Guest Post by Patti Delaney

This is Brad and Madeline Mardelle’s story. Pictures help to tell their relationship and life during their time with me.

On August 11, 2020, I received a text from the Bradshaw Animal Shelter with a picture of a very cute pigeon. It said he was injured and needed immediate veterinary care. I stopped by the animal shelter on my way to an appointment at Medical Center for Birds (MCFB) for a foster pigeon, Olivia. The condition of this pigeon was shocking. I couldn’t tell what the debris was that was stuck to his nose and beak and wondered how he could breath. I tried to remove the debris. It wouldn’t loosen, and I feared I would hurt him. He had a band that indicated he hatched in 2009. I called my avian veterinarian, but she couldn’t see him for a couple of days. I called MCFB, and they were booked too. They instructed me to drop him off when I arrived for Olivia, and they would get to him when they had a chance. When Dr. Rachel Baden saw his condition, she dropped everything and gave him immediate attention. They asked what his name was, and Bradshaw Animal Shelter came to mind, so he became Brad. Brad’s eye was saved from the ruptured cornea, but he was blind. It didn’t seem to bother him at all.

On March 26, 2021, a neighbor captured and brought to me a Homing Pigeon that had been hanging around their home. They named him Danny. At first I thought Danny was a hen because Brad was very interested in him. But DNA proved Danny was male. Every morning when Brad’s crate was opened he would fly to the floor. His feathered feet made a shuffle sound as he traveled from the family room, through the kitchen to the dining room and flew to Danny’s crate. He would spend all his time with Danny only leaving to eat and drink in his own crate. I eventually moved his crate to be next to Danny.

Since Danny was male, I started thinking about Brad’s behavior. I was treating him as a handicapped pigeon due to his eye, tiny beak, and age. However, it was demonstrated he wanted the company of another pigeon. He had been living in a room with two hookbills and an imprinted pigeon. I contacted Palomacy to see if we could be put on a list for a short-beaked pigeon. We were in luck.

On April 2, 2021, an injured pigeon at Oakland Animal Services was picked up. She was named Mad Maple because she hated her injuries being treated. She was missing her tail and right wing feathers along with an injury above her tail.

On April 30, 2021, she was ready to come home and meet Brad. Also, picked up was a rescued feral, Tess, to hook up with Brad’s best buddy, Danny.

Mad Maple’s name was changed to Madeline Mardelle after a dear friend. We still called her Maddie. It was a concern that no female pigeon would be interested in Brad due to his short beak. Madeline Mardelle was definitely more interested in Danny. A drape was placed so she could only see Brad. To hook up pigeons, crates are placed next to each other with a nest basket or box in the male’s crate. It usually makes the male irresistible. For Brad and Madeline Mardelle this was no different. On May 16, 2021, they were married.

Twice a day or more, Brad’s nostrils and mouth were checked for debris. His beak was so small that he would inhale seed up his nostrils when he ate. He was always monitored for sinus infections.

At outreach events, Madeline Mardelle was Xena and Brad was Captain America

Ten days before Brad passed away, Madeline Mardelle started picking on him, injuring the eyelid on his blind side. She probably wanted him to go on adventures with her as usual, but he didn’t feel good. After this, they were separated in side by side crates. Lab work indicated pancreatitis. Unfortunately, the lab work also indicated he had kidney failure issues too. This is not unusual for a pigeon 14 years old. The medication to treat the pancreatitis was an additional strain to his kidneys. Considering his age, pancreatic cancer is probably what took his life. We lost our dear, beloved Brad on March 3, 2023.

After Brad died, Madeline Mardelle waited in Brad’s crate for two days for his return. When that didn’t happen, she started courting me. This is when I found out Madeline Mardelle preferred being called Madeline Mardelle, not Maddie. Unfortunately, Marian, my imprinted wife, would attack Madeline Mardelle.

On March 24, 2023, Kenji and Madeline Mardelle were married. It was wonderful watching her show Kenji the expectations in the house. It wasn’t wonderful that Kenji would not allow her to go on adventures with him. She assumed her new role without complaint and was a dutiful pigeon wife to Kenji.

A year later, April 2024, Madeline Mardelle seemed to have trouble flying. This was strange since she was only 6 years old. She was given a daily dose of glucosamine. It worked like magic. When I gave her the glucosamine on May 10, 2024, she was acting odd. I took her into the house where she just went limp and died in my hands. She was placed back into their nestbox for Kenji to realize she was gone. Madeline Mardelle had an abnormal ovary. She had a three inch ovarian cyst along with cysts in each of the egg follicles.

It is comforting to think Brad and Madeline Mardelle are together again for eternity. They travel happily on endless adventures bringing joy to all the souls they encounter.

 

Patti Delaney is a long-time bird lover. In 1992, she met and purchased a 5-year old Umbrella Cockatoo, Lacy. Wanting to learn more about bird care, she became a member of the Capitol City Bird Society. When Lacy died unexpectedly in 2009, she found and adopted an Umbrella Cockatoo, Georgi, from the bird rescue, Mickaboo. This is when she met Elizabeth Young with Palomacy (previously MickaCoo) and became knowledgeable and passionate about stopping the exploitation of domestic pigeons and doves.