Should I let my bird fly outdoors?

Hi, I have a pet crow named Sandwich.

I don't talk about Sandwich often because I'm concerned about giving others the impression of Corvids being good or highly available pets as they're neither. They can be very unpredictable as they're not domesticated animals and due to them being scavengers they can get snappy and aggressive if you try to take food or anything they think is food from them.

I really hate it when people keep animals to achieve a status symbol. What happened to the days where you went to the pet store and came home with a hamster, goldfish or a budgie? These days everyone wants a snake, scorpion or piranha so they look tough and cool. More and more people want dangerous dogs too, it's so sad. I'd really hate for keeping crows to be the latest goth fad.

I only know one other person who keeps corvids and that person keeps them in their garden as wild birds. The owner feeds the birds and then locks them away at night, this sounds nice for the birds especially seeing as they're excellent flyers but I'd worry about their safety and the safety of others. I know if I let Sandwich outside he'd come back to me, but before he did he'd be in the neighbours bins and flying through their windows to steal from their kitchens, after all, Sandwich is called "Sandwich" for a reason!

Sandwich, unlike a wild crow isn't scared of humans, I wouldn't want someone to be frightened of him (he would land on strangers and steal their food). I'd also worry about predators and the fact that Sandwich looks wild, so if he got lost I'd never find him because he doesn't look like a pet.

Do you think I'm cruel for not letting Sandwich fly outdoors or do you think it's sensible?

Sandwich lives indoors with me and not as an aviary bird because he has imprinted on me and doesn't like other animals. He's fed a healthy diet and spends most his time out of his cage. I regularly take Sandwich outside in his cage to get fresh air and sun. (see a photo of him having a hose pipe shower in the garden in the attached file!)

I acquired Sandwich as a rescue bird, he cannot be released into the wild. It is legal for me to keep Sandwich as I have all the paperwork.

Interesting. What kind of handicap does he have that made him a rescue bird?

I would not take the chance of letting him fly outside, I think you have very valid concerns. I love the name sandwich. If you are new here welcome to the forum ,if not welcome anyway

Perhaps mentioning Sandwich on here was a bad Idea. I guess it's understandable that people would be suspicious and concerned about him being wild caught as he is native to the UK.

Portaperch, He's not handicapped. He was hand raised and neglected by someone who didn't care for him properly. He was extremely small and underweight when I got him and he had not been weaned properly. I'm an ex veterinary assistant and have fostered animals for many years. It is illegal to release captive bred birds into the wild, I'm trying to give Sandwich the best life possible but setting him free isn't legal and he wouldn't be able to fend for himself in the wild anyway. I don't support the capture of wild birds nor do I believe in breeding birds for a profit. I'm an animal lover, a vegetarian and all my animals are rescues, I would never turn down and animal in need. Ps: Sandwich is closed rung, look at his photo.

Thank you, Aliray I'm glad you agree. I want him to have as much freedom as possible without being able to cause danger to himself or others.

Has anyone ever let their bird free fly outdoors? I've heard of a few people who do it...I think I'd be too worried to try!

Nice I think its great that you have a crow as a pet bird he is a handsome boy I live in the UK and have wondered if anyone had a crow as a pet the only place I have seen a crow kept other than now is at a local theme park.

I don't think I would let sandwich fly freely outside unless he had really good recall training and was under close supervision. As far as the free flight goes... the forum does now have a section dedicated to just free flighting. Its newer but there are already quite a few tips on recall training plus some pretty good videos. Theres always a risk with free flying: accidents, predators, fly off etc. I would only consider doing it if he had really good recall. If he learns to recall well and its something that you want to do then I don't see why not. I wouldn't allow a bird to free fly that wasn't recall trained (with exception of Amigo , which you face a different challenge as he is surrounded by flocks of his own species).

As far as keeping him as a pet, its no different then people in Australia that have captive bred Toos and Ekkies. Over there they are native but perfectly acceptable as pets around the world. Its a misconception that birds are 'tame'. They aren't they are just as wild. The personality that you see in him isn't because of his 'wildness' its because that is just how their personality is. There is no shame in giving him a home, esp since he was captive raised, its no different than having any other bird in captivity. Maybe you feel bad just because there are wild ones around you, but you shouldn't, you haven't done anything wrong by having him. I think that its great that you are sharing his personality with us.

I'm another corvid carer, but mine are disabled so I don't have your dilemma.

How old is Sandwich? Looking at it from my own experience, particularly with my fifteen year old jackdaw and a ten year old crow I know of elsewhere, I'd say keep him safe. He's as happy confined to your home as any parrot who knows no different. After all, he's not been brought up to the dangers of the great outdoors. A certain amount is instinctive but corvids, as you know, teach their young a great deal. If allowed to fly free during the day, he would suffer for being in the territory of the local pair who would gang up to evict him. It would be different for a rook or jackdaw who might be accepted by the local flock - as are hand reared 'orphans' when released - but crow pairs will get rid of any invader in their territory by whatever means necessary. I wouldn't risk it.

i know a local bird store that owns an african crow. the owner keeps it in a large macaw cage. the crow is very beautiful and wears a leather strap bootie. i was told that it was taught flight training. its very cool and fascinating.

maybe you may want to look into flight training but i wouldn't just release outside. your's is very pretty. what do you feed it? the african crow i know is fed dog food lol.

