Dreadful start, and not that great a finish either!

Friday 23rd August 2013 cont....  I was delayed getting home to give Bertie his evening meal at 6 o'clock and arrived back in the garden at 7pm - No worries, he said, I got my own supper!  Bertie was crouching on the lawn near the pampas grass under the cote, crunching.....there were only a few feathers left of some small bird..... oh dear.....I gave him his supper anyway which he polished off with relish. I am going to have to accept that some birds are going to get caught - why can't you eat mice, Bertie? I am not so fond of them.

It had been a dreadful day, weather-wise, raining heavily for most of the time. Harlequin was inside the front nestbox and Columbine perching on the brick blocking off the side entrance. Charm was with the little ones, but within minutes flew away with the type of flight that meant she wouldn't be coming back. These babies are Lucky and Charm's 3rd set in my cote, and Charm has left all three pairs at this early stage of their development. They are only about four days old and my other mummy doves all stayed at night til their babies were two weeks old. As she has done it before I was not surprised, but it was such a miserable damp chilly rainy evening. As she had gone, I got the steps and picked Columbine off the brick and gave her a top up feed. I don't top the older squabs up every day - just occasionally now if I get the opportunity. Then I put her in with Harlequin (I didn't top him up as he was settled inside) and filled a dish with small grains for them both, before shutting them in. They only stay shut in til I go to bed, then I unblock them, knowing they won't fly off in the dark. If they don't eat the grains at bedtime, it means there is something for them straightaway in the morning. I put the usual 'mummy substitute' (cashmere glove stuffed with feathers) in with the small babies, then a ball of soft old terry nappy, then blocked the entrance with the half brick. At that stage, I wasn't worried as Charm had left before when she was rearing the others - Fennie and Dolly, and then Harlequin and Columbine - and I'd done the same thing and all had been ok. I checked when sunrise would be - 6.02am according to info found - and set my alarm for 5.50am.

Sat. 24th Aug 13 - I got up on my alarm, saw there were no doves or pigeons outside, and the big squabs were still in the cote - though peeking out - so put the kettle on for tea for me, and to wait. While it was boiling, I went to remove the half brick from the little babies' entrance, but planned to leave the mummy substitute in to keep them warm til the doves turned up, when I would whisk it away - but I put my hand in to check them, and had a devastating and horrible shock......instead of feeling warm, slightly fuzzy babies I felt two stone cold leathery lumps - like a pair of gloves, balled up, that have fallen out of a pocket, lost, on a cold damp pavement overnight. You can imagine how I felt - the babies were dead and it was partly my fault as I could easily have taken them in overnight! I took them out of the nestbox and brought them in to the house, wrapped in the terry nappy, to look at them properly. Truly, they felt cold .... cold to the core and clammy, but one of them moved slightly.... the larger, darker one, and I sprang into action. The kettle was already boiled, I made a hot water bottle and placed a hurriedly made temporary nest of small cloths on top of it, with the babies inside - plus a cloth over them. I gently rubbed them both with my finger tips under the cloths..... the other baby started to move. Thank God, thank God!!!! One at a time I held them against my skin, under my nightie and dressing gown, feeling their un-natural coldness, desperately trying to warm them up - trying to decide whether they were warmer next to my skin, or on the bottle nest...... I decided that was warmer and best. Our aga is not lit during the summer or I would've put them on top of that. I put the electric oven on, and grabbed a smooth round stone that I've used as a hot water bottle before, and put it to heat up - so I'd got something to warm the nest with. I also got another handful of hay from the shed. Bertie, the cat, turned up and I quickly fed him, then carried him to the conservatory and shut him in.... and then went back to fussing over the babies! I know they look normal in the photo below.....but they were in a very bad way.

