I found a baby crow. Advice?

[Kitty Herder]

I went outside to do some maintenance on my old swamp cooler and I found a baby bird on my sidewalk. It's quite young, just developing pin feathers and it's large for its age. I believe its a crow, but I'm not sure.

I was going to just let nature takes it's course, but it broke my heart to see it gaping its beak at me every time I walked by, knowing that the heat on the sidewalk was killing it. I absolutely love crows. They're incredibly intelligent animals. When I couldn't bear it anymore, I put it in a shoebox in my garage.

I know I should contact some kind of wildlife rescue organization, but I can't find any information about any in my area. I don't want to attempt to be a bird mommy. Baby birds require constant feeding and I'm not home all the time to do that. It will probably die, but I'd like to give it a fighting chance. I couldn't just leave it on the sidewalk with the sun beating down on it.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do in this situation? I'm at a loss.

[vadawg]

1. not a crow fan, but there must be a wildlife rescue who will take it..

[arcadian]

2. Find a group in your area that rehabs wild animals.

I wouldn't do it yourself. It needs to learn how to feed itself and it may not learn it ftom you. There are such groups and individuals who do this. You just have to find them.

[Kali]

3. is there a slightly more protected spot near where you found it?

put it back out there and watch for parents - very likely they are nearby - any idea where the nest is?

they make great pets, but I don;t think that is actually legal

otherwise the advice to call wildlife rehab is best.

[Kali]

5. this seems informative

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/babycrow.htm

[Kitty Herder]

6. No, no protected spot.

I have no idea where the nest is. I hear crows cawing all the time, but none of them appear to spend much time in my yard.

Ughh... I guess I posted this mainly out of frustration. I wish I could find a wildlife rehabilitation organization around here.

[dynasaw]

4. The Story of Poe the Crow

Couple of years ago, one of my students rescued an injured crow. She took him to the vet who fixed his broken wing, gave him antibiotics and left him to the tender care of my student.

She named him Poe after Edgar Allen and Poe went to classes with her. They became a familiar sight on campus--Poe either in his traveling shoe box on riding on my student's shoulder.

She's now an attorney but Poe passed on when she graduated from college. Also turned out Poe wasn't a boy crow. :-)

[Bossy Monkey]

7. Well, you can call one of these people, or you can put it back

You can call whichever of these people is closest to you and interested in migratory birds. (Crows, apparently, are semi-migratory):
http://wildlife.utah.gov/habitat/rehabilitators.php
This fellow is extremely discouraging of attempts to hand-raise crows, and suggests that you put it back, though not necessarily back on the sidewalk:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/babycrow.htm
Good luck, regardless.

[Kitty Herder]

10. Thanks!

Thank you for the link for the wildlife rehabilitators! I don't know why I couldn't find it. Maybe I wasn't using the right search terms. (My brain is frazzled.)

Anyway, none of them are particularly close to me, but maybe they'll have some idea how I can keep it alive until I can get it to them.

[MineralMan]

8. Teach it to talk.

Feed it canned dog food and water. It'll be fully fledged in a couple of weeks. It's not hard to rescue crows at that stage. They really can be taught to talk. Had a friend with a pet crow. Quite the character...

[Hell Hath No Fury]

9. I'll ask my sister --

she does this professionally.

For right now, I would put the box it is on half one/half off a heating pad set to low. Make sure there is some nice toweling in the box. Get some good quality dry cat food and put into into a good amount of warm water - allow it to break down and turn into a very wet slurry (no real chunks). Using a eyedropper, pull up a dropper of slurry and hold it over the baby's beak -- if he is hungry he will open his mouth and then you just put the dropper in his mouth and squirt. It is going to be very messy. He will spit out almost as much as he eats. Repeat until he no longer opens his mouth. Do this four or five times an hour -- if he opens his mouth, shoot it with slurry until he doesn't want any more. Keep the batch of slurry in the fridge overnight but return it to room temperature before feeding the next day.

I'll get back to you on what else you can be doing.

Here is a picture that can help you visualize what I am talking about -- except try to hit his mouth, not his eye. :D





You can see that she has the birds sitting in a little cup with some bedding. If you can find a cupish type thing -- she often uses old margerine tubs -- and then create a little nest out of tissues or toilet paper -- just big/deep enough for him to nestle in and then put that in the box, that would be great. What he will do is eat and then climb up to the top of the tub, place his butt over the rim and poop -- that is the way baby birds keep the nest clean. :)

Will find out more for you in a bit -

[Kitty Herder]

11. Thanks for the helpful information!

I'm off to find the heating pad. :hi:

[Arkansas Granny]

12. I would suggest calling your state game and fish commission.

They often have lists of people who care for animals and birds in situations like this. A local vet may have names of local people you can contact.

[pokerfan]

13. 25 minutes per pound at 350?

:hide:

Some serious advice here: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/babycrow.htm

[whistler162]

14. 5 and 19 more and a nice pie crust!