Anybody have pet crows?

[vivalarevolución]

I just watched this episode of Nature about crows on PBS:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/a-murder-of-crows/full-episode/5977/

I guess they are pretty smart for a bird. Anybody got some pet crows?

[noisyturtle]

I don't know about crows, but ravens make good pets. Very intelligent. I saw some show where this lady had a pet raven and it would ride in her convertible with her and sometimes just take off and fly right over the vehicle while she drove.

[SmallFry]

Ravens? NEVERMORE!

[iri]

i'd really like a pet raven. and a pet owl. but better a raven.

[Tym]

Slightly off topic but my college just bought a huge f*cking raven

[esoomenona]

What do ravens eat? Would I get to feed it other animals?

[Tym]

What do ravens eat? Would I get to feed it other animals?

Cows. Can you imagine a crow carry a cow that would be awesome!

[vivalarevolución]

What do ravens eat? Would I get to feed it other animals?

See that would be fun. You take your raven to the dog park, and it swoops down and flies away with the small dogs.

[esoomenona]

So you're telling me they don't do those things? Lame. I'm just going to get an eagle instead.

[vivalarevolución]

So it's looking like nobody has pet crows on here. Perhaps I should try a pet message board, but that would be too logical.

Also, I didn't consider all the noise a crow would make. That would get old.

[BucklingSpring]

Why do ask? Do you have an opportunity?

When I was a kid and living in the country, my dad once rescued a young one. It had a broken wing or something.
It became friendly after a week or two. I would say the pet behavior is very similar to a parrot.
My father "freed it" up when it started to fly in the house. But it wouldn't leave.
It staid close to the house the whole summer. We could hand feed it with pretty much anything.

It disapeared during the winter. Showing up only when the temperature was warmer.
Then it spent the next summer around the house again. After that, the visits were less and less often but it lasted 2-3 years.

I haven't look on Youtube but I'm sure you can find others like that. Apparently the crows and ravens can easily turn into pet under the right conditions.
But adults are pretty much out of the questions. Especially if they're living near a populated area.

So it's looking like nobody has pet crows on here. Perhaps I should try a pet message board, but that would be too logical.

Also, I didn't consider all the noise a crow would make. That would get old.

[mr_a500]

There's a nice story about a friendly crow in Ottawa:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/09/28/ottawa-walter-the-crow.html

I'd love to have a pet crow - especially if I could command it to attack people. Maybe I'd put a camera on it. It'd be like a poor man's drone.

[vivalarevolución]

Why do ask? Do you have an opportunity?

I don't have an opportunity, I just was wondering if crows make decent pets.  They seem smarter than parrots, I'm allergic to cats, and a dog is more responsibility than I want to handle. I would need to live with somebody that actually knows how to raise a dog.

[Leslieann]

i'd really like a pet raven. and a pet owl. but better a raven.

Put up an owl box in your yard with a (night vision) web cam inside.
Mine is just waiting for an occupant.

Beware of sellers selling fake "night vision" cameras. Some are just plain white LED's and not infared. One camera I got even said it was infared, but not only was it standard white LED's, which an owl can obviously see, but had an infrared blocking lens inside it.

[tp4tissue]

what does having an owl do ? scare mice? coyotes?

[Leslieann]

what does having an owl do ? scare mice? coyotes?

Coyotes?
You must be from the city. 

Owls are great for controlling rats, mice and rabbits. They go for smaller prey, anything under about a pound or two.

[1839cc]

Haha, owl carries off coyote. Makes a funny mental picture.

It would be awesome to have a pet bird follow you around in traffic. I've never seen that happen.

[tp4tissue]

Haha, owl carries off coyote. Makes a funny mental picture.

It would be awesome to have a pet bird follow you around in traffic. I've never seen that happen.

Ok.. I'm embarrassed to say my only reference as to the maximum potential "SIZE" of owls was from the harry potter movie..

So.... I thought they could get like "really big" like eagles big...   

but, now I know....  )

[noisyturtle]

Owls are mean. They look cute, sure. But they're coldhearted killing machines.

[singaporean123]

I had an african grey once. Birds are not meant to be kept in cages I can tell you that.. They get all stressed if kept in cages for too long, and pluck their own feathers. the only gripe I have is that I can't toilet train my parrot.

[tp4tissue]

Owls are mean. They look cute, sure. But they're coldhearted killing machines.

Cold-Hearted is really just a romanticized version of "HUNGRY"

Beneath all our bubble wrap society is the truth, and it's quite cold.

Girl goes to an interview, didn't get the job.. why's that?

2 possibilities... she wasn't qualified, or the interviewer wasn't hungry..

The truth is, ANYONE can do ANY JOB if their life depended on it..


from Suntze art of war, something something, when choice is between death and battle, overnight a shrew soldier becomes a great warrior..


This obviously doesn't count corner cases where you're missing limbs..

[tp4tissue]

I had an african grey once. Birds are not meant to be kept in cages I can tell you that.. They get all stressed if kept in cages for too long, and pluck their own feathers. the only gripe I have is that I can't toilet train my parrot.

LOL.. how would this work.. you'd need like a branch thing over the water, but then you'd have to remove it every time you wanted to use it...

[tufty]

I just was wondering if crows make decent pets.

They do.  They're particularly affectionate until they peck your eyes out.

[calavera]

I misread "cows." Common I can't be the only one?

