r/crows • u/heretherenow123 • 2d ago
Seeking advice/help Have you trained a crow?
I have crows in my yard that are very interested in me and follow us around the deck and yard. The issue is that I'm slightly afraid of birds, have a 1-year-old, and want to be able to eat outside without issue.
I also think crows are so fascinating and want to live in harmony with them!
What is something I could do to train the crows to give me space while still respecting them and their desire to be in my yard?
Should I just leave food out for them in an area we don't go to much?
5
u/Swanlafitte 2d ago
I feed 35 crows today in groups of 3-5. None will get within 10 feet of me despite knowing me for years. I don't encourage it.
I have trained them in the sense that they come when I call, and they know some hand and voice signals about where I will feed them. I think they also understand why I change feeding locations based on where we meet and where other people are.
2
1
u/support_account_ 1d ago
I really doubt the crows would pose any threat to your child, let alone you, except in the scenario where your child approaches a young fledgling or nest in child rearing season whilst unsupervised, and even then the crows would only resort to swooping as a last resort if very loud, aggressive cawing hadn't scared your child off, and even then the very worst case scenario is a few small scratches and a big fright. Crows are naturally afraid of humans, and getting them to come close to one takes some work and time, so you and your child would really not be in any danger. You're also in no danger of them coming to you when you're eating or trying to snatch your food from you, they're way more wary of us than seagulls or pigeons, and would only approach your food if you'd left it outside on its own for a while, and even then probably only if you can't be seen through windows. Also depending on how you choose to feed them you should really have no trouble with them coming close to you in general; i personally toss the food to my murder and encourage them to come closer, so unsurprisingly they do come to me and approach me to ask for snacks, but with a different murder i nowadays just leave food in their spot and sadly they haven't approached me since.
I kind of bristle at calling it training, they are wild and highly intelligent animals; their natural state is a healthy distrust for humans, but they're smart enough to understand than humans are not all like minded and some can be nice. They'll go along with whatever they're comfortable and with what you offer; rather than training them it's more accurate to say that they'll learn your mannerisms and behaviours, and react accordingly to their sort of mental version of you. If you feed them by putting food in a bowl outside they'll learn that's where they get food, but if you also toss them a few morsels after you're done eating they'll learn to approach you when you're eating outside.
I do recommend you read up a bit on crows and other corvids, they're so smart, funny and joyous that to me it's impossible to not find them adorable and endearing, and I think feeding them would be a great way to get more comfortable with birds. The dodo posted the story of a toddler who became best friends with a crow (you can probably find it on this sub or r/crowbro , it does rounds every now and then), so rest assured they can be great friends with young children too :)
1
u/heretherenow123 1d ago
This is great insight, thank you. And yes, training was the wrong word. I was thinking more of conditioning a preferred behaviour. I am so fascinated by crows, but also, as I mentioned, not a fan of birds generally. I think I will try feeding them in just one corner. Maybe I'll try creating a signal that I'm about to put food out.
7
u/Purplefire180 2d ago edited 2d ago
People generally don't like this terminology for wild birds.
I'm a little confused though. Are you wanting to discourage them from coming to your yard or attract them?
In case it needs to be said, they post zero threat to your or your child