Meeting Place For People Interested In Corvids
It is with great sadness that we have to announce the loss of our jackdaw Moby.
Moby came to us in September 2016 as an adult jackdaw, who has been at the time observed by members of the public hiding in the undergrowth and being unable to fly for more than three weeks. After we have been informed of her situation, we luckily managed to catch Moby the following day.
One of the most important aspects of corvid rehabilitation is the provision of a natural diet, environment and associations that ideally duplicate what corvids would be exposed to in the wild. This can be achieved by building and furnishing aviaries with this goal in mind. Since the majority of corvid rehabilitation deals with orphans, this approach is especially critical to releasing strong, robust, well-adjusted corvids that will go on to survive in the wild. However, theory and reality are as always slightly different. This is particularly true when corvids are being cared for longterm, which is quite often a necessity and will give them the best chance of survival in the wild. Sadly, in reality, many rescues will not give these birds the chance they deserve, because long-term rehabilitation is time consuming and financially demanding. Many of these birds will be either put to sleep straight away, or will even be prematurely released.
Lets start with some basic considerations. When contemplating the aviary size, then experience shows that an aviary is never to big, but always to small, which becomes in particular obvious when furnished. When choosing the aviary location, one should make sure that it is easily accessible for caregivers, while keeping it away from public areas and pets. Corvid aviary materials are also of great importance, as corvids are generally very destructive. This means that these birds will definitely put any aviary to a test. Over time wooden rafters will be chiselled away, which automatically implies that wood preservatives being used have to be safe for birds. Wooden aviaries have to be continuously inspected to make sure that they remain safe, keeping birds inside and predators out. Metal aviaries are obviously more resistant, but are also more expensive and require generally more effort when it comes to furnishing them. The mesh size should also be chosen according to the species to be housed. Plastic mesh is not a viable option for any kind of corvid aviary.
It is well known that corvids will cache their food, which is going to attract not only rodents, but also insects, snails and slugs. In that context, it is important to understand that worms and other parasites are being transmitted by snails and slugs, which can seriously affect the health of all but in particular recovering or immunocompromised birds. Cleaning up the cached food keeps your aviary clean and your birds healthy, but no necessarily happy, as corvids have their very own idea, what a tidy aviary and home should look like.
It is advisable that a corvid aviary has at least two of its sides completely covered, to give birds a safe and sheltered place to retreat. Having the sheltered area away from the entrance door ensures that frightened birds will be able to move away from the person entering the aviary, allowing them to retreat towards the shelter area. Wooden panels work well, but other materials like fabric or synthetic sun shade and windbreak mesh, as used in greenhouses, can also be used. However, when using the latter, one has to bear in mind that corvids will most certainly tear and destroy these materials, and long pieces of twine will pose a strangulation hazard, if remaining undetected.
The aviary roof should be partly covered to protect the animals from the elements. But there should be also areas in the aviary, where birds are able to enjoy sunshine, rain or snow. Double entries or safety porches are definitely desirable, but will naturally decrease the available aviary space for the birds. Sheltered areas can be easily created by using straw or seagrass baskets, which work particularly well for smaller corvids like jays or jackdaws.
When building an aviary, a common goal should always be to incorporate as many natural elements as possible, to create a natural habitat mimicking environment. However, the feasibility of this ideal case scenario depends on the number of corvids being kept. A meshed rat proof natural dirt floor with gras and bushes is certainly ideal, but more difficult to keep clean and hygienic. This problem increases proportionally with the number of corvids being kept. It is only a matter of time until a beautiful meadow is completely destroyed and bushes have lost all their leaves. Only very hardy plants, which have to be obviously safe for the birds, will survive, but does usually only for limited period of time. It might be necessary to replace or at least to rotate these plants on a regular basis.
