Friday 7th
Feb – Definitely a bird day today – bad....and good. First thing I found when I
stepped outside, still in semi-darkness, was a nuthatch on the ground under the
feeder. I took a photo, and watched to see what it would do.
It seemed happy
enough eating little morsels on the ground, and then hopped away into the
winter flowering jasmine until I could no longer see it.....but when I went out
again, there it was, not making any attempt to fly away, so I picked it up and popped it into the hutch with a fat
ball, crushed peanuts and water, until I had time to deal with it. I then
prepared Poppet for her release, making sure she had a drink, and managing to
hand-feed her a few peanuts for energy - which she resisted as always. The flock didn’t seem jumpy, so I hoped
the hawk wasn’t about and they settled down on the roof, just as I released
Poppet. She is the pigeon lower on the roof than the rest.
Within half an
hour as the flock was feeding on the ground, I was suddenly aware that the hawk
had brought a pigeon down to the flower bed.....oh no, I couldn’t see the ring
in the flapping tussling pair but I knew it would be Poppet. Unerringly the
hawk had picked out the smallest, weakest bird... I was holding Cloud but I
quickly thrust her into the doorway of the shed kitchen and rushed over....the
hawk dropped the pigeon, but picked it up again and flew down over the hedge to
the yard.....I followed and it flew off, with the victim flapping weakly on the
ground. It was too late this time, the shock and the hawk’s claws had done
their worst, and Poppet died in my bloodstained hands before we reached the
house. I felt dreadful – why oh why hadn’t I waited and released her at
lunchtime.....but when she was caught before it was the afternoon.....I’m
afraid Poppet’s destiny was to be caught by the hawk. I felt so guilty that I
nearly didn’t put this episode into my blog, but what is the point of writing
it at all, if I am not honest? The flock of course had scattered, not to be
seen again for hours....
After a while I put Poppet’s body on the low roof of the shed
kitchen for the hawk to find. She was dead now so he might as well. Poppet and I hadn’t bonded, but I didn’t want it
to end like this.....though somehow it seemed like I had always known it would.... RIP little thing, fly again in heaven. I checked on the nuthatch – it was now
crouched in the darker part of the hutch, and not looking good, then I had to
leave for my dentist appointment. I obsessed all the drive about how I’d let
Poppet down, until a Beatles song came on the radio and I decided to ‘Let it
Be’.
The dentist
has an upstairs room with a big circular window on the landing, and as I
passed, the cutest tiniest bird was peeping in and popping about – I didn’t
know if it could see me, or maybe just it’s own reflection, but it was a bird I
didn’t recognise. When I looked it up
later I found it was a Goldcrest – Britain’s smallest bird. Such a little
bundle of fun, seeing it cheered me up! Apparently it’s widespread but in all
my nearly 57 years I don’t think I ever saw one before.
When I came
home, the nuthatch was dead. Maybe it was just at the end of it’s natural life
– or maybe it had banged against the window, but there wasn’t a mark on it.
Another little life ended. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, thank
goodness.
Sat. 8.2.14 –
So unfair to the unlucky Poppet that the hawk didn’t put in an appearance at
this morning’s early feed – why couldn’t that have happened yesterday? Why
couldn’t Poppet have had at least one day of freedom and flying? Big Boy
arrived and seems to have difficulty eating again. Possibly the damaged beak is
growing out in such a way that makes eating awkward – like a damaged nail that
grows bent. He flew off with the others, but hopefully if he really can’t eat I
will be able to capture him again.
I have had a revival of interest in my little feather shop on Groovycart with a few orders coming in recently - if you'd like to have a look then go to www.groovycart.co.uk and find me at Real Birds Feathers (but sorry I don't post feathers outside the UK) and if by any chance you want to open your own Groovycart shop, selling crafts or whatever, then see the link to click at the top of my blog - underneath the header photo.
The hawk had
returned to Poppet’s body yesterday but today I removed it from the roof, and
had two little funerals, with flowers – one for her and one for the nuthatch. It doesnt matter how damaged or soggy the body, they still get a respectable funeral. The nuthatch looked sweet, wrapped in a white piece of kitchen paper with it's head peeking out, not looking dead at all - what a shame!
I weighed the
pidgies – Cissy 324g – down 1g – and Echo 351g – down 4g – but I think they are
both reasonable weights now and will fluctuate a little, and I don’t think I need to keep weighing birds
that are over 300g.
