# Found - young, injured crow...please help!



## Ryiinn

Hello everyone,

Just as I figured, I was taking my daily walk around our office park and I ran across a young crow that I thought was dead on first look. As I looked closer, I realized that the little one was still breathing and injured. 

He appears to be quite young, although he has a majority of his feathers. I notice that as I approached him, he opened his beak wide and let out a "graaaaK" (which I assume is crow for hey there...feed me).

He has a laceration on his right wing, which seems to be fairly deep. Both sides of the wing are heavily bruised, and he has blood caked on both sides. I can't tell if the wing is broken.

He is extremely dirty and wet, so I can't really tell much else. I immediately took him in and placed him in a soft box. I took the rest of the day off and now have him isolated in my bathroom in his box posting this. I have a heating pad that I plan to place him on for a bit and then I would like to clean him up and treat his wounds with some peroxide to make sure they don't get infected. Poor little baby is mangled 

What do I do from here on out? I have no idea what to feed a young crow, and he is obviously very hungry. He doesn't have much meat on his bones, and seems quite sleepy. I think he's really run down.

I have various types of tubes and droppers, and can run to the store to pick up anything I need to help him. Please help me! 

Here are some really bad pics of him. I'd try to get better, but my camera is on it's last legs.

http://flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157600311297822/


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## Ryiinn

Oh, another thing I notice is that he seems to occassionally let out what sounds like a cough. It's a labor for him to do this, as he is really weak. Also, you can see the membranes on his eyes quite often. He spends a lot of his time with his third eyelid closed.

Additionally, his poops are a milky yellow color...almost the color of butter.

I have him on his heating pad right now.


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## Charis

Rylinn, 
Do you know of a Wild LIfe Care center in Seattle or an Avian Vet? That's where the bird needs to go. Crows are Federally protected and need to be in an approved facility.
Looks to me like the baby needs antibotics.
Temporarily you can feed moistened puppy chow. You want it to be soft and not hard at all. Discard unused portion. Scrambled egg .


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## Ryiinn

I don't know of any off-hand, as I have had pretty bad experiences in the past with local shelters and birds. When I found my pigeon, every place I called told me rudely that they either couldn't take her or I could bring her in to be put down if I wanted to.

I'm in the process of trying to search online for a place I could call, and until then I have the baby on a heating pad in my bathroom. I'm just not sure if there is anything I need to do until then. I am going to step out to the store in a few minutes to pick up some pedialyte and food according to this article:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/babycrow.htm#rehab

If anyone knows of any reputable places in Seattle that I could call, please let me know. I don't want to get in trouble for having the bird, but I don't want to take him to a place that I know "has no time" for hurt birds either.


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## Pidgey

A pigeon doesn't get the regard that true wildlife does. It is true that you'd need a good vet who does wildlife. Anyhow, he needs rehydration before food, elsewise the food could kill him. He sounds pretty bad, actually. The water given needs a bit of salt and maybe a bit of sugar or grape juice (some birds don't take some sugars very well and I can't remember where crows fall). You can use unflavored pedialyte. You don't want to give too much at a time. Do you think he'd drink on his own or is he so bad off that you'd have to gavage him?

Pidgey


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## Charis

Here you go,
Paws located in Arlington
425-787-2500, ext. 817

Sarvey Wildlife Care Center located in Arlington
360-435-4817


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## Larry_Cologne

Rylinn, 

Don't know too much about crows, but here are some links about crows when you have the time. Don't see much about emergency care for crows yet. Remember visiting *crow.net* a year or so back. Nice website. Im in Germany, so don't have much to add concerning rehabbers and faciities for crows.

http://www.crows.net 

This link to a .pdf has refernces at the end of the article. 

http://www.savethecrows.org/toendtheatrocity.pdf 

http://birding.about.com/od/birdscrows/Birds_Everything_About_Crows.htm 

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Crow.html 

http://www.stumbleupon.com/tag/crows-net/ 

Crow food: 

http://www.crows.net/food.html 

Here's also a link to a guy with a similar crow problem, on May 29th: (it is about an injured crow, not porn).
http://www.veganporn.com/1052282488.html

Larry


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## Larry_Cologne

*more crow websites and info*

http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/birdpet.html 

http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/where.html 

http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/breeders.html 

http://umn.edu/~devo0028/ 

*Help! I found an orphan crow and I don't know what to do!
(A FAQ)*
http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/faq.html 


