Dead Crows nailed to post...

[minskey]

How can people do this in this day and age?

You drive past the fields around here and you will often see dead crows nailed to post's. Its barbaric, who does this, is it the farmers to protect the crops from the birds???

Surley in this day and age its wrong

[Darwin.]

I've never seen that. I've heard of people hanging dead gulls on fishing boats to keep the others away so it's probably the same idea. It's bound to be illegal.

[Jardiniere]

I didnt know that was still done! It reminds me of the children's book - The Little Grey Men written in the 1940's in which the small dwarves who still live on a river in england manage to kill off the gamekeeper who had a gibbet on which he nailed dead birds, rabbits, otters etc.
The farmers around here will kill anything but they don't nail them to posts! Different crops here tho - dont think crows eat grapes or tobacco?

[Nicos]

Didn't know about crows.

Moles though...I used to see them yonks ago hooked onto barbed wire ( dead of course)
I would presume that as moles have dreadful eyesight would perhaps have caught the scent of them???

[Nicos]

J- apparently crows will kill chooks and chicks.

[SarzWix]

Surely once it's dead, nailing it to a post or burying it in the ground isn't going to make much difference to the bird one way or another? Whether humans can/should/do kill other creatures is another debate altogether.

[bubblewrap]

I think it is supposed to work like a "scare crow" I've heard of it done with pigeons.

[zazen999]

Never heard of it either. Is it a Lincs thing?

[Potstubsdustbins]

It first started many years ago when a gamekeeper would hang any vermin he caught on a rack to prove to the boss he was doing his job. Not sure it would scare off other carrion though.

At this time of year it is usual to cull carrion, magpies, crows, jays etc to try to protect other small birds and new born lambs from their ravages.

Colin

[Darwin.]

Do they kill smaller birds? I like magpies but hate crows, should I start hating magpies too?

[binley100]

Last summer a sparrowhawk took out a wood pigeon in my garden and it's mate was pacing about behind.......this year we keep getting a lonely wood pigeon sitting on the fence or the garden table ..I'm not sure if it's the same one but it's very sad to see it..

[bearded bloke]

Not sure it would scare off other carrion though.

There is a way to tie a crow between two sticks in a field so that it moves in the wind,this was done so that the crow scares pigeons off the crop

[cptncrackoff]

You see it round here, one or two crows tied to a post or tree, on some crops or game cover, old fashioned now. Supposed to scare off other crows.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Darwin its nature I am afraid, all carrion will take what ever they can get be it road kill or song birds eggs and young. They will also try and knock down new born lambs if there is nothing else on the table.

Its no cause to hate them its how nature intended it to be. However when there are two many of them it can upset the balance and they have to be thinned out. Magpies and Jays are beautiful birds but they are every bit as much a pest as the poor old crow.

Colin

[Potstubsdustbins]

There is a way to tie a crow between two sticks in a field so that it moves in the wind,this was done so that the crow scares pigeons off the crop

Only thing I have found to keep woodies of a crop is 1 1/8 ounces of number 6, they eat well to.

Colin