to tag or not to tag

[tuxedobaby]

hi,our flock of ferals includes some real freindly pigeons who know us quite well,is it unethical to tag a couple of our special pigeon friends?i bought some tags (plastic snap bands)for my kid to"tag" some of her toy birds,she wants me to tag one eyed jack(small spread hen with missing eye) who is her special freind which sits on her hand and happily hand feeds.i am a novice with pigeon ethics and etiquette so any advice would be cool,thanks

[Grimaldy]

Hi Caledonian,

I really fail to see the ethical issue that concerns you. Ethics from the viewpoint of moral right and wrong, greater good etc?

I have developed the practice of tagging feral pigeons that I want to keep an eye on for one reason or another, mainly to be certain that they have transitioned back into their flock without problems. Or if they have that there have been no relapses or re-occurrences of the condition or injury that brought them to my attention in the first place. If I do recover them a second time my field notes give me a head start on their condition and what the likely problem is.

There are some members that believe that a tagged pigeon is likely to be regarded as some person's property and concern and where feral pigeons are concerned hopefully an edge in the fight for survival against humans.

If you have any concern for feral pigeons, marking them by banding them with the cheap little plastic bands is an excellent way to keep an eye on them, if for no other reason than continuing an interest in their welfare.

So from the viewpoint of the pigeon, that which serves the best interests of the pigeon and its community, with the least harm or burden, is probably the most ethical approach one can adopt.

[tuxedobaby]

hi,yeah it is the little plastic bands,the reason we thought about one eyed jack is because she is vunerable,missing an eye,had leg injury which has recovered nicely,she seems to trust us,and we like to keep an eye on her,a lot of folks round here dont like pigeons and shoot them etc and perhaps if they saw a tag they would think twice

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by tuxedobaby

hi,yeah it is the little plastic bands,the reason we thought about one eyed jack is because she is vunerable,missing an eye,had leg injury which has recovered nicely,she seems to trust us,and we like to keep an eye on her ,a lot of folks round here dont like pigeons and shoot them etc and perhaps if they saw a tag they would think twice

It would be best to find her a home, as she is very vulnerable to the elements as well as predators. If she is too trusting she might get close to those who might do her harm, .....unless you have a perfect environment for them 24/7.

Make sure to put on bands that are not too loose that they can get caught on something. The bands should come in various sizes, but if they are too big, then they will not be any good.

God bless you for your care and concern over the feral pigeons.

[tuxedobaby]

hi,yeah bands are varying size,i would love to take one eyed jack into my home,but i have a cat,one eyed jack has a mate (forcepoo)who is always with her,she gets round ok and seems a tough little hen,her eye is gone,i think she may have had an accident in past but the socket is clean and clear,her leg was bad too,we gave her some tonic for a while and she is now walking well on both legs,she creates her own"space",chasing away any intruders that come into her feeding area,forcepoo is never far behind her,he is a bit more wary,as the weather gets more rainy we noticed that teh flock roost at night in an old railway owned building 2 mins from my home,its safe and no one except dog walkers go there(and daft folk like me who like to go for evening walks lol)if we have real bad winter i may give birds access to my shed,put in some straw etc.we had a visitor to flock today,"cutie"a lovely white bird with pied black color,i have seen him/her before a couple of times,we bought some pigeon mix in bulk yesterday so maybe he /she wanted to check out the menu