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Discussion
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Has anyone here tried making friends with corvids? I’d like to leave gifts for some regular visitors. Wondering what has worked for others.
updated 2 years, 10 months ago 1 Member · 5 Replies
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They like dog kibble, routines, and security. Try choosing a spot and putting out some puppy food at the same time every day for a while. Resist the urge to wait for them to come, and after a little trust grows, they’ll start showing up to meet you instead of waiting until you’ve left to investigate.
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Please don’t! Admire them from afar. What you see as friendliness may encourage behavior other humans have a problem with. And when humans have a problem with an animal, it rarely turns out in the animal’s favor.
[this is video](https://youtu.be/2YfOzA60zDQ) is what I think about every time I see someone ask about this. (Video is by a wildlife educator who takes in non-releasable wildlife and abandoned/rehomed exotic pets, talking about trying to intervene in a case of a raven who was not appropriately afraid of people and cars. It does not a happy ending. 7min long.)
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Best success: chicken eggs! Also helpful: dogfood! They liked nuts too but not as much as a raw egg. And they like waterbowls, one of my visitor crows washes the food like a raccoon! They also started bringing me gifts, but I had to give them back cause it was my neighbors child toys.
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Maybe this subreddit can help: https://www.reddit.com/r/crowbro/
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Here’s the thing about corvids, the eat pretty much anything. If it was living at one point, it can likely be food for a corvid.
That said, energy rich foods are great. I’ve heard eggs (either raw or cooked), bacon, peanuts (either shelled or unshelled, but don’t use salted peanuts), seed, and anything else. I saw a youtube video about a guy who would pull roadkill off the road for the ravens to eat, and then befriended the ravens.
And remember, corvids can talk to each other and spread accurate, factual information between flocks. They can literally describe you to a corvid that has never met you, and that corvid will be able to recognise you.
Bonus points: there is anecdotal evidence of crows and ravens adopting specific humans as part of their flock, and actually protecting them from danger.
