Do Crows Make Good Pets?
It’s difficult for animal enthusiasts to resist the allure of keeping almost any species of animal as a pet. Intelligent creatures, such as crows, naturally get to the top of the priority list.
Many individuals even make friends with the crows that roost near their houses or at the neighborhood park. Because they make terrific “friends” in this way, it is logical to assume that a crow would indeed make an excellent pet.
Of unfortunately, reality and our wishes aren’t always congruent. So, are crows excellent pets? If you want to maintain a crow as a pet, you need first learn these seven things.
Do Crows Make Good Pets?
Have you ever encountered someone who keeps a crow as a pet? If you answered yes, you’re in for a surprise. You’ve probably seen crows swooping across the sky, roosting on adjacent homes, or even scavenge food in the park.
But you’ve most likely never have seen a crow in captivity, and there’s a reason for that. The harsh fact seems to be that crows do not make good pets in any situation. They’re simply not designed for life within captivity.
Do Ducks Have Teeth? Everything You Need To Know
Crows are too sophisticated to be confined, and they require a lot of space to travel about. A crow’s average lifespan in captivity is much lower than in the wild.
They can have health issues and numerous mental troubles, but that’s only the beginning of the issues that might occur when you strive to maintain a crow as a pet.
7 Facts Regarding Crows As Pets You Should Know
1. Crows Are Wild Animals
There are no tamed crows, so you’ll have to catch one in the wilderness if you want to raise one as a pet. This presents an obvious moral quandary.
Consider it this way. Would you want somebody to kidnap you from your independent existence in the world and confine you in a cage for the remainder of your days?
Most likely not. A crow, on the other hand, isn’t much different. They have complete access to the complete globe and wide-open skies in the wild, something you cannot give in your house. Taking a crow from its natural habitat is terrible, and putting them in a cage is even crueller.
2. They Require Sunbathing
Crows enjoy sunbathing, but it turns out that it’s not only for fun. Crows, like people, require vitamin D, and the preferred technique for them to obtain it is by sunbathing.
Granted, you might keep a crow’s cage near a window so it gets some sunshine, but it’s not the same, and your crow will likely become vitamin D deficient, that can lead to health issues.
3. Many Countries Consider It Illegal
Crows are a migratory species. The Migrating Bird Treaty Act protects them in the United States, making it unlawful to catch, kill, trade, sell, or transport any migratory bird, which include crows.
There are few exceptions that must be approved by the Department of Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, although they are few and far between, and you will not be allowed one to keep a pet crow.
This implies that trying to tame a crow is a felony federal offence that might land you in prison and cost you a lot of money.
4. Crows Are Sociable Birds
Imagine someone stealing you away from loved ones and locking you alone in loneliness till you died. You’d be extremely lonely and virtually probably suffer from poor psychological health in terms.
Crows, like humans, are highly sociable creatures. If you isolate a crow from it’s own family, it will live a lonely and depressed existence.
5. Go Crazy In Captivity
Crows are very clever animals. They must exercise both their thoughts and their bodies. Keeping a crow is like tending for a two-year-old child who will never grow up, according to legend.
How Fast Can An Ostrich Run? Everything You Need To Know
But it’s worse for a crow because if it doesn’t get the chance to utilize its brains, think things through, and problem solve, this would suffer mental health consequences. Crows, among other things, become deranged and insane when held in captivity for all this reason.
6. You’d Have To Provide A Huge Cage
Crows are undoubtedly birds, as well as they can fly. It’s dangerous for a crow to be caught on the land or on a seat with no means to fly. Your crow would then have to spend at least just few hours per day for flying, necessitating a rather enormous cage.
To maintain a single crow, you’d need an aviary, but very few people have always had that much space to dedicate to such things, much alone the cost of installing one.
7. Medical Care Is Nearly Impossible To Get By
Since raising a crow is illegal, you won’t be able to seek medical attention for it if it becomes unwell, which will happen at some time.
Veterinarians will be useless to you since they will have to denounce you and your crow to the authorities. As a result, you’ll have to handle all of your crow’s medical issues on your own.
How well do you understand avian health? Apparently not enough to care for a pet crow for the rest of its life without expert assistance.
What If You Come Across An Injured or Abandoned Crow?
We’ve already established that maintaining a crow as a pet is a bad idea. But what if you come upon a wounded or abandoned crow in need of assistance? Is it therefore OK to bring the crow in and care for it? Certainly not.
If you try to help the crow, it may imprint on you, which means it may accept you as a parent, placing it at a disadvantage for the rest of its life. As a result, wildlife specialists conceal their faces when interacting with new born crows.
If a crow imprints on a human, they may come to regard people as sources of assistance and may seek them at unexpected times, which might be harmful for the crow. Even if you discover a wounded crow, do not approach, touch, or keep it.
Can Ducks Eat Bananas? Everything You Need To Know
Contact Wildlife Protective Services instead. They’re experts at dealing with circumstances like this and will be considerably better prepared to manage it than you are.
Plus, you’ll avoid an inquiry that would almost certainly ensue from stealing the crow, which, as you may recall, is very unlawful on a federal level.
What Should You Do Instead Of Keeping Crows As Pets?
You adore crows, and we’ve just destroyed your chances of having one as a pet. So, what is a crow enthusiast to do at this point?
Don’t worry, you haven’t run out of possibilities. In reality, depending as to how much effort you want to devote to crow connections and care, you have three excellent options.
1. Befriend Your Local Crows
Crows are regarded to be highly sociable and gregarious animals. It’s not unusual for humans to make friends with large flocks of crows which reside nearby. You may gradually create trust with crows by providing them with nutritious meals such as dry pet foods, peanuts, and other treats.
It takes a lot of food, and you have to make absolutely sure it’s legal where you live, but after a while, the crows will recognize and trust you, and a relationship may grow.
2. Help Wildlife Protection Services by Volunteering
Most large governments have Wildlife Protection Services. They are in charge of dealing with wild creatures in need of assistance. If you assist with your local group, you will get the opportunity to work with animals that they are rescuing.
You won’t always get to deal with crows, although when you do, you’ll be in a wonderful position to connect with them.
3. Learn How To Become An Accredited Wildlife Rehabilitator
If you wish to work with crows and other animals on a more serious level, you may become a licenced wildlife rehabilitator.
You might even work just with crows if you wanted to. This is a huge life decision that will need a lot of labour and sacrifice, if you’re determined to get close to crows, this is definitely the best way to achieve it.
Take Away Message
Crows are clever birds with amiable dispositions that make them popular with many people. Crows, on the other hand, are poor pets for a multitude of reasons. Both you and the crow are in a difficult predicament.
A crow kept as a pet will go insane in confinement, away from loved ones and family, missing the required space, exercise, and mental stimulation. You’ll also face federal criminal penalties if you maintain wildlife unlawfully.
It’s best to just make friends with your neighborhood crows in the park or get a vocation that permits one to rehabilitate them. But, whatever you do, don’t try to capture and keep a crow as a pet. The ramifications might be catastrophic.