 



I didn't know what time it was or how long I'd been so far but a few white doves had turned up on the roof....... and so I went out to feed them. Lucky and Charm were both there - I checked my phone and it was 6.27am - more than half an hour since I'd taken the babies out of the nest. I made sure the parents had plenty of grains and peanuts, and I popped the stone in the nest too. The babies were still with me, and still felt cold, though I could tell just a fraction less cold than when I brought them in...... but now I knew Lucky and Charm were there I had no choice but to put them back and hope all would be well. I dithered, wanting to keep the babies for as long as possible on the hot water bottle, but of course had to remove the stone from the nest and put them back in. Charm was on top of the cote, and Lucky in the front nestbox by 6.45am.......But they didn't go to the babies! Absolutely nothing I could do..... except pray, which I did...... and I went to feed Cloud, then put her in the hutch ......still Charm hadn't gone to the babes.....but by the time I had fed and sorted Pandora, Charm wasn't on roof, lawn or top of the cote so I very gently walked round into the yard, and could see her shadowy figure inside the nestbox. The relief of it! I imagined her blessed deep feathery warmth surrounding the poor little dovie scraps, and her feeding them just the right temperature, consistency and amount of lovely crop milk... bliss! What a dreadful start to my morning, but now I could relax, and have a cup of tea.... my nerves are all jangled. I have been looking in my pigeon book and on the internet for answers to my questions. Apparently any period of cold weakens a squabs ability to thrive...... my book says some are brooded at night til day 18! These babies were only hatched on Tuesday and they were only about 4 days old last night! I actually turned up some of your initial questions on Pigeon-Talk, from 2008, Jane, when you were so worried about the warmth of little Hope - the pigeon hatched in your window box and left at night by the parents aged about 11 days - amongst the lengthy replies was this - 'Just set her into your palm...and, if she is a 'Little Furnace' you will be able to tell instantly...If she is not, then she is not making her own warmth very well yet...and may need a little outside warming'. And also this from my pigeon book - 'Squabs achieve adult thermoregulation by about day 10'. So I think my instincts are right, my little babies are not old enough to be left at night yet, so why did she leave them? I did worry it was because I picked them up..... or because Bertie is around the garden....or because there has been such trouble with so many intruders trying to muscle their way into the cote......but I actually think that as she left the others before at the same age, that this is just what she does.... and if she had a nest somewhere else, it is very likely that the babies would die each time....and having got so cold these still might...... but if she leaves them tonight I'm bringing them into the house of course and will have everything prepared ready.

Would the babies have died if they hadn't at least had the mummy substitute, the nappy and the blocked off entrance over-night? I don't know..... Would they have died if they hadn't had that half hour on the hot water bottle? I don't know..... Were they actually ok and I was worrying unnecessarily? I really don't think so.... it can't be right for such tiny little un-feathered things to get so cold, can it? I wish I could explain how cold they actually felt, and how there was no sign of life....except for the fact that they weren't flopped over and obviously completely dead..... but I did think they were. If on a misty moisty morning you were to pick up two clods of earth, that's what they felt like.... but you would except the clods to feel cold and damp, and I was expecting to feel warm, moving babies - the contrast of my expectations to what my fingertips felt was shudderingly horrible.

10.20am - I went out to check.... Lucky was in the front nest box, and Charm - or it is Snow White with her green and pink rings? - Harlequin and another white dove were on the wire.

 

 

 Left to right - Charm or Snow White, Harlequin, another white dove and Lucky in the cote

 Two views of the same birds, SW or Charm and Harlequin. I can see the green ring on the adult bird but I think I can see the pink ring too - it must be Snow White.



 I wish Charm was still with the babies, but I hope the period of being with them, and a feed will have warmed them up. I can't do anything now, with both parents nearby, and must let nature take it's course. It has stopped raining, is not so gloomy, and the temperature is higher I can tell.

Hubbie has made some metal grilles for the dovecote at my request. He will make some sort of way so that I can easily attach/detach them. Their main purpose will be to completely block off some of the nestbox compartments, so that other doves can't keep intruding - as they are currently running Lucky ragged. The other purpose will be of course to block babies in at night if left on their own, or possibly parents on eggs/tiny babies if hubbie is mowing the lawn, or anything else is happening during the day that might cause them to leave the nest inappropriately. I would not attempt to block Charm in at night with the babies as that might distress her too much and cause her to abandon them completely - it's far easier for me to bring the babies in to the house. If I want to, I can also shut up the dovecote completely without having to take it down - I might do this to prevent the doves having babies at the wrong season, like Sky and Summer having Santa and Snow in December.



