Guest Post by Sky

Rescued fledgling pigeon Pidgey

We have always had an abundance of birds at the barn- barn swallows, blue jays, crows, geese, etc. It was no surprise when a mated pair of pigeons started building a nest in our hay loft. However, it was a surprise when I walked into one of my horse’s stalls and saw a bird just sitting on the floor. I got closer and picked the baby right up. Assuming it was injured, I began calling wildlife rehabbers but, because pigeons are considered non-native, could find no one to help. I did more research and found the Palomacy Pigeon & Dove Help Group on Facebook. I joined and posted immediately. Elizabeth and I spoke on the phone and decided the best course of action was to give the pigeon a few days of rest and to re-evaluate, assuming it was solely spinal cord swelling that would subside with time. I named the sweet little bird Pidgey. Pidgey learned how to self-feed by watching a video of Palomacy pigeon Glory when he was a fledgling excitedly squeaking and eating. Pigeons are so smart.

Rescued fledgling Pidgey supported in a rolled-towel-noodle donut

Unfortunately, the pigeon’s left foot grew numb and cold and Elizabeth and I agreed a vet visit was in order. The vet examined her and felt a bend in her left leg. The radiographs showed just what the vet suspected: a severe break in Pidgey’s left leg. It was determined that Pidgey could live a perfectly happy life as a pet and the vet placed a splint on her leg. We also took home prescriptions for Meloxicam and Gabapentin. Pidgey LOVES to cuddle and is doing well.

Pidgey broke her left leg in the 50′ fall from the nest to the barn floor

Pidgey is a very good little patient

Just when we had fundraised enough to cover Pidgey’s $400 vet bill, something else happened. Again, I walked into my horse’s stall and found another bird sitting there, Pidgey’s twin, using her wings to try to walk. I was in disbelief. This time, I brought the fledgling up to the hay loft and sat her on the floor below the nest in hopes that she would make her way back up. When I returned in the morning, she was still there. I took her home and named her Scout. I reached out to Elizabeth, Ashley, and the other moderators of the Palomacy group. Once again considering spinal trauma from the fall the likeliest option, I provided supportive care, administered Meloxicam and let her rest and keep company with her twin Pidgey.

The rescued twins, Pidgey & Scout, relaxing with Sky

Two more days went by with no improvement so I brought Scout with me to Pidgey’s follow up appointment with the vet. They took radiographs of both legs and her spine. The vet came back into the room after some time and said that both of Scout’s legs were broken.

She told me we could try to splint both of her legs or we might consider euthanasia. I quickly called Elizabeth to ask her thoughts. She assured me that we weren’t there yet, “We don’t start with euthanasia.” I agreed. Scout now has both legs in splints and is on Meloxicam and Gabapentin.

Scout broke both her legs in the 50′ fall from hay loft nest to the barn floor

Pidgey and Scout are home and doing extremely well, especially considering what they’ve both been through at such a young age. We have a long ways to go with many more follow up appointments, but I know these birds will have a long, amazing life! (And we’re adding a barrier around the hay drop to protect future fledglings from a 50′ fall.)

Pidgey & Scout- safe!

I have always loved animals and since I could talk they’ve been all I’ve had any interest in. I lost my dad at the age of eleven and while my love started long before that, the animals in my life have been a tremendous source of comfort since his passing. I share my life with two horses, my pug x boston terrier mix, two leopard geckos, a hamster, a ball python, and (now) two pigeons.

Guest Post by Chava Sonnier

This is how Willie-Mae’s rescue began…

Here is Willie-Mae the day she was rescued, looking puffed and concerned… a kind young man saw a cat carrying Willie-Mae in its mouth and remembered that his high school teacher had adopted two pij from Palomacy and did a presentation on the importance of being kind to pigeons in their class, so he put the pigeon in a box, named her Willy Nelson, and brought her to his former teacher, Dana, who posted on Palomacy saying she couldn’t drive to Wildcare because her husband had just had surgery, Elizabeth tagged Stephanie and I knowing we were located in Fairfield, I wasn’t on Facebook at the moment because I was at the vet with Jonah, so Stephanie called me, gave me Dana’s number, I called Dana and got the pigeon…

Our initial plan was for me to provide initial triage and care for a couple of days and then for Stephanie to take her to WildCare that coming weekend for rehab in a more wild-pidge setting, with Dana sending her contact info to WildCare so that she could eventually be released back with her Fairfield flock. However, when she arrived she was a classic “collision bird,” with neuro trauma her primary injury that had made her immobile and susceptible to being picked up by the cat in the first place… She could keep herself upright as seen in the photo, with a bit of a tilt to the right, but couldn’t stand or walk. My husband and I were concerned about her prospects for making a complete recovery, so we decided to rehab her here, with the plan of releasing her back to her Fairfield flock if she recovered and was releasable, and fostering her if she wasn’t. I had her DNA tested once we began to strongly suspect she wouldn’t be releasable, and she was a female! I’m pretty good at age guesses based on the condition of ceres, and I’d say she’s between her 1st and second year.

