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[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Updates

Hoo, boy, it has been a HOT minute since I've posted anything here.

Welp!

Repairs on the new property have been painfully slow, due to paying mortgage there, rent where we still currently live, and both sets of utilities.

It's been a red light green light game of save up money, make a single repair, save up money for the next repair, rinse and repeat.

Roof and bathroom floors have been repaired, asbestos tiles in the wash room tiled over, mini split AC installed in the addition, dear hubby's office rewired to include ground wires, walls painted, central AC unit repaired, water heater converted from natural gas to electric, gas stove converted from natural gas to propane, hardwood floors professionally cleaned, and leaking faucets repaired.

It was built in the 60s, before ground wires were a thing, so almost the entire place still needs rewired to include grounding.

And the AC ducts under the house are fallen and torn, so those still need to be fixed.

Once that's done, we can *finally* start getting ourselves and our birds moved over.

What used to be a garage/kitchen on the property is going to be cleared of all debris and the new loft will be built there from the ground up.

After that project is completed, we will build a new quarantine building, also from the ground up.

Dear Hubby and I have been busting our collective asses, with the help of his family, on getting this done, and it's taken up pretty much all of our attention.

Spending time online has been a pretty low priority for me, but I have resumed posting updates on the flock and answering new asks on The Ramsey Loft blog, and as time and energy permit, may go through the posts here and answer.

I'm not going to promise any kind of schedule, but as I have updates to post there, I will endeavor to check here.

See y'all when I see you.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Big changes coming soon. ^v^

I've been quiet for the last several months because I've been busy with some personal things.

IUD placement has been a Godsend! No more weeks where I'm just incapacitated by pain.

New blood sugar meds have been preventing crashes.

But the biggest thing taking up my attention has been house hunting.

We finally had enough saved up to put a down payment on a house in September, and have been focusing on finding the place we intend to put down roots and spend the rest of our lives.

On the third of this month, we closed on a 4.6 acre property.

It's an older house, so a lot of repair and updating work needs to be done before we can move in and get the new lofts built.

If all goes well, we should be able to begin construction this summer, and will hopefully be done before fall.

No breeding or hands on rescuing will resume until both new lofts are completed and all of the birds that didn't make the keeper cut go to their permanent homes.

Until they do, fees are capped at $20, which also covers the mate of the bird in question, if they are part of an established pair, and the applicant passes the screening for a pair.

We've been posting brief updates on TikTok every day this month, if you would like to see the flock in action.

My family and I are going to have a lot on our plate for the next few months, so while I do plan to try to update often, I'm not going to take on the stress of promising any specific update schedule before we get settled.

I no longer have Tumblr on my phone, and I'm honestly not sure if I want to download the ap again.

So updates, when I have them, will be in the evenings when I don't have anything pressing hanging over my head.

See you when I see you, dears.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Update

3/13/22 Update, as of 11:25am EST

Copy pasted from the Patron Discord.

I don't have the energy to do anything else.

I can't tell how long I'm going to be conscious at any given time.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) swallowing a fruit whole in Norway

Berit Christophersen

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

I'm sorry for dropping off the face of the net, but neither my flock nor I are ok right now.

There has been an outbreak, and all we've been able to narrow down is that it's bacterial.

Literally half of the flock started projectile vomiting and pooping slime on Thursday.

The other half and Cheeto started yesterday.

Cheeto and Cotta are in hospital cages.

We've lost four birds in three days.

So I'm kinda just...

Focusing on manual maintenance and medical care.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Wild columbid species doing wild columbid things.

I only rate media involving domestic Pigeons (Columba livia), and domestic Ringneck Doves (Streptopelia risoria) because those are the species I have been working with and obsessively studying over the last decade.

Please don't ask me to rate media of any non-domesticated columbid species.

The Columbidae are very widely varied in habitat, diet, and behavior. I do not know species other than the two domestic ones well enough to deliver an accurate assessment.

Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) swallowing a fruit whole in Norway

Berit Christophersen

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

That is an accurate assessment of how feral pigeons happened, and it is indeed fucked up.

it’s jsut fucked up that we bred pigeons to be our companions and then when we no longer had use of them we just abandoned them and now we treate them like menaces and pests and  people want them dead they are our FRIENDS

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Already Rated Dangerous

But as more information has been requested:

Pigeons do not expect to see their primary predator just standing around on the ground like this.

And pigeons are so variable in shape, color, and size that this hybrid of two falcon species very close to his size registers to this roller cock as a pigeon of a different breed.

Big hens are good at keeping a clutch warm and usually have big enough crops to be generous feeders, so cocks rarely leave a big hen unwooed.

The raptor is not showing any interest signals, but it isn't showing any disinterest signals either.

To the pigeon, neither moving away nor boxing him translates to

"Not impressed yet, but still interested enough to keep watching."

So, this poor confused man is pulling out all the stops to shoot his shot for big, stoic wife.

Rating: Not Cute

This pigeon is attempting a woo a falcon, which is a very dangerous action for him to take. The pigeon is in active danger of (at the very least) annoying the bird of prey into striking at him. I believe that @is-the-pigeon-ok has discussed a similar video before as well.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

actually a question is if theres any good dove rehabbers or other such organizations that you could pay to have a small pair of doves on display for a short part of a wedding, before being handed back over and given high value treats? i think having a cute little themed display atrium (easily modifiable to connect to others) that then gets kept by the dove keepers would be nice, especially because then over time they end up with a bunch of various colors and themes.

