Crows stealing chicken feed...help please!

[chirpy chicks]

So we have five chickens (a mix of 3 Cuckoo Marans, a white leghorn and a blue jersey giant). We also have two Orpington chicks and are hopefully getting some more chicks at the weekend, but currently it is only the hens outside. We are having a problem with the crows eating all the chicken food. The chickens are free range during the day in a large, fenced in field. They have a coop with a walk in run, where we put their feeder. The crows have figured out how to get in the walk in run and are stealing food out the feeder. We get dozens of crows doing this and we fill the chickens feeders full in the early morning, yet by the time we come back to check for eggs at midday, the feeders are nearly always empty. We are getting through a 20kg bag of chicken food in sometimes not even a fortnight because of this. We are concerned that the crows may bring some disease to the chickens and also that our chickens are not having food available because the crows are eating it all! Not to mention it is costing a fortune in chicken feed.

The reason for this post is to ask does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop this happening? We already got a hawk kite in attempt to stop them but the crows quickly realized it was not real and it does not stop them. Hoping someone might have found something that works...thanks in advance

 

[iwiw60]

Can you move the feeder to inside the coop?

 

[Percheron chick]

I leave my feeders inside the coop for this very reason. Unfortunately crows are smart and they will soon figure out how to go through the pop door and find the feeder. Since the chickens are out, just put the feeder way for the day time. Give them access to it about an hour before they go to bed. Crows not only eat your feed but they can also kill your chicks and they will steal your eggs.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I leave my feeders inside the coop for this very reason. Unfortunately crows are smart and they will soon figure out how to go through the pop door and find the feeder. Since the chickens are out, just put the feeder way for the day time. Give them access to it about an hour before they go to bed.

Yep - crows are crafty little devils, so there really is no way to have the food accessible to your chickens without also being accessible to the crows while the run is open.

 

[chirpy chicks]

Yep - crows are crafty little devils, so there really is no way to have the food accessible to your chickens without also being accessible to the crows while the run is open.

Thx

 

[chirpy chicks]

I leave my feeders inside the coop for this very reason. Unfortunately crows are smart and they will soon figure out how to go through the pop door and find the feeder. Since the chickens are out, just put the feeder way for the day time. Give them access to it about an hour before they go to bed. Crows not only eat your feed but they can also kill your chicks and they will steal your eggs.

Thank you

 

[chirpy chicks]

Quote: 'I leave my feeders inside the coop for this very reason. Unfortunately crows are smart and they will soon figure out how to go through the pop door and find the feeder. Since the chickens are out, just put the feeder way for the day time. Give them access to it about an hour before they go to bed. Crows not only eat your feed but they can also kill your chicks and they will steal your eggs.

tHANK YOU