WARNING GRAPHIC! Pigeon First Aid!

[Hokum Coco]

WARNING GRAPHIC!!!
I personally would have put this bird out of it's misery if it were mine.
If you have the stomach; Watch.

 

[sourland]

This bird may have been a multi race winner destined for the breeding loft.

 

[sourland]

I once had a bluebar Birmingham roller cock hit by 2 hawks at the same time. I had been watching this bird for 6 months and on this particular day, I said to myself, "When he comes in, I am going to stock him." (This was breaking one of my rules as I generally preferred to fly young birds for at least a year prior to stocking.) At that point two Coopers hawks attacked my kit from above. As he was the most tired (he had been rolling his butt off) he was the easiest target. They forced him into the side of a utility shed in my back yard. One hawk grabbed him, and a second hawk hit the first. I raced over, the hawks flew off, and Mr Bluebar just lay there. I was sure that he was dead, but just as I reached for him he opened one eye. He had a quarter inch deep gash the length of his breast - no punctures and no organs showing. A little bit of Neosporin and some time and he was as good as new. He lived to sire some of the best performers that I ever had.

 

[Hokum Coco]

My grand daughter and I hand raised an orphaned homer that failed to come home on a 20 mile toss.
It was one of the few times she had not accompanied me on a release. I called later that day to tell her the news. She then asked me where I released the bird from Monteagle was the reply. Her crying retort was "Why did you not release them from "DEAD BIRD ROAD!" sarcastically.
Dusk was falling and I went out to shut up the loft. Low & behold what should come flying in but Piper (grand daughters bird). I checked him over when he trapped and he had a gash from near his neck almost to his tail on his back. My first instinct was to put him out of his misery. However I brought him into the house to have a better look in the light. My wife said "Yes it is a long gash but it is only deep in one spot. We flushed out the wound with Saline; I then glued the skin back together with a few drops of crazy glue; gave him a coat of polysporn; he flew out of my hands as I was bring him back to the loft. He was good to go in about 5 days.

This is him on squabs that hatched 2012 near the end of December.

My grand daughter has learned more from being around these homers than she could have learned out of any book. She was on the MOON when I called her to tell of Pipers return.

Grand daughter has experienced love, loss, heartache. first aid, joy, responsibility, and most of all kinship with yours truly.

It has given her a good subject for presentations at school. We also are starting up a small enterprise with white dove releases (Pipers parents were both solid snow white just for the record).
Grand daughter did her first dove release at a wedding this fall also another release for an anti bulling campaign at her grade school. She would rather hang out with Hokum (her name for me since she was one) then any of her friends or parents for that matter. However she will be entering her teens next year (make-up and boys will probably soon shove me aside).
I know however that these birds have made her a better person regardless what comes in the future.

Plus I have another grand daughter who is only turned 3 and calls me Coco (since she was one).

 

[sourland]

Is she calling you CoCo or Coo Coo?

Given the trials and tribulations of working with these birds (hawks are my nemesis) we have to be a little nuts. I too took a box of pigeons to school and gave a presentation for a very good grade. That was a long long time ago.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Given the trials and tribulations of working with these birds (hawks are my nemesis) we have to be a little nuts.

You have to be a little crazy or you miss out on a lot of fun as the old saying goes!
I have lost close to 12 birds this year while training and the like that is the bad news.
I have 12 birds left; the ones that are left are finally predator wise;
it would take a surprise attack to catch most of them.
I had my flock out loft flying the other day and I think it was a peregrine falcon that scattered the flock.
He isolated one and she was gone for 3 days I thought that was definitely the end of her.
Fortunately on the third day she made it home she was totally exhausted and could barely fly.
If you fly birds expect losses.
I can not keep birds prisoner for the rest of their lives it is against my and their nature.

 

[sourland]

I agree! Pigeons are meant to fly.

 

[Faith SL]

Piper is so beautiful! Are those pheasant feathers in his nest?

My grand daughter and I hand raised an orphaned homer that failed to come home on a 20 mile toss.
It was one of the few times she had not accompanied me on a release. I called later that day to tell her the news. She then asked me where I released the bird from Monteagle was the reply. Her crying retort was "Why did you not release them from "DEAD BIRD ROAD!" sarcastically.
Dusk was falling and I went out to shut up the loft. Low & behold what should come flying in but Piper (grand daughters bird). I checked him over when he trapped and he had a gash from near his neck almost to his tail on his back. My first instinct was to put him out of his misery. However I brought him into the house to have a better look in the light. My wife said "Yes it is a long gash but it is only deep in one spot. We flushed out the wound with Saline; I then glued the skin back together with a few drops of crazy glue; gave him a coat of polysporn; he flew out of my hands as I was bring him back to the loft. He was good to go in about 5 days.

This is him on squabs that hatched 2012 near the end of December.

My grand daughter has learned more from being around these homers than she could have learned out of any book. She was on the MOON when I called her to tell of Pipers return.

Grand daughter has experienced love, loss, heartache. first aid, joy, responsibility, and most of all kinship with yours truly.

It has given her a good subject for presentations at school. We also are starting up a small enterprise with white dove releases (Pipers parents were both solid snow white just for the record).
Grand daughter did her first dove release at a wedding this fall also another release for an anti bulling campaign at her grade school. She would rather hang out with Hokum (her name for me since she was one) then any of her friends or parents for that matter. However she will be entering her teens next year (make-up and boys will probably soon shove me aside).
I know however that these birds have made her a better person regardless what comes in the future.

Plus I have another grand daughter who is only turned 3 and calls me Coco (since she was one).

Pigeons are so fragile yet so amazingly tough. One of my blue bar Racing Homers is still healing up from a nasty beating by a Cooper's hawk, darned hawk had him pinned down right in front of the loft and was pecking holes in him by the time I found them and came to my bird's aid. The poor pigeon had most of his tail feathers ripped out, a leg badly injured/sprained/fractured, a gash across the neck, a hole which was pecked in his side, and numerous small holes made by sharp, piercing talons. Patched him up and sealed the wounds with triple antibiotic cream and he has been healing well so far, thank goodness - it looks like he will be out in another couple of weeks and will live to fly again!

 

[laughingdog]

i recognize the markings of the bird in video, as a champion, so understand the reason for wanting to keep her around. i had a roller cock that is prized and went missing after a fladgling and old bird went missing recent, he was gone for two or three days and then just was saw coming in as the cat came in and dog went out, and was hiding between them totally ragged and exausted. later saw spreading bruising under feathers, and noticed his keel was dented in pretty bad it seemed, aside from choking bad as he gorged all day and night on as much enriched water and high protien and energy feeds as he could hold down at a time. ive kept mine in since pretty much this last month now, but concerned theyre not getting exercise and healthy enrichment of flight fresh air and all around advantages to being let out and about.. my hens somewhat seem to care less, but my young and older cocks of my rollers, tumblers, and flights especially, seem ready to get out and fly! hope all your flights are great and BOP free!!!

 

[Hokum Coco]

Thank you for the kind wishes laughing dog. As you and I can apparently attest raising pigeons can be hard on the heart strings. They are more than just birds as you see them hatch and nurtured in your loft. Wishing you and yours Health & Happiness in 2013.