Jet's Story

[betelguese]

I don't know if this is the right board or not, but I thought I'd share the full story of my feral pigeon, Jet. This is sort of a journal that I did. By the way, my avatar is a picture of him.

I found Jet on November 13th, 2005. He was almost starved to death. I could see the outline of his skeleton. He was in a parking lot near a building. High above him was a window. He was lying on his back, so still I thought he was dead at first. It wasn't until he cooed pitifully at me that I knew he was alive. I walked home with Jet in my arms, praying that he would live. I put him in a large cardboard box, the kind they use for T.V.s, but first I put a large heating pad in the bottom and set it on low, and then I covered it with a couple of soft fuzzy towels. I gave him water, but no seed just yet because I didn't have any. Also, I had a strong feeling that he should not have food until he drank some water. I don't know why I felt this, but I had only 1 thing on my mind : keep him warm and hydrated.
The next morning I found that he had drank all the water I had offered. I refilled the water dish and rode my bike up to Pet Supplies Plus ( I live very close to a strip mall ) and picked up the following : 1 lb of cracked corn, 1 lb of black oiler sunflower seeds, 1 lb of wild bird seed, 1 lb of cockatiel mix, 1 lb of grit, a dog food bucket, a refilling water dish, a sturdy food tray, and a very large kennel that I had delivered to my house. It was delivered to my house in less than an hour, and I had it all set up in about 45 minutes. I decided not to use towels, instead I used newspaper to cover the bottom of the cage. I mixed all of the seed together and stored it in the dog food bucket. I added some grit to it as well. I stirred the whole mix, and then I set up the refilling water dish. Finally, when the cage was done, I put Jet in the kennel, which I had placed in my living room. This is when I noticed his leg and wing were broken. He feebly hobbled over to the food and water and got his fill of both.
A week later, his foot and wing have healed. His foot was fine, but the wing healed wrong. He must have been out there a long time if his injuries healed that quickly. He no longer fears me. He has learned his name, and I have begun to let him outside on nice days. My friend gave me a pigeon-sized "flightsuit" which is a kind of bird diaper and fitted him perfectly. He wears it when he wanders the house. He comes when I call, and when I take him for walks outside he perches quietly on my hand. Little kids come running up to me, asking to pet him, and he loves the attention. He does, however, turn his head upside-down while I hold him and for a few minutes after I set him down. It's probably just playfulness though, he only does it when he's outside.
Now a month has passed since I found Jet. He no longer looks thin. He still does that thing with his head, and I am worried. I have heard of a disease called PMV, and I think he has it. I hope I can get him through this disease. On a brighter note, Jet is doing much better otherwise. In fact, he has begun to play with a jingly ball that I got him. He also likes to pull tissues out of the box and drag them all over the house.

[Reti]

What a great story. And what a great pet Jet is. He certainly is greatful that you saved his life.
You did a great job and now you have a friend for life.

About the head twisting, I am not sure it is PMV in this case, could be though.
Another thought is he might have had some head injury.
Watch him closely for now and see if the symptons get worse.

Reti

[betelguese]

Thanks Reti. I will. Jet, in fact, is sitting on the computer monitor as I type this. I hope it's not PMV after all, because I don't think I could take losing him to something like PMV.

[dnrslucky1]

That is a wonderfull story! He sounds like a very happy little Pigeon! Good thing you found him when you did!

Denise

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by betelguese

I hope it's not PMV after all, because I don't think I could take losing him to something like PMV.

With alot of supportive care and nutrition, Jet should do just fine. You have already given her lots of loving care, this should not be a prolem then.

Make sure to follow Cynthia's protocal, if it is PMV. If not the extra nutrition will only help.

Is she eating well and drinking well? That is half the battle. Make sure Jet eats at least a tablespoon of a good pigeon mix, three times a day.

Great story, thanks for sharing!

