Your "handle" and how you got started

[re92346mos]

Thank you Maggie, it was hard for me to make it because I do not know much about computers. It took along time.

[BrianNAmy]

Brian and I are husband and wife (were engaged when we started) therefore "BrianNAmy" and needing a quick name to find info on a bird we needed help with. I don't remember which bird we first posted here with, but I do remember the birds that have come through our apartment.

First was Bernie (Short for Bernice, Bert's pigeon on Sesame Street) who was an adult male that just needed some time to rest. He stayed with us a few months, was reluctant to leave at first, but then flew off to find a girlfriend and be on his own. He would come back for seed every once in a while with his gal (Dali, short for dalmation because she was speckled)

Then there was Polly who walked up our stairs to our door, and also just needed a rest. She stayed only a few weeks, and was more than happy to leave.

Then we got Stewy (short for Stewart, we didn't name him) as a squeaker from a family who'd hand raised him after finding him in a trailer park driveway as a baby (He is recently gone from this life...unknown reasons...RIP kiddo!). He thought he was a people. He found a mate in Pizzie (from Pizza because we found her outside a pizza place as a young squeaker) so she stayed with us to be his mate. They layed many eggs, and we finally decided to let one hatch. That is Soupy (an odd mix of Stewy and Pizzie's name) who is about 4 months old now.

After that there have been many that have come in and out of our lives.

We had one pigeon that we thought was almost dead, and thought we were giving it a quiet place to die. Well, it got stronger with some rest, and by the next day was standing and looking around, but still week. We tube fed it and gave it some vitamins and antibiotics, and within a couple of days she was back to her strong self, and flew away.

We found one by the dumpsters at night(named Dumpy) who just needed some rest, and went on his way in a few days.

We had Splotchy who is a pied pigeon (hence the name) and was a squeaker who was sitting in the parking lot at work. I was informed that I could be written up and escorted from the property for taking this sweety (in a closed box) onto the campus. So I called Brian and he came and got her. She just needed to grow up and realize that she knew how to fly, and she was released to be with a friend of ours flock. She is doing well.

We've had several with varying injuries and illnesses that haven't made it, but as I'm sure you know from Brian's posts, we currently have 2 broken wings. Bebe is the one with the protruding bone, and is a mild tempered male. Puffy is the other one who was found in a bucket outside the pet store with a sign on it. He is a hot tempered male who will puff up if you even THINK about looking at him (hence his name). Bebe gets around better than Puffy even though his wing drags, so Bebe has the upper perch, and Puffy has the lower. It's an understanding it seems.

We also have 6 finches (3 from the humane society, prenamed Lucky, Sylvy, Sophie, 1 from the pet store to even the pairs named Dizzy because she kept knocking herself out on the windows in the pet store, and two children from Dizzy and Sylvy named Pinky and Dandy. Pinky and Dandy have two sisters named Squeeky and Toy that we gave to a friend of ours mother.)

So those are our birds (at least most of them...I know I'm leaving some that have been through out...I know there was Sweetpea the sparrow, and a dove or two...but they were passed on to other people to take care of, or simply passed on.

Brian- did I miss any?

[mr squeaks]

is correct, Rena! You have one terrifice website! LOVE the music!

Do show us more about your birds...

[traci_sss]

my handle is boring ... my first name is traci.. and i have a lot of s's in my last name.

I use the same name on everything and for every page I have to sign up for.

my first pigeon was Hegee. She was brought home after my husband almost ran her over with his 18 wheeler. She has been the best pigeon and I loved her so much I wanted to get her a buddy. the buddy completely ignored her, so I got a few more and then they multiplied. LOL..

I love my birds..