In contrast, concrete flooring is easy to keep clean and to disinfect, but it is obviously not natural and can pose a health hazard for birds having temporary or permanent disabilities, like the ones being prone to falls. A compromise might be to create a concrete floor aviary with added confined areas of different substrates, like an area of wood bark underneath a common seating and roosting area, which dampens a potential fall. Artificial grass or astroturf might work as well, however, it can be difficult to maintain, especially when more than two or three birds are being kept in this aviary. There is also a risk of debris accumulation underneath grass mats. As said already before, it is also very likely that corvids will destroy and possibly eat parts of the grass mat or carpet being used, which can potentially cause gastrointestinal problems. Alternatively, one could also create a confined patch of natural gras, sand or grit, which provides a great playground, is slightly easier to maintain and to replace, which also avoids the buildup of contaminants. Depending on the size of the aviary and number of birds to be kept, it might be necessary to integrate a drainage system, which will help to maintain basic hygiene levels and will reduce the built up of contaminants being distributed beyond the aviary boundaries by water run off. This helps to keep aviary birds healthy and avoids cross contamination affecting other wild animal species living in the near vicinity.
When creating a sheltered area for birds to hide and roost, one has to always make sure that all birds are able to reach this area easily and safely. This also implies that the furnishing of the aviary has to be based on the abilities of the animal with the most severe disability. This makes sure that all animals can get to all essential aviary places like roost, shelter, bath and food without injuring themselves. One should also consider that disabilities may develop during the stay of animals patients, as quite commonly seen in birds with plumage problems caused by a nutritional deficiency, which may become completely grounded for a certain period of time, until they go successfully and undamaged through their main moult.
If there is a risk of limited mobility, even only for a short period of time, then it is crucial to consider a variety of different sized perches and perch materials to avoid the development of an ulcerative pododermatitis or bumblefoot, which is a bacterial infection and inflammatory reaction on the feet of birds. Padded perches or block perches will help to prevent this disease, keeping birds off the ground and the plumage pristine. Thick natural ropes can also be used, as they can help to bridge distances between different aviary levels. They also help birds to train their sense of balance whist being gentle to their feet and good fun to dismantle. Astroturf or outdoor carpet, which can be used as perch or stand padding, can be easily cut to size, but might be in need of frequent replacement. Wooden shelfs or planks, strategically positioned at different levels, trees trunks of increasing height, piles of tree logs or adapted wooden ladders can also help to bridge different height levels in an aviary.
Although a sufficiently sized bird bath is an essential part of any corvid aviary, one has to remember that the bath itself might pose a death trap for disabled birds. Positioning of the bird bath is crucial, not only to keep the bath clean as long as possible. The size and water level of the bath might need careful consideration, in particular when disabled animals are inhabitants of the aviary.
Corvids generally need company of their own kind, which means that corvids should not be raised or kept by their own. All corvids species benefit from entertainment and enrichment being provided. Because corvids are generally neophobic, it might be helful to limit the number of new toys being introduced to a few at the time. As with children, it is certainly a good idea to remove old toys for a while and to reintroduce them at a later time. Toys do not have to be expensive, but natural materials should be a preference, in particular when dealing with wild releasable animals. Corvids love pebbles, stones and shells, which they like to use as toys, but also as a marker for cached food.
Other natural toys are pin cones, acorns, twigs and branches. Corn on the cob is a nice treat in particular for rooks and jackdaws, as it is also a very entertaining pastime. Cuttlefish bones are often very much appreciated and are useful too, as they serve as a natural source of essential minerals and help to trim the beaks. Half rotten tree stamps are most corvids’ favourite, as almost all seem to enjoy to dismantle them. A soft tree stem is also an open invitation to dig for worms and insects, and to hide food items in crevices and holes. Children’s wooden play cubes are often well accepted and appreciated as toys. Many corvids cannot resist crumbled paper balls or toilet paper cardboard rolls. However, as these items will most certainly end up soaked in a bird bath, aviary cleaning might become truly tedious. If dealing exclusively with captive birds, the spectrum of available toys becomes much larger, as long as they are deemed safe.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of considerations to make when planning and building an aviary for corvids, but it should hopefully give an indication of the complexity of issues and problems to consider. An aviary project gets rarely completely finished, it will more likely continue to remain an ongoing theme and might actually never come to an end. As soon as the first birds inhabit, explore and investigate the interior design of the new aviary, further changes and adaptations of the original design will most certainly become necessary.
