Question says it all: if hatched in captivity, how well do ravens and crows get along with people? Which makes the better pet? And where would I go to get such a pet?
I have a friend with two Magpies both found as hatchlings unable to fly, and they are sweet and friendly birds.
They “talk” and give kisses and are very affectionate towards their human.
My mom had a pet crow as a child too, and she said the crow was an amazing mimic and very friendly.
Crows, magpies & ravens are all related to Minah(sp?) Birds which people do buy as pets, so I’d see them as more or less the same.
AFAIK, it is illegal to keep native crows or ravens as pets in the US. (However, it is legal to shoot them.) A site I checked indicated it may be legal to own non-native crows as pets.
No, they are not particularly closely related. Crows, Magpies and Ravens all belong to the family Corvidae (Crow Family), while Mynas belong to the Sturnidae(Starling Family).
A neighbor had a pet crow when I was a child. I remember that it got into everything and could make a nuisance of itself. Additionally, crows are very social birds and, being very bright, get bored easily. I don’t think one would make a good pet for someone that was going to be gone to work all day (my neighbor was an old man who lived on the neighboring farm and spent all day with the bird - it was almost like a dog in that regard).
hmmm - I didn’t know Myna birds were unrelated (now I know that & how to spell myna bird - 
).
I’d say a crow, magpie or raven definately isn’t a pet for someone who doesn’t have the time for a very bright and active bird. My friends Magpies are very very active, and very bright, and just like if you get a dog with an active personality, you’ll need to invest more time in play in order to keep the pet happy.
I had a pair of pet crows when I lived in the Projects. Giant concrete towers, full of tiny apartments. Turned out to be a bad idea, or maybe I was just stupid. They were pretty well behaved, until I decided to feed them the leftover seeds and stems from about a pound of marijuanna. The birds went berzerk, escaped from their cage, knocked over just about every item in the apartment with their frantic swooping and shrieking. I had a broom, trying to coax them back into their cage, (yeah, right), when the commotion brought in a neighbor, to see if everything was OK. The Birds saw the open door and went for it. Now they’re zooming up and down the hall, and the whole floor is out with bats and shotguns. Bad Scene.
Goes to prove the saying
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People who live in Mass Housing shouldn’t stone Crows.
My god - I laughed so hard I can hardly contain myself!
I have a friend who’s had several pet ravens. They are amazingly smart and very mischievous, but good pets if you can put up with that sort of thing.
His would regularly steal tools and other shiny objects, and were sufficiently quick that the booty couldn’t be recovered while it held their interest. The trick was to find another shiny object - say, a coin - drop it within sight of the raven and then make a big fuss over it. This would cause the bird to pay attention to the new object and lose interest in what he’d stolen.
By far the best book on ravens I’ve seen is Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich.
Gee, I don’t know. Crows will sneak out to the crowbars, and they come back all drunk and loud.