# Found a Raven



## desertcoyote93 (May 7, 2009)

The people that live next door to me own a pistachio orchard, and there are normally several Ravens that like to live there, because the orchard provides them with shelter and food, however, while I was walking by one day, I noticed that a Raven was just sitting there, and not moving at all. So, I moved closer to examine the bird and noticed that it could not fly, I went and got a towel and coved the poor bird with it so it could not bite me, and took it home. It cannot fly, but it can flap its wings, and I noticed that it cannot use one of its legs, and that neither of its feet will grab at anything. It has been eating and drinking normally, it doesnt make any noise, but I am mostly concerned about its feet. It doesnt seem to have a very negative reaction when I touch its legs, so could this mean that it has somehow been paralized?


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Where are you located and I'll see if I can find a rehabber for you? You must turn it over.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Thank you for taking care of the raven. As Charis said, if you let us know your general area we can locate a rehabber nearby for you. You must have a license to rehab a raven, though of course keeping it until you find a rehabber is okay. Please do keep him warm, you can use a heating pad set on low with a towel over it. Check to make sure he doesn't get too hot if he can't move off it due to his legs. You can offer him some soaked dog kibble if you have some, I have heard, though wait until he is stable and warm to feed or offer water to him. Thanks again for helping him out, aren't they amazing?


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## desertcoyote93 (May 7, 2009)

are there any rehabers near southern CA?


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## desertcoyote93 (May 7, 2009)

oh, and somehow he manages to hop around but not while I or any other people are in the room, I found it yesterday afternoon, and I gave it a heating pad, I set it to low during the nightime because its lowest setting seems to be warm enough, and I know it eats because i found food missing that I gave him, and I gave him 2 of the enormously huge grasshoppers that live around here.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

There are but S Cal is big. Can you give me a zip code?


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## desertcoyote93 (May 7, 2009)

I also just noticed something:

Ok, say the section from your knee to you foot is that scaly area of the Ravens foot. The Raven seems to be able to control all of it leg above that area on both legs, so basically, it cannot control the scaly parts of its legs, but it can control the upper parts of its legs enough to hobble around.


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## desertcoyote93 (May 7, 2009)

oh, and my area code is 93555


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

http://www.pigeon-life.net/prd.htm
Check out this link and see who is close. I'll see what else I can come up with.


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## desertcoyote93 (May 7, 2009)

All of the locations on that list in CA are 100 miles or more from me, thats way to far of a drive im afraid.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I haven't found any others. What I suggest you do is call your local veterinarian in the morning and ask for a referral. Could be the bird needs antibiotics and will only get worse without treatment.
I'm happy to work with you on this tomorrow if you will email me your contact information so that I can get a hold of you. I will not give your information to anyone with out your permission. 
[email protected]


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## desertcoyote93 (May 7, 2009)

I guess I will call the vet in the morning


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

This may have different ones:
http://www.csub.edu/fact/California_rehabilitators.htm

http://www.flysfree.org/

http://www.vcahospitals.com/crestwood (this is listed under wildlife help for your area so you can call and see if they know a raven rehabber and/or if they will treat it without euthanizing)

and in Kern county:
Tehachapi Tehachapi Wildlife Rehab & Education 661-822-8993

Bakersfield Facility for Animal Care and Treatmen 661-664-3167

I would think you could call either of those places tomorrow and they can tell you who to take it to. Good luck!


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## 12788 (Nov 15, 2008)

I have just read about the Raven you have found yesterday. How did you get on with your poor bird? Although it is difficult to make a diagnosis without having seen or having assessed the bird, it's symptoms sound familiar to me as I had last year a Carrion Crow with similar problems. In my experience, there are two common problems leading to this "neurological" problem (resulting in a bird walking / sitting on his hock joints and / or problems regarding opening and closing of it's claws), one is poisoning, the other is malnutrition, in particular calcium deficiency can lead to muscle weakness and spasms. In my experience, the vet visit won't help you a lot, as the condition is difficult but not impossible to treat, the bird will almost certainly be put to sleep. As I have said, treatment is not impossible and involves the usual things like a highly optimised diet with mineral supplements, antibiotics, mite and wormer treatment, physiotherapy (water treading), massage, the use of low perches with different diameters and lots of love. There might be also the need to tape initially the feet to get them in the correct position. Later on one would need a free flight aviary and company of it's own kind to avoid imprinting. It is quite a long way to go, but worth doing. I wish you good luck with your bird.

Stephan


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## desertcoyote93 (May 7, 2009)

rook said:


> I have just read about the Raven you have found yesterday. How did you get on with your poor bird? Although it is difficult to make a diagnosis without having seen or having assessed the bird, it's symptoms sound familiar to me as I had last year a Carrion Crow with similar problems. In my experience, there are two common problems leading to this "neurological" problem (resulting in a bird walking / sitting on his hock joints and / or problems regarding opening and closing of it's claws), one is poisoning, the other is malnutrition, in particular calcium deficiency can lead to muscle weakness and spasms. In my experience, the vet visit won't help you a lot, as the condition is difficult but not impossible to treat, the bird will almost certainly be put to sleep. As I have said, treatment is not impossible and involves the usual things like a highly optimised diet with mineral supplements, antibiotics, mite and wormer treatment, physiotherapy (water treading), massage, the use of low perches with different diameters and lots of love. There might be also the need to tape initially the feet to get them in the correct position. Later on one would need a free flight aviary and company of it's own kind to avoid imprinting. It is quite a long way to go, but worth doing. I wish you good luck with your bird.
> 
> Stephan


OK, as for antibiotics I have Tetracycline Hydrochloride Soluble Powder that is supposed to be mixed in with the Ravens water.
As for the diet, it has eaten shelled peanuts (non salted) the yolk of a hard boiled egg and some of the white, he doesnt seem to prefer the white part. bought some millet, but he doesnt seem to excited about that either, can you possibly give me more options on the types of food that it will eat? 
Could you possibly name some supplements that I could get, and how would I go about doing physiotherapy?