Yesterday, we closed our release aviary doors, bringing this years’ carrion crow and rook release saison to an end. At the end of September we opened the aviary doors for 17 crows and rooks to be soft released. Out of these 17 release candidates, 15 birds, consisting of 11 carrion crows and four rooks, have been successfully soft released. Two birds decided to stay and will get another release chance offered next year. These two birds will join a group of birds in our communal aviary already being earmarked for release in autumn 2018. Out of these 15 released birds, we released three birds, who stayed with us since 2015, three birds, who came to us in 2016, and nine birds, who have been admitted in 2017.
Soft release is a release technique, which involves continuing care for animals at the release site, particularly back-up feeding, and requires a greater commitment of time and effort than a hard release does. Soft release is particularly important for hand reared animals, especially of species which need to learn about their surroundings and need to learn survival skills such as foraging and hunting. It is also appropriate for older immature or adult birds, who have been maintained in captivity for prolonged periods, or are being released at a site distant from their original location, as the original location might not be suitable.
Some of the released birds have joined straightaway our local mixed rook and jackdaw as well as non-territory holding carrion crow flock, which they already got to know very well during their stay with us. Both flocks are frequent visitors to our premises, a fortunate situation, which allows direct interaction and communication between wild birds, patients and residents. Over the past weeks some of the released birds decided to come back into the safety of the release aviary to roost, whilst others came back only to get some extra snacks. Many of them stayed in the near vicinity for longer periods of time. After becoming more and more confident, which is a learning process lasting anything between several days and many weeks, we could observe these birds, when they followed the local flocks flying further and further away from the release site, to participate in daytime activities and to eventually join the night roost.
Although the aviary doors are closed now, backup feeding and shelter will still be provided throughout autumn and winter. Most of the released birds are now staying away completely, or at least for longer periods of time. Some of them are still coming back to visit their old comrades or to enjoy some food, which we will continue to provide.
When checking out the picture gallery, you will find a short summary underneath every picture telling you a little bit about the individual stories of these fascinating birds.
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Anton, an immature magpie, came to us as in June 2016. He has been found hiding in a greenhouse after being injured and unable to fly. At admission we found a subacute fracture of radius and ulna of his left wing. The fracture has been treated conservatively and splinted accordingly. Anton made a full and uneventful recovery, and four weeks later he has been successfully soft released. Anton stayed in the area and has been seen daily returning for some snacks.
The last three weeks, after we opened the release aviary, magpie Anton stayed in the closer vicinity and came back almost every day for food and to visit some old friends, in particular magpie Ebony. However, today we have been shocked to find Anton near his release aviary lying on his back and being unable to walk or stand. Although we don’t know what has exactly happened, the admission assessment revealed very quickly that our unlucky magpie fellow Anton suffered a severe impact trauma, which has resulted in a spinal contusion with subsequent partial paralysis of both wing and legs.
The treatment of corvids in general, but in particular the treatment of spinal injuries in birds can be a controversial topic and is handled inconsistently. Apart from the disappointing species related fact that corvids are often not treated and rehabilitated at all, a spinal trauma or spinal injury with partial or complete paralysis of wings, legs or both, is commonly seen as an acceptable reason for an immediate euthanasia. And even if a rehabilitation attempt is undertaken, often enough these birds are hastily euthanised after only a couple of days without significant improvement. Our own experiences, rehabilitation approach and results are different, focussing on birds without a fracture or on birds with non-displaced spinal fractures only. It has to be noted that displaced spinal fractures usually result in irreversible damage to the spinal cord and a recovery is very unlikely. In these cases euthanasia is probably the kindest option. However, these kind of decisions have to be made on a case by case basis. In all other cases outlined above, a treatment attempt should be considered. If there is no noticeable improvement within a fortnight, chances of recovery are remote. However, as soon as there is a noticeable improvement observed, chances of a full recovery will increase markedly over time. Under these circumstance the rehabilitation process and timeline will be extended and adapted accordingly. The video clip below shows some of the milestones of Anton’s rehabilitation process and recovery including his second successful soft release.
