Release in Doubt.

[Cameron]

Hi all,

Buddy (previously "Listless Bird") has made a great recovery thanks to all the advice I received from so many of you. Many Thanks. My worry though is that Buddy has turned into a pet and I did not want or expect that because I had hoped to release him come spring.

Buddy follows me around the apartment, sits at my feet or on the computer when i'm online and generally seems to be happy to see me when I come home. I have just read two excellent threads on release, one from Trees Gray and the other from TAWhatley that are causing me to rethink release.

My concerns are that I can't provide Buddy an opportunity to learn to forage for food naturally and for that matter am not exactly sure what pigeons eat in the wild. It is -25 in Saskatoon tonight with wind chill so taking him outdoors is completely out of the question. My other worries are that he has become too trusting of people, too young (about 7-8 weeks) to have been predator proofed by his parents and is not currently being socialized with other birds. Buddy is my only pigeon. Last, I cannot keep him beyond the end of March because I will be travelling.

I am sorry to bother you all but I need help. Are there any rehabbers in my area who can prepare him for a release down the road or someone who can provide a good loving home come March. I want him to be socialized with other pigeons so he can be as normal as possible. I can already see what is happening here though. This bird sees me as a bird. I am his only company. He has started to communicate with me in his own way, pecks at my boots sits on my chair whenever I move from it and watches me like a hawk. He seems very bright and has turned into quite a strong flier. I am still trying to get a picture of him organized but I am a little low tech. Buddy is all black though on his back and sides except for one white feather. His chest is grey.

Thanks again

Cameron

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Cameron,

Yes, you're in between a rock and a hard spot here Some pigeons naturally just warm up to their human caregivers really easy and no matter what, you can't avoid that.

Hopefully we'll be able to find someone who might be able or willing to take Buddy off your hands before March. Until then, please don't release him, it doesn't sound like he's ready to handle it and with winter fast approaching, he'll surely do poorly or worse.

Hang in there a bit more and hopefully we can figure something out here.

[Trees Gray]

Hi Cameron,

I'm sorry to hear you have to look for a new home for Buddy, he sounds like a great bird.

It would be wonderful if you could find a transitional home for Buddy where he can learn to live among other pigeons and adapt to others of his kind, and/or be prepared for release with other pigeons similar to him come next year. Pigeons do become more independent of us humans once they are around their own kind, so there may be a possiblity of release, if criteria is met.

I'm sending prayers & positive thoughts that you will find a wonderful new home for Buddy.

[Mistifire]

If you were closer I would see what my hubby thinks about it since I have 1 pigeon a female and she has not been with other birds either. But I am in Utah so it would be a bit of a trip.

[Cameron]

Thanks Brad, Treesa, Mistifire.

No, I definately will not release Buddy at this time of year. Although it has warmed considerably since my first post I am certain it would be a death sentence on my little friend to let him go now. I don't know what it's like in Oshawa but it was sure bitter here for a few days. Yesterday, I saw a flock of wild pigeons floating down the South Saskatchewan River on ice flows and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Those are some tough birds!
Buddy though has no flock or friends other than me so I will just wait for spring.

I have been so impressed by all the love and compassion shown by the visitors to this site. Thanks Treesa for your positive energy, I feel certain I will find a home by March, possibly late April. Four months gives me good lead time to find a home. I have just noticed for the first time tonight that Buddy keeps one eye closed a lot of the time. I discovered this by observing him as he sat by the mirror and I could see that while one eye was firmly fixed on me the other remained closed the whole time. Not sure what this means as it looks OK but will monitor it for a while.

Mistifire,
Thank you for considering adopting Buddy. I had to go to my map to see how far away Utah was and your right, that is one very long trip. You must be incredibly caring to even consider such a long drive. I read somewhere on a pigeon site though that it is very difficult to get pigeons through customs with all the bird flu paranoia and I would'nt want buddy to end up getting destroyed by the border folks. I don't have any really good information on the subject yet though. I am certainly open to adopting him to a good home so I am going to check out the customs sites to see what I can find. The other thought I had though (I am starting to learn about the great homing instincts of pigeons) is that there is the possibility he would fly straight back to Saskatoon!!! Is that likely? Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than me can offer a comment on that scenario.

Oh, the pictures. I tried to put one into this post but it's not working. I will try it again later.


Cameron.

