Baby Crows--July 11 2009

These babies were found in Corner Brook in someone's backyard. After waiting a few days to see if Momma and Poppa Crow would come back and take care of them, it became apparent that the babies needed fostering. They were about 3 weeks old at the time, and there were three. The young'uns were taken to the SPCA, and they thought of me for raising and releasing them as we live way out in the sticks and I have appropriate cages and enclosures and stuff...plus Oliver the 7-year-old crow with cataracts and feather-picking problems has lived here for years and I know crows!

So with the aid of a helpful volunteer, they were ferried here via car in a big dog kennel. They settled in with Oliver right away and were fed by hand for several weeks.

Soon after fledging, the youngest/least developed of the babies was attacked by a massive female Goshawk. Although we managed to get him from her grasp, he died three days later. Looking back, I almost wish I had let her take him. At least then she would have been able to have some nourishment and he would not have suffered those last three days.

In this video they are about 4 months old. They are not confined in any way. I give them food a couple of times a day and try to provide a great variety of items, from fresh roadkill to leftovers, boiled eggs, dry cat food, wet cat food, etc. I am slowly providing less and less and they are actively foraging. Since the Goshawk incident they have become quite wary (which is a good thing) and very watchful.

They are tame to those of us who live here but act like wild birds when visitors arrive. We do not handle them much and day by day it is apparent that they will accept it less and less. The ultimate goal is that they grow into self-sufficient birds. From former experience and advice from the Crows Yahoogroup, we know that what normally happens in this type of situation is that the babies stick around for about a year, then start disappearing for longer and longer periods of time. Sometimes they show up with wives/husbands/families. Visits have been reported after years of not seeing specific birds.

I hope you enjoy the video. Please do not think that crows make excellent pets, because they DO NOT. They crap everywhere, and about every three minutes, in projectile form. They are into everything. Not only that, it is illegal to keep crows as pets in all US states and Canadian provinces unless you have special permits. Please do not rob a nest or raise a baby crow unless you intend to release him or her.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• crows
• intelligent
• birds
• baby
• corvids

[nokturnal7]

beautiful!



[paws4caws]

@nokturnal7 I wonder every time I see a crow near my home if it's one of "mine." They are such special birds.

[GARYKNERR]

I enjoy watching you and your crows.

I was wondering if the crows returned the following

summer 2010. Do you live in Canada ?

gknerr

[paws4caws]

@GARYKNERR One of the babies returned this year, staying at quite a distance (closest maybe 30 metres) but falling into his/her old habits, like stalking along the back deck rail and raiding the clothespin box. Also, he/she "talks" to me in the same way as last year. I am sure, 100 percent, that this bird is one of last year's babies. I am in Newfoundland, Canada

[graydlett]

They have that same nasal tone as my new baby I call Skylar. Are they FishCrows? This is a wonderful video!

[paws4caws]

Thanks for the compliments. They are American Crows. Their voices are changing day by day and they are learning more ways to express themselves. One of them is saying "hello crow" in a gutteral, musical way. Cute!

[svetlanalupesku]

what a lucky woman : (

[svetlanalupesku]

so cute!!

[kolumbus2209]

wonderful black angels:-)

[nokturnal7]

@paws4caws Yes they are, you are truly blessed. ;)

[dalila1955]

so cute

[Kogame103]

I adore crows. I find it almost a blessing to be able to view them from afar. It amazes me how you are so close to them. They are my favorite animals and I was considering getting one as a pet, but since you say it is illegal i'll just stick to admiring from afar.

This is an amazing video and you should consider yourself lucky to have been given the chance to create a relationship with these creatures. They seem to like your presence very much. :)