Orphan crow but I'm going away for 9 days...

[Charis]

Well...let's pray for the best then.

http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Brains-In.../dp/0871569566

[Charis]

Bella...the following is an interesting story about crows too. It's sad but very informative as far as the family structure.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=3937510

[TAWhatley]

Bella,

Where EXACTLY is this crow located? I'll be happy to post the location and information on my crows list in case any of those members happen to be in the area and can help look out for this bird.

Bless you for your care and concern for this bird! I don't have any easy answers for you, but it IS encouraging that you have found another person who is looking after this bird.

Terry

[Bella_F]

Thank you so much Charis for the links, I am trying to learn everything I can. I am so eager to make the best choices regarding its wellbeing.

TAWatley,
This is an Australian `Torresian' Crow; I am in Australia. Do you know anyone here in Australia who could help? I am in Brisbane, in QLD Australia. It is probably more like what Americans would call a raven, due to its size; I think John Gould initially classified all Australian crows as `ravens ' because they are all quite big.

We have a wild-life rescue organisation called wires, but they don't look after abandoned birds because there are so many. They normally only take in injured animals and marsupials. If it were starving, they might help though (lets hope it doesn't come to that).

[TAWhatley]

Thanks for the info, Bella. I'll get it onto my crows list and a couple of others. Years ago, a good internet friend of mine was a rehabber associated with WIRES. Sadly, she kinda dropped off the planet .. haven't heard from her in several years. I'll see what I can do to rustle up some help for your crow.

Terry

[Bella_F]

Thanks heaps Terry, you're the best! We could use all the help we can get with this little guy.

If it starts to look too weak to fly, or it becomes tame, I think wires could help me. But with it being wild and uninjured, I don't know...last time i called them about a fallen bird they said they didn't have the resources to help `with every bird that falls out of a nest'.... I am still hoping that it has a chance of resocialising with crows when it can fly.

I gave it a good feed tonight, it was so cute. It doesn't like flying down from tree tops, because it spends ages scrambling and fluttering its way up there. So I spent about 20 minutes showing it the food, and tossing it to a place on the ground where i thought it might feel safe to land. All the while it was crying out for food with its soft `whaaa, whaaa' sound.

It finally flew down, and landed a couple of meters from me instead of near the food. I tossed it a huge chunk of minced meat, I think this was its first food for the day. It gobbled it down, and took a second piece up to a fence to eat it.

It let me put some more meat on the fence for it, but it `hid' behind a long stalk of some kind of vine. When I took a few steps back, it came out from its `hiding place' and sidled up to get the food. After 5 pieces of meat, it was tamer and probably could have taken it out of my hand. Its not what I'm trying to do though. I just want to make it strong enough to fly.

It seems to be licking water from vine leaves, since it rained a lot today. Smart little thing. The neighbour told me had seen it trying to crack open shelled peanuts today too. I don't normally pray, but I'm praying for this one.

[Bella_F]

Its been a day and one morning since my last post, with about 3 days until I leave. We leave at 6 am in the morning in 3 days time, but I will make some time to leave some food for it beforehand.

Its been wandering a lot around the block, doing some longer `flies'. It seems to be following the voices of crows in various directions, and maybe exploring.

I saw it associating with a different pair of adult crows yesterday at noon. It was gaping and begging like crazy, but they took the food I had thrown on the ground for it, and left. But one adult kept a chunk of food in its mouth and climbed up near the baby; I thought it might feed it. But it didn't feed it. People were moving their lawns with loud motorized snippers and banging doors, and I think the adults became scared. When they left, the baby tried to follow them, and actually did quite a good job-its the longest flight I
ve seen it do. But they went too far and so it veered back to the neighbours yard instead, where it was quiet and safe. I gave it a good feed there (using the routine where I put meat on the fence and back away)

It has no crows close enough to teach it to eat and drink, but all the local crows talk to it, and it practices `crow baby-talking' in the mornings (which is just the most heart-breakingly cute thing in the world).

It seems to be modelling its foraging behavior off a smaller type of bird which is related to crows, and has the same kind of diet. I have the seen the baby crow hanging out with these birds, stripping bark off trees and disturbing patches of flowers, and eating the insects, just like its smaller relative does. So it is finally eating a little on it own, which is a bit encouraging. And its still mostly going to the neighbours tree to sleep, so he can find food scraps there when I'm away.

I really hope this account helps someone else one day if they find themselves in this position. It is so hard and heart wrenching. Making all these decisions about its welfare without knowing if they right or wrong really, really hurts.

But at this moment he is alive, well fed, and looking good. It is a good moment in time and I will enjoy it.

[Charis]

Bella...you are so descriptve, I can almost see what you write.
I hope you will post another up-date before you leave for your holiday.

[Bella_F]

Dear Charis, Thanks for following my story and for your support; it really helps. Sometimes I am strong about leaving it, and then I'll suddenly find myself balling my eyes out, really hurting and aching for it.

The worst part is lack of information. I've been trawling the net & even chatting to rehabbers in Australia. But the answers I need are so hard to find. The rehabbers don't have any experience and just tell me to take it to a vet. Some just say let nature take its course. But what I really want to know is should I stay and help this little thing; is it going to starve to death if I leave too early?