[Malphas]

Crows - like most undomesticated animals - do not make particularly good pets; but - again like most undomesticated animals - there's a "cool" cachet about owning one that appeals to a certain type of personality. Birds, in general, shouldn't be kept as pets, in my opinion.

[iri]

is there a difference in english between a crow and a raven?

[Leslieann]

is there a difference in english between a crow and a raven?

Different birds, same family, but many interchange the two.

[noisyturtle]

is there a difference in english between a crow and a raven?

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-difference-between-a-raven-and-a-crow.htm#

[iri]

thanks. it seems my dictionary is incorrect.

[iri]

Up here in Canada, the northern home of true crows and ravens, the ravens have black beaks and the crows have white or yellow beaks. There are no crows with black beaks, ever!

okay, i give up. let's name the animal in latin. i would like a corvus corax as a pet!

[Halverson]

Long as its not an Australian raven, damn noisy things, sound like dying cats.
Now magpies on the other hand, they have quite a pretty warble.

[Tarzan]

I had a pet crow when I was a kid.  Called him Corvus, of course.  Rescued him as chick, fell/pushed out of a nest as far as we could tell, but we never figured out where the parent(s) were.

Great bird, held his own quite well in a household of cats and dogs.  We never kept him caged, had a perch or two around the house, but just as likely to walk around on the floor or via chair-backs.  Had quite a vocabulary, and would engage in conversation readily.  Not intelligible, of course, and I only found the compiled crow glossary later.

Got lost in a dust storm and didn't survive.

Highly recommended as a pet, but they are NOT low-maintenance.  Too big to keep caged, and best suited for places with hardwood or tile floors.  I don't even want to think about crap or birdseed in a keyboard...   

[esoomenona]

How intelligent are ravens (or crows, though I'd prefer a raven)? Could you potty train them?

[Binge]

I've got little birds.  Nothing that big, but arguably nearly as smart.

[vivalarevolución]

Thanks for some of the info guys. I would hate to keep a crow caged because that would drive it crazy. I live in an apartment, so it's not an a great place for a pet.

Also I can see why tp4tissue has been muted.

[Tarzan]

Birds of almost any species are very smart.  Can crows be house-trained?  Sure, with enough attention and rewards.  But they are large birds, and when startled, the reflex is usually to evacuate and take flight...

Plus, they are extremely sociable. We lived on a farm, and the crow was always interested in seeing what people were doing.  If you were reading, and he wanted attention, he'd nibble on the edge of the page.  Hard to keep off the table, especially when your back was turned.  Nosy. Inquisitive.  Could be noisy, if upset or aggravated.

In a more urban setting there are a lot more hazards.  Power lines and cars outside, ceiling fans and venetian blind cords inside.  Glass doors.  Neighborhood cats.  Having a pet of this size is a commitment - having a pet of ANY size is a commitment, but crows make small problems into big ones pretty quickly.

If you're serious about adding a crow to the family, talk to an animal rescue center, see if they do home evaluations for common dangers and risks for birds.   Talk to other bird owners.  We also had a parrot, before the crow, so we knew something about taking care of larger birds, I don't know that I'd look into getting one as a first bird.

[Krogenar]

I had an african grey once. Birds are not meant to be kept in cages I can tell you that.. They get all stressed if kept in cages for too long, and pluck their own feathers. the only gripe I have is that I can't toilet train my parrot.

Yeah, the birds that pluck out their own feathers may also be lonely -- a lot of them are very social creatures, and without others bird they get very sick.

[iri]

once in saint petersburg zoo, a raven tried to talk to my ex, asking her to help build him a nest and showing how to do so (moving small branches in his beak in the edge of his cage). this ***** didn't understand him, and i didn't want to spend too much time there as the zoo was about to close.

[whiskytango]

Corn?! Corn?!
Snow! Snow!

[esoomenona]

once in saint petersburg zoo, a raven tried to talk to my ex, asking her to help build him a nest and showing how to do so (moving small branches in his beak in the edge of his cage). this ***** didn't understand him, and i didn't want to spend too much time there as the zoo was about to close.

You broke up with her because she didn't speak Raven? That's my dog.

[1839cc]

I misread "cows." Common I can't be the only one?

Yes, I did that too. Might have been funnier that way.

[esoomenona]

I'm pretty sure pet cows are more common than pet crows.

[1839cc]

I guess it depends how you define pet.

[esoomenona]

I define pet as you probably define it. I don't mean like a farm animal used for milk. I mean like someone keeps a dog.

[esoomenona]

To elaborate, I think the fact that more people keep them for things such as obtaining milk means that more people are likely to adopt them as full blown pets.

[Malphas]

I'm pretty sure pet cows are more common than pet crows.

I'm also pretty sure this is the case. Using the standard definition of "pet" also, not redefining it to include cattle kept for agricultural reasons.

[1839cc]

Maybe so.

I doubt there are many that live inside the house or sleep in the bed with the owner though.

[mushupork]

Had pet cow, wanted cheezburger ... i eated it

[mushupork]

(If the thread is in the Off Topic forum, and the response is Off Topic to the thread, is it still thread-crapping? )

[esoomenona]

(If the thread is in the Off Topic forum, and the response is Off Topic to the thread, is it still thread-crapping? )

If you go off topic from the off topic discussion to discuss thread crapping, is it thread-crap-crapping?