The raven, a bird hated and revered.
The ancients believed that the spirits of their ancestors lived again in ravens and treated them as sacred. The birds have no known predators, only man. The population is on the rise dramatically and the victims of the birds are small living creatures and carrion. There are some baby bunnies hatched by the yard rabbits, but they do not have any chance of survival. The raven was sitting on the roof top of the building under which the mamma bunny made her burrow. The little ones are old enough to come out in the world,but the raven sits and waits, then grabs the bunny and is gone, but not for long.
One hen had a nest in the straw bales under a tarp. The clever raven watched the hen emerge from the tarp and stole every one of the eggs, of which there were 12 when I counted just the day before. There is a mother with 10 chicks hatched in the barn, but if she brings them out, there will be no chance for their survival. Last year the ducks hatched 85 babies between 5 ducks and the next day there were only 20 left. I must scoop the babies up upon hatching or they become dinner for the birds.
My friend shot 4 ravens and hung the carcasses around the farm in the sheep pen, where they always are found. My concern was for the newborn lambs, since ravens have been well known to kill newborn babies and eat them or take them away to feed their young. The idea of shooting a raven and hanging the carcass is supposed to keep the others away, as a warning sign, but it doesn't work. They are back with a vengeance and when the little ones become fledglings, the numbers will triple. They do not leave the area either. The only thing that keeps them at bay is an owl. I need to find some plastic owl statues and try to scare them, however, I believe they know the difference. They are very smart. A recent study showed that a raven is as smart as a dog. I believe that. But they are terrible predators.
I managed to rescue 4 of the goslings recently hatched and put them in the chick brooder for their own safety. I know there were more, but....
What does one do? Beautiful and intelligent, the ravens are without a doubt the worst predator on the farm. The dogs keep the coyotes and bears at bay, but not the ravens, well, except Jade. She does not like to share her meat with anything or anyone and will chase off ravens or chickens or ducks. But she does not go in the sheep pen much. or the goat pen, or guard the new baby bunnies or the just hatched birds.
I am going to ask my friend to come and shoot more ravens and more ravens. Many farmers are having great problems with them, even killing calves and adult cows. A flock of ravens descending on anything would stand little chance. Look at the talons. They are razor sharp. Don't they remind you of a dinosaur?
Despite the amazing tales of ravens, I want them gone from here. What do you think?
The ancients believed that the spirits of their ancestors lived again in ravens and treated them as sacred. The birds have no known predators, only man. The population is on the rise dramatically and the victims of the birds are small living creatures and carrion. There are some baby bunnies hatched by the yard rabbits, but they do not have any chance of survival. The raven was sitting on the roof top of the building under which the mamma bunny made her burrow. The little ones are old enough to come out in the world,but the raven sits and waits, then grabs the bunny and is gone, but not for long.
One hen had a nest in the straw bales under a tarp. The clever raven watched the hen emerge from the tarp and stole every one of the eggs, of which there were 12 when I counted just the day before. There is a mother with 10 chicks hatched in the barn, but if she brings them out, there will be no chance for their survival. Last year the ducks hatched 85 babies between 5 ducks and the next day there were only 20 left. I must scoop the babies up upon hatching or they become dinner for the birds.
My friend shot 4 ravens and hung the carcasses around the farm in the sheep pen, where they always are found. My concern was for the newborn lambs, since ravens have been well known to kill newborn babies and eat them or take them away to feed their young. The idea of shooting a raven and hanging the carcass is supposed to keep the others away, as a warning sign, but it doesn't work. They are back with a vengeance and when the little ones become fledglings, the numbers will triple. They do not leave the area either. The only thing that keeps them at bay is an owl. I need to find some plastic owl statues and try to scare them, however, I believe they know the difference. They are very smart. A recent study showed that a raven is as smart as a dog. I believe that. But they are terrible predators.
I managed to rescue 4 of the goslings recently hatched and put them in the chick brooder for their own safety. I know there were more, but....
What does one do? Beautiful and intelligent, the ravens are without a doubt the worst predator on the farm. The dogs keep the coyotes and bears at bay, but not the ravens, well, except Jade. She does not like to share her meat with anything or anyone and will chase off ravens or chickens or ducks. But she does not go in the sheep pen much. or the goat pen, or guard the new baby bunnies or the just hatched birds.
I am going to ask my friend to come and shoot more ravens and more ravens. Many farmers are having great problems with them, even killing calves and adult cows. A flock of ravens descending on anything would stand little chance. Look at the talons. They are razor sharp. Don't they remind you of a dinosaur?
Despite the amazing tales of ravens, I want them gone from here. What do you think?
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