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Cameron,

I'm glad to hear you will keep Buddy for as long as possible and try to find him a good home. I'm glad as well you won't be releasing him at this time of year, because it's just not a good time. And to answer your question about the weather in Oshawa...it's been pretty darn cold and we just got a huge snowstorm earlier today!

Pigeons all have a homing ability and ferals possess this as well in varying degrees it's true. I think it would depend on where Buddy was relocated to, how far away whether or not he would home back to Saskatoon. I don't think this would be the case in this particular situation of him finding his way back to you.

As for uploading pictures, make sure they are under 100K in size or they won't upload on this site. If you want to email them to me, private message me and I'll send you my email. I will post the picture then for you

[Cameron]

Thanks Brad. Hope you got the pics OK. Looks like I'll have to spring for a decent computer after all. This dinosaur I am using now is just too much like me. My grandmother knows more than I do about the net. LOL!

Cameron

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Cameron,

Sorry it took me so long to get your pictures posted, I was indisposed for awhile there. Buddy is a very cute and young pigeon still He's under 3 months old but looks very healthy and well cared for.

Here are 3 of Cameron's pictures of Buddy, everyone

[EvilMonkey666]

awww hes beautiful!!!! Looks like he is loving his very own personal tree! What a doll!

[LondonPigeon]

buddy looks healthy

[Lady Tarheel]

Hope you can find a home for this beauty. BTW, your ficus is awesome.

Maggie

[Camrron]

For some reason I have not been able to post messages for awhile due to changing my E-mail address. Anyway, I'm back and...

Buddy is a a pet...It is completely out of my control too. He has taken to me like I am a bird or something,..landing on my head and shoulder, coo-ing at me, sitting at my feet and chasing me around the apartment. So much trust, so much love from such a tiny creature. He can't be more than a pound in total.

Whenever I leave the room he follows me like a little dog and then fly's up to land on my shoulder, my head or some nearby perch. I can usually hear him following me . There is that quiet pat-pat-pat of little bird feet on the carpet and sure enough there he is right behind me. I don't have any idea what this means but he seems smitten with my company. He is visibly upset when I put on my coat and scarf to leave the house and happy to see me when I return home. He sleeps on my boots, pecks at my toes and does a whirlibird helicopter thing before landing on my knees when I am wathching TV.

I know I spend too much time talking to him and when I am gone during the day I leave on a CBC-Radio music station that he really loves. It is called galaxie/nature and it plays the sounds of waves, wind and birdsongs 24/7. I don't know if anyone else does this but he finds it soothing and seems to be too young to be alarmed by the gull calls in some of the songs.

Maybe I have been spending too much time talking to this bird but he has become my family over the last month. I still don't have a home for him and I am now sure he won't ever be wild again. There is something wrong with his right eye. He keeps it closed most of the time and I have noticed that he has problems with his take-offs and landings that is probably attributable to his vision. All else seems well except for the landings as I mentioned. He is very strong,(somewhat aggressive--certainly a male), active and quite happy to be with me. I let him fly free in the apartment and don't limit him at all except he isn't allowed in the kitchen.

I still need a home or someone who will adopt him by the end of April. That is only 3 months away...otherwise I will have no choice but to set him free then and hope for the best. Sorry for being so long-winded.

BTW, What's a Ficus...Is that a pigeon?

Cameron

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Cameron,

Good to hear from you Sounds like you've found a definite buddy, in BUDDY It would seem that he sees you as his potential mate or perhaps his rival, lol He does sound like a male pigeon but one can never be too sure. There is no way you can keep Buddy? You seem to be just as attached to him as he is to you and it seems like such a shame that you won't be able to keep him. In 3 months time you're going to be even more attached to the little gaffer.

The ficus that Maggie was talking about is the plant that Buddy was perched on.

[Trees Gray]

Hi Cameron,

Certainly you can't just release him when you have to move? He has become like a domestic and depends on you for providing him the necessities he needs, not to mention the companionship.

Where do you live, exactly? Please ship him to me or someone here, if you can't find anyone local.

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Treesa,

Cameron is in Saskatchewan, Canada. I don't think he'll be able or allowed to ship the bird to anyone in the USA. I don't think Cameron will just release the bird either, he seems like a very caring person

Cameron, you've got 304 months to come up with a plan for Buddy, hopefully something can be figured out with all of our collective brains