Crow Alliance

We are still getting alternating Winter/Spring weather, although the snow is less and disappears quickly. We now have only the tiniest patch of snow in the backyard–and that’s it.

Poultry feed was on sale at our local feed store so I ordered ten bags online on Thursday evening and went to pick it up on Friday. After we place our order, the store gets our items together and all EJ has to do is drive up and they load it into the truck. It saves time that way. EJ also did a bit of grocery shopping for us. While he was gone, I made more potpies with the rest of the turkey. I also made a homemade pizza. And I did laundry.

Sunday EJ unloaded the bags of poultry feed from the truck and carried them into the coop where I scooped the feed into empty kitty litter buckets, which keeps the feed safe from rodents and weather. I then stack the buckets in the coop. But before that, I had to rake out the coop so there would be a level floor for the buckets. The chickens’ poop and straw pack down over the months and form a thick mat, which actually helps insulate the coop. In the Spring, I rake/shovel it out and spread it in the garden for fertilizer. It is hard work because the packed-down “mat” is very heavy. I was exhausted BEFORE I started scooping feed into the buckets. When I finished, I was hot and dirty. I staggered into the house to take a shower. We had to sweep up the dirt that fell from my clothes onto the bathroom floor.

EJ’s truck can only really handle about ten 50 pound bags of poultry feed. But pet food is also on sell at the farm store so EJ asked me to order some cat and dog food online, along with three bags of cracked corn for the chickens. Digesting corn actually raises a chicken’s body temperature so we feed them some in the winter in addition to their feed. EJ picked up the order on his way to work yesterday. With inflation expected to skyrocket, we are trying to get ahead on some items.

We have a small flock of crows that call our Enchanted Forest their home. I know that many people despise crows, but I’ve come to admire them since we moved to Northern Michigan seven years ago. Before that, we lived in a small village and crows weren’t really a part of my life. I like ALL birds, but crows might be my favorite.

I’ve learned interesting facts about crows in the last few years. Crows are extremely intelligent. We don’t have problems with hawks or other predatory birds attacking our chickens because the crows chase them away. They also can use tools, problem-solve, and recognize/remember individual humans. If you make an enemy of them, they will tell other crows and even pass down their hostility to their descendants. But it is possible to make friends with them. In the last few days, I’ve begun taking food out to them and leaving it on the hill underneath the trees where they like to perch. They already are appearing shortly after I leave the food. Among other things, I’ve left some less-than-perfect chicken eggs. It’s fun to watch them fly away with an egg in their mouth. I’ve learned that If they recognize that a human is a friend, they will start leaving shiny gifts. EJ is hoping they will bring us money. LOL.

Here are some interesting short videos about crows.

• Crows Problem-solving
• Crows Bringing Gifts
• Crows Recognizing Individuals
• How to Make Friends with Crows

I’ll let you know how my friendship with the crows goes.