Later - I wasn't able to have a feel of the babies til 11.50am as Charm and Lucky were either with them, or somewhere else in or very near the cote, but when I did they thankfully felt toasty warm. I do hope the experience hasn't harmed them, poor little things. It's given me a few more grey hairs!

The day turned into one of those dovie days when I don't do much else but attend to the birds!

 Someone else has ringed this very pretty pigeon

 A small bird in a big bath - Columbine has a bath

 Patience

 Lucky fights with someone - I was taking the photos of Patience and just managed to catch a couple of pics - Lucky was the winner of course!

 I picked up a sweet little thing with a bad eye - it makes me wince when I look at it. I cleaned it up with plain water, but no doubt it will just get bad again as I had nothing to treat it with.

 The other eye is so far unaffected

 She struggled out of my hands to the support rail in the conservatory, so had to be caught again. I gave her about ten peanuts before I did so, but she stayed hunched on the roof for the rest of the day, and doesn't look like she's going to make it. At the end of the day she moved to the porch light, where Pharos used to sit.

 Not long after, I picked up the bird my blog reader, Fennie, dubbed 'Wooden Eye'. I also cleaned his eye up - photo is 'before' - I'm not even sure if he does have an eye on this side.....

 But manages pretty well as this eye is ok - and I always throw him extra. I topped him up with peanuts too before letting him go. I feel bad about releasing these two, in the state they are in, but I am not a pigeon hospital, and I have enough worry with my white doves, and Pandora.



Below - spot the odd one out! Who hasn't got a grain!

The red ringed young bird is Columbine - this shows how easy it is to pick them up when they all crowd together and are concentrating on the grain!

 At the end of the day, two lovey-doveys on the roof

 When they came down to the lawn, I saw it was Mr. Strong, left, and Frances. I thought they were a couple, and the above proves it!

 Below Columbine, far left, and Harlequin, left - wonder who the strange dove is, calling at this time of night! I panicked for a little while that it was Charm, as I had already brought the babies in. I just didn't want to risk them getting the least bit cold tonight. They have a hot water bottle under their temporary nest, as before and refreshed every hour - and when I go to bed, I will exchange that for a microwave pet bottle that hopefully will stay warm for the majority of the night (SnuggleSafe microwave heat pad http://www.snugglesafe.co.uk/heatpad.htm Shop around as you can get them in various places/different prices. Good for people too!) When I brought the babies in I weighed them - the larger dark one weighed 92g and the little blonde one only 73g. I had the chance to weigh the birds with bad eyes, and did think of it - but not much point really, so I didn't. 



Harlequin and Columbine are little stop outs! They didn't put themselves to bed til 7.20pm.

Bank Holiday Monday 26.8.13 - I got up at 5.30am, partly as I needed to sort the babies and do the other birds, but also as I wanted to go car-booting. The babies were fine, lovely and warm feeling, as they should be, and the SnuggleSafe was still warm having lasted 7 hours. I put them back in the cote just before Charm and Lucky came back, so all was well with them. I already decided what they would be called when they were still in the eggs, so might as well reveal that the dark one is Alpha - Alf for short - and the blonde one is Omega - Meg for short!

Midday - the pretty one with the poorly eye was on the conservatory roof when I came home, separate from the other birds. She returned to the main roof but didn't come down all day, and even in the early evening when most of the other birds had gone, and she seemed to perk up a little, she still didn't come down, even for a drink. I got the steps and put food and water on the shed kitchen roof for her, but she returned to her hunched up state, and I doubt if she will make it. If she does fly down, and I'm not around then Bertie will probably have her...... see him below on pigeon watch!



