Attracting Crows to Protect Chickens

Crows are usually considered pests as they can be noisy and annoying. You might want attracting crows to protect chickens. It is because of their pest deterrent nature as they will chase away squirrels and other predators away from your chickens.

There are a number of repellents and scare tactics to keeping crows at bay, but there is one sure way to attract them in your yard, and that is using a food source. This article will show you how to attract crows with certain methods that have been proven effective.

In this article, you will not only learn how to attract crows but also how to do it quickly. Apart from that, I have also mentioned some dos and don’ts to keep in mind while attracting these beautiful birds.

So without any further ado, let’s get started

Attracting Crows to Protect Chickens

The following are some tips that will help you attracting crows to protect chickens without putting a lot of effort into it.

1. Make your yard a crow attracting place

Just like some other animals or plants, crows have their own set of preferences. They search for a place that they can call home and make their nests. You can make your yard a crow attracting place by providing them with the following things:

Water: Since crows are water birds, having some clean and fresh water is necessary for them. It doesn’t necessarily need to be an expensive birdbath as long as it’s able to hold enough water so that they can drink from it or take a bath.

If you think that the water around your yard isn’t sufficient, then consider investing in an inexpensive and easy-to-move fountain. Apart from crows, it can also be used as a decoration piece for your garden or porch.

Ground cover: Crows prefer to sleep on the ground so if you have grass all over your yard, then it’s a plus point. However, if you prefer to have your yard look neat and clean then you can plant some flowers or shrubs around the place where they usually sleep. Crows are birds that like to sing so having some bushes/trees with leaves could help them feel at home.

The cover of trees: Just like what I have mentioned above, crows like to sing so having some trees in your yard will definitely help them feel comfortable. Planting two or more plants will also be better since it could give them privacy while they are building their nest.

With all these things put into consideration, you can surely expect that the number of animals that will visit your yard will increase.

2. Bring food into the picture

Another effective method that you can use to attract crows is by placing some bird feeders in your yard. Crows are omnivores so they love to eat almost everything, especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables.

To help them find their way around your yard, place the feeder in a place where you can easily spot them. However, make sure that the feeder is not close to your house as it could be dangerous for you and the crows themselves.

In addition, not all types of food are suitable for crows so before putting any into the feeder, research first.

The following are some examples of foods that crows like to eat:

Fruits and vegetables: Crows love to eat fruits and vegetables because these contain a lot of nutrition for them. They also prefer those with high water content such as berries. Therefore, placing some bird feeders filled with fresh or dried blueberries can work really well to attract crows.

Nestling food: If you don’t mind feeding some worms to your crows, then buying the canned variety will be a great idea. Just remember not to feed them more than two every few days as it could kill them.

Tubular bird treats/mealworms: These are probably one of the most popular choice for bird feeders, especially for crow enthusiasts. However, before giving it to your crows, make sure that they are still young enough so that they can eat them properly.

3. Don’t forget to give water to these birds

When you feed the crows with fruits and vegetables, remember that these usually contain a lot of water so you should have some fresh water in your backyard to avoid dehydration.

In addition, if you want to attract crows but you don’t have a bird feeder set up in your garden then you still have plenty of choices. Just choose foods that are relatively high in water content such as corn and peas.

Keep these things in mind when it comes to feeding your crows and they will surely be happy to have you as their host.

In addition, aside from giving your crows a place to live and food to eat, you can also provide them with some entertainment by having a birdbath in your garden. With this, they will be able to wash easily after going out for a meal or just for play!

4. Remove All the Noise

Crows are very intelligent birds and they can easily sense danger. Since they are the ones that create the most sound, it is important to keep them away from any noisy environment.

Always make sure that the place where you want them to come is quiet for them. There shouldn’t be any sudden loud noises. If possible you will need to keep your pets away from that place too. It is because a doggy or a cat may start to scare them away which can make things harder for you.

5. Place some decoy crows

The next thing that will help you attract crows to your backyard is by placing decoy crows. As we all know crows are social birds so they are very dependent on other crows.

But it is not easy for you to have real crows in your backyard so the next thing that will work is by placing a decoy crow which can easily attract them.

As an example, you can just try some stuffed toys that resemble a crow. Place one of them right in your garden, in your backyard, or in the rooftop of your house.

Then, just sit back and wait for them to come. Just make sure that you don’t place it too high so that crows can see it clearly.

6. Provide them with high perches

Another tip that will help you attract crows is by providing a high perching area for them. Make sure that the perches are not too high as it can be dangerous for them if they fall down from those heights.

If you want to know the best height, then placing perch two feet above ground is ideal as it will allow them to see their surroundings and avoid any predators.

7. Provide roosting areas for your crows

As we all know that crows like to roost during the night, if you want to attract them then it is best that you provide roosting areas too. Place poles in your backyard and put some platforms for them to use as their resting place at night. This way they will surely spend more time in your garden and they will be more likely to come back.

8. Provide them with nesting areas

Another tip on how to attract crows is by providing them with a nice and safe nesting area. Make sure that this area is not too high from the ground or it can be dangerous for their nests.

Also, try to have towers for your crows to use as their nesting spots. This way you will not only attract them but also keep them safe in a nest especially during bad weather conditions or when they have young ones.

9. Lure them with crow calls

Another useful method that can help you attract these intelligent corvids to your garden is by calling them. You can easily buy different bird calls from the market. It is important that you use crow calls that are very distinct and can be easily heard.