Sun 9.2.14 –
All through yesterday – when it rained incessantly – I could see that BB
couldn’t eat again and I was getting worried about him. Today he kept turning
up, oblviously very hungry and puzzled why he couldn’t eat, and after several
tries, I determined that the next time he was there I would only throw the
food, including lots of tempting peanuts, at my feet – and did so, and
thankfully caught him about 2.30pm – so a week and a day after release, I had
got him back again. It seemed strange that although I had seen him daily in the
garden and on the roof, I had no idea where else he’d been, how far he’d flown
or where he had roosted at night. Wrapped firmly in a cloth so he wouldn’t
flap, I had a look and the swelling that my blog reader Fennie had noticed had
got bigger and was obviously making it impossible for him to pick up any type of
food.
There was a palpable feeling of relief surrounding him and me as I fed
him peanuts and grains dipped in water – poor Big Boy! Thank you for trusting
me again. Then I removed Cloud from the hutch and brought her into the
conservatory, so I had somewhere to put him til bedtime – and now Poppet is so
unfortunately dead, he can go back in his usual night box. The Royal Pigeon
Racing Association – RPRA – had said in their letter that if BB’s owner failed
to contact me, then to contact them again so that they could make alternative
arrangements. At the bottom of the letter they gave the name and number for my
nearest pigeon fancier – I thought about it for a while, as I am unsure about
how I feel about giving BB up to anyone other than a concerned owner – but I
decided I could at least phone...... the number proved to be ‘not recognized’ .....back
to square one! then I went back to my emails from the RPRA strays team where
I’d been given an email address for a local club. Do I email or not? What are
my options? – BB obviously needs help, maybe antibiotics – I may well contact
the vet tomorrow and deal with it myself because this will mean when he gets
better he can be released back again to the wild (which I would prefer) as
opposed to being given to a pigeon fancier who may well decide in the end to
destroy him or keep him forever shut up in a loft. After I’d fed him, I weighed
him – should’ve been the other way round really – and he was 491g – down from
493g the first time I weighed him on 26th January, but that’s not
too bad at all really.
Monday 10th
Feb 14 – The hawk dive-bombed us during the morning feed – if it caught a bird
it wasn’t in the garden or yard outside. I saw a few favourites briefly –
Grace, Bandit, Mr. Strong....but the hungry birds hardly got a few mouthfuls
before the hawk scattered them. I was pleased to see plenty of poops in Big
Boy’s night box – a bit dry though. I rang the vets and got an appointment for
him tomorrow morning. I won’t be contacting any pigeon fanciers until I have
seen what I can do – I can’t see that they would do more for him than I would.
Last year when I took Patience to the vet, I very quickly received 2 x £25 from
the premium bonds – almost the exact amount I’d paid out! So I am hoping that
the Universe will be generous again this year to help to cover BB’s costs! He
is a magnificent pigeon and trusting of me so I have to do what I can for him.
Later – The
inside of BB’s beak is pretty swollen and feels slightly heated – there is just
enough room for me to gently push defrosted warm peas, grains and peanuts down.
I’m not really sure how well he is able to drink, but I am doing my best til we
see the vet. I am determined he will get better. If I could remove his ring I
would do so as I don’t feel his owner deserves to have him if he ever returned
there, but obviously they are not made to come off easily (will speak to hubbie about this)
Tues 11.2.14
– Big Boy was very calm even when the vet manipulated his beak. He confirmed
that he has an infection and prescribed him antibiotics for 10 days. He also
said that the damage was probably due to a trauma but couldn’t rule out the
possibility of a tumour. He hopes if the infection is brought under control then
the beak might heal well enough for BB to be able to adapt to eating alone
somehow – unless it is a tumour of course. The antibios are given with a little
syringe and I gave it to him as soon as we got home. Cost of visit £33.82. I talked to the young lady assistant when I paid the bill about racing pigeon owner's. She said she found a racer that couldnt fly at her boyfriend's and contacted the RPRA, being given the owner's number. He told her to 'just release it' ....'but you don't understand' she said 'it can't fly'.... 'Oh just release it' said the owner 'it will be ok'.....'but don't you think I should look after it for a few days?'....'if you like' said the owner, obviously not caring. So she did, and it died within a couple of days. The people up at the poultry farm say they have given up reporting stray racers to the RPRA for this reason - they have a huge barn there and obviously there is grain around for the poultry, so there is food and shelter, and sometimes a pigeon will stay awhile but they can't do any more for them.
 |
| Racing pigeon with damaged beak |
The afternoon was sunny so he was in the
hutch, and I opened the door so he could go into the outside part for the first
time. He investigated it but soon realised he wouldn’t be able to get out, so
preferred to sit inside At least he gets some fresh air and sun (when there is
some sun!)