The best and most hopeful information I found was this article:

http://www.wildlifemanagementtechnol...sparticle.html

The article discusses experiments related to the age of release of young quail, and their ability to survive. Encouragingly, it tells of the way young birds released at about 5 weeks into the wild had a much better chance of surviving than those released at 16 weeks. When released at 16 weeks, the birds all died.

They believe that 5 weeks is the optimal time for release, because after that they steadily lose their survival instincts and become tame. That's about the age of my little crow . He is 5 or maybe 6 weeks old. If the information applies to crows too, that would be good. I know he has a tough life ahead of him, and most baby birds die. But anyway I care about him and I really hope he'll make it.

[Charis]

Bella...Quail and Crows are very different. Crows stay with mom and dad for several years to learn how to survive and be good parents after they find a mate. Widowed Crows, for example, often return to their mom and dad. They have very strong family ties. If this Crow is adopted by the neighborhood flock, he should be ok.
As we talked before, this is a tough call mostly because this bird is very wild and I don't know if you could catch him.
As for nature taking it's course...I think your friends are just silly because human kind messes with nature, in one form or another, every minute of every single day. For some, it's no more than an patronizing excuse when they don't want to get involved don't know how to help or just don't want to hear about it.

[Bella_F]

Hi Charis,

I agree with you, about us being part of nature too. Why is helping called `interference' and yet tearing apart their environment and culling animals perfectly ok in people's minds?

Regarding the quail, I suppose that makes sense, about the differences between quail & crows. Although I did read something else hopeful, about researchers letting 5 week old peregrine falcons go into the wild after hand raising them (but still leaving a daily meal for them until they were weaned)

Its going to be a hard week for him, I suppose there's no point in trying to deny it. Leaving him might be the wrong thing to do, or foraging on his own might be what he needs to be a strong survivor;I can't resolve any of it in my head or my heart though. I'm going to miss him a lot and worry like crazy. I love that little bird.

The positives are that his flying is a lot stronger, and he's spending the afternoons interacting with other crows. They were calling to him yesterday afternoon, and he was responding and flying up closer to them. Then the whole group landed in his tree, and they were all attacked by noisy minors and butcherbirds. The little one flew back to the park, and the others flew away. But it was still good to see them all coming together.

He is drinking water on his own, and foraging in the neighbour's yard, whilst learning to eat bugs from tree leaves and bark. I do feel some hope.

So I have two more days of regular feeding, today and tomorrow. I hope this account has not been agonising to read. Thanks for letting me get it out, I really needed the support. When i have more news, I'll write more.

[Bella_F]

UPDATE:

We returned from our holiday late last night, so its been 8 days since I saw the little crow. I jumped up out of bed early this morning to see if he had made it, expecting the worst, but hoping...

It really freaks me out, but when I went across to the park- to `his' tree- the little baby crow was still there, crying just like he was doing before I left!.

I threw him some food, and the other adult crows (from my back yard) landed in his tree with 2-3 new fledglings. I threw them all some food and the orphan flew down with the parents to eat some.

The parents still won't feed him, although he begs constantly. But they are feeding their newer fledglings. They look a little bit bigger than the orphan and they are strong fliers. Sigh, I suppose there must be something wrong with him- like an unseen disease or maybe he was just smaller and weaker than his siblings, so the parents kicked him out?. Its amazing the sixth sense that wild birds have about these things.

But its good to see him alive and well. What a survivor; I hope that he'll be ok.

[Charis]

Bella...I doubt he is their baby. I'm glad he is alive. Maybe it's time to catch him and take him to a vet. Could be something as simple worms or canker. Either will keep babies from thriving.
Welcome back.

[Bella_F]

Hi Charis!

Thanks again for your support and for some suggestions. I do have a good broad spectrum wormer that I used successfully to treat a family of magpies with gape worm this spring. I think worming it could be a good idea...thanks for suggesting it!

As for taking it to a vet, I'm not sure it would be good for it...not the care, but the taming of it. In Australia, over 80% of wild animals brought into care are put down for tameness, and some `undesirable' species are killed outright, such as eastern grey Kangaroos. I'm not sure where crows stand, but I'd want to know in advance.

He's looking well-he's just young. But I'll worm him and keep an eye on his health. I noticed he's foraging on the ground now- he wasn't doing that when I left.

[Bella_F]

...Charis, I think you're probably right about the baby not belonging to the local adults and their family. Just now, I was feeding the orphan and I noticed something strange in a leafy tree directly across the road from our house. It's in the park not far from the crow's favorite tree.

What I saw was an icecream bucket that has been converted into a makeshift nest- the kind of thing that the wild-life rehabbers suggest making for fallen fledglings. It was really nicely done, maybe even professionally so- with holes poked into the bottom of it so the fledgling wouldn't drown in the case of rain, and a nice layer of leaves and paper lining. It was zip tied and strapped well to the tree, about 2 1/2 meters up...my partner climbed up and checked it out inside.

There aren't many parks in this area, so I suppose it would be possible that someone found the fledgling crow, built it a make-shift nest, and put it in the tree across from my house. That would explain why it winded up in my yard for a few days, before going back to the park...and why the other crows don't feed it.

I hate thinking what this little thing has been through. At least the other crow family are spending a lot of time with it. Whenever I feed it now, they all fly down and forage with it. Its costing me a lot in food, but I love seeing them altogether.