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## desertcoyote93 (May 7, 2009)

and I cannot tell if it is drinking water or not.. sometimes I mange to get it to open its beak while i have a feeding syringe full of water, but it hasnt done that in a while, so for now I am just hoping that it drinks on its own. is there any way to get it to drink?


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Did you have the opportunity to check with any of the places Maryjane provided you? The bird does need a proper diagnosis because all of our suggestions are just like a stab in the dark. Ravens are a Federally Protected species.


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## desertcoyote93 (May 7, 2009)

just had some family friends come over, they said that they know where a bird refuge is in town, as soon as I find out where exactly it is, I will bring the Raven to them.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

You don't need a refuge you need a rehabber. Does this place also rehab wildlife?


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## 12788 (Nov 15, 2008)

desertcoyote93 said:


> OK, as for antibiotics I have Tetracycline Hydrochloride Soluble Powder that is supposed to be mixed in with the Ravens water.
> As for the diet, it has eaten shelled peanuts (non salted) the yolk of a hard boiled egg and some of the white, he doesnt seem to prefer the white part. bought some millet, but he doesnt seem to excited about that either, can you possibly give me more options on the types of food that it will eat?
> Could you possibly name some supplements that I could get, and how would I go about doing physiotherapy?


Well, first of all, if you have got access to a bird friendly (!!!) vet, or to an experienced rehabber, then obviously get the bird assessed before guessing around (there are still other diseases to consider, starting with a trauma and finishing with inherited bony fusions, the latter not being curable). 

Depending on the age of this bird, it might be necessary to feed it the first days. They normally get fed worms and insects when they are still bound to the nest. As soon as the leave the nest the will take minced beef, pieces of chicken heart and pieces of fruits like cherry, banana and grape. They love hard boiled egg and you can also fed occasionally meal worms. If the birds are older than 14 days, they need pieces of fur and feathers mixed in their food to produce proper casts. After feeding time they always need some drops of water, which might be best given via a syringe, at least the first days, until they get used to the routine. This is very important! With regards to minerals and vitamins one can use ready made products from the pet shop (e.g. for pigeons), or one can grind snail houses or cuttle fish bone pieces and mix this under the food to add at least calcium and some other minerals. To much calcium is not a problem for birds, as it will be excreted. The bird will need a food and water bowl to encourage it to feed independently. At a later stage the bird can also be fed with chick carcasses and live food like worms and insects, but also insect bird food can be given. Don't forget to add sunshine! With regards to physiotherapy I have done a careful massage of the joints affected, using a tiny bit of Arnica oil trying to move very, very gently the joints whilst carefully watching the birds reaction to that. Water treading is easier, one just holds the birds feed into a shallow bowl of water to allow it to push against the bottom and to move the legs (don't forget to dry the bird after the bath). For the very beginning the poor birdie needs a very soft bed to sit on, later I would put it on a reasonably sized perch for a couple of minutes per session to start to strengthen it's muscles. This needs to be repeated several times a day for a couple of minutes only until it can do this by it's own. I hope this helps for the start. Good luck!

Stephan.


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## pigeon adict (May 7, 2009)

desertcoyote93 said:


> The people that live next door to me own a pistachio orchard, and there are normally several Ravens that like to live there, because the orchard provides them with shelter and food, however, while I was walking by one day, I noticed that a Raven was just sitting there, and not moving at all. So, I moved closer to examine the bird and noticed that it could not fly, I went and got a towel and coved the poor bird with it so it could not bite me, and took it home. It cannot fly, but it can flap its wings, and I noticed that it cannot use one of its legs, and that neither of its feet will grab at anything. It has been eating and drinking normally, it doesnt make any noise, but I am mostly concerned about its feet. It doesnt seem to have a very negative reaction when I touch its legs, so could this mean that it has somehow been paralized?


how did you know if it was a raven or a crow


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

hi, is it both of his legs from the "knee" down? or just one?? are one or both of his feet clenched tightly or just limp?? will he grasp your finger, or a stick when you put it against his foot?? ravens are much larger than crows with a very heavy bill, a quick search on google images and you will be able to see the difference


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

oh and he might like canned cat food also, they love the stinky stuff!


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## 12788 (Nov 15, 2008)

You might be interested in this internet resource:

http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/S/00Man/AvianHusbandryTechniques/UKBHusbIndTech/HR_Av_Corvids.htm

Stephan.


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## 12788 (Nov 15, 2008)

How is your bird? Could you post an update please?

Thanxx. 
Stephan


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