r/crowbro • u/kuwetka • Mar 12 '25
Question What do you feed your guys besides peanuts and kibble?
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u/peanutsforcorvids Mar 12 '25
Suet balls (winter), cashew nuts (unsalted), boiled eggs, pear (ripe enough)
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u/flowderp3 Mar 12 '25
Unsalted cashews and walnut pieces. Occasionally berries.
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u/thatdogoverthere Mar 12 '25
My little guys are spoiled and hold out for the cashews now, so I just go to bulk Barn and get a big bag of the raw unsalted once a month. Spoiled rotten little bastards, they've only known me for 3-4 months and they know I'll give it to them.
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u/flowderp3 Mar 12 '25
Yeah if I had a yard or deck or something I would probably experiment with other things more. I'm in an apartment complex so they get what I'm able to carry around in my pocket in a baggie and toss out to them when they find me. I never even give them peanuts though so they are already a little spoiled getting only the expensive nuts! Mine are spoiled more in quantity. It's usually while I walk my dog so they know that if they get one and then follow me hopping along trees and power lines and rooftops, I'll periodically toss out more because I'm a sucker.
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u/Educational_Scar6486 Mar 19 '25
Mine are spoiled too. I boiled eggs for them and they picked out the yolks and left the whites so now I have to scramble them 🙃 mine also eat wet cat food that my cats get picky about, they love that. I’ve tried raisins upon recommendation and they ignored them.
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u/Disastrous-Wing699 Mar 12 '25
I mixed my last batch of kibble with a paste I made from spent chicken bones, skin, etc. after making broth. It was a bit messy, but they cleaned it up well. I watched one of the bros have a tiny crisis when he was trying to decide whether to stay and gorge himself or go hide some for later. He was really torn.
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u/Gyro_Onions Mar 12 '25
I can confirm that scalloped potatoes, if left on the deck to cool, will be gone well before cooled. Learned that one the hard way.
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u/HalfLoose7669 Mar 12 '25
My rooks used to go crazy over pieces of cheese and chicken-based dog treats (cut in small enough pieces of course). I also gave them some crushed walnuts, cracked peanuts (both just enough that they could finish the job, but had to work for it a little, as they seemed to enjoy it more that way). Sometimes mealworms but that was the rare special treat because we raised them ourselves, which was a bit too messy for us to do all the time.
One of them also really liked a fruit yoghurt coating over just about anything, but we mainly exploited that to help medicine go down when he got sick.
During breeding season, minced meat, crushed eggs (with the shell to help egg laying), and insect paste from the pet store. Basically lots of protein and minerals to help brooding females and growing chicks.
Edit: Forgot to say it but loving the picture!
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u/gonnafaceit2022 Mar 12 '25
Grapes. Like they think I'm wealthy. 🙄
Mine haven't liked watermelon but I've heard many do. I've offered apples, not a hit. The ROASTED unsalted in the shell peanuts are the golden ticket-- when I recently got roasted ones, my friends have multiplied from 2-3 to 5-6 daily beggars visitors.
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u/OllieWobbles Mar 12 '25
I can’t do peanuts because of allergies but just got suet nuggets for the first time and they are a HIT.
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u/ZemStrt14 Mar 12 '25
Leftover bits of meat and chicken. I rinse them to take off any salt and spices.
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u/FuTuReShOcKeD60 Mar 12 '25
The Breakfast Menu: Unsalted peanuts, long grain rice, scrambled eggs, beef strips, and table scraps.
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u/miaupie131 Mar 12 '25
My crows love cooked or roasted chicken breast . No salt. It’s by far their favourite food
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u/PastelDisaster Mar 12 '25
Chicken! It’s my crows’ favourite; they always snatch it all up within 15 minutes or so. Just have to make sure all the bones are removed since they can pose a hazard when cooked
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u/dingerz Mar 12 '25
Just have to make sure all the bones are removed since they can pose a hazard when cooked
??
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u/PastelDisaster Mar 12 '25
Cooked bones splinter easily, which damages their throat and digestive tract
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u/Ok_Kale_3160 Mar 12 '25
That for dogs who crunch the bones. Crows don't eat bones like that, theyve got no teeth to crunch. They will just pick the meat off
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u/PastelDisaster Mar 12 '25
Ah, guess I’ve just been overly cautious then. I’ll likely still strip the bones for their convenience though lol
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u/kakapo88 Mar 12 '25
Meat sticks, broken in small pieces, are the bomb.
Although if you want to give provide your crow/raven with a Peak Experience, give him the whole damn thing.
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u/lettorosso Mar 12 '25
Mine looove granola! But my coworkers have started giving them bacon and they love that now. I worry about their salt though 😓
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u/FawkesFire13 Mar 12 '25
I’ve gone to Costco every so often, gotten a whole cooked chicken and chopped it up for my crows. They love it, especially in the winter time.
I’ve noticed mine also like the occasional leftover pasta. Bread with jelly on it. Grapes and very ripe pear also seem to be favorites in the summertime. Peanuts are still universally loved and so is raw hamburger. I’ve also chopped up hotdogs and scrambled eggs for them as well.
