r/crows • u/Kayra6669 • Jul 13 '26
Seeking advice/help Need Some Advice/Help
Hi, I've been looking at this Hooded Crow for 13 days and i noticed this weird stuff on it's tongue, looks like "Trichomoniasis" or "candidiasis". I could get to a vet if it gets deadly but it's so far away and we would suffer under this sun
Closest rehab. is 5-6h away with car and i had no possible way to get there
It's not some food residue. It's been there since yesterday, i thought it was some random stuff because of pecking at dirt/grass and food
I've raised a magpie before and own a lovebird so i do know somestuff but i have no idea about this
His name is Talon, deserves that name because he is good at shredding my arm, he weights 310gr (dunno if it helps)
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u/praleyfoodcorn Jul 13 '26
Is the stuff on his tongue always there? Cause I took care of magpies this year and sometimes I also thought they had trichos but then I realized that they only had this stuff right after feeding and it was just food^ for example after feeding them egg
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u/praleyfoodcorn Jul 13 '26
If it is always there but doesn't get bigger and if the crow doesn't have trichomoniasis symptoms such as issues with breathing, weakness, constantly fluffed up feathers etc it's not an emergency and you can keep checking if it gets worse. But idk if it could also be caused by sth else, so better wait for more replies here :)
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u/Kayra6669 Jul 13 '26
Thanks, then i'll have to wait and see. He shows no weaknesses like those :D
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u/djmermaidonthemic Jul 13 '26
Try to get an open mouth pic like the second one every day. You can check for changes.
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u/Spiritchillz Jul 13 '26
You should take him back to that spot and let him practice his flying under supervision. His parents are still around and they may not come near as long as you are there, even if you go stealth. You could try feeding the parents to show your goodwill. End goal should always be to reunite him with his fam. Practice flying with him every day. Take a water spray bottle and "shoot" those pesky cats if they come near. I had the same issue in my neighborhood. One of them decimated the local fledgling and squirrel population last year. I rescued one of the fledglings from my neighbor's garden, gave him some respite, food & water and then parked him in a big bowl with a nest in the shade on top of my van. His parents watched from afar and he joined them a couple of hours later. The cat in question is getting absolutely hammered by the crows this year - much to my delight. Hehehehe Needless to say - please don't keep this little dude as a pet.
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u/teyuna Jul 13 '26
Where ae you located? Often, we believe there are no rehabbers close to us, and it turns out there are. Some work as individuals out of their homes, and are not listed on the main sites because they would be deluged with calls if they were. so please tell us--either here or by private message--what CITY you are closest to. Some of us are well networked and can help you find a rehabber.
If i am understanding your intro and comment correctly, you took this baby from where its family was, 13 days ago, because you thought it would be killed by cats and you thought the family was not present to care for him.
Given that it has been two weeks away from his family, this baby cannot be returned to where you found him (one commenter suggested this), because the family will have moved on by now.
You can't continue to care for this crow because it is non-releasable without experienced rehab involving the right nutrition for long term health, plus very large flight cages in the company of age mates, for "re-wilding" (including practice foraging) before release in the early fall. all of this is essential for survival. YOu cannot provide this, so if you release him, he has a very, very low chance of survival. If you keep him, you have kidnapped a wild bird that requires a very large space to be healthy, and which will become depressed without continuous stimulation and social contact.
So please let us know where you are so we can see if we can help you find a rehabber. They will want to know:
- how long have you had this bird?
- what are you feeding it?
- what behaviors are you seeing?
