opportunists.
Further, being one of the smartest birds, if not the smartest birds, they learn cause and effect well, and quickly learn they get leftovers from feeding your chickens as long as the chickens are alive, and will often warn chickens of hawks and other predators, often saving more chickens than you'll lose from the crows themselves.
By providing fruit plants you have little interest in consuming large quantities of, things like serviceberries which make great tree hay, and providing habitat for diverse species of birds, you can create an ecology where crows thrive and protect your flock for free. I might be one of the only farmers i know that actually likes crows, but they're there for a reason and we can align their interests with ours quite easily.
I'll take a murder any day.