Hi Conuregirl,
I feed sandwich cat food because it's richer than dog food and higher in protein. I also give him lettuce, broccoli, sweetcorn, cucumber, wild bird seed, mixed veg, mealworms, mild cheese and chips as an occasional treat! He loves to steal a bite or two of my sandwich at lunch time too, if I let him!

Hey Maggenpie!
Wow, another corvid carer! I didn't think I'd find another one on here. Did you get yours from a rescue too? Do you keep yours indoors or in an aviary?

Hey Molcan2,
I often take Sandwich outside in his cage, there are always lots of crows around my area and it's really sad to see Sandwich watch them, however I think you're right about keeping him indoors. I'd hate for something to happen to him. Sandwich has pretty good recall training but I know he'd hassle neighbours if given the opportunity!

Make him an aviary outside. Make it mesh so he can escape and it reduces mosquitos but put kennel fencing around it so other animals can't get to him. That way he can fly out without necessarily being out.

If you have the right mind set and knowledge crows and ravens make fantastic and very affectionate pets. Parrots are also wild animals and don't really make good pets either, both of these birds need people with a specific mind set to have a great home. I hope to one day buy a white necked raven to free fly. African ravens are legal to own without a permit and several people breed them(such as the corvid ranch).

Do you have a permit for your bird if he's a native? If not please get one, it's very illegal to have him without a permit and he can be taken away from you. It can be hard to get a permit for a corvid even for a falconer, but because he's unreleasable it should be a little easier. Don't wait to do this.

A friend of mine used to have a hybrid African raven that he would free fly every day unless there was thunder or very strong wind. If your bird recalls consistently you can try flying him out doors. Buy a pair of jesses(leather leg straps) for him and tie a long light nylon rope to one when you first take him out while he gets experience. Wild birds don't like crows, he'll be mobbed by hawks, other crows, and smaller birds so you'll want to make sure he knows how to avoid them without being scared away. My friend took his raven(named Isaac) and flew him out of town, something he does often, but a huge mob of ravens attacked him and he flew away. This happen after 3 years of free flying pretty much every day(he's a professional falconer and bird abater so he had to fly his raptors everyday anyway) with a very experienced bird who had been mobbed before by red tails, coopers hawks, and other corvids.

Here's a few pics of Isaac I took
you can see his jesses in this pic, you really want to get a pair. You can hold them when he's perched on your hand so he doesn't take off, my friend didn't use them very much but it's a good back up safety to have.

Thank you for sharing!

Isaac is very beautiful. It's a shame he flew away, I'd be devestated if I lost my crow.

I have a permit and all the correct paper work to handle exotic and native birds, I got them many years ago when I worked in a veterinary clinic, however actually owning a native bird was never planned.

Sandwich is well trained. His recall is very good and he will fly to his cage when given the command "home". He will also bow his head and fetch keys when asked. He is an amazing flyer, he can swoop and make sharp corners very fast...It would be lovely to allow him to free fly in the garden so he won't be too far from home if I did loose him but due to Sandwich's greedy, inquisitive, fearless nature I'd hate for him to hassle, land on or upset my neighbours...afterall, he does look a little scary!

I have an aviator harness for Sandwich but I might try him with a pair of jesses too. I think I'll do a little more recall training in the house, making sure there's plenty of yummy distractions around to see how well he can keep his focus...If he manages to ignore the food when I call him then I'll try him in the garden with the harness.

Have you read, "Mind of a Raven", by Bernd Heinrich? A tedious read but so interesting! He researches ravens, (not a crow, but a corvid, none the less), in the wild. He also kept these birds, for study, that he would take from the nest and kind of, sort of, but not really,,domesticated them, for studies.

Seeing that you have local birds that are also crows, I would be wary of setting him free. My umbrella 'too, Amigo does fly free but there are no wild cockatoos in the territory for him to bond up with, he has only me so is always around, lucky us!

Hey Mare Miller.

No, I haven't read that book so it's definitely going on my shopping list! It's very interesting to find good information about corvids. Despite my bird being a very common wild bird in the UK, very little is known about them. Sandwich was rescued from someone who didn't have license to keep him, nor did he have a clue how to correctly care for a corvid. Sandwich was being kept outdoors in a small budgie cage, not only could he hardly move but he was also open to the elements with no shelter from the rain at all. Sandwich was fed a 100% meat diet (wet dog food) which made him very ill.

I'm happy to know that he's in a much better place, with you.

I'm sad he flew away to, they think he was probably taken in by someone since he's imprinted and was wearing his jesses. I'm just sad they never went to a vet to find his owner because he's micro chipped and close banded with his info.

I have an aviator harness for my galah I'm going to buy a 200-300 foot light nylon rope to tie to her harness to let her fly at a school field behind my house once she's ready.
Jesses are better and more comfortable, barely noticeable when they fly while the harness is all over them. I wish I could put jesses on Rosie but parrots have much weaker legs and it's asking for trouble, even if they could she has a bad leg that was never re set after a break before coming to me.

That's so cool you have the right permits My bff and I both are planning to get our falconer licenses after we graduate college and when we become generals she's going to buy a imprinted(hand raised) barn owl and have a American kestrel as her first bird. Not sure what I'll get yet, probably a Aplomado or Gyrfalcon, I want some sort of falcon since I want my first bird to a Red tail and they're much less active then a falcon.