Why to some people shoot Crows?

[m657]

Crows in this area are common vandals and opportunistic crop destroyers.

If you've ever had a garden terminated by the Crow clan, you wouldn't be quite as forgiving of their behavior.

I could tell a couple of crow stories but I just don't have the time.

 

[hsguy]

your query on eating crows goes along with the same variation of eating pigeon, you take a pigeon or a crow and throw it in a pot of boiling water that is salted and spiced, you put a large rock in and proceed to boil the bird until you can put a fork in the rock, you then throw out the bird and eat the rock, very simple.

I'd rather eat moose nose, sucker lips and racoon feet before I'd eat a crow.

 

[ThirtyAcres]

Truly......The Gangsters of the bird world.

On the south end of my farm, there is a daily organized crow attack on a hawk nest across the road.

Never gets old watching it.

My favorite poem, by Robert Frost................................

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

 

[Sebago Son]

That's a NY pigeon....

no, No, NO! That's a Gutter Falcon!

 

[Pete99004]

I do my best to not eat any crow but sometimes judgment just fails me....

Seriously, Crows are pests of the highest order. Any farmer will tell you what they will do to corn crops. As a Sportsman I don't care for the predation they reap upon ground nesting game. I've shot them off the wires from my office window with a K-22 while they were trying to raid the robin's nest in the hedge just outside.

People will tell you that they are smart and perform a necessary function of nature, but to me they are rats with wings. I blast them every chance I get.

+1 on that - in fact, I shot one with my 10/22 yesterday and will shoot it's mate when I get the opportunity. They raid other nests - broke the eggs of our barn owl harass the robins, king birds, barn swallows, etc. Next in line for target practice behind crows are the starlings.

 

[venomballistics]

+1 on that - in fact, I shot one with my 10/22 yesterday and will shoot it's mate when I get the opportunity. They raid other nests - broke the eggs of our barn owl harass the robins, king birds, barn swallows, etc. Next in line for target practice behind crows are the starlings.

actually .. pop the starlings first ... they are non native imported by a crackpot Shakespeare fanatic.
You can train them to speak as they can mimic.
I kinda would like to capture a cat bird and teach it to say "I see you" and turn it loose ... same fun could be had with a starling if your so inclined

 

[BUFF]

Ravens, crows, magpies and jays are all members of the corvid family. They have the common traits of intelligence, omnivourishness (is that a word? Will eat anything?), destructive, social and obnoxious. I am inflicted mostly with magpies here.

The magpies kill any small bird and mammal they can find. They will eat the other birds' eggs from their nests. They will attack the parents of other breed's broods and then grab the chicks for a meal. I have several pair of quail that nest in my yard every year. When their eggs hatch, I count 3 or 4 clutches of fuzzy little quail chicks running around. The magpies find them. The clutch goes from 14 or 16 quail chicks down to 10 then 4 then they are all gone. They kill the robins in the yard, and the finches, and the doves, and any other tweety bird that attempts to set up house.

Plus, they are loud and annoying.

In my neighborhood, baby magpies get washed out of their nests with nozzled garden hoses just before they begin to fly, by people maintaining their landscaping. They fall to the ground and get hickory shampoos or introductions to Vibram soles of boots, or the kitty cats get them. All the while the adult magpie parents are buzzing the folks, squawking a storm. They can dish maurading behavior out but they can't take it.

On occasion, our magpies run into small lead pellets that also utilize the air space in the neighborhood. The magpies often cease to be obnoxious and destructive at that point.

I find magpies either dead or just sleeping in my yard. Up close, they are very attractive birds. I like them shoveled into my trash bins better, however.

 

[David LaPell]

Crows can be a real nuisance. Here in NY they are so overpopulated that you can't get away from them. At night even in the small towns little city parks are overwhelmed with them. I have seen what they have done to the songbird populations. If I shoot them, it is to reduce the surplus population. I don't use .22's though, I prefer .22 Hornet or a shotgun. 16 gauge with #6's does the job.

 

[handejector]

I get pretty tired of the "All Life is Sacred" viewpoint.

Does that extend on down to rats, mice, cockroaches, fleas, ticks, flies, fireants, and termites?
How about the poor little polio and smallpox viruses, HIV, and staph and TB bacterium that are ruthlessly hunted down and killed whenever possible?
Can't we all just get along?

 

[epj]

Many decades ago, when I was a young fellow, we hunted crows relentlessly, any time of tear. At some point, around 1970-80, they I was told they were a no-no to shoot because there was some type of crow that was an endangered species. Don't know that I ever looked that up in any game laws. Might have been some sort of urban legend perpetuated by tree huggers. Is there now a season on crows? I agree that they are pests and their numbers need to be kept in check by whatever means are available.

 

[Andy Griffith]

Does that extend on down to rats, mice, cockroaches, fleas, ticks, flies, fireants, and termites?

