Is it possible to eat crows?

[Abbe Osram]

Hi Guys,
is it possible to eat crows and if its possible will I have to boil them for a very long time? We have to kill quite a lot and it would be a shame only to throw them away. Has someone tried them and could you tell me how they taste? :yikes:

cheers
Abbe

 

[Paganwolf]

Breast meat is ok not a lot on it mind you very dark meat tastes ok, bit gamey IMO, you can use the rest of the bird to make a stock perhaps, its good in a stew Rabbit, squirrel and crow, veg, pearl barley and dumplings, nice .If I pop something even for my ferrets i always try it, you dont know if you dont try it eh :?:

 

[george]

never tried crows but young rooks are very tasty - I would assume that crows would be somewhat similar.

I'd want to be quite sure about where they had been feeding though!

George

 

[Paganwolf]

useless info,, they used to climb up into rookerys and tie the legs of the nestling birds to nearby branches so when they went back when the birds had grown large enough to eat they could easily catch them.

 

[george]

Also they used to go out poling for young rooks. Using huge long poles they used to knock the nests down just as the young birds were beginning to fledge. Apparently thats what would have been in the pie in the "four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie" nursery rhyme.

George

 

[tomtom]

yup i have seen it done!! people dont like it very mich though, eating babys :yikes:

 

[Buckshot]

Crows tend not to be eaten too much in UK.

Rook shooting though, is traditionally done on the 12th May each year.
Generally you take the 'branchers', the young rooks old enough to jump around the tree tops but not strong nough to fly.

I've gone out and bagged several dozen in one go. Greta fun with an air rifle too.

In times gone by selling rooks to the local housewives was a good way to get pocket money for the younger lads. My father in law told me stories of him and a couple of mates going round the village with pushbikes laden with braces of rooks selling them to anyone who wanted them - housewives of course in those days.

Very tasty, nice with bacon in the pie as well.
The young rooks can be breasted just like pigeons, rip the wings and head off, then rip the rib cage and breast meat off the carcass in one go.
30 seconds - job done.

Worth a try if you get hold of some

Cheers

Mark

 

[Abbe Osram]

Thanks for all the info, I have to look up what a rook is, sounds like a funny little and tasty youngster ): Why I ask you about crows had to do with me being unsure if I catch some wired sickness from them. At the same time I don't want to rule them out as a possible food source, they are quite big birds and easy to get. How is it in general with boiling unsure meat, like rats, who knows what they where just feeding on, if I boil them long enough will they be fit to eat?

cheers
Abbe

 

[george]

Well to be honest Abbe I'm not sure what diseases you might catch from a crow - I'm sure someone will be able to help though.

A rook is one of the crow family Corvus Frugilegus it's name means fruit gathering crow. That certainly suggests that it doesn't have quite the same eating habits as the Carrion crow - Corvus Corone whose english name pretty much describes what it eats! I know which one I'd prefer to eat given the choice.

George

 

[Abbe Osram]

Well to be honest Abbe I'm not sure what diseases you might catch from a crow - I'm sure someone will be able to help though.

A rook is one of the crow family Corvus Frugilegus it's name means fruit gathering crow. That certainly suggests that it doesn't have quite the same eating habits as the Carrion crow - Corvus Corone whose english name pretty much describes what it eats! I know which one I'd prefer to eat given the choice.

George

George, thanks a lot! The latin names will help me a lot, I am all with you in that I prefer the corvus frugilegus.

cheers
Abbe

 

[Abbe Osram]

Well to be honest Abbe I'm not sure what diseases you might catch from a crow - I'm sure someone will be able to help though.

A rook is one of the crow family Corvus Frugilegus it's name means fruit gathering crow. That certainly suggests that it doesn't have quite the same eating habits as the Carrion crow - Corvus Corone whose english name pretty much describes what it eats! I know which one I'd prefer to eat given the choice.

George

I just checked. I am too much up the north, we don't have the corvus frugilegus here. The birds we are taking out are: Corvus cornix, Pica Pica, Garrulus glandarius.

//Abbe

 

[george]

Pica Pica or magpie has certainly been eaten here in the past - I've seen some recipes for them. Don't know if they're commonly eaten now though. Same with Garrulus Glandarious - the Jay. Corvus Cornix is the hooded crow - I don't think I would eat that if I didn't have to. Interestingly one of the old gaelic names for the hooded crow translates as "the bird without mercy".

George

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

Anyone who has toured a contemporary factory animal farm will become a vegetarian for at lest a year in repugnance. I did. Most bird borne diseases are actually carried in external parasites. Carefull handling and thorough cooking are your safeguards. I made the mistake of securing a recently dead seagull during a survival school session in service.It's amazing what cultural hangups can be overcome to placate hunger. But this is a subject I prefer not to bring up, literally :shock:

 

[Abbe Osram]

Interestingly one of the old gaelic names for the hooded crow translates as "the bird without mercy".

George

Thats the reason we are going to kill him, that bird makes a lot of harm here.
He is very smart and even kills small baby rabbits, he steals and kills the young of the Lagopus mutus and Lagopus Lagopus which we like to hunt here, so our teacher told us to shoot all crows and Pica Pica we can get hold off.

Its very interesting what you wrote about his old gaelic name.

thanks mate
//Abbe

 

[Wind_Chaser]

Of course it is possible to eat crows :roll: And it tastes like chicken..(j/k)
My ancestors have been doing that for centuries(well, not anymore, since supermarkets have been established ) becuase nothing really grew in the sand of a beach those times and no other birds were around in such numbers.

Anyhow, their main recepie was to smoke the meat so it would last all winter. All of them did so and since I am here to tell this to you, that meat was probably good.