[bartuska]

I have to use my name, Catherine or Bartuska--or I'll forget how to sign on I just got into pigeons last spring after reading an article about my brother in law in northern WI doing the dove releases. He sent me down 4 squeakers and I bought a few more and here I am. We moved to a house on the outskirts of town 3 years ago with a couple of acres and is still zoned as agriculture--so I have plenty of room for everything . I have always been a great lover of birds--but only if they can fly ( I feel too sorry for the caged ones). I avidly watch and feed the wild birds, also. I do the dove release--but don't go nuts over it yet--I prefer to just spend time with my birds.
I have always had some sort of critter growing up--now I have my 19 pigeons (more to come) a terrier, 3 cats and 3 hermit crabs, 4 kids and a husband and a full time job --I'm a physican assistant in ER (hence my avian influenza pobcession) My whole family loves animals and we are also vegetarians due to that fact. My husband goes to his workshop to get peace and quiet--I go to my loft. Life is good

[andinla]

to post. So here ya go.

Andi

[GimpieLover]

my first pigeon was Gimpie. i had found him unable to fly from lack of feathers and limping around the Mc Donalds parking lot. i have never been able to look the other direction at an animal in need. so i took off my expensive sweatshirt lol and scooped him up and continued to walk home. no real bird expirience except for my 2 parakeets, so i give the upmost thanks to everyone on this forum for all the help and advice they have given me. gimpies feathers have not yet grown back but he seems perfectly happy stuffing him self with sunflower seeds and checking him self out in the mirror the lilttle darling is even scared to be outside now. and my newest member was rescued from a horrible pet shop. no more for me untill i have my own place. then i have a feeling i am going to go pigeon crazy

[Reti]

I am little late to this post, but anyway, Reti is my name (Greek from Areti).
I wasn't allowed to have any pets when I was a kid, so first thing I did when I lived on my own was taking in stay dogs and cats. The house was always full.
I never noticed the pigeons until four years ago when a couple of ferals came to my balcony. My husband gave them some crackers and I used to scold him and tell him that I wouldn't want a flock of pigeons frecvent my balcony, in fact I wouldn't want any pigeons on my balcony. Lee kept feeding them behind my back and the pair proceeded in building a nest in one of my plant pots. Needless to say it took less then four days to fall in love with them. I named them Frankie and Gerri. Only one of their eggs hatched, my beloved Andrew. I was, and still am so much in love with this little guy, he is a great friend. I was playing with the baby from the minute he opened his eyes, I fed him extra food, took him in at night when it was chilli and spend countless hours holding him. Luckily F&G didn't mind me handling the baby, they were excellent parents and fed him even after I had him in the house for hours.
Soon I had a flock of 30-40 birds coming for food, a bath and fresh water.
We had a lot of joyous moments but also a lot of heartache. Hawk attacks, illness, shootings from the neighbors, accidents and eventually poisoning and our eviction from the building.
Andrew and Whitney, his mate live with us inside now. It took him a while to adjust, since he was an indoor/outdoor bird, but he is fine now.
In additon to our many birds, we also have four cats, a turtle all rescues.
Three weeks ago I also took in two giant bunnies someone brought to the clinic to PTS (reason, he has a litterbox problem) Not a reason to PTS for me.
So, for now we are full and fun house, never a dull moment.

The funny part is, my mother (who dislikes pigeons) told me only recently that my grandfather, before he was married he used to rescue pigeons, he had a sun room adjusted for his birds he took in and he took great care of them. I never knew that story.

Reti

[Lovebirds]

My husband and I met over the internet. After corresponding by e-mail and instant messages we called and talked to each other on the phone. Our handle on the instant messges site (Yahoo?), don't really remember was Lovebirds. That's how our loft name came to be........

[Pidgey]

Our (Lin and I) first rescue was the original "Pidgey" who lives with us today. She was about a week from being able to fly. I intended on keeping her only until she could be reintegrated to a local feral flock. We did do that but she'd come home with us every night. It got to where we could drive up to the area where she was sitting on the line with the rest of them, roll the window down, put out an arm and she'd just land on it and walk right in.

Then she'd perch on the closet door overlooking the bed during the evening. Lin couldn't stand the thought of ever losing her so we made her a loft and got her some true homers for companions. Today, you can throw her out but you better stand back from the window 'cause she'll knock you over to get back in.