I think you forgot lice, mites, no-see-ums, crabs, silverfish and the most deadly insect to mankind- the mosquito.

If it's eat'n my garden- it's dead.
I'm not too fond of eating crow either.

 

[Rule3]

I get pretty tired of the "All Life is Sacred" viewpoint.

Does that extend on down to rats, mice, cockroaches, fleas, ticks, flies, fireants, and termites?
How about the poor little polio and smallpox viruses, HIV, and staph and TB bacterium that are ruthlessly hunted down and killed whenever possible?
Can't we all just get along?

What brought this to the discussion? I thought we were just discussing Crows??

 

[feralmerril]

A fellow gets softer as you age. When I was a kid and some older without giveing it much thought I shot brids etc. Now that I am old I respect life far more than I did. I still will shoot snakes but thats about it. I can see shooting varments if you ranch, but I dont seek them out any more. I wont shoot anything I am not going to eat. I figure like this: If I can hit a can or clog of dirt at X yards, it could as well have been a animal. I no longer have to prove anything to anybody. Years ago I have been around idiots that would casualy shoot some critter, hoot and holler with the "thrill" of it, walk off and forget it. When you raise animals and pets at some point it dawns on you they get hot, cold, sick, feel good etc just like we do. When they sit around I suspect they have a thought process like we do. Why stop their world if you dont need too?

 

[handejector]

I get pretty tired of the "All Life is Sacred" viewpoint.

Does that extend on down to rats, mice, cockroaches, fleas, ticks, flies, fireants, and termites?
How about the poor little polio and smallpox viruses, HIV, and staph and TB bacterium that are ruthlessly hunted down and killed whenever possible?
Can't we all just get along?

What brought this to the discussion? I thought we were just discussing Crows??

OK, 'scuse me.
I'll try again-

Why to some people shoot Crows?

Because they are very hard to kill with a knife or a club.

Do they just shoot to kill them?

Pretty much, but some I shoot at are only scared.

Are they that troublesome in some areas?

Yes. See all above posts.

Why do they do that?

They don't like the trouble in some areas.

I guess some folks actually pop out the breast meat like doves and eat them, but is it worth it?

I don't think anyone eats them, but Cajunlayer hasn't checked in yet.

Are they any good?

I don't know. Caj?


I hope this helps.
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Actually, I just assumed most folks knew crows ARE a problem, hence the reason for shooting them.

 

[Rule3]

No, excuseeee me. I only asked a question. Your sarcasm does not really help. You made it a big jump to all life is sacred and then made an analogy of bacteria and viruses. So forgive me for you jumping to some erroneous opinion or conclusion. Geez got Fleas?

I live on the coast and Crows are not plentiful. We have some along with every other type of bird both native and introduced. Crows are not a problem here. If I drive 20-30 minutes inland perhaps on farm land they are a problem

I am in a semi rural suburban area. We have Hawks, Ospreys. Eagles pretty much every song bird. Pigeons, ring neck doves and Starlings are more of a problem.

My elderly neighbor likes to feed the song birds but sometimes a Hawk comes by and kills one. So he wants to kill the Hawk.

I myself would like to kill every freeloading, fish stealing Cormorant I see. I also try to run over every Manatee I see cause they are just ugly

 

[feralmerril]

My dad lived in the boonies in wisconsin. He had a pet crow that would come and sit by him. Someone named it charlie. That was pa`s name too. Dad came down with alzheimers and while he still had his mind he would sit outside and charlie would come occasionaly and sit by him.
A neighbor shot charlie. That didnt help dad much.

 

[DeathGrip]

And their breath stinks

 

[Maximumbob54]

I knew a girl that had a pet crow. He liked to bite you and snatch the treat you were trying to feed him. Then he would do this horrible squawking laugh at you. Most of the time he would just stand there on his perch and watch you. It was kind of unnerving at first. Sometimes he would feel the need to join in the conversation. And if you were eating something then you had better be prepared to give him some or suffer some wrath. At first he would just yell at you. Then he would just come and take some and bite you. She kept his wings clipped just enough for limited flight but not lift. So he also liked to climb furniture or curtains and dive bomb you if you ignored him too long. I thought it was pretty nice that he would always go back to his perch to do his business. She swore she didn't teach him that. All in all it was as close to keeping a pet troll as I can imagine. Terrible but in an interesting and keeping you entertained kind of way.

 

[handejector]

Lighten up.
I injected a little philosophy and a little humor into a thread wherein your question had been completely answered.
You never do that, do you?

No big deal, and not intended to offend you.

In all these references to crow shooting that raised your question, didn't any of them start off talking about the harmful actions of the crows raiding pecans, gardens and fields, or other birds?


Thanks for asking about my fleas. They're about gone. The flea shampoo and my collar have really helped.

 

[deanodog]

They smell like fish and taste like chicken