Here she is now, looking much more confident! She’s especially tiny, and especially fluffy (my friend’s 13 year old son got wide-eyed, dropped all his teenage bravado, and whispered “she has magical feathers” the second he petted her). She walks well now as long as she’s going straight forward! When she has to turn right or left, one of her legs doesn’t keep up with the other quite as well and she loses her balance easily, and if she has to step up she has the same issue and is prone to face-planting, poor dear. Her mobility challenges also get worse if she’s stressed/startled and feels like she needs to move quickly, and sometimes instead of moving quickly like she wants to she just winds up “sitting” down with her feetsies sticking straight out in front of her. So I’m quite confident she’s not releasable, but she gets around very well in a pet setting and eats, drinks, goes in and out of her nest, etc very comfortably. She’s still absolutely terrified of the concept of people’s hands, but admittedly for the majority of her time here we had been treating her with an eye towards release so I haven’t actively been trying to people-socialize her, so I’m sure with regular attention she will become much tamer, as now that we’ve concluded she’s definitely not releasable I’ve been spending much more time with her and she will already walk over to you and make tiny little lady-bird coos to you to have a conversation.

And here’s Willie-Mae making friends with Sizzle, a lonesome special needs bachelor. (We call this pHarmony.)

The pigeon next door…

Sizzle & Willie-Mae, making friends

June 9, 2019 Update

Sizzle & Willie-Mae are married & adoptable together

Guest Post by Hannah K

Freddie, so weak & exhausted, the day he was brought to us

It was a busy Sunday afternoon at work. I walked in to find a box on the table with a scared little face peering out of it.

My colleague and I carefully opened the box and got him out. He was a very big pigeon but I remember thinking how light he was for his size. I immediately got him some bird seed and water and watched him tuck into it with a voracious appetite. He only weighed 200 grams when he should have weighed 400. He was a domestic pigeon, emaciated from being lost with no one to feed him.

Freddie was very happy to finally have food & water

Once he was more comfortable, we started to check him over. We saw his leg bands and determined that he was a racing pigeon. The lovely gentleman that found him had mentioned that he could not fly. I felt worried as I knew that he was most likely lost and injured with babies or a mate somewhere far away.

I called the number on his leg band and offered to adopt him. The owner was happy with this as he did not want him if he was unable to fly.

It was straight to the bird vet on Wednesday. Luckily he seemed physically healthy, asides from being severely underweight. We decided to keep him in hospital to build his strength up and then do some tests.

His blood test results came in on Saturday night and it was not good. He was anaemic, liver enzymes elevated and had Haemoproteus (a blood parasite). Unfortunately treatment options were very limited as the medications needed were not available in Australia. We still had hope though as we heard some pigeons could still lead a relatively healthy life with this condition.

We made the decision on Sunday to bring him home, as we were worried he was getting stressed and overwhelmed. We would continue supportive care at home and try to continue looking for other medications.

It was so wonderful having him back with us. My husband and I spent all afternoon holding him and telling him how much we loved him. We also named him Freddie, a name close to our hearts.

That night, he suddenly passed away in my arms. I cried and cried. One part of me felt silly for grieving. After all, I had only known him for a very short amount of time. But now I realise that this is what pigeons do; they touch our hearts in ways we cannot understand with their gentle and loving nature. I hope more people will have the honour of experiencing how special they are. I feel lucky to have had Freddie and I am glad that he passed away surrounded by love.

Rose, Ashley, Gwenn and Elizabeth from Palomacy provided me unwavering support and compassion during this difficult time. I will be forever grateful for all their help.

Hannah is a huge animal lover from down under (aka Australia).

Editor’s Note: Pigeon racing is a cruel “sport” in which many thousands of domestic Homer pigeons are bred, suffer and die trying to fly hundreds of miles back to their home so that humans can gamble on which might get home fastest. Learn more here.