Another Challenge

[sheepdog 10]

Some of you may of read my earlier Road Runner story, well, now I have a new game going.Several weeks ago I kept hearing this strange noise coming from the kitchen. Pretty loud noise, a lot bigger than if it was just a tiny little mouse running around for sure. Hubby was taking a nap, and our dog was asleep beside me on the couch. So I knew it couldn't be any of the usual suspects. So I headed to the kitchen to see what was going on. It was then I saw the blig black crow sitting in the window in the laundry room, which is right off the kitchen. I swear if the window hadn't been closed he would of come right on in. But he did take off when he saw me looking at him. But over the next couple weeks he just kept coming back. Sometimes he would come and peck at the window a couple times a day, and sometimes I wouldn't hear him for several days, but he was still making quite a habit out of his visits. Since I already had managed to befriend a Road Runner, I thought it might be fun to try a crow next. I have heard that crows are really smart and have heard of people makeing pets out of them so I figured I'd give it a try. Now, I'm not real sure what crows eat, but since I do see them pecking at carcuses. I figure they are probably meat eaters. So several days ago I put a slice of lunch meat in the window sill. Of course, for the next few days after that I didn't hear him and the slice of lunch meat just dryed up. It was chicken lunch meat, so maybe while crows are meat eaters, they arent' cannibals? Anyway, this afternoon I heard the now rather familiar pecking at the window again. He (or she, I'm not that sharp on crow sexes) was finally back. He did fly away again as usual when I approached, but this time the lunch meat was gone. But I don't know if he got it or if it just fell off or blew away. So I put out a fresh piece for him. We will just have to wait and see what happens. In the meantime, if anybody knows what a crow's favorite food is, I'd sure like to know.

[nanna 0]

Hello Sheepdog Reading this article had me in stitches so i thought ive got research this which is what i did.Crows are birds of prey and scavengers they eat plants and animals dead or alive.Crows also play a big part to keeping the enviroment clean by eating dead corpses and rotten food and they clear up any rubbish we humans leave behind.They also known to destroy a farmers crops of corn.They also eat insects and mice.They do prefer their food to be alive.I hope this bit of information helps you with your little feathered friend.

[midnightvamp 1]

Good thing nanna had some ideas for you about what crows eat, because I didn't have a clue. I just wanted to chime in here quick and say that I saw some YouTube videos a while back where people had pet crows that lived in their home with them. They did indeed seem to make great pets, but I'm not sure if this is something that needs to be started from when a crow is a baby or not, but it seems interesting none the less.I'd be very interested in hearing more about how you and your new crow friend are getting along in the future

[sheepdog 10]

Sadly, my crow experience seems to have come to a screaching halt. He (or she, who know's with crows, exept maybe another crow) has not been back to the window for over a week now. A friend of mine told me they like corn, and to put some corn on the window sill, but I still really don't know what crows like to eat, I have seen them carry off dead mice and stuff, so I always assumed they were meat eaters. My luck with birds isn't going so well this week, no more crow visits, and I also set up a humming bird feeder under my new arbor, it's been up 4 or 5 days now and not a single visitor has found it.

[sheepdog 10]

Well, still no crow visits, guess I'm going to have to give up on that little game. And the hummingbirds are still ignoring my feeder. I do have some good news though, I'm going back to playing Wiley Coyote and trying to befriend the next generation of Road Runners. He is no where near as tame as the last one, but is starting to let me get pretty close. I even got a pretty good picture of him the other day. (or her, as the case may be, I'm not much better at telling the difference in them than I am crows.)

[ritu 1]

I can understand when you say that you didn't find a crow visiting when you were anticipating their visit. However, I can wish you good luck regarding your bonding with your latest interest and you derive the satisfaction that you wished for. The picture taken seems to be a close one. Could you tell me whether the picture was taken when the bird was sitting somewhere sitting close to your place or had you gone out when you captured this sight?

[sheepdog 10]

Oh shucks, I didn't realize I'd already posted the roadrunner pictures. Oh well, nobodys perfect. Actually the road runner we have now is pretty used to us, he does his own thing and we always try not to scare him, so I can actually walk up pretty close to him now. I did use the zoom on the camera, but I was only about 15-20 feet away from him when I took this shot.

[AKUKUMATATA 0]

crows are omnivores. they eat anything available to them. give him some meat then try some big nuts. just crush the nuts before you give them to it. another thing is their intelligence. they are one of the most intelligent birds in the world. some say they're even smarter than psittacines. several people have trained them to do different tricks. their only problem is the noises they make are deafeningly loud.

Edited September 12, 2012 by AKUKUMATATA (see edit history)

[rpgsearcherz 5]

crows are omnivores. they eat anything available to them. give him some meat then try some big nuts. just crush the nuts before you give them to it. another thing is their intelligence. they are one of the most intelligent birds in the world. some say they're even smarter than psittacines. several people have trained them to do different tricks. their only problem is the noises they make are deafeningly loud.

The issue with giving them meat is that if it's done in the hopes that the crow will come by and see it, it could rot long before then. If the crow comes by at a normal frequency, though, pin-pointing the approximate time may be possible, but otherwise I don't really see that idea working.

Maybe they'd be interested in normal bird feed though, like the kind that's bought at stores?

[AKUKUMATATA 0]

The issue with giving them meat is that if it's done in the hopes that the crow will come by and see it, it could rot long before then. If the crow comes by at a normal frequency, though, pin-pointing the approximate time may be possible, but otherwise I don't really see that idea working.
Maybe they'd be interested in normal bird feed though, like the kind that's bought at stores?

Do you mean small seeds? like millet and other kinds? maybe it will work, I don't think it will, but maybe.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

Do you mean small seeds? like millet and other kinds? maybe it will work, I don't think it will, but maybe.

Yeah, those. Pet stores may have a seed that's more appropriate for them though. They might even have something specifically for crows.

[demonboy1990 0]

try putting out some bread most birds eat bread when i was a kid we use to throw out bread in the street for the birds none of it went a waste,i remember we used to to the park we called it the waterworks because it had a big pond in the middle of the park with swans they are great birds but do not get to close they will bite, and brings me back to your crows did you try worms or normal budgie seeds they should be like other birds and eat any old rubbish they also eat meat but if i was you i would not keep feeding it or else you will never get rid of it.

[sheepdog 10]

Yes, keeping the meat fresh is an issue, but I did use lunch meat, which no doubt has enough preservatives in it for it to be ok for at least a day or 2 anyway. And since I have seen crows eating long dead road kill, I didn't think their tastes buds were all that particular about freshness anyway. Ritu, it was just one of those odd times I happened to have the camera in my pocket. I carry it around a lot back and forth between the house and the kennel when I'm taking puppy pictures for customers, I just happened to have it this time. I was about 20 feet or less from him. He was actually in an empty dog pen I had left the gate open on and was cleaning them, as I came over to take the picture he came out of the pen and stood for a minute right in front of them.Just yesterday our little Schnauzer tried to chase one of them. She knows she is not supposed to bother them, but sometimes she just forgets and gets excited when she sees one and goes after it. I yelled at her and she instantly stopped chasing it, and funny thing was, the bird stopped running just as soon as I made her stop chasing it. It's almost like it knew that he was now safe and didn't have to get away from the annoying little dog. He then just causually sauntered away at a calm and leasurly pace, while the dog sat and glared at him. I thought it was rather funny, though I don't think the dog appreciated my sense of humor on this one.