# Baby Crow - What to do?



## StormySkye (May 8, 2014)

Hey there all I was just making this new thread to ask about well what to do when you have found an abandoned baby Crow. 
(I am calling her a girl at the moment because she has a girly face. Plus it is hard to tell a birds gender.)

Anyway my papa found her this afternoon in my grandma's garage. Don't know how she got there but she must have walked in while my dad was working in the garden at the time. He couldn't see the crows parents around anywhere. Cause I know from previous experience at my home they get super protective of their young and will dive bomb you if you get close.

So he brought he home. I have fed her some water which I found out later you shouldn't do. Some mushed egg mainly yolk. Ham shredded small and some musili in a paste form. The musili went down well she start to make noises at that.
But what else to do to make her fit and healthy?

Any advice would be great as I am working only with Internet data at the minute.


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## ParrotletsRock (Jun 8, 2009)

The egg is good, no ham as it is too salty. You can get a meaty cat or dog food and feed that.. Even soaked dry dog food. Crows will eat just about anything...lol chopped cooked veggies should also be good for her ... I found this online, hope it helps...
What is an adequate diet for a nestling/fledgling crow?

Crows are omnivores, and as such are somewhat easier to raise than some other species. The main thing is, growing youngsters need HIGH PROTEIN diets. Somewhere around 25 - 50% protein. Turkey starter is a good beginning to the diet. High protein dog food or puppy chow is also good and usually easier to obtain. (Both should be supplemented, though.) Look at the bags and get something as high protein as possible. Even then, it's only going to be around 27% protein. (Compare this amount with canned cat or dog food, and you'll see why they are not recommended.) You can supplement the protein content by adding protein powders or unflavored gelatin powder. Also as a part of the basic diet, add boiled eggs (especially important is the yolk) and include the shells (mashed up). Crows need a lot of calcium, so you might want to supplement with some other calcium source too. To 2 parts of the dog food you can add one part of cooked high protein baby cereal, then add one egg per every 2 cups of the formula. This is the basic mixture, and you can supplement it with things like mealworms or crickets, and raw beef kidney. As the birds get older and can feed themselves, offer them peanuts (unsalted), corn, sunflower seeds, fresh fruit, and mealworms or crickets. Do not feed too many mealworms! Mealworms are high in chitin, and can cause blockage problems if fed in too high frequency. (Mealworms alone are not an adequate diet for an insectivorous bird.) Once the crows are old enough to work food on their own (not until late summer or fall, probably), mice and day old chicks are favorite foods, if you can get them.


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## StormySkye (May 8, 2014)

Thank you for the advice. I just boiled some eggs and tried to give her the yolk she had a few bits and then she was just ignoring it. I am worried she won't last the night. 

I have heard it's possible to give her to other crows to foster her but sadly I don't know where the crows have moved to in my area. So I can't offer her to them.

I am trying my best to keep her fed but she isn't as hungry as I was expecting her to be.


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## Vargur (May 4, 2013)

HI, and good luck raising the crow!
I would give her dog or catfood, mashed potatoes, bread, eggs, meat,berries, worms, fish, corn, beans.. everything mostly 



StormySkye said:


> So he brought he home. I have fed her some water which I found out later you shouldn't do..


and of course you should give the bird water.
Birds drink water in the nature.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*You've received some good advice. 

Please review this thread for information on what to do in the future if a baby bird is found:

http://www.talkbudgies.com/showthread.php?t=39842*


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## StormySkye (May 8, 2014)

Thanks everyone for the great advice but sadly it seems I must be doing something wrong as she puked up all the stuff I gave her last night this morning. But is still bright and perky heading towards the plants in my porch to hide in. She has had water this morning I'm a tiny syringe so not to drown her. Which she took happily. 
But it looks like she wants to go and find her folks or even some crows to adopt her. Dad is taking her back to where he found her. I don't want her to die in the wild but I don't want her to die by my hand. 
Am I making the right choice?


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## AnimalKaperz (Jun 19, 2012)

Ohhh, I wish I'd seen this earlier! How is your crow??? If you still have it, most vets will check them over for free if they are a wild bird rescue. At least in Australia they do and I can't see the U.K being any different.

Crows are insectivores. A good mix is to get say a handful of lean mince, and in a bowl, two heaped tablespoons of "Wombaroo Insectivore Mix" or similar ( companies thoughtfully grind up bugs and package them! Thank goodness!), add enough water to moisten it so you can easily mix the bugs through the mince. Then roll them up in very small balls and offer her that. It will go down a treat.

You can pre make them and freeze, so you just get them out of the freezer and you are good to go. Offering water is fine, but if they do not want it, you are right not to force it. Generally these birds get enough moisture from their food. They are amazing pets too!


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## StormySkye (May 8, 2014)

Well here's and update on the crow situation. The first crow we found we named maleficent. A week or so later we found an even younger crow and called her Aurora.

Malificent has now flown and is living with some local crows in the area.As for Aurora she is growing quite fast and her leg is healing quite nicely. But she is quite a noisy madam when she is hungry.

She'll make her way down from the greenhouse in the back garden and hop up the steps into the kitchen. Wiggling her wings and making feed me noises. Once she has had her fill she'll wander to her sunning spot in the garden and sun bathe until she is hungry again or wants to follow you around the garden.


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