> Infancy
> 1/4 cup of cooked oatmeal
> one hard boiled egg (use just the yolk)
> 1 teaspoon of evaporated milk
> 1 tablespoon of applesauce
> blend it all together until about the same consistency as the applesauce
> 
> alternate
> 1 teaspoon Kay-T infant formula
> 1 teaspoon of baby beef
> add water till applesauce consistency
> note: a lot of rehabbers that I have talked with don't agree with the Kay-T for "meat eaters" (my nickname for them) but they seem to do well with it and the Kay-T has all the vitamins they need in it. Also note: this diet is more expensive. A growing crow can just about eat a can of Kay-T a week and it is about 6 dollars a can and then a jar of baby beef a day adds up to about 12 dollars a week. I guess if you are doing only one bird that it would be okay.


and some more: 
*
CorvidLove* web community

http://community.livejournal.com/corvidlove 


> *for Seattle corvidophiles
> *
> hydrolagus (copied from the Seattle Audubon newsletter)
> *In the Company of Crows and Ravens
> John Marzluff, Professor, UW, Speaker*
> Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007 6:30 PM
> Center for Urban Horticulture
> 
> Join us for a lecture about crows, ravens, and people by* John Marzluff, author and professor of Wildlife Science at the University of Washington.* He'll speak about the natural history, taxonomy, tool use, communication, and human interaction of these bold, boisterous, adaptable and inspirational birds.
> Doors open at 6:30 PM with Nature Shop selections and displays. ( Directions )
> Free and open to the public!
> 
> (comment on this)
> Friday, January 26th, 2007


Larry


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## Margarret

Just got done helping a friend with some baby crows. They eat Eukanuba dog food (dry) soaked in water till real soft, hard boiled eggs cut up and a few canned chopped tomatoes. They do great on this diet. They open their mouth, you poke some in and they swallow. If he is really young, he will want feeding every couple of hours. Get him to a rehabber if you can.

The heating pad is a must. If he gets cold he won't eat. Warm him up well before feeding.

Thank you for caring for this little crow. They are charming little guys in their way.

Margarret


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## Ryiinn

Thanks a bunch guys. I just got back from the store, where I picked up some pedialyte, puppy chow, eggs, and liver. 

I spoke with a representative from PAWS on the phone while I was in the store, and was really shocked to find that once again they really didn't seem to care a whole lot about the situation. The girl on the phone was extremely nonchalant, and basically told me that yeah, I could bring in the crow but there was no guarauntee of what will happen to him. She advised against even hydrating the bird, even after I mentioned that I would be unable to bring him in until late tonight or tomorrow (the shelter is a decent drive and my transportation just went back to the office). After trying to explain the situation, I just said that I would talk to my significant other and discuss what I should do. She let it go as basically "ok, good luck with that" and didn't press the topic further, which is such a maddening attitude. 

Anyways, after that, I think that the only thing I can do right now would be to keep him warm and try to get him to take in some pedialyte. If that goes well, I will cook him up a high-protein meal based off of the recipes you guys provided (and the one I found earlier). I also want to clean his wounds to make sure they don't get infected.

I suppose after that, the only thing is to wait and see how he does? I'm really worried about him, and I'm annoyed that I can't seem to find a place around this area that actually gives birds the same respect that other creatures get. I'm half tempted to go back to school and do it myself. I'm beginning to think that I shouldn't have switched from medicine to computer science 

Anyways, thanks so much for the links and the advice. I will keep you updated on his status as the day goes on.


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## Maggie-NC

Ryiinn, don't know much about crows but want you to know he'll be in my thoughts and prayers. I dearly love my local crow family.


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## Ryiinn

Thank you so much Maggie  I really appreciate that.

Do you guys have any idea how long I should wait before cleaning up this little guy's cuts? He's really filthy and I would love to clean him up and treat his cuts but I also don't want to shock him too much. I've gotten him to drink about a teaspoon of water (not much but a start), so I don't want to do anything that would make things worse.


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## Charis

I'm sorry about the reaction you got from PAWS. I suspect that part of the reaction is due to the time of year with lots of new arrivals and a ton of calls. I'm not saying that it's ok but I do understand the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Does it look like he has cuts or does it look more like puncture wounds?


