Crows & Corn?

[hummingbird]

what is your favorite way to protect corn from crows? This is my first year growing sweet corn in a raised bed. They have their tassels and I want to protect them before I have a real problem. We have tons of crows in the area. Thanks!

 

[Durgan]

That is a big problem. All my corn one year had the ends picked by birds. Apparently the type of corn that I grew had a weak husk. This only happened one year.

Usually birds don't attack mature corn, but eat the shoots as they are young and tender. You appear to have a problem with mature corn. There appears to be no practical solution from where I sit.

 

[Chuck]

A 12 guage works pretty well and is a lot of fun too.

 

[hummingbird]

A 12 guage works pretty well and is a lot of fun too.

Bahaha! I thought you were talking bout wire at first! And then I had visions of feathers flying. These guys eat me out of house and home, too, because they eat our dog food all day long.

 

[Rajesh Sethi]

 

[tbendl]

hahahahaha

 

[hummingbird]

So, all that I need is a cat with an Al Pacino complex? Sounds easy enough.

 

[tbendl]

Start sprinkling a little heron in the kitty food, should do the trick.. Lol

 

[hummingbird]

 

[tbendl]

Ok now that just looks like me in the morning.... Lol

 

[Rajesh Sethi]

View attachment 22306

scary image, cat drooling signify infection or food poisoning

.

I really don't know what to use to scare birds, they are quite intelligent and adapt quickly.

Some used polythene sheets to make noise ties to long pole (depends on wind),


some used shiny object like foil (don't you think, it will be like helipad on which bullseye is drawn in flashy lights),


some install gadgets to make loud noise periodically (birds don't pay much heed to after sometimes but neighbors will definitely start to scare you

),


some put sharp barbed wire,

keep cat/dog to scare the birds

Crows are more social than we think, instead of running away(flight) if one of them is harmed they tend to attack(fight) specially target head (so, don't forget to put on caps).

 

[Chuck]

Shoot from inside the house with a .22?

 

[headfullofbees]

Form chicken-wire into a cage for the cobs to protect them; I have to do this to protect mine from squirrels.

 

[hummingbird]

Thank you, all! Yep, that cat is sick. I do have a cat that drools only when I pet him. He's not sick, just weird. Lol. Speaking of my cat, he eats the sweet corn, too. Had to put him on lock-down. All joking aside, I couldnt shoot a crow even if my neighbors weren't 9 feet away from my corn, hehehe. My father in law, on the other hand? Sitting in his rocking chair with a .22 and shooting crows and ravens is a pastime! These crows have taken up residency with my ducks and chickens. They are friends and sit under my willow tree together all day. Since I garden in such a small area, some type of netting is probably my best bet. Our distant neighbors have a large commercial corn crop. They sound faux shotgun sounds out. Their property is still crawling with crows! They are unbelievably smart. It might scare them off the first few times, but they catch on. PBS has a documentary worth watching called "A Murder of Crows". It gives you a whole new "respect" for them, for lack of better words. Apparently, If you do kill one and leave it to be seen, word gets around their family and friends and they will stay away. And, apparently, multiple flocks will gather to mourn their death. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/a-murder-of-crows-full-episode/5977/