# Baby Crow!!!!



## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I have found on the estate, by a tall tree, a baby crow that has obviously fallen out of its nest. I can see the two parents and the baby was hiding in a bush, but the baby had broken its foot and had not yet been fledged. Its quite big already and is hoping around on its good foot. I have rung follies a local rehab with a view to taking it down there to have its legs fixed and maybe for them to keep it. Unfortunately they are not able to take it till thursday and are dropping hints that if I could get the leg fixed I could raise her myself. What do you think?

She is a little darling and I am able to feed her the mixture the rehab told me to make for her every hour. She is like a little human baby and sits in my arms while I feed her, she them falls asleep in my hands and I stroke her to try to make her feel less lonely for her parents. She is lovely, and I do like the prospect of raising her, but if I do that she will be imprinted on humans wont she? What are they like as pets?

The pigeons are staying well clear of her, but they are curious and are trying to have a look. I am a little worried that she may end up fighting with one of them, but so far they are to nervous to go near her.

The leg is my main concern and I do not like the idea of waiting till thursday. It looks like she has pushed the 'thumb' at the back of the foot too far back and it has either broke or is broken out of its socket. there is no open wound as far as I can tell. I am going to ring the local RSPCA but I am nervous of dealing with them as the rehab told me they do sometime put crows down because they do not want to pay for the treatment.

I am going to have some problems with her because she is trying to crawl into the pigeons big cage, but I think it is just curiosity. I have been told to watch it with the pigeons if I go out though because if she does manage to get hold of one of them she can do a lot of damage.

Anyway, I am going to ring the RSPCA and see if they will see her, and I will come back later to see if anyone has some good advice for me. I do feel sorry for the parents, but what can I do? She cannot be left on the floor because the foxes and cats will get her.

Back later.
Brian.


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for helping the baby.
I agree that the break needs tending to right away.

Not sure when anyone will respondto your questions as this is mainly a website forcused on pigeon and dove rescue.


----------



## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

They are very intelligent and they do human-bond, so I do not know the prospects of releasing if you raise her yourself. Here in US, it is illegal to do so, although people do it anyway.

I would try to find another rehabber who can take her sooner, with the goal of releasing her when she is ready. Short of that, if you can get the leg looked at by a professional beforehand, I would certainly do so. Then you and teh first rehab place can figure out how to proceed from there...


----------



## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Yes Crows are very clever and will imprint easily.

I don't know how old this one is but crows actually leave the nest well before they can fly and I've been caught out in the past thinking they need help when in fact the parents are keeping a very close eye on them and are still feeding.

I'd have actually considered putting it back outside during the day while keeping an eye on it as the parents would be aware of it on the ground.
Unfortunately as it's foot is damaged it will need to be taken into care but ideally for the bird's sake I'd still try and get it somewhere for potential release.

I have splinted a broken toe before in a pigeon, not sure if this would work with your Crow but if you can get an expert to do this for you maybe you could still carry in it's care until Folly's can take it over.

Good luck

Janet


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

I've had a bit to do with sick and injured crows over the past 4 years. The best information I've found online by far was from this Yahoo group:

http://pets.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/crows/

Many of these people have crows as pets, and there are multiple members who are crow rehabbers and permanently care for special needs crows such as blind & disabled crows. If you can join, you'll find a wealth of information there, plus some especially lovely people too.

Regarding raising the crow & imprinting, I've followed some very interesting discussions on the crows group I mentioned above. 

There was one lady there the last time I read the group discussion who was raising a baby crow named Charlie. She posted videos of him as he grew up, playing with their dog and perching on it, sitting on her daughter's arm by the pool etc. It was SO tame. Anyway when it reached 5 -6 months of age, it joined the wild crows and quickly distanced himself from the humans. She provided ongoing food for the small group of crows, and he integrated just fine into his wild life. This has been my experience as well- when they are exposed to the wild crows, something kicks in and they want to join their own kind, unless prevented from doing so.

Anyway just read as much a you can make up your own mind.


----------



## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

Thanks Bella_F thats a brilliant link, I'm putting in a request to join straight away.

