Getting to know Rainbow
Once she is awake, she squeaks a lot.
Now and then, she fluffs her feathers and preens with her beak.
She sleeps quietly on one leg. It looks like the pigeon's version of tree pose. Maybe she's inspired by the yoga mantras I've been playing for her. Every now and then she slowly stretches one leg and one wing straight out, holds it for a while, then slowly brings it back in ... before doing the same with the other leg/wing a few minutes later.
She loves to drink water from her little trough.
She confidently climbs up and down the ladder in the hamster cage. The upper level has a little plate with crushed dry dog food and rice grains. The lower level has a small trough of water and a jar cover with crushed Crix. My friend and fellow Greenlighter, Glen says he'll try and source (or 'put together') a larger cage.
Now and then, she fluffs her feathers and preens with her beak.
She sleeps quietly on one leg. It looks like the pigeon's version of tree pose. Maybe she's inspired by the yoga mantras I've been playing for her. Every now and then she slowly stretches one leg and one wing straight out, holds it for a while, then slowly brings it back in ... before doing the same with the other leg/wing a few minutes later.
She loves to drink water from her little trough.
She confidently climbs up and down the ladder in the hamster cage. The upper level has a little plate with crushed dry dog food and rice grains. The lower level has a small trough of water and a jar cover with crushed Crix. My friend and fellow Greenlighter, Glen says he'll try and source (or 'put together') a larger cage.
She has been eating the rice grains and dog food. (She's not as keen on the Crix).
Kikipotamus the Hobo says she thinks baby pigeons take a long time to reach adulthood and tend to follow their parents around for about a year. I hope this doesn't happen with Rainbow, as she will find it very difficult to follow me around, even when she knows how to fly.
She strikes me as a very intelligent and responsive creature.
She strikes me as a very intelligent and responsive creature.
Speaking with Detta's friend who had raised a pigeon from babyhood to adulthood, I was quite fascinated. Once its wings had grown and it could fly, her pigeon never left her. She would fly around in the house and, interestingly, never did her droppings on anything indoors. She instinctively knew what to do and where to go for that. She would eat anything that her owners were eating. She especially loved pigeon peas. (Is that why they call them pigeon peas?) One day she laid an egg on Detta's friend's husband's stomach. She would lay frequently and sit on the egg for exactly 17 days. After the 17th day, she would get up and walk away from it.
She would fly to the gate to meet her owners and also to peck at the postman. Sadly, one day she flew to 'greet' the postman who was giving mail to the nieghbours, who happened to have the same kind of car as her owners. Perhaps thinking that the car belonged to her owners, she was not on her guard and the neighbours, not seeing her, drove and crushed her.
But ... at least she had seven years of great care and companionship.
She would fly to the gate to meet her owners and also to peck at the postman. Sadly, one day she flew to 'greet' the postman who was giving mail to the nieghbours, who happened to have the same kind of car as her owners. Perhaps thinking that the car belonged to her owners, she was not on her guard and the neighbours, not seeing her, drove and crushed her.
But ... at least she had seven years of great care and companionship.
posted by Elspeth at Saturday, January 13, 2007
2 Comments:
Nice job documenting this. It always makes me happy to see people taking the time to care for animals. This baby pigeon is adorable. It's a shame 'cause people around here seem to deem pigeons with little care and respect, calling them "flying rats". People tend to forget how they got that way in the first place. Anyhow, good luck with your little friend!
Thanks, Steve.
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