Some white
doves turned up bringing a blue ringed one with them – for a silly second my heart stopped and I
thought it was Santa, until I remembered that he had two blue rings (and almost
definitely didn’t make it) so I have to assume it is Bianca who I haven’t seen
for ages, but she has gone before for periods of time and then come back.
Excellent!
I gave Cloud a bath - here she is drying off in the kitchen. She has a dirty wing, probably from fitting in the garden when I take her out in the mornings. It didnt wash off, and you can't scrub a dove!
Bedtime for
all the homies is around 4.30-5pm, with Cissy going to bed first, as she tends
to zonk out earliest. I like Big Boy to be in bed before Echo and Cloud as they
usually make a noise and I feel this is reassuring to him – to know he is with
his own kind. Cloud and the pidgies have their boxes in a row on the shelf, but
Big Boy is high up in a box on top of an upturned bed frame (that we need to
burn when the weather is better)
Left to right - Narcissus, Cloud and Echo - with Big Boy below
Bertie the cat is currently visiting but is not allowed near the birds of course
Wed. 12.2.14
– Dreadful gusty rainy day and I kept all the homies inside in the
conservatory.
Thurs.13.2.14
– Sunny and bright so BB went in the hutch today, though it’s lonesome for him,
and he watched the flock wanting so much to be with them. I say to him ‘Big Boy
as soon as you have finished your antiobiotics then you can go!’ (a week today
that will be!) – and that is true.... even if his beak/swelling is not better I
will release him so he gets some freedom at least for a while. Then if he can’t
eat he will come back, and I will just stuff him full of peanuts and let him go
again. Better to live that way for however long, than sitting in the hutch.
There is a damaged piece just hanging on by a thread now, like a child’s wobbly
tooth but I will leave it to come off naturally. After his meds and his
food/drink, I am still anointing his sore beak with honey as that contains a
little bit of magic! Sometimes when I collect him for feeding, he has a
mouthful of feathers because he has been trying to preen – poor old thing, I
must give him a bath in a day or so.
 |
| Big Boy with feathers caught up in his poorly beak |
Cloud and Cissy seem happy in each other's company - making me feel that I am right in thinking that Cissy is another female. When Cloud is in the conservatory she often chooses to sit near Cissy, and definitely not near Echo!
Below Bertie enjoys the real fire - but I am planning to take him back home tomorrow morning early as his other mummy gets in such a state if he is away too long.
Fri 14.2.14 –
Valentine’s Day is supposed to be the day the birds pair off, but though a few
brave pigeons were billing and cooing on the roof, most of them sat hunched up
in the rain as it lashed down. I brought Big Boy in from the hutch at 10am to
spend the rest of the day in the conservatory. I think his beak is a little better – or am I imagining it? Below he is up on the drying rack above the aga and I climbed on a chair to take the photo. His facial feathers are wet as I had just given him a drink.
Narcissus doesnt star gaze and have fits like Echo and Cloud, but she is very very quiet - I have never heard her make one single little sound. She doesnt 'speak' when I get her out of the box, pick her up, feed her - ever! Mostly she stands or sits on her microwave hotwater bottle (snugglesafe) - occasionally I have seen her try to feed herself, but I have never seen her attempt to drink. She is 'other wordly' and I worry about her eyes, but I do feel that maybe she will recover enough to be released eventually - I've had her for about a month. I can't really cope with 4 homies, time wise....but what are my options for Echo and Cissy.
1. Keep them forever
Like I say I haven't got the time on a daily permanent basis, and if they don't recover they only have a limited quality of life, but that of course is the same as Cloud. The conservatory is not a suitable place in the summer either as it becomes like an oven. Also, next year there would be other pigeons suffering from PMV.... and so on. I can't keep them all!
2. Try to re-home them
I don't think it would be very easy to find homes for two special needs pigeons. And I would be very concerned that they would not be looked after properly - or someone might take them with the intention of using them for something awful (let's not go there)
3. Have them euthanised
This is something I shy away from thinking about as I am fond of both of them. Obviously I have had to go down this route a few times with pets who are suffering but this is different - the birds are not suffering, but they can't live properly as birds - they can't fly and they can't feed themselves properly.
If anyone has any thoughts on all this I would be pleased to consider them! I am going away at the end of March - just for a few days, but hubby will cope with Cloud, like he did last year, but he has not got the time, inclination or patience to look after 3 of them - and if he doesnt then I will have to pay someone to do it - and hand-feeding PMV pigeons is not for the general run of the mill pet-sitter - and I have no idea how much they would charge.
To be cont...