Pandora, as you know, doesn't like being confined - she often bashes herself about in an attempt to free herself, when in the crate or the run, and I feel that her quality of life, as a prisoner, is very poor. True I feed her, but that is the only benefit she gets. The day was beautifully warm and sunny without being oppressive, and at the car boot, when thinking about her, I decided to release her so she could enjoy it. She wants her freedom, to be able to fly.... and I don't have the heart to deny her. Her beak, if ever it does renew itself in any way, which I doubt, would take weeks or months, and by that time the weather may well be poor. I decided that if I was her, I would prefer to be free, that to spend my days standing in a run on the gloomy side of the garden, and my nights in an old dog carrying box! I obviously have to spend time on her - feeding her, cleaning out her night box, cleaning the slope of the run where she stands all day, and getting her in and out etc so all that added up will no doubt be more or about the same time than it will take for me to capture her and give her a feed once a day. I know it might seem cruel to release her as she could potentially starve and I know I keep chopping and changing about her, but I've done it now. I got her out of the run, made sure she drank and had a very good feed of peanuts, then I gave her a bath...... I think she realised she would be free again at last and was excited about it. Poor little thing, I do feel for her, and will do my best to make sure she does get fed. Her case is so different to anything I have dealt with before. Patience, with the hole in her chest, only had to heal....... and Cloud (and Jose before her) can't fly so they couldn't possibly be released.... but Pandora doesn't know she can't feed herself.....all she knows is that she can fly.....if I would only let her! So that's why I did. I did try to take a photo of the inside of her beak, so you could see it - but I couldn't hold her. struggling, and open her beak at the same time as using a camera!

 

 

 Pandora, on the table, after her bath........realises she is free at last...... and flies to the roof



Above, Harlequin and Columbine get ready for bed. I'd already taken little Alpha and Omega inside the house for the night.

 

Tuesday 27.8.13 -    weighed Alf and Meg before I put them back in the nestbox this morning - probably a mistake as Alf had only gone from 92g to 95g and Meg had seemingly lost weight - from 73g to 72g - but scales are not always accurate, and it depends on time of day/when last fed etc. They seem fine anyway.

 

The pretty young pigeon with the bad eye, I'm calling White Wings - or WW for short - came down eventually this morning at about 7.45am. Both eyes were now sore and crusty and I'm not even sure if the poor thing could see, or whether she just flew down instinctively with the flock. I easily picked her up, and will keep her in as maybe I can do something for her, unlike Pandora. On Youtube I found someone treating birds' eyes with a water/seasalt/Echinacea solution so I am trying that, but she has watery green poops, is a bit resistant to hand feeding and I have no hope for her survival but at least I can stop Bertie eating her (he brought me a dead mouse as a present this morning and laid it carefully on the mat for me to admire).

 

Unfortunately Pandora wasn't seen today, but I did give her a large peanut feed yesterday so hope that will sustain her for a day or two.

 

I weighed the little ones when I brought them in this evening just before 7pm. Alf - 136g and Meg - 107g. Whew! they have put on weight, and both felt 'grainy' though Alf looks huge compared to little Meg. Meg has very bright fluff - the most 'orangey' I've ever seen on a squab - I wonder what colouring she will have?

 

 

 

Wed.28th Aug -  WW was alive this morning when I went in to see her and Cloud. Her eyes were swollen but not crusty and I wiped them again with the solution and she had some sips of ever so slightly salted honey water. I knew she wouldn't survive as she was gasping so didn't even attempt to feed her, and by the time I came home at lunchtime she was dead. I did feel that the eye solution was quite effective though, and would try it again.

 

 Before they even went to their babies this morning, Lucky and Charm were mating again..... the one on the roof behind them is of course their 7 week old offspring, Harlequin. His sibling, Columbine, didn't spend the night in the cote - first night away - and hasn't been seen so far today.

 

 



4pm - Columbine has made it back! Clever girl - well done! But actually with your size and thicker neck I think you might be a boy! Really pleased.... and managed to catch her/him - but her for now - for a top up of about 10 peanuts. Afterwards, she stayed on the table and agreed to eat from my hand. Any bird that will come to my hand will not go hungry! - so far this year The Spokespigeon, Grace, Baby Royal (from ages ago), Phoebus - a big white male, Winter and several random pidgies will eat from my hand - very sensible of them.