Not that I know of, but a safe, comfortable display would be a great alternative to releases.

I've honestly thought about offering exactly that service a few times locally, but honestly don't have time to develop the kind of display I would want to use.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

As a New Yorker I want you to know that you and the other lovely people on this website have made me want to go outside my apt and pick up a free pet because they are GOOD BABIES and they need homes!!

They are and they do!

If initial hospitalization bills are more than you can manage, you can adopt birds who have been fully vetted from rescues too.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Can i just ask questions about pigeons unrelated to a video?

I prefer those be asked at my care blog @theramseyloft .

Media asks are pretty easy to analyze and knock out on mobile, but history, care, and rescue asks take more time and access to materials I don't have on my phone.

So this blog was meant to be the relatively short form one that I answer on the go, and the other one is for things that require either more details, or access to my own visual media files for reference.

If your question is time sensitive, you can call or text me at 796-993-7452.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

"pigeons are rats with wings"

Oh you mean they're adorable and wiggly and Very Intelligent and shockingly clean animals?

Yes!

But in all seriousness, that was literally a smear campaign run by NY city parks commissioner Thomas and popularized by Woody Allen so that Commissioner Thomas could kill the central park pigeons he blamed for damaging the land scaping without any backlash from the public.

He made them scary by insinuating that they were able to spread disease even more effectively than rats because it came from above and they were so common that there was no escape from it, and eradicating them was framed as a matter of public health.

It was very intentional and very carefully planned.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

What's the difference between pidgeons & doves? I always thought doves were just white pidgeons bred for special occasions?

Yes, and no.

When I talk about pigeons and doves, I am talking about the two different domestic species: Columba livia, and Streptopelia risoria.

Taxonomically, the terms Pigeon and Dove are interchangeable.

Any Columbid bird is a dove by default, with larger, stockier species being referred to as a pigeon.

Colloquially, Domestic racing and fantail pigeons, specifically, are Pigeons if they have any pigment, and Doves if they don't.

They are differentiated this way when no other breed is because these are the two breeds traditionally used in wedding release and display.

The word "Pigeon" is a relatively new one, and it stems from the domesticated Columba livia.

The modern word Pigeon is from the old French word pijon, which derived from the latin pipio/pipion: an onomatopoeia for the peeping of baby birds, particularly columbids.

So the name for this domestic bird is "Little Peep" by telephone game across three languages.

We've literally had Pigeons as long as we've had stationary settlements.

The other species have different names in their local people's native tongues.

So every other big, stocky columbid named by a European taxonomist was named for its similarly with the stocky build bred into the domestic pigeon.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Btw I should clarify (I'm the stress lay anon): I didn't send the ask because there's a pigeon where I am that needs assistance, I was just browsing through your blog and saw the post where you rated that "pigeons are shit at making nests" post

Thank you for that clarification.

I would have been very alarmed without it.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Is there something that can be done to save a hen when she stress lays? Or are those lost causes, and the hen dies from exertion/malnutrition regardless of whether she gets urgent care or not?

Feed her!

Providing food and especially calcium is the most important thing you can do to help her recover.

She is very likely to suffer without help, but she is not by any stretch a lost cause.

Minimizing suffering and ensuring she will recover fast enough to manage the baby if it hatches really is as simple as getting calories and calcium into her.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Hello! I want to start feeding my local flock, but I know pigeons can only eat seeds, and I'm a bit worried I'll accidentally not provide something with much nutritional value and end up hurting more than helping. Do you have any seed blend recipes? Is it okay to get supplies for pigeon feed at the grocery store (like stuff sold as human food), or is it better to get specific, already blended feed from a pet store/site? Sorry if this is a dumb question! Very new to all of this ^^ thank you for your blog

My own pet birds get Versele Laga classic pigeon blend 15% no corn from Chewy, and our loval ferals get their leftovers.

(The Ramsey Flock is vaccinated and wormed regularly, and we adhere to a strict quarantine policy for new birds, so there is no contamination risk between the breeding flock and the ferals.)

For stuff you can get from a quick shopping trip, cheap wild bird seed (not the expensive fruit and nuts kinds.) is a good base that you can mix field peas, split green peas, and legumes into for a good well rounded seed blend your ferals will really benefit from.

[is-the-pigeon-ok]

Basically.

Some cities have ordinances against it, so check those, but pigeons are domestic livestock that are better off in human care.

Would it be okay to take a city pigeon home

Yes, but be patient with the bird, and prepared for some vet bills.

The pigeon will very likely have learned that people will go out of their way to hurt it for no reason it can discern.

That's a very good reason to be scared of you.

And most of them are full of parasites that you will need to treat.

The easiest pigeons to catch are generally going to either be downed nestlings, or sick or injured adults.

So a vet visit will be necessary.

Ask for a throat swab to check for Trich and Thrush, and a fecal for worms, giardia (a bird specific species that can't survive in you), and coccidia.