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Crow traps


thinxs
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Hope these help work a treat if you have got a serious problem

 

JDF

 

post-7404-1244798927.jpg

 

Made exactly the same trap, copied from the latest book. Installed and baited with paunched rabbit, crows etc are going into the trap BUT its empty when I visit in the evenings... no paths nearby and farmer assures me he has seen no one on the land.

 

Its secure,pegged down and cable tied and fitted with wire curtains exactly as the book shows.

 

Apart from spending the day parked up watching, what do I do?

 

As I advised you Thinxs hold on making one until problem solved and this one starts catching.

 

Rgds D2D

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and there no holes in the wire? no how wide are the holes in which the crows hop into the trap? silly question but is the the door closed and locked lmao i know silly but it happens lol other than that i dont use these traps myself but protom dose try him might help

 

 

sam

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and there no holes in the wire? no how wide are the holes in which the crows hop into the trap? silly question but is the the door closed and locked lmao i know silly but it happens lol other than that i dont use these traps myself but protom dose try him might help

 

 

sam

 

They go through the "ladder" on the top but cannot fly out

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when the crows hop in through the ladder have you put a bar below the ladder for the crows to jump down onto, if you have you could try lowering this as if the crows can manage to get back onto this it may help them getting out, or alternatively take the bar out. just depends on how you have made the trap also consider dropping sections of wire down from the sides of the ladder along the length of the trap. (inside)

 

Take a couple of pics, post them on here for people to look at may be able to get a few suggestions

 

JDF

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when the crows hop in through the ladder have you put a bar below the ladder for the crows to jump down onto, if you have you could try lowering this as if the crows can manage to get back onto this it may help them getting out, or alternatively take the bar out. just depends on how you have made the trap also consider dropping sections of wire down from the sides of the ladder along the length of the trap. (inside)

 

Take a couple of pics, post them on here for people to look at may be able to get a few suggestions

 

JDF

 

No bar under ladder, wire curtains fitted from the start, I made the trap following the plans exactly as shown in the book, I believe the author is a PW member?

All sections including the door are cable tied and the bottom pegged down,there are no holes of any kind.

 

I will have to just bait up with a fresh rabbit and sit it out, watching from a field away through bins!!

 

Will keep you posted as to what can get in and out of 1" chicken wire with a facefull of rabbit.

 

Rgds D2D

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This is a puzzle - we could really do with seeing the trap if possible but if they are getting out it will be for one of three reasons:

 

1 they're being released

2 they're finding a way out through the fabric of the cage (a hole, join, past the door etc)

3 they're getting back through the ladder.

 

I can't help with 1 or 2 but I can with 3.

 

I noticed that you said 'crows etc' and it's a key point here that Jackdaws are significantly harder to keep in that any of the other corvids. Hole size in the ladder is a key factor in retention as is the wire skirts you have fitted.

 

Without seeing the trap as it is my suggestions would be:

- the end sections of the ladder (where it meets the sides of the cage) need to have holes the birds cannot get through at all, or covered in mesh for a short way. If there is a full size hole next to the trap side they can climb up the side and out. Similarly if you block these ends fully (e.g. with plywood) they'll just move along it until they can get out

- extend the length of the skirts by hanging another panel off the bottom. Do they go the full length of the ladder ? Is there space for the birds to get up at the ends ? One option is to join these skirts across the ladder at the ends a little way in so that any 'climber' can't follow the ladder along.

- Failing that you can also fix a wire along the length of the 'ladder' to reduce the size of the holes. You need to be a bit careful here not to make them too small though so we could do with knowing how big they are at the moment.

 

John

Edited by 2nd Barrel
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Oh and I forgot to ask; are there signs that they're definately getting inside ? marks on the bait or droppings ? I was thinking that maybe they're flying round it and not actually in it and from a distance it's sometime difficult to tell.

 

Normally you'd leave the top off and prebait the whole thing for up to a week before you put the trap-top on. That way they know there's good stuff in there.

Edited by 2nd Barrel
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Oh and I forgot to ask; are there signs that they're definately getting inside ? marks on the bait or droppings ? I was thinking that maybe they're flying round it and not actually in it and from a distance it's sometime difficult to tell.

 

Normally you'd leave the top off and prebait the whole thing for up to a week before you put the trap-top on. That way they know there's good stuff in there.

 

 

Hi Yes yes and yes, have already done 99% of your suggestions, they have ripped 2 bunnies to bits and bits of fur are seen on the outside, also bread is taken.

 

I have been involved with several keepers over the years who have had this type of trap, my thoughts are that someone on the farm is not playing ball.... I will catch them in the act very soon, its just that I cannot see how they are releasing them as I said everything is cable tied and pegged down etc.

 

Rgds D2D.

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  • 4 weeks later...

UPDATE;

 

Since posting I have ironed out the problems, it was the angle of the wire skirt hanging down at the ends of the ladder.

 

To date have had 14 carrion Crows and 4 Magpies.

 

The Birds need to be removed after the last crow has gone to bed, they soon become wise and obviously know what is going on just by watching from afar.

 

I have changed location and rebaited with fresh Rabbit with the paunch exposed after each catching session, doing this very late evening and avoided going near the trap in daylight, it also helps draw the crows if the Rabbits eye is clearly visible.

 

The problems seem to be sorted and I see no reason why this trap should not go on working all year, provided it is moved to a fresh area, unlike the Larsen.

 

 

Rgds D2D

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UPDATE;

 

Since posting I have ironed out the problems, it was the angle of the wire skirt hanging down at the ends of the ladder.

 

To date have had 14 carrion Crows and 4 Magpies.

 

nice 1 mate they are great traps mine being a bit different to all of yours after trying things over the last few years . this looks like a record year again for me have now caught over 3200 but then again am runninig 14 traps and at 1 point 20 things slowing down tho now thank god just in time for the birds coming great :hmm:

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Since posting I have ironed out the problems, it was the angle of the wire skirt hanging down at the ends of the ladder.

To date have had 14 carrion Crows and 4 Magpies.

 

D2D that is excellent news :hmm:

 

Well done in getting to the bottom of that.

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Well done :hmm:

 

What was the problem with the initial angle and what did ya change it to?

 

Hi John, initially I had joined the ends of the wire skirts at the two points either end where the spaces in the ladder are restricted to approx 3", this formed a pocket away from the side wire.... I thought this would make it more difficult for the birds to escape, wrong it must have made it easier!

 

I did not actually see any escape, but since separating the two hanging curtains of netting the problem has been solved.

 

One mod I made away from 2nd Barrels book was to make the roof section in two parts for ease of stipping and moving the trap, it is in seven panels including the ladder, all of which can be taken down in minutes, lifted by one man and transported on top of the Def.

 

I can recommend his book having now built Larsens and the Crow trap following the plans.

 

Rgds D2D

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UPDATE 2

 

Since the last post, I rebaited the trap with fresh rabbit on Sunday night, went to the trap tonight, Monday well after dark and it had caught a further 4 Crows and 5 Magpies.

 

As an experiment I have left 2 of the Magpies in the trap as decoys, we shall see tomorrow night if it continues to catch.

 

I also shot a well grown cub that was so engrossed in the contents of the trap he didnt hear the Landrover approaching, all in all a good nights work, well worth the hours it took me to make the trap.

 

Rgds D2D.

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