[betelguese]

thanks trees gray. Jet is eating and drinking very well. I did try feeding him pigeon mix before, but he picks out his favorite things and leaves the rest. Normally I offer him a wide range of different seeds, each type of seed in it's own refilling container, and he eats what he wants. I also have the grit seperate. I don't mix everything together anymore, he doesn't like that as much. He is probably spoiled, but I don't have any other pets, and I live alone, so he is always the center of attention. I also work at home, so I have ample time for spoiling him . His cage is HUGE, by the way, in case you were wondering how I fit all those refilling dishes into it. It's 7 feet by seven feet. It might be a little big, but he loves to excercise, and I got a great deal on it, it was only $100. It was being marketed for dogs, actually. I clean it and change the water everyday. I also let him walk around the house in a bird diaper during the day, and I leave the cage door open for him so he can eat and drink when he wants. I only leave him in the cage at night. Also, about the bird diaper, it is called a "flightsuit" and you can order them online. I have Jet trained to ring a little bell (I had it installed so I can hear it anywhere in the house) when the diaper is full. They are reusable, all I have to do is change a lining and put it back on him. I think I have almost all of the patterns available, and he has one for all occasions. By the way, he only wears the flightsuit when he is walking around the house, when I take him to people's houses, or when he is on a walk with me, etc. I never leave them on while he is in his cage. He pretty much only wears it when he's out of his cage. I also take it off when I photograph him.

[Maggie-NC]

That is so cute about him ringing the bell to get his diaper changed. Jet is a smart little pigeon. I love to hear stories which show how much people love pigeons.

Maggie

[betelguese]

Thanks Lady Tarheel. He was very easy to train. In fact, one time I was in a hotel, and they let me keep him with me because he was so well behaved. Also, I live right by three schools, and I have brought him to each one. You see, a little kid asked me to come to her school with Jet, and I could'nt say no. When the principal saw how well behaved he was, they asked me to bring him once a week. Word got around to the other schools, and so 3 times a week Jet gets to visit a school. Each one of the 3 days I take him to a different school. He loves the kids and seems to recognize each one.

[betelguese]

by the way, here's a picture of him.

[Trees Gray]

That is just wonderful that you are taking him around to the schools. It gives people & children the education first hand to see how smart and well behaved pigeons are, and that their ancestors are hero's in two world wars.
Pigeons deserve to get respect and admiration like other birds.

[betelguese]

thanks trees gray. I really enjoy showing Jet off to everyone I meet, lol. Most of the kids were afraid of him at first, probably because of what they have heard about pigeons. But after they get to know Jet, they really look forward to seeing him. Personally, I think the elementary kids get the most out of seeing him. The Middle School teachers use him to bribe the preteens into good behavior . I think his favorites are the High school teens, they are much more mature and less rowdy. In fact, the drama club used him in a play!
And the science club brought Jet and I to a convention and used him to go through a maze, like a mouse except the maze was bigger and instead of just a twisting path, there were little puzzles he had to work out along the way. For instance, in one part of the maze he had to pull a lever to open a door, and in one part he had to put a little 5gram weight on a lever to open a door, etc. The maze was 10ftX10ft, and there were 7 different obstacles. He got through the maze in about 10min., without practice. He did, however, watch them build the maze.

[pigeonmama]

You'd better keep a close eye on Jet. He is so smart in some ways, but could end up in a bad crowd, breaking in to banks and cracking open the vault. At least his outfit already has prison stripes You'd have to bake him a little pidgey seed cake with a file inside.
Daryl

[feralpigeon]

Your story about Jet is truly a wonderful and inspiring story, he is so well loved and obviously eager to return that love and be engagingly interactive with people. Some of the things you are describing like the science class, being part of a play, ringing a bell to have the liner change, are truly remarkable, yet, representative of what many studies show about their intelligence. Good for you to enable him to have a full rewarding life after rescuing him from death's door. Thanks for sharing your story.

fp

[TAWhatley]

What a wonderful story, and what a beautiful bird! Definitely most inspiring.

Terry

[betelguese]

thanks everyone. I just love talking about pigeons.