Grow Your Own Magazine

I had a heart attack last night when my new hens were happily roaming the garden and a raven flew down to the ground but flew off again.

Can the hens defend themselves against ravens? I would be happy to let them roam until bedtime normally, but now i'm a bit nervous! I've only had them a couple of weeks and i would hate to lose one.

Any advice please?

Ravens eat carrion ~ dead things. I don't know if they'd kill a hen, but they might. Best not to risk it.
According to Dr Andre Farrar, spokesman for the RSPB: "reports of raven attacks may be exaggerated, but they do kill things. They make a speciality out of scavenging and eating carrion. In many cases their prey is already dead, but they're highly capable of killing"

The raven is a big black bird, a member of the crow family. It is massive, bigger than a buzzard. It is all black with a large bill, and long wings.
Where to see them: in upland areas of south-west England, Wales, the north Pennines and Lake District and much of Scotland.

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Thanks very much. Also seen in our garden and on grouville beach picking through the seaweed!

Ravens rarely attack anything capable of putting up resistance (even just by dodging) but they will attack a sheep stuck on its back, or a rabbit with Myxy, an injured bird (that got away from the cat) etc. I reckon it is unlikely one would go for a healthy chicken, but stealing eggs from an unofficial nest would be likely, and they are smart enough that if they have done so at one chicken place, they might investigate other chicken keeping establishments to see whether such an opportunity existed. I have heard of carrion crows (which are not nearly as clever as ravens) actually entering the hen-house after eggs, but I suspect that one was made up, because they don't like landing where they would be vulnerable, or where taking off again was going to be delayed.

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We have crows which sit on the run fence and fly down to nick the chicken's titbits. If the chooks see them they run at them and the crows fly off. So my moneys on the hens. Sinister tho, the way they sit there....

I managed to get hold of a local ornathologist, who told me this :-

Firstly, it is very likely that you saw a Raven, as we do have around five pairs, plus young, on the Island at the moment. Generally, Ravens are scavengers and would not normally be seen actually attacking a hen, That said though, being scavengers, they would take an opportunity if it arose, especially with a chick or a sickly bird. They tend to be nomadic after breeding, so will move elsewhere, if there is nothing worth their while to stay for.
I think caution is a good approach, and they should go elsewhere if food is not available.

So there you have it! Just going off to have a chat with the girls about playing dead in the open.....

Hi, chances of a raven going at it with a chicken slim to none and if you have a cock bird raven O a cock bird will beat the living crap out of most of our wildlife trust me I run British wildlife rescue