I told some of you about the crows feasting on the undigested grain in cow manure. The farm is spreading the manure 6 days a week, all year long. They're milking almost 3,000 head a day. (twice a day.) So they produce tons of manure each day. As we hunted Monday, we saw probably 20-30 large tanker trailers of manure get pulled out into the fields to be emptied. The crows would fly up into the air as the spreader came along and then immediately land back into the freshly spread crap.
This is the photo I snapped when driving along the road. Not te greatest photo but if you look closely, you can see that most of the crows are still on the ground in the darkest part of the photo. There were hundreds of crows on the ground there. All of the brown in the photo is manure spread on top of the snow.
-- Edited by Mainehunt on Thursday 24th of January 2013 06:22:13 PM
Kev Thats a large dairy operation there, I bet there's probable a ton or two of undigested grain passing through them cows digestive track. There shound be turkeys as well as pigeons there for the free hand out. What a place to set up at.
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Fresh manure (and generally a couple of days long after spreading) will always attract crows as it brings worms up out of the ground. Some of the best shooting is on it, if you can stand the smell, and don't mind cleaning your kit
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
Charles and I have the permission for this place. There are turkeys and pigeons EVERYWHERE on this farm.
Redditch, the crows are on this manure while it is being spread, in fact, many of the crows have the crape on their backs because they get sprayed by the spreader because they stay that close to the tractor as he is spraying.
The smell doesn't bother us much, we were hunting downwind of it all day. We stayed In the blind for 9 hours with no more than 15 degrees F and a wind.
Like I said, crows here love it too, and you will find tha they will stay on it day after day, as it brings worms up, and of its not cow slurry, but actual manure, it will already have worms and grubs in it, never mind what comes up from the ground, as well as uneaten grain and feed
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
Like I said, crows here love it too, and you will find tha they will stay on it day after day, as it brings worms up, and of its not cow slurry, but actual manure, it will already have worms and grubs in it, never mind what comes up from the ground, as well as uneaten grain and feed
This stuff is a liquid slurry that was inside the cow about a day before they spray it. As far as worms coming up for it, the ground is frozen solid over a foot down, those worms better have a good pick and shovel.
Like I said, crows here love it too, and you will find tha they will stay on it day after day, as it brings worms up, and of its not cow slurry, but actual manure, it will already have worms and grubs in it, never mind what comes up from the ground, as well as uneaten grain and feed
This stuff is a liquid slurry that was inside the cow about a day before they spray it. As far as worms coming up for it, the ground is frozen solid over a foot down, those worms better have a good pick and shovel.
Lol, yep, then they will just be after any grain or insects that land on it. Best is when the weather is warm and they spray it lol, then its no fun even trying to breath
But it DEFINATELY brings crows in at all times, and if the ground is soft you will get them coming for days due to the worms and other insects. Over here they aren't allowed to spread it in winter, as it has to be ploughed in within a few hours usually, although if it rains it keeps the smell down, and then the townsfolk who have moved to the countryside complain less. Other wise the
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
They spread it here 6 days a week, all year long. In the summer the smell is stronger, but the last week has been below zero Fahrenheit at night and up to around 15 degrees F in daytime. The crap freezes solid and holds down the odor, but no mosquitoes or flies to hassle us either. :)
Mainehunt: Man what great picture.. I couldn't stand it.. I see that place as a difficult place to hunt if you are doing a feeding call..The crows have so many choices, so why would they come to your call? My grandfather was a dairy farmer and my dad worked for him for a short while. He had John Deere equipment....Anytime any mention of a manure spreader was spoken my Dad would always say " you know, John Deere stands behind all their equipment; but they won't stand behind a manure spreader."
Mainehunt: Man what great picture.. I couldn't stand it.. I see that place as a difficult place to hunt if you are doing a feeding call..The crows have so many choices, so why would they come to your call? My grandfather was a dairy farmer and my dad worked for him for a short while. He had John Deere equipment....Anytime any mention of a manure spreader was spoken my Dad would always say " you know, John Deere stands behind all their equipment; but they won't stand behind a manure spreader."
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"If money can fix it, it ain't broke" The great theologian and my crow hunting partner AW.
They come to a dying crow call pretty quick if the weather is good, but not so good at zero degrees. Took us 8 hrs to get 45 crows.
Still a good day and better than most we have here. Our best days are when the farmers plant or have harvested. Then they come in drives and we get 150-170 each
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
When the corn here is about 4 inches tall, the crows pull the corn out and eat the kernel off of the roots. I've watched them do this through binoculars. The problem isxhere in Maine we don't have a season when the corn is that size.
The state claims to give out deprivation permits but they turn me down when I try to get one.
-- Edited by Mainehunt on Sunday 27th of January 2013 07:45:18 PM
When the corn here is about 4 inches tall, the crows pull the corn out and eat the kernel off of the roots. I've watched them do this through binoculars. The problem isxhere in Maine we don't have a season when the corn is that size.
The state claims to give out deprivation permits but they turn me down when I try to get one.
-- Edited by Mainehunt on Sunday 27th of January 2013 07:45:18 PM
That's the advantage here, they aren't migratory, and hence are classed as vermin, so we shoot them 24/6 52 weeks a year
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
As far as worms coming up for it, the ground is frozen solid over a foot down, those worms better have a good pick and shovel.
But it DEFINATELY brings crows in at all times, and if the ground is soft you will get them coming for days due to the worms and other insects. Over here they aren't allowed to spread it in winter, as it has to be ploughed in within a few hours usually, although if it rains it keeps the smell down, and then the townsfolk who have moved to the countryside complain less. Other wise the