We also started feeding the local feral flock and would occasionally get sick and hurt ones. Our first attempts at healing and fixing them up were awkward but every heartache drove the search for more knowledge, meds and other equipment.

While we've learned a fair amount due to our own experiences, I think the efforts to help emergencies on this forum has led to a great deal more study than I would ever have done on my own. It seems to be getting more difficult to separate actual memories of rehabs from the virtual ones from here. So many times, the urgency of a case here has precipitated a furious research project that has burned in so deep it seems completely real. Ya'll seem so much like family (goodness knows, ya'll are thought better of than some family members... ) that it seems funny that we haven't even met!

Pidgey

[Trees Gray]

That is true Pidgey, I consider the people here closer then certain family members, we are all bonded due to our mutual love and care of pigeons.

I developed a keen interest in homing pigeons after my sister gave up the hobby my father had started her on. I took over when she got bored with it and I was 10 years old. My dad trained my birds to fly from the mountains, oceans, and all areas in Southern California. They were "lean mean flying machines". I myself became their caregiver, and they became my dear pets, and of course, I named every single one of them. My father is a descendent of a pigeon racer in Holland, his grandfather won many races back in the days from the old school. I heard stories about how he would cut open one of his best racers crops, and clean it out when it was congested, and then sew it back up again. Weekend, family life revolved around the races, and no-one was allowed to distract from the attention to the race, and dinner was held up until they could hear the birds coming in on top floor. My great grandfather initiated getting markers on electric wires and such to keep the birds from flying into them. They flew their birds from the top room in their building, within the city.

After a few years I was forced to give up my pigeons, because we had to move and they were not allowed on this rental property. I was quite upset about it, and sometimes it haunts me to this day.

I was re-introduced 5 years ago to the pigeon sport, by two of my sons. They built a very small coop in our backyard and brought home 4 young homing pigeons for my birthday. Now, I'm back in it full swing with my own homing pigeons including the originals, some show birds, and pigeons I have taken in because they needed a home. Our coop has grown from the small rabbit size hutch to a large walk in coop and aviary. The original coop has become the dining hall. LOL

I really developed a bond with two pigeons, Skye and Sonic, that I had to hand raise since day 4. That puts the pigeon hobby into a whole new perspective, as pets are totally different from other pigeons in my coop. Being so close to them 24/7 they bonded to us, and I to them.

You will find their story in "A Tale of Two Pijjies..from two different cities" after Skye was on the Animal Planets, Pet Psychic I started my first thread here on the forum to share the experience with everyone here. I left for about seven months due to hurricane related damage, but am now back again, and hope to continue to share and help out whenever I'm needed. I don't have much history in actual rehab work, but I have learned alot from my friend and rehabber Doreen, and have learned alot from people here, as well as my father, who taught me about training and feeding, and housing.
He is 90 years old now, and still yells at me if I don't allow the birds flight time, as he says it is essential for their overall health and happiness.

[mr squeaks]

you have Treesa! You are most fortunate!

I wish Squeaks could fly but we will just have to make do with his hop/flap routine. Fortunately, Gypsy, being the mother kitty, makes sure he gets his practice!

I am really glad that Andi bumped this thread because there were still members that I had yet to "meet."

Since joining this site, soooo much information has been added to help people who are willing to help a pigeon(s).

Becoming part of a world-wide pigeon family is TREMENDOUS! THANKS! We are our own United Nations and all because of pigeons...

[Camrron]

I also feel like the people posting here are family. A tremendous group who do care for the world around us and the creatures in it. The advice I have received here has made all the difference for my "Buddy" since I am still new with birds but I fell in love with the site once I started posting.

My handle is Camrron because somehow I lost the ability to use "Cameron" which is my real name. That's what I get for messing with my E-mail address I guess. Anyway, up until mid-October I really knew almost nothing at all about birds or their care. A total blind spot. I have always admired them from afar though and the few I found injured in the past I took to proffessional rehabbers. The results were mixed and something I know now that I didn't know then was that some rehabbers are just too quick to put down an injured bird.