 

[Moonraker]

In the UK you need a licence ( general licence covering owners and those with their permission) to shoot crows and magpies I believe. Also it is for certain purposes only. Here is more info:

Magpies and the law

Magpies are fully protected by the European Union Birds Directive. The UK Government has derogated (made an exception) from the Directive in relation to control of magpies.

Under annual general licence issued under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (for which it is not necessary to apply individually), magpies may be killed or taken by 'authorised persons', using permitted methods, for the purposes of:
preventing serious damage to agricultural crops or livestock
preserving public health/air safety
conserving wild birds.

An 'authorised person' is a landowner or occupier, or someone acting with the landowner's or occupier's permission.

Legal control methods
The RSPB does not oppose legal, site-specific control of magpies, as long as control does not threaten the conservation status of the species. The RSPB is seeking to develop non-lethal methods of controlling crows (including magpies) on its reserves.

The Game Conservancy Trust will advice on the use of the Larsen trap. This is a wire cage trap with a spring-loaded door, designed to catch the bird alive. It can be baited with food, or with a live decoy magpie. This is legal as long as the decoy bird is humanely treated and given food and water daily.

The trap must be checked regularly, at least every 24 hrs. Any magpie or crow caught may be humanely destroyed. Any non-target species must be released. Further information is available from the Game Conservancy Trust, Fordingbridge, Hampshire (Tel: 01425 652381).

Magpies may be shot, again only by a landowner or someone acting with the landowner's permission, for the purposes outlined above. Shooting must be well away from public roads and houses, so is seldom possible in urban areas.

It is also legal to destroy a magpie nest, even if it is in use. However, old magpie nests are often used by protected species, such as long-eared owls in rural areas and blackbirds in suburban areas, so check very carefully first.

Source: Sites and species conservation department
30 January 2004

Magpie numbers declined a lot in the recent past history in the UK from persecution by game keepers etc and numbers only really built up again in the last 20 years and is apparently stable now. But I think although there are good reasons for controlling birds in specific situations, you should think carefully about such policies as:

shoot all crows and Pica Pica we can get hold off.

Seriously many species common when I was a kid 30 years ago are now becoming endangered. Like Starlings, they used to be shot and great flocks were seen in the fields etc. But now I saw very few of these flocks and numbers are reported to be right down.

In this time of factory farming and increasing pressures on the countryside from house building, intensive farming and loss of our hedgerows and managed woodland, perhaps we need to look hard before adding to that pressure on wild birds.

You can check out the species covered under the European Union Birds Directive here:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environme...ture_legislation/birds_directive/index_en.htm

SE has opted out like the UK and has the option to allow licenced hunting for Picqa Pica and some other corvids.

I think the advice from the RSPB is rock solid. Of course, if they do need to be controlled then much better to cook and eat them than chuck them.

Here is a recipe for Crow Pie:

Crow Pie





Ingredients
Crow
Guinness
Onions
Pastry
Mushrooms


Method


Fry chopped onions in butter until soft.
Line a deep dish with mushrooms and add the cooked onions.
Pour in enough Guinness to come halfway up dish.
Roll out pastry and cover dish
Arrange Crow on top of pastry
Cook for 20 minutes in a preheated oven
Remove from oven and discard crow
Serve pie with vegetables

Crow is a very unsatisfactory meat, this is the best recipe for it!

:rolmao: I think it says it all for the quality of crow meat

 

[RovingArcher]

Crow? I don't care much for crow. My wife makes me eat it once in awhile and it's kinda hard to swallow. ):

Actually, I like to merinate the meat and stick it on the BBQ or cook it over some coals in the firepit and season with what I brought with me. Usually cayenne, salt, pepper, garlic and even some raw honey glaze is possible.

 

[Buckshot]

This thread has now been moved to 'Fair Game'

Thanks

Mark

 

[Abbe Osram]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for answering!

Wind_Chaser: Very interesting to know about your family and that they have eaten crows, it gives a whole different picture about using and finding new food sources. Most people have no problems if you tell them that you are eating chicken but they find it wired if you tell them: "Well, I eat crows, cats or dogs too!" What I wanted to avoid is to kill something and don't use it only because my society was teaching me that that stuff is not to be eaten. We can easily see the difference between the nations, what is a nice food source for one nation is ugly meat to another culture. I want to be free from that kind of c**p. Thanks for the info mate.

Moonraker:
Hi! Oh, I hope I didn't get across as a mindless shooting nut. :yikes:
I love nature and prefer the animals living and not dead, I am thinking twice before I cut a tree or kill animals. Thanks for the link its new to me that the magpie is an endangered species.
The only birds protected from the crow family here is the Nucifraga caryocatactes and the Perisoreus infaustus. Thanks for the recipe. I found it interesting that it says that crow meat is unsatisfactory meat and Wind_Chaser says it taste like chicken. I guess I have to try it out it must be a personal question of taste.

Roving_Archer; LOL I was not sure if you pull my leg or if you eat them or not. I am confused: Is your wife really making them for you? And are you making them yourself as a BBQ? Your recipe sounds very tasty but I wonder if one should not boil them for a while to be sure about the meat. I read that they eat all kinds of stuff and mainly dead animals and other rubbish much like rats. Thanks mate for the honey idea, sounds tasty.

Cool that you guys stick it out with my wired questions!
:You_Rock_

cheers to all
Abbe

 

[Buckshot]

its new to me that the magpie is an endangered species.

To my knowledge the good old maggie is not endangered, we certainly have loads of them here.
It's possible thier numbers have dropped, this may be due to the grubbing out of hedges and therefore removing a food source :?: but again, not in this area.
As they are a predatory species controlling thier numbers will help other small songbirds and mamals.

Cheers

Mark