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## Ryiinn

Hi Charis,

I inspected his wings again, and the wounded one appears to have a deeper, yet still superficial cut on the surface. The entire bottom portion of the wing is bruised and bleeding. I don't see any protruding bone, so I can't tell if the wing is broken or not. He's able to move it a bit, and has been perking up slightly since I got some pedialyte into him. He hopped onto the side of his box and is perched there listlessly.

I've concocted a mixture of the puppy chow, eggs, bird egg supplement, and a bit of liver. It must taste as noxious as it smells because he'll get it in his mouth and then use his really long tongue to try to push every blob of it out...lol. I don't think he likes my cooking very much


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## Charis

The liver is probably the culprit in the concoction. If he's even had liver before, it likely wasn't cooked. 
Is he pooping at all?


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## Ryiinn

Oh, I didn't cook it and I didn't put much in...the little chunk I put in was finely chopped. I didn't want to overload the mixture with it since I wasn't sure if he was going to eat it or not. Since then, I mixed some of it with the pedialyte and have been slowly syringe feeding him several drops at a time, waiting for a swallow, and repeating. He took it for about 10 minutes, and since he did is starting to seem to perk up. I just checked on him and he is sitting on his box with much brighter eyes.

And he is definitely pooping. The poops are a yellowish color with white caps, and the last batch of them look quite normal and solid.


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## Charis

Crows get canker too. Will you check the inside of his mouth for yellow spots?


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## flitsnowzoom

Charis said:


> The liver is probably the culprit in the concoction.


 I can sympathize with baby crow. I have liver with my onions if I ever have to eat it (bleeeeck)  . 


Hope this little one makes it. He looks like he's had a rough time of it. You should probably get it on some antibotics just in case the injuries were from something's mouth and / or claws.

Thoughts and prayers for this little one.


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## Ryiinn

Well, I got off the phone with Charis (thank you so much again), and got some really great advice from her. On her advice, I checked on my buddy and then set out to the drug store to pick up some sterile saline and other items.

When I came back, I poked my head in to see if he was still lethargic and slumped on his box. It turns out that he wasn't there at all, and had managed to get OUT of the box, slip through the cracked bathroom door, and stake his claim to the bottom of my nightstand  

I think this means that the bit of pedialyte and the puppy concoction that he swallowed pepped him up a little bit. I'm really hopeful for him now 

OK...off to clean his wounds. If you want to see what he looks like, I shot this video right before I spoke with Charis. The "music" in the background is my dove wondering why I wasn't paying explicit attention to him.

http://pixitron.com/images/crow.mpg

Thanks again for all the advice, everyone. I'll keep his status posted


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## TAWhatley

That little crow bubba sure has been through some rough times. I'm so glad you are taking care of the little one and many thanks to Charis and all our members who are helping with this one.

Terry


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## Ryiinn

Hello everyone! Here's an update on the little crow for those who are interested.

Last night, I managed to get in touch with Sarvey Wildlife Center, and spoke to some wonderful people who were quite eager to receive my wounded little friend. 

I kept him fed and watered through the night, and when I woke up, he had done a complete 180! His eyes were sparkly, he was hopping all over the place, and he looked to be feeling much better. The wounds on his wing looked much better (none re-opened, none were inflamed or infected, and all were starting to look like they were healing). He wasn't able to lift the wing, but it didn't stop him from bouncing around and vocalizing 

I took him early this morning to a very nice vet's office near my work, and the wildlife center will be sending an ambulance out to get him later this afternoon. 

Thanks again to Charis and everyone else who helped me with him. I can't express how grateful I am!


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## Charis

I'm happy it turned out as it did. That little crow was looking pretty pathetic.
Your care and tlc worked wonders.


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## Margarret

Your care of him made the difference. Really good work. He has an excellent chance now to grow up to be a healthy flying crow.

Margarret


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## TheFormOfaDove

Nice job!! I used to tell my kids before they went to sleep that guardian angels would watch over them in the night, my daughter asked why she could not see them, and I told her they wait for her to go to sleep. She seemed very happy with this. but one night she asked would they watch her in the day time, I said yes and she said well Im awake then, so i sould be able to see them. Thinking on my toes I told her that angels turn into birds during the day. To this not only dose she belieave it, but I do as well, now. And now I have a little guardian angel to take care of untill she can watch over someone.

You did a very very nice [email protected]!


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