Trouble with ravens

Has anyone had experience with ravens after their chickens? We've several ravens move in and make themselves at home on and around our chicken runs the last two days. Unfortunately, they found an old nest of eggs outside which initially drew them but I've cleaned up the remaining eggs but they haven't moved on. They keep coming back and sitting in the tree beside the coop and even sit on top of the yard studying the chickens inside. We have four little 2 month old black tailed buff Japanese chicks in a smaller coop and yard that is build up off the ground. This afternoon the a raven was trying to figure out how to get into their yard. I watched it for a minute before going out with my shepherd pup to chase it away. It would sit on top of the yard, then hop down and study the end of the yard, then back to the top again. I could just hear it thinking "How do I find my way in therew?"

At first I was just annoyed at their hanging around but wasn't concerned because the fresh eggs are all safely inside the coop, but now I'm wondering if they are after the chickens themselves, not just the eggs. Has anyone had ravens attack/kill chickens? If so, how big of a chicken will they attack? I don't think they can actually find their way into the chicken pens but my laying hens have no top on their yard. I don't think they can kill an adult bird but I'm wondering what others have experienced with ravens.

They're a smart bird. Incredibly smart. If there's a way in, they'll find it.
I have ravens everywhere here, but my birds are not where they're in any danger so I can't help your question.

Do you have roosters along with your hens? Mine are very protective and won't let a raven land.

I do have my black copper marans roo in with my laying hens so hopefully that will help in that pen. He's the only mature roo I have kept over this summer. When I had my big buff rock roo nothing got near the girls. He was very protective and I'm missing him right now!

Both my Toms and roosters chase ravens away. A dead raven would do you even better.

I have been thinking about fashioning an ersatz raven out of twist ties and a black plastic bag.

Schipperkesue wrote:I have been thinking about fashioning an ersatz raven out of twist ties and a black plastic bag.

One of our neighbours tried reusing last year`s mummified raven (a bit morbid I know, but hey why not save a couple shotgun shells right) and they ignored it completely. We decided maybe the smell had something to do with it...but let us know if it works for you.

Ravens can go after the birds if they take it into their head. A friend of mine had a raven nest beside his place and the male was killing his Runner ducks. Once he was dealt with, the rest left them alone.

Well, my 9 nine old shepherd took off after the ravens yesterday at full speed growling as she went. After a couple such sendoffs from her (good doggie!!) I haven't seen them back today. Here's hoping that they will go look for their goodies elsewhere. I praised her up for chasing them off and will continue to encourage her to take ownership of the chickens and protect them. (If only I had a shotgun and knew how to use it )

I have had eight leghorns chicks that I though was safe. Delivered five weeks from the hatchery, we started letting them out into the fence in yard, where the coop is. We have no chicken run. Nothing happen. We made sure they were in for the night. This went on for a few weeks. No sign of predatory animal anywhere. One day we went out for an hour or two. Came back to fine only three chick left. Hiding in the corner, of the coop. No, sigh of were the five went to. My parter and I could not figure it our. There was not any evidence left behind, until one day he saw the raven flying in and trying to grab another chick. If it was not for the fact that they ran into this dog house with a small opening. The raven who my partner said had a large wing span could not or will not go into a small space. Nest year before we get any more chick, we are building a chicken run. Right now the last three is too big to be carried off.

A neighbor a few miles away had a disappearing chicken problem, thought it was raccoons but was never able to see them. A friend of his came over after a couple of weeks and said there was a pile of chicken bones under the ravens nest at the church. The ravens were picking off one or two a day.

I will tell you the real trouble with ravens. The trouble is that I really like them! They are beautiful character filled birds. I adore watching them fly around the farm, i enjoy their voices and I rejoice to see that they have been nesting in a tree in our ravine. I could not bear to kill one, and so I need to fortify my perimeters as well as my lids. My roosters work hard to keep their flocks safe from these mighty birds.

Very bad for raiding nest . They will eat any eggs visiable , and attack hens that are setting . I also had them kill a small male ross goose , defending his mate. They ate him , and all the eggs , left the hen devistated. They will eat any young chicks /ducklings/goslings they can get a hold of . They might be beautiful birds in there own right , but not the best bird to have flying around your coop .

My runs are not covered but we ran a string in a zigzag across the top so it is difficult for the ravens to fly in or out quickly, works so far.

Downsize wrote:My runs are not covered but we ran a string in a zigzag across the top so it is difficult for the ravens to fly in or out quickly, works so far.

We tried this too. The ravens decimated a hatch of 12 almost half sized Toulouse Goslings.

We had tried the string over the pens once, good strong binder twine woven through the top of the run. Then came the owl. He was clever enough to get through the string, then would grab a turkey and kill it. Then try to fly out with the turkey, and couldn't. So then it would grab another turkey. And another. By the time we figured out what it was 3 nights later, it had killed about 30 turkeys. The owl went to owl heaven.