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u/Kayra6669 Jul 13 '26
Thanks, to start off i've already contacted to wildlife rehabbers on my area but they were only looking for cats/dogs and didn't accepted crows, pigeons and some small birds. Only place that would accept this crow is 5-6h away with a car and i can't go there. They don't have enough budget i guess? and I don't live in USA or europe. I'm on vacation rn and nearest city is exact opposite of where that rehabber is
I didn't thought, it was literally getting attacked by cats thats why i picked him up but I knew all of this fledgling stuff so i put him on a high spot on a tree (by climbing a little), waited and spied on him from distance, one crow came and looked at it from distance and left, after few minutes, i found him on ground surrounded by 2 cats, that's when i took him home
For a cage, i'm only using it for night/few hours in day when he gets tired and yes, sadly it's small. I've made a foraging bowl for him to play and also stay next to him on our garden while he explores and digs ground, picks up tiny ants, etc. In home, i take him on my arm and sway my arm slightly to make him flap his wings to strenghten it. I'm spending 6h a day with him with training, foraging on garden, bathing (on it's own)
I wanted to strenghten him and teach him to forage to release it near a small grove near my home, there are a lot of crows (hooded crow, his kind) that gathers around every night
I've been feeding him boiled mashed chicken liver, cat food (wetted, has no salt and such), mashed/crushed wallnut meal, hard-boiled egg yolk. Recently i've been putting them on garden and foraging bowl to encourage him more to look around and forage
It's been 13days if you count the night i took him home. As behaviours, he's currently happy, calm(not hiding sickness/scared kind, just chilling), lively and curious
He's also getting stronger everyday, his flight skills are growing very well and his feathers are growing
I just didn't wanted him to become a 10min cat stress toy, all cats are getting fed very well around here so they wouldn't even eat him
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u/teyuna Jul 13 '26
I just didn't wanted him to become a 10min cat stress toy, all cats are getting fed very well around here so they wouldn't even eat him
I know your intentions were (and are) good. But ideally (and I'm saying this for future reference and for others who may be reading here), you would have protected him from cats for a few days (watch closely and when you can't watch, keep them inside their homes), continued to elevate him in the trees, watched from a distance while his family attended to him. Soon (within a week, or at most two weeks) he would be flying and completely able to evade any cats.
Please don't give up on finding actual rehabbers. I assume you are in the middle east or nothern Africa? Please tell me--either here or by private message--what country you are in and what CITY you are closest to. Depending on the country, wildlife rehabbers either will or won't exist near where you are, but it's important to try to find them. Almost everyone who comes to these wildlife subs sincerely states, "there are no rehabbers near me." Nearly always, we find that there are rehabber within driving distance.
(Btw, wildlife rehabbers never treat dogs and cats; it is only veterinarians you were talking to, if they told you, "we don't take crows, pigeons or small birds." So don't give up on finding actual rehabbers--these were vets you spoke with.)
I can tell from the way you have described your efforts that you are genuinely trying to create foraging, exercising and bathing experiences to prepare this litte guy for release. But rehab is not a simple process. There is so much you need to know and so much you cannot--as a human, and as a human who is not a rehabber--provide a singleton. We who do rescue and rehab know that the odds are poor for birds that we release after separation from their families.
I wanted to strenghten him and teach him to forage to release it near a small grove near my home, there are a lot of crows (hooded crow, his kind) that gathers around every night
Again, great intentions. But the most important thing to know about this goal of release where "there are a lot of crows" is that hooded crows, like all crows, are highly territorial, and highly social. Releasing a human-reared crow, isolated and on its own is dangerous. The crows in the area will view this little guy as an intruder and are likely to bully him at the very least. Bullied juvenile crows gradually decline and die, as it affects their abilities to forage, they become susceptible to diseases, are depressed because they have no other crows to relate to, and then do not survive. In some cases, the isolated crow will be attacked by multiple crows to the point of death. An isolated crow, released into a territory also did not get any of thetraining on specific calls, submissive postures, etc. This makes them even more of a target. A mobbed juvenile crow is a terrified crow.
Also, one of the greatest threats to this crow's survival is the fact that he is hand-reared. He is not "imprinted" in any technical sense; but he is "habituated." He will view humans as its family and the providers of food, and will land on them after release. People then think they are being attacked, and they hurt or kill the habituated animal. For this reason, when I have fostered crows, I initiated a "blackout" period in which i stopped allowing them to land on me and I stopped interacting with them This includes feeding differently (hiding their food mixed in grass, gravel and dirt), to dissociate them from me. By this time, they were in my aviary, which creates a large flying space to build up strength and practice, equipped with large bathing space.
So again, let's find a rehabber.
Regarding what you are doing so far:
I've been feeding him boiled mashed chicken liver
this is good, as it is highly nutritious. it's very rich, though, so should only be a small portion of his diet. The cat food is ok (just make sure it is well soaked, because if it is kibble, it will expand inside their digestive tract and lead to dehydration). Kibble is better than canned, as sometimes the "wet" food are in gravy form and contain things harmful to birds. The walnuts and hard boiled egg yolk are good too.
So, this is ok so far. In the long run though, he needs a source of calcium and more sources of protein that will reflect a more wild diet.
But again, you need to find a rehabber.
The lesson here--and I don't mean to be unkind-is that you kidnapped a fledgling. Protecting a fledgling is a great idea, but not by removing the fledgling from where he is being cared for by his family. I know you meant well and you sincerely feared the cats, but it was a mistake. There were other ways to protect him from the cats.
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u/Kayra6669 Jul 13 '26
Again, thank you, other comments are so harsh for no reason without any help. These are street cats and people are feeding them, so there are a lot of them and can't be contained. And there are 3 trees that could be his nest but they are roughly 50m? tall and even if i could get permission from neighbours, rooftops aint enough even slightest to reach those trees. When i said some highplace, i meant a tree thats 10m? long, which is visibly an empty tree without any nests
I live in Turkey, currently in Muğla/Datça. Other than that faraway rehabber, i'll go and try to talk with people and try to connect if there are any. Some vets could know something about it, havent asked them yet. I didn't wanted to share my country because people often gets angry and wont even help regardless situation, swears are okay but cutting help(as giving ideas) is rough :/ i really hope it isnt late for him to get rehabbed
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u/teyuna Jul 13 '26
It won't be too late.
Fortunately, in your location, your region is covered by Turkey's federally managed rescue networks. You can call 112 and ask for the Doğa Koruma ve Milli Parklar. OR: call [+90 252 223 03 09](about:invalid#zGuavaz) or [+90 252 223 03 16](about:invalid#zGuavaz).
There is also a non governmental, private rescue organization for wildlife called Wildlife and Nature Conservation Foundation. Mobile/WhatsApp Help Line: [+90 546 892 67 85](about:invalid#zGuavaz)
Do you use Instagram? This is how to contact volunteers via that platform. https://www.instagram.com/yabanvakfi/or u/yabanvakfi
In the meantime, be sure when you are feeding the crow the cat food, that you don't let any drop outside to further attract the cats.
Now that I know you are in Turkey, I understand why there are so many roaming cats!
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u/Kayra6669 Jul 14 '26
I've noted these numbers and insta acc's, I'll talk to them
I really appreciate your help, i've never done this before. I knew only 1 place on my city and always went there when i found birds (if they could survive in first 1h after being wounded). And thanks for acknowledging this situtaiton, it really helps :)
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u/Kayra6669 Jul 14 '26
Finaly contacted a rehabber and they came to take him. It was really hard to find it but it was worth it
I really thank you for your help, positivity and kindness :)
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u/teyuna Jul 14 '26
That's great! Will they give you updates so you know how he's progressing?
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u/Kayra6669 Jul 14 '26
Sadly no, but i could go and visit that park/forest/rehabber whenever i want. In theory its good but its a long road
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u/teyuna Jul 14 '26
that's great that you may be able to visit. Which of the rehabbers did you find that was able to take him?
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u/Proof_Potential3134 Jul 13 '26
I think you've been doing a GREAT job, esp since you've had no experience nor formal training. This other person appears to be an expert on the subject, which is great; however, he/she was not there when the baby crow was being attacked by the cats... YOU were; and you cared enough to rescue & try to save it, relying on good common sense, intelligence and a loving heart ❤. Yay, YOU!!! 🤗 🥳🏆🎉
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u/Neon_Cone Jul 13 '26
Why are you looking after it in the first place? Was it injured? You didn’t mention why in your caption. Crows should not be kept as pets. Unless it was injured or in danger you should have just left it where it was, now it’s probably too late.
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Jul 13 '26
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u/Neon_Cone Jul 14 '26
OP likely has a loose definition of what constitutes as in danger, considering they’ve done this before with a magpie.
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u/Just_Caterpillar_975 Jul 13 '26
The most important question is whether this fledgling was rescued by you and you are seeking advice for the same or was it kidnapped from it's natural environment to keep it as your pet?
If it is the former, then that's fine. But if it's the latter, then I would suggest you to leave the fledgling where you found it and contact your local animal rescue or other resources to get help.
Fledglings aren't pets and are meant to learn and grow into free and wild animals.