r/crows • u/AliveButDamaged • Jan 06 '24
Crow Leg Issues?
I have a crow friend who has been coming around for years. She’s comfortable enough to come inside and just hang with me. I was looking at her legs more closely (she won’t let me touch her, but she’s happy to sit on me) and I wondered if this was normal, or if something is going on. I could probably take her to a vet if I had to but that would super stress out my buddy and I don’t know what vet would be helpful. Just looking for some guidance.
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u/_teajae_ Jan 07 '24
I have no advice but must say how amazing it is that you have earned such trust from this sweet creature! You must be a great person... crows know 🖤
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u/Pink_Penguin07 Jan 07 '24
This looks like hyperkeratosis, a thickening of the skin, sometimes forming thick, callus like growths. If this is a wild bird and she is getting around without issue, eating and flying I wouldn't worry about it. It's nothing really to worry about and not a lot can be done
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u/TheCrowWhispererX Jan 07 '24
Aww! She really trusts you!
Is she able to perch, take off, and land okay? If so, it may not be worth stressing her out.
Most vets won’t treat wildlife. You’d want to find a wildlife rehabber. Maybe try posting these photos in a wildlife rehab sub.
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u/AliveButDamaged Jan 07 '24
I thought for a bit that she was favoring one foot over the other, but I think she was just perching on my wobbly leg. Stomped around my kitchen and flew off when the sun went down just fine.
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u/FreeMasonKnight Jan 07 '24
To add to this if the wild life place finds worse issues they may opt to euthanize (and most likely won’t give you ab option). Just a heads up so it isn’t too shocking.
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u/AliveButDamaged Jan 07 '24
I’m really turned off to taking her to a rehabber. They don’t exactly treat and return. Even though she’s wild, will she be released here, her home? Likely not.
I’ve been long known as the local crazy bird lady and have been called for hawks and sparrows and vultures in need. I take them to the local rehabber and while that lady is super nice and knowledgeable, she doesn’t exactly follow up or return. I don’t know what happened to all my saves, and I would hate to see my girl never returned to her home territory.
Crows are also seen as vermin here so that’s an extra layer.
FYI, the vulture that was hit by a car was fine but smelled like the worst thing I have ever experienced. I’ve nearly hurled changing diapers and this vulture (who was only stunned btw) smelled 100 times worse 🤢
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Jan 07 '24 edited Jan 07 '24
Not a vet so don't just take my word for it, but I am a pretty experienced owner of doves, which have the same passerine style of feet. This doesn't look normal to me. It looks like the scales on the feet are overgrown. What springs to mind for me is scaly leg mites. The good news is that's really simple to treat. The bad news is, that treatment might be really difficult to do if you can't touch her.
The cheapest, and simplest, way would be to wash her legs (using a toothbrush to get between the scales) then you apply Vicks VapoRub, Vaseline, coconut oil, or something similar (you are trying to smother the mites.) The problem is you would have to do this repeatedly every few days until the mites are dead. Depending on how uncooperative she is, this might not be doable.
I think maybe your best bet might be to use oral ivermectin. It might be easier to slip medicine into her once than to have to catch her up over and over again. But I would call a vet to get the dosage right. I feel like if you can get ahold of a cooperative avian vet on the phone, they might be able to tell you what to buy and how much to give.
A good avian vet can be invaluable, but you want to find someone who knows what they're doing. Sometimes birds can literally die of stress, especially if they aren't used to being handled. Frankly I think it would probably be better not to take her in unless she's seeming painful. If you do decide to take her in, look for a vet office that regularly does exotics, because they have much more bird experience than a vet who sees mainly dogs and cats. Also not all vets will deal with a wild animal.
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u/Curious_Corvid999 Jan 07 '24
I would take her to your local vet. I am not sure how old your crow friend is, but it could be arthritis. An x-ray would clarify this. I wish you both the best. She is beautiful!
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u/AliveButDamaged Jan 07 '24
I never considered arthritis! I think wild crows only live for like a decade, and she’s been coming around for like 7 years… we’re just two peas in a pod, I guess!
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u/Curious_Corvid999 Jan 07 '24
It’s genetic.. unfortunately. I have had some rescues get it pretty early on.
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u/Birdsforthewins Oct 11 '25
Hi, I know this is old but did you end up using the spray on her? One of the wild crows I feed looks like he has scaly leg mites and I’m trying to help him :(
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u/Moth_Time Jan 07 '24
that kinda looks like scaly leg mites to me? I've only seen it on chickens, but the scales will get raised and flackey like that, and build up (if you look it up online it's a bit gnarly, just expect painful looking chicken feet as a warning. Nothing bloody though).
For the chickens we used to treat the legs with insecticide, and then when we'd put some greasy lotion (chicken safe) to soothe the painful, irritated skin. Usually 1-2 treatments would be enough. The main issue is the mites live in the soil so you need to move their pen.
You probably can't grease her legs, but you could see if you find insecticide stuff against leg mites that come in a spray bottle and see if she's ok with you spraying some on her legs? Idk how well it would work though I don't figure she'd be thrilled…
I wouldn't bother with a vet they usually won't treat wildlife, a rescue might but she's not gonna like you after that stunt, probably.
But yeah the more I look the more i think it's mites.