 

 

 Columbine, with the red ring



 

Dusk - I brought Alpha and Omega in after Mummy Charm and Daddy Lucky had left the garden. I seem a bit obsessed with weighing them! Alf had gone from 136g to 137g and Meg from 107g to 121g. Harlequin didn't spend the night in the cote, obviously following Columbine's example......the cote seemed dreadfully empty, but Alf and Meg are tucked up safe in my spare room.

 

Thurs. 29.8.13 - Before I had time to worry Harlequin showed up in the garden for the early feed, and Columbine too, plus much older siblings Fennie and Dolly, and all my current regulars. Harli, after the first big night away, sensibly stayed on the roof to rest, and later came down to see if there was anything to eat - of course there is, Harli darling! - with only a few pidgies (or should I say piggies!) around - so I was able to target him easily. I could see that he can now pick up the hard peas, as well as the little grains, but not yet the corn and the peanuts - but I think now he can get the peas I won't need to be giving any top ups to him and Columbine - totally fledged and left the cote at 7 weeks old.

 

3pm - I was feeding the flock when suddenly there was a dark pigeon with a red ring - Pandora!!! I threw great handfuls in front of her, and she can eat on her own but only the larger grains and peanuts - her blunt, damaged beak can't pinpoint the small grains. I was so thankful to see her, and to be able to feed her without the stress of catching her. I followed her round and was pretty sure she got enough. She is the equivalent of Charlie when it comes to eating as, like him, she seems to have a few stabs at it before she achieves it. This is the first time I have seen her since I released her on Bank Hol Monday and today is Thursday.

 

 

Scruffy Pandora, centre stage



 

Here's a photo of the early morning flock on the roof - about 220 birds (gulp!)

 

 Lucky and Charm at 'their' end of the roof - with a jackdaw! Shame it's not Huckleberry Finn



 

6pm - I had to go out in the afternoon and came back at 6pm to find a clump of feathers on the lawn - hope it wasn't Bertie.... but there was no evidence of a kill. I brought Cloud in, and then fetched the babies. I wish I hadn't started weighing them..... this evening they weighed Alpha - 136g and Omega 122g - they are not really putting on weight, and tonight didn't feel very 'grainy'. Once baby doves get to two weeks old I feel confident about feeding them, as they can eat defrosted warmed peas but these are only 9 days old.... and I could feel some grains in their crops, so hopefully they had enough and will be ok til the morning. I seem to spend my life worrying about baby doves, and mostly they are ok.

Friday 30.8.13 - When I went into the spare room to get the babies they were already squeaking quite loudly and moving about vigorously. When the flock arrived I moved them back to the cote, but though I could see Lucky and plenty of white doves, so presumably Charm among them, all the birds seemed scared and wouldn't come down. I am pretty sure something happened yesterday afternoon while I was out, and they are all spooked. Bertie didn't help by turning up, but I fed him and locked him away.....but still they wouldn't come down. I got Cloud, fed her in the garden, then put her on the lawn to encourage them. The Spokespigeon observed from the shed kitchen low roof, and eventually led some of the flock down, but they were jumpy and soon flew away, not to return.

 

 

Sad empty roof - only one pigeon



 I was concerned about Alf and Meg, and decided that I would have to try to feed them. They were hatched or definitely there in the cote on Monday 20th so about 10 days old - I felt I would have to try to feed them with little balls of Kaytee Exact mix and hope for the best. I don't have the equipment or knowledge for tube feeding. I made up the little balls, much smaller than usual, and defrosted some peas (just in case) before I brought Alf in first as he is the biggest - I should've weighed him before I started but I didn't think of it then. I kept him in the small night box which was on top of a hot water bottle for extra warmth. He very soon got the hang of it, and was helpful about the feeding! I could see he could cope with the tiny balls so was able to make them a bit larger - I dipped them in warm water before I put them in this beak, trying to put them on top of his tongue and at the back of his throat. Every few balls, I checked to make sure they were actually going down. I began to feel a bit better, it seemed to be going ok! I didn't count the number of balls as I didn't know how much was enough anyway but I did follow some of the guidelines on here - http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/howmuchtofeed.htm  especially about over-filling the crop. Eventually Alf stopped squeaking so much and settled down, so I decided he had probably had enough. I wiped up his beak with a damp piece of kitchen paper. Here he is in the middle of the feed.



