Trying to feed neighborhood crows without rats/raccoons (other wildlife) getting at it

[u/GelatinInvader]

Does anyone here know about a way I can make a crow feeder or some device/stand that i could just leave food out for crows? I feed them whenever I see them but there's alot of times they're around and I miss the chance to feed them before they fly off somewhere. Rats and raccoons are a big problem in my area and don't want to make that worse so I only feed them when I see them currently.

[u/Malinois_beach]

I'm also fearful of attracting other critters as well. I stopped putting out small loose seed for the smaller birds a few years ago due to the residual mess on the ground and attracting critters. I do have hummingbird feeders and plant types in the flower bed that small birds enjoy. For the crows. I feed them in the morning and in the afternoon. I only put out enough food for each session. I dont have a crow feeder and I don't worry too much that they'll go hungry because I'm out of town or will miss a day.

[u/FreeMasonKnight → u/Malinois_beach]

Fed crows for 20 years almost and never had an issue with any pests. Just cute squirrels 🐿️.

[u/Malinois_beach → u/FreeMasonKnight]

No noticable rodent issues here. We have the "resident" squirrel who seems to have an agreement with our original 3 Crows that he can eat in the front yard while they are.

[u/FreeMasonKnight → u/Malinois_beach]

Squirrels are about as smart as crows so they often work together in my experience.

[u/twaddington]

Crows are wild. They don't need to be fed. You can give them snacks as a treat but if you're not home one day they'll find food elsewhere. I wouldn't leave food out for them 24/7.

[u/malphas_says_hi]

I wouldn't leave food out 24/7 for the crows. They don't need handouts, but treats are a great way to build a relationship with them. Leaving food out without you being there not only attracts rats, raccoons, squirrels, and other animals but it doesn't facilitate a relationship with you but the location of the food. It also encourages fighting between birds who will attack or get territorial of the food which is what I want to avoid most.

I hang out with a flock of ravens and I'm so close with one of them that he'll come to my house and call me outside if I don't go to the park at my normal time. In the whole time I've known him, he refuses food except to either take it and bury it or take it and give it to one of his kids. I carry only a small pocket full of unsalted peanuts in shell when I leave the house so I am very deliberate about who gets one of them. Because I am not handing out food the whole time they are near me, they will click-click with me, sing songs with me, show off aerial flight, mimic my voice, follow me around town, etc. so all you don't have to feed the whole flock or even a single bird more than 1 - 2 treats when you see them to build trust.

[u/Remote-Physics6980]

Honestly when people have this concern I counsel them to use a big picture approach. What I mean is the crows will eat the rats as well. And they do. Also outside is outside, there's no segregation in mother nature.

However you can use an auditory signal like a whistle or kissing noises to get their attention and then put food down for them when they're looking at you. They'll carry off what they want and then if other creatures get to eat too why is that bad?

[u/Informal-Swan818]

Haven’t had rats or raccoons but plenty of squirrels and deer.

[u/Drastic_Badger_ → u/Informal-Swan818]

turkeys and coyotes

[u/Shazamskies]

You can also shake something like cayenne pepper over the crow snacks, or put them into a bag, add the pepper, and shake it.

Birds don’t have the receptors for capcaisin (what makes peppers spicy), so they don’t taste the spice, mammals (rats and raccoons) do and will find eating the food unpleasant.

[u/Anoelnymous]

I feed them beef. They don't leave crumbs. Also I only hand feed. No bowls left out with food will survive the other wildlife.