# A big black crow found



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

I found him in the grocery store parking lot, it seems to have a hurt wing. He can fly alittle but not very high, or for very long. I can't believe how big this guy is. His beak is 2 inches long. His wing is over a foot and when standing the wings reach the back of his tail. What should I feed it? Thank you, mindy


----------



## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Meat, dog chow, they eat everything.
Wing needs treatment ASAP though.
Please show us a picture.


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

dry cat food....I give that to the crows here. he might like a hard boiled egg chopped. the wing may need an experienced rehabber or vet to wrap it....depending on how it is damanged.


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

I will get a pic, give me an hour. thank you, min


----------



## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

I sent you an email.

Reti


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

I sent you some picture Reti, can you please post them? Your allot faster than my husband would have been. Thank you. It was allot harder to take pictures, he has allot more energy than when I caught him. And his bite is harder than I thought it would be. He is eating allot actually. You can tell alittle bit by the picture, its alittle lower but he wasn't cooperative while taking pictures. There is a bird rescue place in Delaware. I will be calling it tomorrow maybe they can meet me half way or something. I'm pouring concrete for the next 3 days, and it can't be changed so he might have to wait until Thursday unless someone can meet me. They met me about 3 years ago when I found a turkey vulture so they are really nice people. mindy


----------



## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

SENDING ALL THE BEST HEALING THOUGHTS, MINDY!!

Please keep us updated!!

Love and Hugs
Shi


----------



## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

here are the pics of the sweety


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

you can't really tell anything from a pic when it comes to a wing injury...best he get to the rehabbers sooner than later, if it needs to be set their still may be a window of opportunity.


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

I know I'm working on it. I have him in a BIG dog kennal right now so he doesn't hurt anymore wings. I have talked with a rehabber that is a good friend of mine in MI and since he is flapping his wings she thinks he just needs to molt. I'm going to do right by this bird, it just may take me a couple days. If I wasn't pouring concrete for the next 3 days I would have taken it today. But once you order concrete thats it, you pay for it and you get it. I couldn't change it. But he is eating, drinking and crowing. min


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

focus on animal based protein for him, one thing they really really love is cherries pitted and cut in half, i wish i was closer i love rehabbing crows


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

I will have to go get some cherries. I'm sure you know Teresa Smelser in MI, she is helping me with the crow, we are in contact everyday, she also said she LOVES rehabbing crows. I just want to say, thank GOD that there are the permitted Wildlife rehablitators. You guys do amazing work, all day, everyday, no vacation, no family reunions. It has to be a thankless job but so rewarding to see some animal that you helped to be set free again. So I want to tell all of you Thank you. You can teach all of us something. mindy


----------



## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Unfortunately the picture of the injured wing is the small one. There are two options:
- Broken bone – wing has to be set, splinted, immobilized and crow needs to rest 2~4 weeks. Usually there is open wound on the wing, but not always.
- Joint problem – usually there is a lump on the wing joint that you can feel on touch. You can use Arnica pills to speed up recovery. Crow needs to rest until swelling is gone.
X-ray and Vet are the only way to find out for sure what is the problem. I would treat for parasites with the same medicines as pigeons while you waiting for concrete. (difference in weight must be taken in account when dosing medicines)


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

thanx min, your right were are a crazy breed, plamenhs right, have you been able to feel any breaks or swollen areas on his wing compared to the other wing? is he skinny?? and i always deworm these guys also, they eat such disgusting stuff in the wild, so gross lol.
if you wrap him in a towel and just work out one wing at a time he shouldn't be able to bite you


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

why stress him if he is going to go to a rehabber thurs?


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

it's best to get the wing wrapped asap, they heal very very fast and who knows how long he was out with a broken wing.
if he heals wrong it could seal his fate for release


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

altgirl35 said:


> it's best to get the wing wrapped asap, they heal very very fast and who knows how long he was out with a broken wing.
> if he heals wrong it could seal his fate for release


That is what I said before, one really does need to know how to do it the correct way and tension or it can cause him not to beable to use it ever, but I guess that is not possible with the concrete and all. a few days waiting on a hurt/broken wing is too long IMO but if he has to wait to go there thurs, then why put him through an exam when he is going to get one on thurs anyway.