I can't stand to see an injured animal though or one in distress. A few years back I came across a skunk lying in the middle of a busy street. The cars were just driving around him but not one stopped to have a look. A group of people sitting having coffee on the corner sat commenting on his impending fate. I felt sick about it because I myself was afraid of getting a bite but I plucked up my nerve, stepped into traffic and scooped the little guy up. I walked back to my apartment with him cradled in my arms and up the elevator I went. He sure stunk up the building let me tell you. Once there he huddled under my couch, terrified and badly hurt but I did my best for him until morning when a terrific rehabber came and picked him up. He had been run over and had a head injury but survived and was happily released wild over a month later

I can still remember looking through the peephole and seeing the landlord rant and rave as he tried to track down who had brought a skunk into the building!

I too have had dogs and cats over the years but I always wanted a pig for a pet. I worked with them for a while and I swear they are the Einsteins of the animal kingdom. Smart, curious, affectionate, communicative, even manipulative. Almost human the way they behave at times. Too bad they aren't allowed in apartments. It's probably people like me who cause landlords to be so firm on the no pets policy.

I was also a bee keeper for quite some time but developed a strong reaction to the stings so no more of that for me. I will just stick with the one bird I have for now. He has grown on me and I can see that he has in fact become a pet despite my early best intentions to return him to the wild. I just wish I could settle on a name. I call him Pumpkin, Punky, Buddy, Handsome etc etc. Either he is having an identity crisis or I am losing my mind!

Cameron

[mr squeaks]

You ARE losing your mind Cameron! Welcome to the club!

What a heartwarming animal past you have had. I am SO glad you saved the skunk. We had one for a pet when I was young. He had been de-skunked. He got out one day and later we read in the paper that a few blocks away a "brave" policeman had captured the skunk, which was released in the woods. I kept my fingers crossed that he survived!

Sometimes, if you just "relax" your mind, a name will come to you for your pigeon. You could also concentrate on "asking" him/her what they want to be called...

[Pikachu23739]

Originally Posted by Lady Tarheel

Shi (Mr. Squeaks) mentioned that it would be fun to find out how we came up with our "handles" and I thought it may be fun to find out how everyone became involved with pigeons. So here goes my part.

The "Lady Tarheel" came about because North Carolineans are nicknamed "tarheels" and I am also a huge fan of the UNC Tarheel basketball team. I just stuck the "Lady" on to show I'm female.

I think I was born loving animals/birds. My entire family was always rescuing one critter or another, particularly my mother. There was always a rescued dog or cat we cared for and even though my mother was desperately afraid of dogs she usually wound up being the caretaker. She found an injured garden snake once and when I came home from school he was in a fishbowl on the piano. He stayed there until one day she put him out to sun and "Clarence" escaped. I have had pet chickens - one named Trudy who was blind and crippled and she lived a long time. We had one old rooster that stayed in the house until we went on a trip and a neighbor said she'd take care of him, and she did, right in a pot. Mother was so mad!

I married a man who grew up the same way I did with animals always around. He raised many pigeons when he was a child and has always loved them. Early in our marriage he rescued one pigeon and we kept him until he could be
released. The next bird we had was an Evening Grosbeak named Starsky (about 25 years ago). He was in our back yard with a broken wing and we
had him for a little over 3 years. We didn't get into the real pigeon business until my husband and I retired and he started walking several miles a day and began finding all these little fellows and bringing them home. Early on, we got in so many sick ones that we started looking around for help and found other rehabbers and veterinarians, took classes on bird rehab, read everything I could find and did a lot of it "by the seat of our pants".

Rehabbing is a little different from what most forum members do, we suffer more losses and have more disappointments BUT our successes have far outweighed the losses and that is what is important. We love what we do because we love these wonderful little pigeons.

maggie

you got an amazing life