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(Corvus brachyrhynchos). Patient Number 24-1583.
Date of admission: September 13, 2024.
Reason for admission: Physical Injury.
Patient History:
American crows are found throughout much of North America. They are incredibly intelligent and social animals. For their size, Crows have the largest brains of all birds except for some parrots. Their brain-to-body ratio is equivalent to that of a chimpanzee, and not far off from a human.
Young crows do not breed until they are at least two years old, and many do not breed until they are four or more. Crows are monogamous and will remain with their partner for many years. In most social groups, the young help their parents raise new young. Families can include up to fifteen individuals, and be made up of young from up to 5 different years.
Crows are omnivores, feeding on roadkill, scraps, seeds, eggs, and more. They are one of only a few species of bird that have been observed modifying and using tools to obtain food.
This crow was admitted on Friday the 13th having been caught by a cat, but was also found to have a fractured femur, two older pellet wounds, and a mass growing on the tail. We’re affectionately referring to this adult American crow as the world’s unluckiest crow! We stabilized him/her immediately with fluids and pain medications and took radiographs to see how treatable these injuries were. Fortunately, the pellets did not damage any of the bird's vital organs, the fracture was away from the joints (meaning it can be surgically repaired), and the mass did not seem to involve or impair the function of the cloaca or tail. After several days of fluids, medications, and slowly refeeding this crow, we took them to surgery to remove the pellets, pin the femur, and remove the mass. They have handled all these injuries well, despite being on 5 different medications given twice a day. They continue to love eating almost exclusively egg yolks, tolerate most of their bandages well, and are starting to put weight on the fractured leg. The mass was sent out to our pathologist, who suspects a benign tumor of the bone, though the official report and their overall prognosis are still pending. While they have a long way to go on their journey to recovery, the pellet wounds and femur are healing well at this time. Cross your fingers for this poor crow - she/he needs all the help they can get!