Huh, I totally hadn’t thought about this, but our population of hawks is a lot more absent this year–and a collection of RAVENS is a lot more present.
The crows and hawks always had kind of a detente. I’d see mobbing but everyone kinda stuck around. The ravens have been such a surprise this year!
Thankfully no one is washing their dinner in the trough though. Although maybe I’ll get a feed pan of water out just in case!
So are they really dipping the animal in the water before they eat it or merely dropping it? Easiest solution if they’re really trying to dip it would be to leave the level of that tank low enough that they can’t get their prize down there without falling, I would think.
I have no idea. I have seen them around the tank but haven’t been close enough to barber the behavior.
This is only a “low” 40 gallon trough, so I can’t underfill it more any than I’ve already tried. They don’t interact with my large troughs.
Ahhhh that’s why they like it then. Can you put a taller one near it for the horses and let them have their low dunker?
I mean, I’d have to buy another one…
I’d rather not.
Totally fair. Maybe a feedpan on the ground by it will work.
I have 40 gallon troughs for the sheep, and same experience with crows. They don’t seem to do it in the 300 gallon tanks or in buckets. It’s that form factor maybe that’s especially pleasing somehow.
Okay, there must be something in the air here in MD because I also started having this problem for the first time this year! I can’t even list all the disgusting things I’ve found, even just a few hours after last checking or cleaning the water. Mine is a Nelson waterer so it’s very easy to clean at least.
I don’t want to jinx myself, but the situation did improve after a few weeks. Initially I felt bad tossing their presents, so I would move them to the top of a fence post farther from the waterer (one of their other favorite storage/display areas) at least the first time. If I found the same disgusting thing in or near the water a second time, I’d throw it into the bushes. I narrated this for the crows, out loud, like a total crazy person. I also thanked them out loud whenever I walked out there to a clean waterer, because crows are smart and they can hold a grudge. Crazy, I know. I hope my neighbors heard.
My friend recommended setting up an alternate shiny bowl or altar for them, but I haven’t done that yet. And knock on wood, it’s happening a lot less now than it was.
Photo of the culprit pecking at a lovely dead baby bird, back in May:
This is the best thing I’ve read all day. Clearly I need to practice more gratitude! 
Maybe loud praise will do the trick instead of cursing them.
To be fair, my crows aren’t nearly as interactive. I only see them near the trough from the house. Maybe the gifts are for the donkey.
SE PA and I have also had crows losing their snacks in the horses’ water. That paddock has buckets so it’s an easy dump and fill but it was a bit of a surprise the first time!
I have literally never heard of crows doing this until I experienced it! Now we have @AllTheCarrots @poltroon @Libby2563 and @Bonnie2 all dealing with unappreciated dead “gifts” from crows!
Who knew!
Lower the water level like Mosey suggested. This is what I did. Crows are smart and they won’t wash their food where they can’t get it back.
Every 2-3 days, I was finding several golf balls in or near my trough. I thought the neighbors were using my pasture for a driving range. Then the chicken pieces and parts of dead birds started showing up. They went elsewhere after I lowered the water level.
The problem with lowering the water level is you may find
dEAD, drowned critters who fell in trying to get a drink.
The easy solution is to give the crows and other critters their own water container.
All critters need water so make it easier for them to access it
Today’s trough offering: a slice of bread.
Better than parts of animals I guess.
So much better! I got most of a hamburger bun once.
The crows have not left me presents in quite a few days. We also had a good bit of rain, which has me wondering if all the puddles have given them more places to dunk their prey.
But yesterday when I was mowing, I noticed there are bones EVERYWHERE. On fence posts and in the grass all around the property. This is a new development since I mowed last week. Most of them small, although some of them quite a bit larger.
What the heck?
I’m fascinated by this. My elderly neighbor (in town) was telling me that crows are leaving a bunch of crap in her birdbath I wasn’t sure whether or not to believe her because she isn’t always the most reliable narrator these days but sure enough the next day she showed me a set of bones in her birdbath. Recently the electric utility rather… robustly pruned a pine on her property that had some crows nesting in it. Have you guys possibly upset a nest?
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