Guest Post by Carol Davie
You’re safe now, Pepper
Pepper is a Pakistani High Flyer Pigeon. He was spotted, last winter, alone in a small town in Ontario, Canada. Our Canadian winters are very cold. I was contacted and had the neighbours of that town on the look out for him. He managed somehow to be loose for almost two weeks. A miracle in its own. By the time By-Law Officers found him, he had been injured, possibly spinal trauma. Bad left, drooping wing and right foot with little feeling in it. That town does not have an animal shelter, so he was fostered to a local pet shop. The town pays to board the bird for 10 days, hoping the owner can be found. When the 10 days were almost up, the pet shop owner contacted me. He was afraid that the bird would be euthanized due to his injuries and no one coming forward to claim him. Seeing that little pigeon being held in a rabbit cage, tugged at my heart. I drove in to get the pigeon. It was far too cold to put a special needs pigeon outdoors with my flock, so I kept him in my indoor aviary for the winter.
Fantail Opal & High Flyer Pepper wintered indoors
While the rest of the flock enjoyed their big, beautiful aviary
Rescued pigeons cozy in their enclosed portion of the aviary
This spring, Pepper was introduced to my flock. He can’t fly at all but was still courted by two single hens that I have. One tried to coax him to follow her up to her box but, of course, he couldn’t. Snowy, the other hen, seemed to realize he couldn’t fly and she immediately walked up the ramp to Pepper’s box. They had not mated, but both birds went into the box and laid down together!
Snowy & Pepper made friends fast
Within 24 hours of being added to the flock, this little handicapped pigeon had a wife. This morning, when I entered their aviary, there was Pepper incubating their very first egg*. Some say that a pigeon is meant to fly, that he won’t have a full life without flight. So NOT true. Pepper is a very happy little pigeon and enjoying life despite the inability to take flight. I love happy endings.
Pepper proudly sitting on the egg Snowy laid (*which will be switched out for a fake egg to prevent hatching)
*Because there are far too many unreleasable pigeons already in need of homes, real eggs must be switched out with fakes to prevent hatching. With the overwhelming number of “surplus” pigeons, there is no ethical way to permit breeding.
Pigeon foot prints tell stories in the snow
Carol built this amazing aviary on to her house to help care for rescued, unreleasable pigeons
Carol’s love of birds, and taking care of them, has kept her younger than her years. Actively involved with parrots for over thirty years, she did outreach programs to promote better understanding and care of captive, exotic birds. She is retired from the medical profession but has run a bird-sitting business for quite some time. Three years ago, an injured Homer was brought to her and now pigeons are a huge part of her indoor flock. Cockatoos, Bourkes Parakeets and any number of different boarding bird species fill her life and home. Her pigeons now number seventeen rescues. The pigeons are not caged and enjoy the freedom of a large bird room and often frequent visits around the home, obviously looking for her. She enjoyed a loving marriage for 41 years, has two grown children and four grandchildren. Now, as a widow, her time is spent caring for her birds, her gardens and her home.