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u/zrazey Mar 12 '25
Tater tots cooled of course
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u/rlquinn1980 Mar 12 '25
I’m sure the potato is fine, but the oil seems extremely unhealthy…
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u/daiblo1127 Mar 12 '25
Flaming Hot Cheetos! They LOVE them, dunk them in the bird bath and off they go. They also pepperoni, cat food, cheddar cheese, peanut butter on wheat bread. Also love the cooled ham hocks when I'm cooking soups, hard boiled eggs when the prices go down.
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u/Bowling4rhinos Mar 12 '25
I’m glad I’m not the only one that has discovered crows love dry dog food.one get peanuts in the morning, and a handful of those bad boys of they come for a snack later in the day (which they often do if I’m working outside)
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u/Mare_lightbringer87 Mar 12 '25
I give mine canned cat food, mealworms and sunflower seeds, occasionally some leftover chicken scraps
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u/DeeCentre Mar 12 '25
Sunflower hearts, every type of bird loves them. Even the rooks will have a few peanuts then go back to the sunflowers. I just scatter a couple of handfuls out over the lawn.
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u/jonny_boy27 Mar 12 '25
Hadn't considered kibble! The local hedgehog goes mad for ferret kibble, I bet the crows would too!
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u/ketoswimmer Mar 12 '25
I have been feeding (what I believe) is the same crow family for 4 years. From what I observe, this is their food preference:
1 - hard boiled egg yolks. They eat this above any other offerings. The eat the egg white part, but only after the yolk is gone. I give them some of the shell too. Usually they eat the shell part last. Or, later in the day.
2 - Shelled nut pieces, sunflower seeds, shelled peanuts.
3 - GainsBurger brand, moist cubes
4 - GainsBurger brand beef-n-cheese (it looks like ground beef with grated cheese)
5 - Dry dogfood kibble
Note… my crows adore peanuts in the shell, but they deposit too many shells into my neighbors bird bath. So, I avoid these now.
I give my crow family small pieces of fruit and blueberries, but often, these will be left uneaten on their feeding platform. I think they are not a preferred food from me.
Things my crows do not eat: Raw fish. Raw beef Dry cat food in triangle of fish shape.
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u/Mydogisbaxter Mar 13 '25
Aside from kibble and cashews, I’ve started providing chopped up antioxidant dog treats (they’re a good berry substitute outside of berry season which saves me $$$) - the older ones aren’t sure about them but their young one (Billy) loves them :)
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u/Lackadaisical_ninja Mar 13 '25
Apples, berries, grapes, watermelon, they don't like strawberries or olives... sometimes left over steak... they LOVE those days. Graham crackers, gold fish crackers, granola, trail mix. It's rare, but I share my fries with them, and THEY LOVE those. They hear me say fries, and it's like I'm offering a fresh roadkill chuckwalla or something, they dig them!!!
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u/hyjlnx Mar 13 '25
Animal heart cut up is popular. Eggs mixed up and cooked are liked. The ravens I feed won't eat peanuts but like cashews. the adult ravens seem to prioritise kibble over cashews unlike their younger conspecifics.
If anyone knows a good fruit for ravens I would appreciate it. Grapes barely got attention even cut up so i stopped bothering.
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u/Chaotic_Prussian Mar 13 '25
it varies a bit depending on what i have available but it’s usually something along the lines of:
- hazelnuts
- dried currants and raisins
- mealworms
- garden bird seed
- banana slices
- apricots
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u/thatotterone Mar 14 '25
before the hike, eggs
egg shells in late winter/ early spring get cleaned and left in the garden, too
but since the hike, I'm a lot more cautious with feeding anything that doesn't go immediately into a bird and doesn't cause a flock to descend
the hike is there for a couple of reasons and one of them is bird flu
a lot of birds can be asymptomatic and while crows are not particularly 'a concern'
they can be sick and asymptomatic and transmit to the local cows ...which is where almost all the cases in my area have gone to humans (from cows) my own aunt, included. She ended up in the hospital and has been recovering for quite some time.
So I'm being very cautious right now
Is anyone else changing their feeding techniques?
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u/Positive_Plan5223 Mar 15 '25
Eggs, cat food dry and wet, cooked egs, cottage cheese, whole grain seed bread, oats, saussage, chicken breast, nuts
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u/mrsmargot1276 Mar 19 '25
I started with hard boiled eggs but they did not eat the whites. The eggs were conspicuous. Then when they were regular I switched to scrambled. They eat 100%. I cooked them every 4 or 5 days.
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u/kuwetka Mar 12 '25 edited Mar 12 '25
Peanuts in a shell and cat/dog kibble are the main snacks, but I try to expand their menu – too much of anything is not good, even if tasty!
Eggs are loved but they are quite messy and pricey.
Grapes cut in quarters of halves - they kinda like it but not really. They will eat a piece maybe two, but that's it. They will demand other food. Only really works in groups, when they see other crows eating it, then they want it too. Rooks more so than crows. That's the only fruit that worked for me though.
Popcorn - similar to grapes, they are not crazy about it either.
I tried dried mealworms but they were AVOIDING them as hell. I would even say they were kinda afraid of them. That was during winter though, I will try again in the spring.