Magpie Issues. Not Pretty.

[Big Muddy rancher]

We have them but I think a few years ago the numbers declined due to West Nile. They must have developed a resistance to it as they seem to be increasing in numbers again.

 

[tamarack]

We have lots of trouble with magpies but the ravens are worse i have had the ravens eat the tongue or eyes out of the calves when they are being born. They are very hard to shoot as very smart you only get one or two with a rifle and they fly away when you get 500 meters away. They got so bad the MD put a bounty of 50c a pair of legs or an egg. My boy used to make fair money robing magpie and crow nests but raven nests are hard find we put out traps and get lots of magpies but a raven wouldnt go in them unless you get the young ones i found a leghold on a fence post if there isnt any owls or hawks around.

 

[starvin'dog]

I hear you on the ravens. If you have a dopey twin or a calf thats flat out sick they'll sometimes take their eyes. They live to be decades old so can get pretty smart.
We've always had ravens here but I hear they're moving south.

 

[okfarmer]

Have any of you fella's heard of sweet clover bloat[a thining of the blood due to moldy sweet clover hay]? Back in the late 50's we fed a loose stack of hay that was butted with a couple of buck loads of green clover and it spoiled. We fed this butt to a bunch of yearlings on their way to grass. BOOM the next day 20+ dead and another25--30 in awfull shape. Lost a lot of them before we could even find a vet[not many vet's in this country in those day's]!! Anyway to make a long story short we did save 75-80 head of them and in deed sent them to grass. You talk about magpies they opened them poor steers up inall those dryed blood spots.Oh golly what a mess. Astrong and awful expeirence that you will never forget. I like to think that my old Dad used to tell me never to hate any of God's creatures,and I am sorry I can't help it ,the magpie, is one thing we can live without on this earth. Poison,trap,shoot eliminate them anyway you can!!!!!

Yeah, its just like taking too much warfarin or anti-coagulants so that the blood can't clot. The normal hay is okay, but when moldy an component will become toxic. Like rat poison.

That would be a bad day.

 

[Hayguy]

We have lots of trouble with magpies but the ravens are worse i have had the ravens eat the tongue or eyes out of the calves when they are being born. They are very hard to shoot as very smart you only get one or two with a rifle and they fly away when you get 500 meters away. They got so bad the MD put a bounty of 50c a pair of legs or an egg. My boy used to make fair money robing magpie and crow nests but raven nests are hard find we put out traps and get lots of magpies but a raven wouldnt go in them unless you get the young ones i found a leghold on a fence post if there isnt any owls or hawks around.

:agree: we never had any here until about 5 years ago, ate a brand new seat off my favorite 4020, cost us 2-3 grand for new hay tarps that they destroyed with their claws. yes they are very very smart. what part of alberta are you in

 

[starvin'dog]

They're a terror on grain bags around here. Especially bags holding oats.
Guys will throw a dead raven on top of the bag and it supposedly keeps them away.

 

[tamarack]

Hayguy i am live in the north, north of the Peace River. You shoot one raven and the others fly around squacking but never land where the dead one is. hayguy how far south do you live? I raise pb shorthorn cattle and run 50 or so commerical cattle.

 

[I Luv Herfrds]

FIL told me about the magpies sitting on the backs of the cows and pecking them. He said they thinned them down with a pellet or .22
Once the numbers were down they left the cows alone.

 

[George]

A good air gun is great for pest control as they don't hear it and if you get good instant kill shots the others just sit and wait their turn.

Get on floping around and the rest will scatter.

Much like the old buffalo hunters you can rack up many kills in just a few minutes - - - and great pratice at the same time.

 

[mrj]

There was a bounty on magpies and some other 'bad' birds up into the '50's, in at least some counties in western SD. I think it may have been something like a dime for the legs, could be mistaken as it seems that would hardly cover cost of ammunition, But money went further back then, too.

For quite a few years there were extremely few. Now, living about a dozen miles from where I spent my early years, the terrain is quite a bit rougher, and we have had a very few since coming here in 1957. There are more now, tho still not more than a half to a full dozen.

We have never seen any damage to cattle from them. What some of you are experiencing looks awful, reminds of when there were Screw worms in our area.

mr

 

[Hayguy]

Hayguy i am live in the north, north of the Peace River. You shoot one raven and the others fly around squacking but never land where the dead one is. hayguy how far south do you live? I raise pb shorthorn cattle and run 50 or so commerical cattle.

tamarack, we live on the east side of calgary ( 3 mi from the limits). ravens have always been common west of calgary towards the mountains but just showed up here in the last 5 years or so. wish they'd go back. i believe that the native's have some superstition's about them,and hold them in high regard

 

[burnt]

Hayguy i am live in the north, north of the Peace River. You shoot one raven and the others fly around squacking but never land where the dead one is. hayguy how far south do you live? I raise pb shorthorn cattle and run 50 or so commerical cattle.

tamarack, we live on the east side of calgary ( 3 mi from the limits). ravens have always been common west of calgary towards the mountains but just showed up here in the last 5 years or so. wish they'd go back. i believe that the native's have some superstition's about them,and hold them in high regard

3 mi. EAST of Calgary? Oh my goodness man, how do they ever put up with you?

That's getting close to Ontario!!

:lol: :lol:

 

[Hayguy]

not sure who put's up with who around here anymore :wink:

great grand parents came from Ontario ( not sure maybe got kicked out of) a little place called Guelph or something like that, apparently there are still some buildings there that have the family name on them.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

not sure who put's up with who around here anymore :wink:

great grand parents came from Ontario ( not sure maybe got kicked out of) a little place called Guelph or something like that, apparently there are still some buildings there that have the family name on them.

Maybe you and Burnt are long lost cousins. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[burnt]

not sure who put's up with who around here anymore :wink:

great grand parents came from Ontario ( not sure maybe got kicked out of) a little place called Guelph or something like that, apparently there are still some buildings there that have the family name on them.

Maybe you and Burnt are long lost cousins. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Long shot but who knows. Hayguy, you got any Amish or Mennonite in your background?

There are some old buildings with names on them around there, like the Guelph Correctional Centre but maybe that's not one that your kin was familiar with. :wink:

 

[Hayguy]

not sure who put's up with who around here anymore :wink:

great grand parents came from Ontario ( not sure maybe got kicked out of) a little place called Guelph or something like that, apparently there are still some buildings there that have the family name on them.

Maybe you and Burnt are long lost cousins. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Long shot but who knows. Hayguy, you got any Amish or Mennonite in your background?

There are some old buildings with names on them around there, like the Guelph Correctional Centre but maybe that's not one that your kin was familiar with. :wink:

or then again maybe it was :lol:

 

[gcreekrch]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Maybe you and Burnt are long lost cousins. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Long shot but who knows. Hayguy, you got any Amish or Mennonite in your background?

There are some old buildings with names on them around there, like the Guelph Correctional Centre but maybe that's not one that your kin was familiar with. :wink:

or then again maybe it was :lol:

Isn't Alberta to Ontario like Australia was to England?

 

[burnt]

Long shot but who knows. Hayguy, you got any Amish or Mennonite in your background?

There are some old buildings with names on them around there, like the Guelph Correctional Centre but maybe that's not one that your kin was familiar with. :wink:

or then again maybe it was :lol:

Isn't Alberta to Ontario like Australia was to England?

Whoa!

Then what the heck is BC?


:lol: