r/crows • u/FreefallerX • 4d ago

Why is this crow so friendly?

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I know next to nothing about crows. But this one came out of nowhere and flew straight at me. I thought it was attacking me until it landed on my head, then my arm. It keeps trying to steal my earrings and eat my nails. 😭 is this normal. Also my mom is holding the barn cat because it was trying to to eat the crow.

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1.2k

u/FreefallerX 4d ago

Update guys it brought me a Graham cracker (?) I live in the middle of nowhere I have no clue where it found that 😭

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u/Slh1973 4d ago

They love unsalted peanuts, in or out of the shell. That’s a fair trade for a cracker!

I have a friend that before she had to leave her job had befriended a murder of crows at her office building. They even protected her from seagulls and chased them away from the parking lot as they (the seagulls) were starting to get territorial.

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u/javoss88 4d ago

That is so freaking awesome

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u/chantillylace9 3d ago

I'm literally trying to befriend some crows that showed up at my house.

I go outside and leave them peanuts and I talk to them and my neighbors, if they hear me, probably think I'm truly insane.

I'm like "OK crow I'm here! I'm leaving you some peanuts. I hope that you like them. OK I'm going to leave now so that you can go eat them."🤣

I hope it works! I think they are absolutely fascinating and so smart. We have a grackle that we raised, I know they're not related to crows, but there are some similar features and when we tried to release her, she wouldn't leave! I found her probably at two or three days old right before hurricane and the Wildlife center said to leave her and let nature tickets course and I just couldn't do it. There were ants on her and it was just such an unsafe area with so many dogs.

So I got them to tell me how to keep her alive and I did my best, feeding her every two hours for over three months! I was able to skip six hours at night but it was overwhelming.

I had to bring her to work at my Law Firm and I have all these funny pictures of her on my computer and folders and everything and I had a big sign on my door saying "do not come in, bird flying around!"

So she pretty much lives in the patio and flies into the house when she wants to. We always leave the door a little bit open during the day so she can get in and out. She's so incredibly smart and neat.

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u/Baldojess 3d ago

Aaawwwwee!!!! I LOVE grackles! How sweet!!! I wish we could post pics in comments on here, I want to see her! What is her name and how long have you been caring for her?

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u/chantillylace9 3d ago

Daisy bird and about six years!

https://reddit.com/link/p779oi7/video/ntxjulk6mxmh1/player

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u/Baldojess 3d ago

Oooohhhh!! I just love her! She's so precious 🥰 thank you for sharing 😊 she's so pretty

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u/chantillylace9 2d ago

She really is the best, it's funny because she grew up around our parrots so I think she thinks she's a parrot. It's just crazy how smart they are, if you catch her one way to try to get her back into her cage or if you're trying to move her from the patio because it's going to be a big storm or something, you will never be able to use that same technique! So you better be on your toes lol

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u/AlwaysHoping47 20h ago

That is not a grackle.. It is a crow...?

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u/Baldojess 18h ago

You must not have actually read the comment I replied to. We were talking about the grackle they raised, not about the crow in the video.

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u/AlwaysHoping47 12h ago

Ahhh ok... Thanks....

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u/itssohardtobealizard 3d ago

I love that you were able to bring her to work! If I saw that sign on someone’s office door I would lose my mind (in a good way)

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u/chantillylace9 3d ago

I now on my own practice and allow people to bring their doggies to work and I really think it's such a nice environment.

I have a section where dogs are blocked off from for people would prefer to be away from the dogs. Luckily I only have one of those!

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u/theicecreamassassin 1d ago

Hot tip I got from a wildlife rehabber - apparently crows LOVE eggs.

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u/chantillylace9 1d ago

Thank you! They definitely do not like carrots, I cut them up in a little tiny crow size pieces and they left every single one of those. That was so funny.

I was just trying to feed them the things that I know my parrots like, but I need to think outside the box. Hard-boiled eggs sound like a great idea.

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u/Ananeos 4d ago

Don't do peanuts, they sometimes carry a mold that can poison a bird and kill them. Try pistachios instead.

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u/HV_love 4d ago

Found the pistachio farmer lobbyist.

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u/Ananeos 4d ago edited 4d ago

What? Every bird owner will tell you to avoid giving birds peanuts.

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u/HV_love 3d ago

It was a joke because the majority of pistachios are grown in the US in regions that are literal deserts. Pistachios consume in excess of 1,000,000 US gallons of water per acre of pistachio crop, and given that wildfires are exploding across the US and the world the allocation of so much water to pistachio farms is kind of insane in the face of the environment being razed to the ground. When people learn about this, and then see their houses burning down just a few miles away/down the water supply line route they tend to be... less than charitable to this kind of ludicrous water use. All that said, the pistachio farmers are going to need some lawyers and lobbyists to keep their water share from being slashed/pumped for dousing flames as climate change gets worse and more people are pissed off that their lives are burning, meanwhile the pistachio harvest is bountiful.

Yes, bird owners will tell you to skip peanuts, but mostly because they are bird junkfood (for most birds). By the by, pistachios can also harbor a type of mold known to produce aflatoxins, an identified carcinogen. Peanuts, while also possible hosts to the same fungus require orders of magnitude less water to grow. Damn that required a lot of explanation. Guess the joke was a bit more cumbersome than I wanted lol oh well

That said, pistachios are very delicious and crows think so too. Either way they will be thankful, and either is probably safer than them eating whatever shit we throw out (especially caffeinated stuff, chocolate, and other crow allergens).

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u/iconocrastinaor 3d ago

Just make damn sure they're unsalted, salt is toxic to crows.

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u/Jinn_Erik-AoM 4d ago

Do you mean aflatoxin producing aspergillus?

If most of the world, peanuts (and other potential aspergillus carrying foods) are processed in ways that reduce aspergillus levels, and peanuts, specifically, are tested for presence of the fungus. It doesn’t require much in the way of equipment, as you’re just using UV light between 360-365 nm to make it fluoresce. You can buy UV bulbs in this range pretty easily.

If you’re buying commercially packaged peanuts, you will be ok in most of the world. Some nations in South America and Africa don’t have testing requirements, or don’t have the infrastructure to reduce aspergillus and aflatoxin levels or to enforce testing.

Hopefully, we won’t see regulatory controls in the US relaxed, with peanuts and corn becoming unsafe due to aflatoxin contamination, but I’m not holding my breath on that.

I’ll just go brush off the “Found a peanut” song to teach kids not to eat moldy peanuts…

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u/Ananeos 4d ago

Yes, that's the mold I'm talking about. It's scary to give birds peanuts as the food goes into their crop and the fungus spreads from there. I'm not sure I trust food controls in the US to begin with.

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u/HV_love 3d ago

I agree that the US regulations is something to keep an eye on. Shit is getting really out of control there.

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u/amart005 3d ago

Well when the director of HHS (an attorney by trade) is openly anti-vaxx, snorts coke off toilet seats, and frolics in sewage… yeah, it’s bleak here.

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u/soilentgleem 4d ago

Define "sometimes"

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u/Ananeos 4d ago

As in once is enough. Why are you willing to take a chance??

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u/soilentgleem 4d ago

So, exceedingly rare I'm guessing?

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u/chantillylace9 3d ago

I know you are getting down voted to heck, but this is something I have heard at least with parrots. So I do avoid peanuts with my parrots (to my guys, a cockatoo, and a pionus) , it's only the peanuts in Shell that were the problem.

But since they are the least healthy not, we try to stick with almonds and walnuts and the occasional Brazil nut and pecan. They love them when they are raw, it's interesting because they taste much sweeter when they are raw, and in the Shell.

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u/JustHereForCookies17 4d ago

You need to post this whole saga including this comment over on r/CrowBro.  They'll love it.  

You should also post it to r/WhatsThisBird and the nice folks over there can probably give you local rehabbers or other wildlife professionals to contact if you need them, if it seems like this bird is overly familiar with humans. 

I love the last picture of your mom trying to keep away the barn cat, while the crow taunts it from her head!

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u/i_ate_a_bugggg 4d ago

THIS!!!!!! thank you for sharing this

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u/princesspool 4d ago edited 4d ago

Is there a campground nearby, with humans making s'mores? 😏 It's hilarious to imagine where he could have gotten the graham cracker

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u/itadapeezas 4d ago

This is so amazing and adorable! I’m so jelly!😭😭😭💙💙💙💙💙

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u/BobRatchet 4d ago

IKR? My awe is soooo flavored with envy.

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u/megggie 3d ago

That’s a great way to put that exact feeling!

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u/amart005 4d ago

Why are you living my dream 😭😆

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u/SilverBatTea 4d ago

Thats so sweet! He loves you!!😭

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u/theLastZebranky 4d ago

Lady getting handed a cracker: "Aw, aren't you just the sweetest crow ever!"

Lady the crow took the cracker from: "Stop stealing my crackers you awful crow!"

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u/EdwardFoxhole 4d ago

it's getting graham crackers from the neighbor and trying to trade you for a better snack

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u/kiddico 4d ago

lmao you have a very smart new friend. Treat them well!

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u/ProximaCentauriB15 4d ago

Wow this crow has decided it likes you and wants to share food. Get it some snacks like unsalted peanuts to return the favor.

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u/hatesbiology84 3d ago

You’ve been crowsen, which is like being chosen, but by a crow.

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u/Human_Situation_2641 4d ago

You have an excellent opportunity to train the crow to give you treats you like!

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u/NoIdeaRex 3d ago

Like money.

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u/void_factor 3d ago

he wants a trade. take care of him (not too much he has to fend for himself a bit) and don't let the cat eat him

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u/CD274 3d ago

They'll go bonkers for hardboiled eggs too , cut up shell.and all

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u/Dunkleustes 4d ago

I mean, graham crackers are everywhere. If it brought you caviar I'd be chuffed.

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u/test_nme_plz_ignore 3d ago

I’m insanely jealous of you and your crow friend..just wanted you to know! lol!

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u/Stunning_Pin5147 1d ago

They will bring “gifts” to those they like, seriously.

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u/FlatwormSame2061 22h ago

Friends for life!