Having had some time with the crow now(I have to feed it once and hour at the moment, and keeping it clean is hard work especially as its droppings smell so strong) I have had time to have a closer look at its leg. Although the leg is twisted out of position I do not think it is a recent injury. I think the crow was either born like this or the injury is from a long time ago. Anyway the crow is not able to get around on her own legs so she will be staying with me for a while at least.
I am going to get the leg looked at at the RSPCA hospital tomorrow as they seem happy to check it out, but they have made it clear they would not be able to take the crow. Also Folly's have asked if I would consider raising the crow if its injuries can be sorted out as they are short of room and staff I think. Because they know I already look after birds I think they would like me to take her. Also crows do not appear to be protected in the UK, maybe we have too many. I have been warned to be careful with vets who will put her down if given the chance.

I think at least for the time being I am going to be raising her. I may take her down to where her parents were again to see what happens, but there is no chance she could be left there, she is not big enough to fight off a cat yet let alone a fox, we regularly find bits of pigeon on the greens where unlucky ones have been caught. I am happy to look after her anyway, she is a little darling. The pigeons are not so pleased she is here though lol, but they are getting used to her. She cannot move that fast because of her bad leg so they are easily able to stay out of her way.

Hopefully if Bella_F is right, I should be able to reintroduce her to a feral flock at a later date. She is definitely under weight at the moment and needs to be fed up to where she is not so boney.

P.s. wherever she was before, when I found her she was hiding in a bush right by the main road. She would not have been there long without others noticing. There was already one other guy there when I got there but he was just watching to see what would happen. The parents could not have fed the baby from that position because the baby was too near the road and there were people walking past constantly that would have frightened them off. It may have been in a proper position previously, but I had the feeling that the parents were flying to the nest up in the tree and the baby had some how fallen out, probably trying to balance on its broken leg.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

That's great you're from the UK..some of the most knowledgeable members of that Yahoo group are in the UK. I've heard them mention that not all corvid parents will feed their babies when they become grounded. I know definitely that rooks won't, but not sure about other corvid species over there.

I should also mention that there are some tricks to prevent a baby crow from imprinting, such as putting a black sock on your arm when you feed it, so it looks like the food is coming from a black bird. I don't know how necessary that sort of thing is, as there is another school of thought that crow babies need a lot of contact and attention because they are very sensitive and intelligent, so its best to just give them what they need.

PS. Please be very careful about handing over the crow to anyone who might kill it. I personally wouldn't take it to the RSPCA until I'd asked members of that yahoo group first. But if you do, just be wary.


----------



## BHenderson (Sep 8, 2011)

I agree that I need to be careful who I allow to have contact with the baby, but I am given confidence by the way they made it clear to me that they did not have room for the crow and I would have to take her. I will be cautious when I am there anyway.

When I get into the group I will ask them about precautions like the sock you mention that I can use to try to stop the crow becoming imprinted. I do think there is a good chance that this crow will not be releasable because of how bad its foot is bent over. It has learnt to walk using its wings to balance which is another thing that convinces me that this injury is not new.

Its funny you should mention about how sensitive crows are as I had noticed this. When I have fed her enough she will start to wimper when I put the food to her mouth to let me know she is full, she will then try to maneuver herself into a position where I can stroke her and she can fall asleep in my arms. I was not expecting such sensitive behavior from a bird. Most of my pigeons can only be handled after I have convinced them that I am not out to hurt them.

I must say, I am aware that the best outcome for the crow is if it can return to a feral flock, but if it does turn out that she is unreleasable I will not be disappointed. She is a very sweet bird and as you say sensitive and intelligent. She is already learning ways of letting me know what she wants lol.


----------



## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

The other possible outcome is that someone from the group may want your crow as a companion or mate for another disabled or non-releasable crows- that is not always possible, but I've seen it happen within that group. They can get a bit lonely when they get to mating age.

I think you'll find that crows are native birds there, so just be careful about telling people you're keeping it. Although native, some councils regard them as pest birds so its easier to kill them, and yet no easier to keep them.


----------

