Outside lambing pest control?

[Kevtherev]

Shotguns and plenty of patrols!
Bloody things

 

[unlacedgecko]

Contemplating making one for crows, are they as successful as people make out ? Would they be Any use in catching crows bigger black cousins ?

From my understanding, yes.

 

[polk_farmer]

Contemplating making one for crows, are they as successful as people make out ? Would they be Any use in catching crows bigger black cousins ?

Yes

 

[cooksey]

dont stop mine at any time of year! shoot and trap the crows all year round and snare and shoot foxes all year round plus a lad i know comes digging foxes fairly regularly

 

[JohnGalway]

Contemplating making one for crows, are they as successful as people make out ?

Yes, if you use them right. Get a call bird from outside your area, now is a good time as they'll be getting territorial. Take good care of the call bird, feed, shelter, water. Try not to go near the trap in daytime if you can. And don't kill a crow in view of a crow. If it's the first time the areas been trapped then it'd be well worth your while making extra catch compartments, maybe separate to the larsen itself. Often seen a trap full and a crowd of birds still around it. First Spring/Summer we trapped, I'd say we got over three hundred greycrows. Think we have 4 or 5 traps on the go in different spots.

 

[Christoph1945]

Someone suggested visiting one of the airgun forums and perhaps finding an insured airgunner to assist in keeping down the pests.

Always plenty of articles on pest control ( crows, feral pigeons, woodies, and rats; to name but a few ) in the air gun magazines

Air Gun World
Air Gunner
Air Gun Shooter

and plenty of folk out there looking for farm permissions to practice their airgun shooting. And as I understand it, they do it for nowt.

Also plenty of metal detectorists out there looking for permission to detect on farmland and perhaps one or two would be willing to help out with lambing. Detectorists are also, generally, insured.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Someone suggested visiting one of the airgun forums and perhaps finding an insured airgunner to assist in keeping down the pests.

Always plenty of articles on pest control ( crows, feral pigeons, woodies, and rats; to name but a few ) in the air gun magazines

Air Gun World
Air Gunner
Air Gun Shooter

and plenty of folk out there looking for farm permissions to practice their airgun shooting. And as I understand it, they do it for nowt.

Also plenty of metal detectorists out there looking for permission to detect on farmland and perhaps one or two would be willing to help out with lambing. Detectorists are also, generally, insured.

I've known of people to pay to do both!

 

[Nithsdale]

Usually out with the rifle in the run up to lambing... but HMR ammo is more scarce as hen's teeth currently (USA been buying up all components of ammo). Finally got my .22lr bought though, so im not fightless.

Been a lot of crows kicking about the last week or so, not much else. Need to do a few nights rekkie to see what's about this coming week.

 

[exmoor dave]

Usually out with the rifle in the run up to lambing... but HMR ammo is more scarce as hen's teeth currently (USA been buying up all components of ammo). Finally got my .22lr bought though, so im not fightless.

Been a lot of crows kicking about the last week or so, not much else. Need to do a few nights rekkie to see what's about this coming week.

Many a crow shot here with the 22lr, drive by style out the tractor window

 

[Nithsdale]

Many a crow shot here with the 22lr, drive by style out the tractor window

Common crow isn't too much of an issue here, but I do like to dent the population - just to keep from getting too many...

Our biggest problems come from the Carrion Crows/Corbies. Need the HMR for them, iv been saving back my last 40 rounds for lambing. But now I have the .22 I can start throwing lead

 

[JohnGalway]

Common crow isn't too much of an issue here, but I do like to dent the population - just to keep from getting too many...

Our biggest problems come from the Carrion Crows/Corbies. Need the HMR for them, iv been saving back my last 40 rounds for lambing. But now I have the .22 I can start throwing lead

223 and line them up [emoji56]

 

[Nithsdale]

223 with fmj's and line them up [emoji56]

Why you using FMJs?

Expanding rounds are so much better for assured vermin despatch.

 

[exmoor dave]

Common crow isn't too much of an issue here, but I do like to dent the population - just to keep from getting too many...

Our biggest problems come from the Carrion Crows/Corbies. Need the HMR for them, iv been saving back my last 40 rounds for lambing. But now I have the .22 I can start throwing lead

What's a common crow? Or is that what you boys call a rook?

Aren't all crows carrion crows? That's what we have problems with (and ruddy ravens), tarring up all the lambs tails this year to try to stop the crows pecking the tails off and giving lambs joint ill, huge problem last year
Tar seems to be working so far........ just leaves the shepherd permanently smelling of tar

 

[Nithsdale]

What's a common crow? Or is that what you boys call a rook?