Afterwards I did remember to weigh him and he was 130g so has lost weight - not good. I collected Meg and replaced Alf - I didn't want to remove both babies together in case either parent came back and discovered no babies at all! I remembered to weigh Meg before I started - 105g.



 Though smaller she was easier to feed than Alf - very eager and accepting of my clumsy feeding, though I tried to be as careful as I could.

What do I weigh now? 115g, Meg!



The above site says the babies should be fed every six hours, so I will feed them again about 1pm if the parents haven't come back.
By 9am something unexpected happened - the missing pet website lady phoned me to say that they may have found Bertie's owner and gave the details. The owner had also put a photo on the site, and it was definitely Bertie, though that of course is not his name. She lives not that far away if you are an un-neutered male cat on the prowl, and probably came across the fields down a long bridle-path. I kept him in and she is coming to get him. Although I am sorry in one way, I'm not really as sad as I thought I'd be as there has not been a single bird in my garden this morning, with even Lucky and Charm staying away. I also saw the sparrowhawk flying low over the yard from my neighbour's feeder - no wonder there are no birds here! Bertie, who is really called Babar (like the elephant) was collected by his owner. She seemed a bit ditsy to me - had to borrow a carrying box from her neighbour (how does she usually take him to the vet etc?) and hadn't even put a blanket in it. I donated the one he had been sleeping on. She was grateful for my care and said she'd been having sleepless nights wondering if he was starving, shut in somewhere, and going out calling, with a torch, but didn't bring flowers or anything for me, and I know I would've done so if someone had been looking after and feeding my pet that I'd lost for two weeks!

Bye Bye Bertie



About midday a flock of pigeons turned up, and did come down to eat - Cassidy, Charlie and thankfully Pandora were among them, so I was able to make sure these three favourites were fed. Pandora now I think is eating better than Charlie - it's wonderful to see her, especially on a bad dovie day like today, it really cheered me up. There were no white doves at all and I decided not to wait til one but to feed the babies now, about 12.30, starting with Meg. She was really eager, and ate well, then I could see the small bubbles on her shoulders appear - see website above - and didn't want to over-feed so put her back. I was feeding Alf, but nearly finished, when white doves fluttered down to the roof, including Lucky - so I quickly wiped Alf's beak and put him back too. The doves stayed awhile but didn't go to the cote or come down to eat. Well, at least they haven't totally abandoned the garden, and may go back to the babies later on. Of course I love the close contact with these cute little babies, but I am feeling my way in the dark as far as feeding goes, and just hope I am doing something right.
4pm - Pigeons and white doves arrived but only 80 and out of these only 8 were pure white doves. Lucky and Charm were among them, and Charm came down to eat - I was particularly targeting her of course for grains and peanuts, and also little Columbine who was there.... and Dolly. I didn't see Fennie or little Harlequin. Eventually Lucky came down too, and got his fair share, or more. When I collected Cloud out of the hutch for feeding, I could hear the babies squeaking but although it was tugging my heart-strings I just had to leave them in the hopes that the parents' would feed. After the feed only 21 birds remained on the roof - 4 of them white doves. I hope the others didn't fly off over the farm as they were still shooting. The birds flew away and the babies were not fed, but my hopes went up again at about 5pm when 8 white doves flew over - but they didn't land. The time ticked on and at 6.15pm I brought Omega first in to feed, and then Alpha. Meg - before = 112g and after = 120g. Alf - before = 125g and after = 136g. I'm worried about them, but doing my best. I first weighed them last Saturday and Alpha has gone from 92g to 136g (after feeding) and Omega from 73g to 120g (after feeding). Maybe that's not too bad, I don't know. I haven't given up hope of the parents coming back to feed them even though by my rough calculation it is now more than 24 hours since they fed them themselves, and will put them out in the morning, without feeding, when the flock turns up and see what happens, but you can imagine how stressful it all is. And even though he was a bit of a nuisance and probably caused all this trouble, I miss beautiful Bertie coming bounding in through the cat flap for his supper!

To be cont....