Animal Training: Edgar Allen Crow

Hello, my name is Katie, I am an animal training specialist for Edgar Allan Crow and this is my second year on zoo crew. I chose to train Edgar who is a hand raised crow not used for education programs. I figured if I could train him to land on my arm and stay there, not only could he be used as an education animal, but it would be a lot less stressful for him and easier for us to catch him for vet visits. That was before I actually met the bird.

WEEK 1:

I showed up for work the first day armed with Edgar’s favorite treat, corn. I just wanted to get him to trust me a bit. So when I walked into Edgar’s enclosure, I just sat down on the wooden barrel and started talking to him. He was fine for about an hour-until I stood up to give him a treat. The second I stood up he flew right over my head screaming at the top of his lungs trying to scratch and peck my head. After he tried to grab my hair twice he just simply flew above my head, from the top of his nest box to his branches and back again, and again, and again. Then, when he decided it wasn’t working, he just landed on his branches, puffed up like a balloon, and started cawing. He never tried to do that to me ever again.

WEEK 2:

By the end of the second week he wouldn’t fly away from me when I approached him, take food out of my hand, and even let me pet him a little. And by week 3, if I sat close to his water bowl, he’d fly on his platform and squawk at me to give him food. One day I was sitting near the water bowl and Edgar came down for food, so I put a couple Pops in my hand, held my arm ramrod straight, and stood up. Edgar stared at me for a few minutes, then got ready to fly. He landed on my arm all right, but he never stopped flapping his wings.

WEEK 3:

I talked to Mel, Brenda, and Sue, and the consensus was to stick train him. I found a stick that was easy to grip (apparently one of the reasons Edgar couldn’t land on my arm was because he can’t curl his toes anymore, therefore he can’t hold onto me) and placed food on it. Unfortunately, Edgar hasn’t landed on the stick even once. The stick is still in his enclosure, probably untouched yet lined with food, right now. All in all, he’s a neurotic old bird, set in his ways, but I love him anyway!

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