----------



## keystonepaul (Sep 7, 2009)

Good luck Mindy, you have a good heart and are spot on about the rehabbers. Dedicated folks for sure. Keystonepaul


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

I stopped by my vet so he can tell me if the crow has a fracture. He didn't 
do an x-ray but he said he doesn't feel a fracture. So everyone can rest that the bird can wait until thursday. Believe me, my animals come first, but when you have to work 8 months what others have 12 months to do, I can't just stop a job. I can't pour concrete or do asphalt in the winter. But I still have to eat then. It killed me to have the bird wait, and then others making me feel worse. Of course if there was blood and a clear sign of a broken bone then I would have hoped that the rescue center could have met me somewhere and something could have been worked out. The vet said he looks like a juvenile that doesn't have all his primary feathers yet. He did have one spot on the left wing where he was missing his feathers. The Dr. assured me that the bird will be fine until thursday. You know I love this site, I think there are so many wonderful people on here that really know there stuff.


----------



## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

You are doing great job with birds in need and I thank you for that.
Please make sure that rescue center does not put bird down if bird is not releaseable. If it's not broken, then there are a good chance for recovery, but still, who knows.


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

don't feel bad min, we all have to keep a roof over our head or we will no good for anybody and sometimes things have to wait.
i'm glad the crow doesn't have a fracture, or if he does it's a minimal one and his chances for release look promising.
one thing about the crow if he is a juv, is he will need to be wintered over, he won't molt new primaries until spring so he has a long recovery ahead if that's all that's wrong.


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

Teresa told me the same thing, and she said to make sure that they have a large enough pen for him. She said exactly what you said. I know I don't want them to put it down if its not releasable but I don't think they give me a choice. BUT, I think it will be fine, Dr. John said he looks great. I'm definitely going to ask more questions tomorrow to see if they will hold a bird for that long. When I turned over the turkey vulture I said if he wasn't releasable that I would let him live out his life here with me, and they said NO WAY. I do understand somewhat, but if I'm willing to keep an animal because it only has one wing to live out its life, why can't I. But there are laws and thats that. But that Turkey vulture was so neat, I thought he was dead on the side of the road so I try to move dead animals so the turkey vultures don't get hit while trying to get food, so when I went to pick him up, his eyes opened. Scared me to death. Then they sent me a post card two weeks later saying it was euthanized because he would be unreleasable because he only had one wing. I"ll let you know what happens. Thank you, min


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

i know the federal laws can be heartbreaking, if they are unreleasable and cannot be placed in a educational program we have to euthanize, it sucks.
i would also ask them if they are wintering over any other crows, it can really handicap them to be alone for that long
good news is a young crow could probably be placed.
i do the same thing with dead things in the road, lol, i worry something else will be hit, and i always check the pouches of opossums for babies.


----------



## goga82 (Aug 17, 2009)

mindy do u have any pictures of turkey volture
and im dissapointed that they euthanised it


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

I don't, another regret I have. I don't know what I was thinking. He was only with me for a couple of hours and then someone with the rescue center was going home and he took and exit on the freeway and met me. But this was back in 2006 so I don't even think I had a digital camera back then. I just found Pigeon talk this year, I'm really slow to get with the times. You know the saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" Well I'm the old dog. min


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Mindy said:


> I stopped by my vet so he can tell me if the crow has a fracture. He didn't
> do an x-ray but he said he doesn't feel a fracture. So everyone can rest that the bird can wait until thursday. Believe me, my animals come first, but when you have to work 8 months what others have 12 months to do, I can't just stop a job. I can't pour concrete or do asphalt in the winter. But I still have to eat then. It killed me to have the bird wait, and then others making me feel worse. Of course if there was blood and a clear sign of a broken bone then I would have hoped that the rescue center could have met me somewhere and something could have been worked out. The vet said he looks like a juvenile that doesn't have all his primary feathers yet. He did have one spot on the left wing where he was missing his feathers. The Dr. assured me that the bird will be fine until thursday. You know I love this site, I think there are so many wonderful people on here that really know there stuff.


that is great news...no worries now. you must feel relieved. a women who pours concrete....thats cool.


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

Thank god there was rain in the forcast for this morning. So work was put off until noon. My vet just called, Im leaving right now to take the crow. He found someone closer. Life is so much easier when you can find a vet that loves helping animals more than making money. 

SW, as far as pouring concrete, I don't know why, but I love manual labor, but I'm getting to old for it. I need to find a sugar daddy within the next five years. lol Don't tell my husband.  min


----------



## ~pigeonlover~ (Jan 14, 2004)

good job on looking after the crow i was lucky to find margeret that lives close to the base when i found a crow only had to keep it over night. just wanna say thank for the goodjob you did.


----------

