Boots for a Crow
This young American Crow was brought into WildCare unable to stand, hop, or fly. His legs and toes were weak and sitting curled under his body. He was thin, too docile, incredibly dehydrated, and his legs were cold to the touch on intake.
This all pointed to a pretty poor prognosis, but WildCare's Medical Staff gave him subcutaneous fluids and placed him in a warm ICU to rest before we could do additional diagnostics.
Because the crow’s X-rays revealed absolutely no structural damage such as fractures or spinal trauma, Med Staff considered the fact that his apparent leg and foot problems, in addition to his subdued behavior, could be related to something neurological, and potentially fixable, like head trauma from hitting a window or a vehicle.
After a few days in care, he had improved enough to stand a little, but his feet and toes were still weak and remained curled into little fists.
With a bit of “arts and crafts” and creative thinking from the amazing WildCare Med Team, he was fitted with tiny orthopedic boots that we hoped would encourage his feet to heal in a normal position, or help his brain remember how feet are supposed to work!
After only three days, the crow was standing inside his enclosure and was able to perch and grip with his toes!
This photo shows him perching for the first time.
Over the next few days, his strength improved, his toes straightened, and he began acting more feisty and agitated. He was clearly dissatisfied with his accommodations in our hospital, and began actively trying to escape. That’s just the kind of vim and vigor we like to see in our wild patients!
After a short stay in an outdoor aviary, this crow showed us he was strong, healthy, wild as can be, and ready to fly free again! We released him back to his home territory in mid-December.
We released this crow patient back to his home territory in mid-December.
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