Aren't all crows carrion crows? That's what we have problems with (and ruddy ravens), tarring up all the lambs tails this year to try to stop the crows pecking the tails off and giving lambs joint ill, huge problem last year
Tar seems to be working so far........ just leaves the shepherd permanently smelling of tar

Aye - we call them rooks, the ones that you see in large flocks.
Carrion Crows are bigger ones you usually see in 2's or 3's. They will bother lambs or cowpied ewes... their "craw" carrys far.

Then you have Ravens, which we should be allowed to shoot. Thankfully we don't get too much bother from them but they are barstewards!

 

[Christoph1945]

When I were a lad, no more than seventeen, my dad and I would catch a bus in the town square first thing in the morning and group of crows could be seen flying overhead. They always travelled south to north and back in the evening. You could almost set your watch by them.

Many years later, whilst I was based in communist Poland and working the night shift, I would be out and about at dawn and was gob-smacked to see the largest gathering of crows (rooks?) that I have ever seen in my life. Always, at roughly the same time, they would come flying in from the east, pass overhead and fly onward towards the west. No checkpoints or border controls for those hungry blighters. They came like a giant undulating black stream of feathered fury and took ages to pass overhead. I often wondered where they came from and where they flew to. Probably heading for fat pickings in West Germany!

And then, many years later, I observed one single crow. Having just finished the night shift, I sat in my car and relaxed for a moment before driving the forty miles home. There were a couple of crows scavenging bits of bread and food scraps that people had dropped in the car-park. One little chap picked up a crust of bread and took it to where there was a piece roofing felt lying on the ground and hid the crust under it. As the bird started to move away it noticed that several other crows had observed it hiding the crust and returned to the roofing felt, recovered the crust and flew away. Clever little critter! I have also observed crows washing dirt from their food before eating it.

Strikes me that you folks face a somewhat crafty adversary but believe that a strategically placed bit of ripe carrion and a dummy lure can bring the blighters within range. Upon seeing a potential feed and also seeing possible competition (the lure) they become rather careless and will give you better opportunity for that killer shot.

 

[Christoph1945]

Based on some of the above observations, could a dawn ambush be your best bet? It seems to me that the bloody things are creatures of habit!

 

[Dry Rot]

Old saying: "If you see lots of crows together, they're rooks. And if you see one rook on it's own, it's a crow!"

Carrion crows/hooded crows (they interbreed up here) are very territorial and I believe those flocks of carrion crows mentioed by Christopher will be the younger birds without territories. There is a roost in the wood on my neighbour's ground but only about 50 in the flock. These are definitely crows, not rooks.

 

[Christoph1945]

I couldn't imagine the large number of Polish crows roosting in one area but thought that as they passed numerous roosts on their way west other roosts would join them.

I observed hundreds of the birds, not just twenties.

 

[Nithsdale]

When I were a lad, no more than seventeen, my dad and I would catch a bus in the town square first thing in the morning and group of crows could be seen flying overhead. They always travelled south to north and back in the evening. You could almost set your watch by them.

Many years later, whilst I was based in communist Poland and working the night shift, I would be out and about at dawn and was gob-smacked to see the largest gathering of crows (rooks?) that I have ever seen in my life. Always, at roughly the same time, they would come flying in from the east, pass overhead and fly onward towards the west. No checkpoints or border controls for those hungry blighters. They came like a giant undulating black stream of feathered fury and took ages to pass overhead. I often wondered where they came from and where they flew to. Probably heading for fat pickings in West Germany!

And then, many years later, I observed one single crow. Having just finished the night shift, I sat in my car and relaxed for a moment before driving the forty miles home. There were a couple of crows scavenging bits of bread and food scraps that people had dropped in the car-park. One little chap picked up a crust of bread and took it to where there was a piece roofing felt lying on the ground and hid the crust under it. As the bird started to move away it noticed that several other crows had observed it hiding the crust and returned to the roofing felt, recovered the crust and flew away. Clever little critter! I have also observed crows washing dirt from their food before eating it.

Strikes me that you folks face a somewhat crafty adversary but believe that a strategically placed bit of ripe carrion and a dummy lure can bring the blighters within range. Upon seeing a potential feed and also seeing possible competition (the lure) they become rather careless and will give you better opportunity for that killer shot.

Crows are ridiculously clever. BUT their intelligence can only be self learned. If one figures something out, it can't teach the rest or pass on the knowledge. They also can not count - 2 people walk to a hide, and 1 stays the other leaves, Mr crow thinks both have left...

 

[exmoor dave]

Crows are ridiculously clever. BUT their intelligence can only be self learned. If one figures something out, it can't teach the rest or pass on the knowledge. They also can not count - 2 people walk to a hide, and 1 stays the other leaves, Mr crow thinks both have left...

They also seem to be able to tell the difference between a stick and a gun

Number of times I've walked under a tree with a crow sat there while moving stock,
Yet try the same carrying a gun, even when moving stock and thy just seem to know.

But funny enough they get very care free around the tractor.