Magpie Anton is a typical example, which proves that birds with spinal injuries should be given a second chance and that these birds can make a full recovery. At admission Anton was unable to stand or walk at all. He was able to fly short distances, but in a very uncoordinated way, which did suggest a mild coexisting concussion. As in any other rehabilitation situation, the rehabilitation process needs to be frequently adapted according to the degree of neurological deficit and should also take the personality of the individual concerned in account. The treatment usually starts off with a secure and padded hospital box in a quite and dimmed light setting, with the primary goal to keep the bird calm and the blood pressure low, without using any restraints (e.g. bird harness or sling). This is in particular important during the first week, as the risk of a sudden neurological deterioration is highest during the first 24 hours after the trauma. Any bleed or haematoma within spine or brain will lead to a compression of the surrounding structures, also resulting in an additional perifocal swelling or oedema, which usually peaks at 72 hours and persists for about 5 days. These findings might explain a second mortality peak commonly seen at the third day post accident and they also justify the necessity to give any bird with a brain or spine injury enough time and a chance to recover. Based on these facts and our own experiences, it becomes evident that the 14 day rule seems to be a good compromise.
For the next phase of the rehabilitation process, a padded play pen or baby cot works very well, which allows the bird to exercise in a safe environment, as the bird is usually not in full control of his or her movements and may be prone to injuries. Not unsurprisingly cleanliness is paramount, primarily to avoid additional damage to and contamination of the plumage, which is at risk to excessive wear and tear in particular in birds, which are unsteady and prone to falls. The added interior of the padded pen has to be chosen carefully, to take again all these facts in account. This also obviously includes water dishes to avoid accidental drowning in unsteady patients. When the bird has regained his or her abilities to control its movements, a transfer into a small safe aviary can be attempted to allow more freedom, entertainment and exercise. However, the progress has to be monitored closely, as frequent adaptations of the aviary setup may be necessary to adapt and optimise the rehabilitation process and to minimise any remaining risks of falls or injury. The final step of the birds recovery will be the transfer into a larger free flight soft release aviary. It goes without saying that these kind of bird patients are not suitable for a hard release at all. Soft release is the only viable option for any young or long-term patient allowing a gradual reintroduction back into the wild.
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Magpie Anton made a full recovery and has been successfully soft released for the second time. Anton teamed up with previous inmate Ebony, who has been also soft released together with Anton. Both birds stayed close by and are frequently visiting our garden, even a year after their final release. Stay safe Anton and Ebony!
It is with great sadness that we have to announce that we have lost today our rook Martha, one of our resident birds, foster parents and friend. After a very short illness Martha passed away peacefully in our arms.
Martha, an adult female rook, came into our care in October 2014. She has been found grounded in a garden after having suffered a carpometacarpal fracture of her right wing. The finder took Martha to safety and cared for her over the course of the next three weeks. We have been asked to take over Martha’s care, when it became apparent that she would not be releasable. Although the fracture showed a satisfactory fracture union and alignment, the wing remained slightly drooped rendering Martha unable to fly properly. Additionally, she also developed a joint infection, which needed longterm treatment including physiotherapy. Martha made a good recovery and regained partial use of her wing allowing her to fly short distances.
Martha settled in well into our communal rook aviary, where she helped many young birds to get prepared for their second chance in live, for their release into freedom. We don’t know how old Martha was. We can only assume, based on observed social interactions with wild rooks and within the rook aviary, that she wasn’t the youngest bird anymore, when she came to us three years ago. It was a privilege to get to know her. Martha made a big difference to many birds during the three years she spent with us. Rest in peace Martha!