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People > Photos > Gallery: Ruth K. > Album: Misc Photos > Spikey the Hooded Crow
Spikey the Hooded Crow

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Date: 12/31/69

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The Story of Spikey The Hooded Crow By Ruth Krammer This is a very special story about a very special bird. We named him Spikey. It all happened in June, when we heard a big racket outside in our garden. The crows were making an awful lot of noise, and I knew that something was wrong out there. When I went outside, very carefully, to take a look, I found the problem. Crows can be quite aggressive and protective. It is important to be quiet and careful. Suddenly, right by my feet, I saw a baby crow. He had fallen out of his nest, and was helpless. The parents were above in the trees, trying to do something, but it was hopeless. I immediately went to my next door neighbor, Michal, and together we began the effort to save the little creature. We took a light cloth and tossed it over the bird, gathered him up, and took him into the house. Michal had a spare room, and we put him in there. There is a problem to feed such a baby. We took soaked cat and dog food, and put it into the throat of the bird, then we gave it water with an eyedropper. The next step was to find out what we could do to continue our efforts. I immediately consulted my Internet, and found a site to help me out. I wrote to an expert and got an answer right away. Here is what happened and what I wrote: “We found a baby crow, waited for a while, and the adults weren\'t able to take care of it. We took it in with a light blanket, and \"Spike\" is now in a rather large cage. He/she doesn\'t fly much yet, but is happily eating with the help of us humans. He is getting very friendly and tame, and doesn\'t seem to want to leave his new home. The top of the cage can be opened, however he isn\'t at all interested in flying out. Yesterday my neighbor, where Spike found a temporary home, told me that he perched on her shoulder, which she immediately stopped, because we want to give the bird it\'s freedom, when it is big enough to take care of itself. We need some help with the food. So far he is willing to eat some small bits of chicken, or meat, but there should be some other things. Please send some information. We live in northern Israel, and our crows are black on the top, with gray underneath. Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain Sincerely yours, Ruth Krammer Answer: >Dear Ruth, > >Thank you for visiting my website and for writing. Thanks go to you for >caring enough to take care of this young, orphaned crow. A friend of mine is a crow rehabber. She told me that as for the diet, dried dog food soaked in water with either mixed, chopped veggies or fruit makes a good staple diet. As for drinking water for the crow, use an artist\'s brush (watercolor brush) dipped in water, and tilted at an angle above the crow so that the bird must reach up for it to drink. This helps keep the water from going down the bird\'s windpipe and keeps it from drowning. There is one problem with trying to rehab and release crows. They bond very easily, especially with their caregivers. There is a good chance that this crow will bond to you and might not wish to be released. It is difficult to tell you what to do and how to do it. But, if you are able to have more than one person help rehab the crow, it might help in not having the bird identify with only one person. Most rehabbers will tell you if the crow is on the ground and cannot fly, it should be able to do so in a few days. You may want to keep an eye on it to protect it from predators. It also depends on how old the crow is - if it has all of its feathers, it may be o.k., otherwise it may need some assistance on your part. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I will be >more than happy to help you. >Laura Dear Laura, Thanks so much for your prompt answer. Spikey is doing very well. He/she still needs to be handfed. As you said -- they bond quickly, and there are two of us taking care of him. The minute I walk into my yard, Spikey flutters his wings, and asks for food. We keep the cage clean, and see how the wings grow. He will very definitely, be released, once all danger is over. I am going to attach a story I wrote about a seagull we saved a few months ago. It was quite an experience, and I put the story on my website for a few weeks. While on a trip to England, I tried to save a large hawk that flew into my cousins glass enclosure, however, the vet, after working over the bird for about 24 hours, couldn\'t save him. I remember that I cried like a baby, since we really did all we could to save that fantastic bird. Since I live right by the seaside, there is always something going on, and we are really aware of our wildlife surroundings. We are in the path of the storks, cormorants, and all sorts of wildlife, as they come to winter here, and leave us around April. Thanking you again for all of your help, I remain Sincerely yours, Ruth (& Michal -- my neighbor). It is now over a month since Spikey joined us. He is in a very large cage, which we open several times a day. This is to give him the chance to gain his freedom. It is true that he has bonded to both of us. We have tried to release him, but he keeps coming back. Last week Michal released him, and he flew into a large tree. He cried for hours, and I tried to get him down. He was very frightened. I kept calling him – suddenly he flew right into my arms. I returned him to his cage, because he just wasn’t ready yet. I just cleaned his cage, while he was walking around the ground, but staying very close to me. As soon as the cage was ready and the fresh paper and water was in it, he tried to get back in. I had to pick him up, because he didn’t succeed. As much as we love him, we want him to have his freedom, and will keep working on it. He knows his name, and answers with some funny noises. It seems that crows can modulate their voices. The moment I go outside he begins to shout, because he is always hungry. I give him hot dogs (cold), cat food, grapes or what other goodies I can find. When he is happy he ‘babbles’ and answers to his name. He has a very sweet personality, and likes to be stroked. How this will end, we don’t know, yet, because he is free to go, and I believe that he will fly away as soon as he feels that he is ready. Spikey is on a regular schedule. He goes to sleep in the late afternoon, after the sun sets, and we don’t hear anything until one of us goes out in the morning. It will be difficult to release him; however, we know that all nature’s creatures deserve to be free. He will soon leave us, which will be a bit painful, but necessary. It is our duty to take care of hurt or orphaned animals and birds. Since Friday 30th of August, Spikey has his freedom. He kept coming home to us. We fed him, petted him, spoke to him, and he knew his name very well. He would fly to us and keep us company. That Friday, I was working at the hospital, and when I came home, I went out immediately to visit with Spikey. The cage was open, as it often was. It was also empty! Our sweet bird finally found the courage and energy to strike out on his own. Every once in a while I hear him calling to us from the trees, but he is free, doing what his other friends do so well – just being a very free and happy crow. We are happy for him that we were able to help him grow up and live his life.