Care for a Pet Crow

Caring for pet crows requires attention and time. These birds are wild and only make good pets when they are found young enough to imprint on you. Even then, you'll need to devote a lot of time socializing with the bird, challenging it mentally and giving it plenty of room to fly. However, it's best to simply care for any baby or fledgling crow and wounded crow until the bird is capable of flying on its own and then let the crow go. It will stick around for a few months until the bird finds a flock of crows to join.

Things You'll Need

  • Dog food
  • Turkey
  • Beef heart
  • Oatmeal
  • Egg
  • Avian supplement
  • Peanuts
  • Fruit
  • Corn
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Mealworms
  • Crickets
  • Shoebox
  • Grass
  • Twigs
  • Newspaper
  • Fabric scraps
  • Water dish
  • Eye dropper
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Instructions

    • 1

      Feed young crows, under 5 to 6 weeks of age, a high protein diet. Mushed up dog food, ground turkey and beef heart are appropriate substitutes for the crow's traditional diet of lots of insects. Mix oatmeal, egg yolk and an avian supplement into the protein source. Place a pinch of meat onto your finger and insert it into the open mouth of the young bird. Push into the mouth deeply enough to hit the throat and initiate the swallow reflex.

    • 2

      Offer adult crows a mix of boiled egg, unsalted peanuts, corn, sunflower seeds, fresh fruit, and mealworms or crickets. Don't feed the bird a lot of mealworms as they are high in chitin, which can block the crow's digestive tract.

    • 3

      Provide a warm bed of grass and small sticks for a baby crow. You can line the faux nest with bits of fabric scraps and newspaper. Set the nest into a shoebox with a lid to give the baby crow some privacy. For an adult crow, you'll need at least a standard bird cage to hold it.

    • 4

      Set up a small tray of water for the crow to drink. Change the water out regularly. Use an eye dropper to give water to a baby bird or injured bird, but only give as much as the bird will tolerate.

    • 5

      Release the crow when it is old enough to fly or healed from its wound. Crows left alone in cages don't do well as they are very intelligent and social animals. They adapt quickly to living in nature and will often stay in the area and visit you.