You can try different things like playing a video of crows, playing some sounds of their babies, or even finding people who are making these sounds online.

10. Provide them with some entertainment

To some people, crows may seem like aggressive birds. However, they can be very playful and it is actually adorable to watch them playing in your yard. Apart from that, they are full of life and they want to enjoy every moment with their fellow crows.

So placing some toys and sources of entertainment can make them happy. This will help you attract more crows to your yard too. As mentioned earlier, you can invest in a good birdbath which can be one source of entertainment for them. Moreover, you can also invest in a few toys or even some drape strings as their source of entertainment.

11. Create a feeding routine

This is the most important thing that you have to do if you want crows to eat from your garden. In the first place, you have to provide food so that they can get used to the idea of visiting your backyard for eating there.

To do this properly, try to feed them at the same time every day. Also, try to leave some food on their perches so that they can easily eat on their way. Make sure you don’t skip days otherwise they may get discouraged and as a result stop visiting your yard.

Why Would You Need to Attract Crows in the First Place?

Well, there are numerous reasons why you would need to attract crows. Let me explain them below

They are one of the most intelligent birds on this planet and at the same time they make great watch creatures too. So if you are a birdwatcher, then crows are the best creatures you can attract to your yard.
Depending on where you live and if you have enough space in your backyard, then crows will happily come over to your place and roost there overnight.

If you live in the countryside then attracting crows to your yard is very useful as they will ensure that birds like sparrows, starlings, pigeons, etc do not damage your cornfields.
Crows are also known to act as pest deterrents in the garden. They will chase away other animals like squirrels and raccoons away from your yard.

What are Some Plants that Attract Crows?

There are many plants that attract crows and here I will share with you some of them:

Sunflowers – Crows love sunflower seeds so if you have some growing in your garden, then they will surely get attracted towards it.
Corn – If you grow corn in your backyard then crows will be able to get attracted to it. However, you have to make sure that the corn is not near your house, or else they may get attracted to other things in your yard as well.
Apples – Crows love eating apples so planting some trees of this fruit can help attract a massive number of crows in your garden.

Berries – If you grow berries in your backyard or even near it then this will help attract crows.

How Can You Live with Crows?

It is important to know that corvids can be very friendly and they are not greedy at all. So you don’t have to worry about them taking over your garden space or becoming too destructive.

The best way to keep them out of trouble is by providing them with their favorite food in the morning and in the evening, so if you are doing this regularly, then there will be no reason for them to get unruly in your garden.

It is also important that if you don’t want crows around you when you are working in your yard, then make sure you move them away from the area by using a toy or luring them elsewhere.

What kind of Bird Feeder Do Crows Like?

As mentioned earlier, you can use a bird feeder to attract crows. but the question is what kind of bird feeder do crows like? well, they like the kind of bird feeder which is set up so that they can easily eat and even hang around.

So overall, you should not use a bird feeder which will fall off or break very easily. So you can go for tube feeders or squirrel-proof hoppers as these will be more effective in attracting crows to your yard.

Crows can also be attracted to feeders that have raised perches so you should look for a bird feeder that is of this kind.

Also, it will be good if you use food with higher oil content as crows are very fond of oily seeds like safflower seeds or nyjer seeds. So overall, these are some of the reasons why you should consider attracting crows to your yard.

Will Crows Eat my Chickens?

This is something which you might be worried about. So let me tell you that crows can eat your chickens, but will they? Well, the answer to this question is not really clear as it completely depends on how many crows you attract and what kind of birds these crows are.

If there are a large number of corvids in your area and a significant number of them are from this species then they can easily prey upon chickens.

And if you have tons of small backyard chickens, then there is a strong chance that they will be eaten by crows.

However, if the crows do not find much to eat in your yard or nearby areas then it is not very likely that they will come around your area to eat your chickens.

So overall, it all depends on how many crows you manage to attract and their behavior. To prevent this from happening, you can scare them away by using a water gun or an air horn as this will keep these birds away from your property without hurting them.

Do Crows Eat Chicken Eggs?

The answer to this question is yes, crows will eat chicken eggs if given the opportunity. So you have to be very careful about this. Make sure you are not leaving your backyard chickens unattended or else they will come around and try to prey on them.

However, since these birds are quite smart, then if they start finding it difficult to eat the eggs of chickens, they will simply move on to another location where it is easier for them to do so.

do crows steal eggs?

Crows can steal eggs if given the chance. But you should know that usually they will not go to this level unless they are desperate for food or looking to start a family.

So it is important that you protect your backyard chickens because these birds are very smart and crafty so they can easily steal their eggs without them even noticing anything. Just make sure you keep a close eye on them and try to scare these birds away if you notice anything fishy going on.

So overall, just keep in mind that crows will eat eggs but only if given the chance. So it is important that you don’t give them this opportunity or else they would really not think twice before stealing your eggs.

Final Words

Attracting crows to protect chickens is not very easy but it can definitely be done.

All you need is to set up a feeder, put out some food for them, and if possible also some perches where they can rest on.

In this way, crows will gradually start finding your backyard as a home and begin spending time here regularly.

So keep in mind that the more time they spend here, the more comfortable these birds will be and hopefully this means that they won’t attack your backyard chickens.

This way you can get away from all of your problems regarding crows and free-rangers in general. All you have to do is set up a feeder and wait for some crows to come around and find a home in your yard.