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#choanal slit
flock-talk · 10 months
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Accidental choanal slit shot
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plugmains · 1 year
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Charge syndrome
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#Charge syndrome skin#
#Charge syndrome skin#
As well as, rhombencephalic abnormalities, hypothalamo-hypophyseal dysfunction, external/middle ear malformations, mediastinal visceral malformations, and mental retardation.ĭental malocclusion, Deep palmar crease, Delayed puberty, Malar flattening, Delayed eruption of teeth, Brachydactyly, Clinodactyly of the 5th finger, Broad columella, Chorioretinal coloboma, Anophthalmia, Cleft upper lip, Retinal detachment, Epicanthus, Split hand, Esophageal atresia, Cupped ear, Dandy-Walker malformation, Cryptorchidism, Dysphagia, Duodenal atresia, Downslanted palpebral fissures, Double outlet right ventricle, Facial palsy, Facial asymmetry, Feeding difficulties in infancy, External ear malformation, Posterior choanal atresia, Overfolded helix, Hand polydactyly, Nystagmus, Obsessive-compulsive behavior, Optic atrophy, Renal hypoplasia, Omphalocele, Preaxial hand polydactyly, Autosomal dominant inheritance, Parathyroid hypoplasia, Preauricular skin tag, Otitis media, Patent ductus arteriosus, Sinusitis, Retinal coloboma, Retinopathy, Renal agenesis, Webbed neck, Vesicoureteral reflux, Aplasia/Hypoplasia of the earlobes, Aplasia/Hypoplasia of the corpus callosum, Aplasia/Hypoplasia of the cerĬHARGE syndrome is a complex genetic disorder caused by heterozygous pathogenic CHD7 variants (most often private, truncating), which are usually de novo but can be inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. Other symptoms may include a cleft palate, issues with balance, kidney health concerns and intellectual disability. Physical features of the syndrome include asymmetrical facial palsy, short and wide ears with little or no earlobe, small thumbs and fingers, and upper body hypotonia. The main symptoms of the syndrome, and from which the syndrome derives its name, are:Ĭoloboma: a slit in the iris or retina that may lead to vision lossĬranial nerve abnormalities: issues with the connection between the nose and throatĬhoanal Atresia: a blockage in the back of an individual’s nose that can make breathing difficult. What are the main symptoms of CHARGE syndrome?
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theramseyloft · 2 years
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Kerry’s Necropsy report
Kerry’s cause of death was tracheal obstruction caused by the protozoan parasite Trichomonas gallinae forming a biofilm in the trachea.
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Ventral view
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Dorsal view
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Wing anatomy detail.
Pigeon skin is so thin that it’s transparent.
You actually are seeing muscle and bone through the skin here.
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Torso and limbs detail, ventral views
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Fully plucked, dorsal view, left side
You can see how severely inflamed the neck is on this side.
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Dorsal view, right side
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Ventral view, showing muscle condition and full crop.
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As close to fully skinned as I could get.
The muscle tone is excellent. 
He has not had time to lose much in the way of body condition.
He didn’t have any trouble eating until his last day.
If you look closely at his crop, you can see the first inkling of his actual cause of death.
That yellowish slime should not be there.
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The view down his gullet into his chest cavity
You can see the trich biofilm pretty clearly.
All that tissue should be pink or transparent.
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Choanal slit completely blocked.
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Patch under his tongue.
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Look at his poor fucking glotis...
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You can see an obstruction in his trachea.
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And sure enough, here is the biofilm.
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Flight apparatus removed to expose the body cavity.
Birds do not have a diaphragm.
The heart is a normal degree of pale for a 2 day old body stored on its back.
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The liver is a little mottled, but this is, again, a two day old body.
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Left lung
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Right Lung
It’s more pronounced in the left lung, but both are eaten up with biofilm so thick it’s visible to the naked eye.
Mortality was through suffocation.
Poor boy’s lungs were full of slime, and his trachea was completely blocked by it.
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Organ detail
Liver, Gizzard, large intestine, stomach, and absolutely massive kidneys.
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You can actually see his tiny vestigial cecum in this photo. The tiny pink blob a little less than half way along that vaguely olive green section of intestine.
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raptorsandpoultry · 3 years
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Do you have any more info on choanal papillae? Specifically, pics of healthy vs unhealthy would be awesome! I haven't had any luck just googling it :/
Yes! (I am s l o w so for those of you who aren't familiar, this was in response to a post I reblogged many weeks back, so here's a quick little intro):
When avian veterinarians examine a bird's mouth, there is a slit-shaped opening in the roof of the mouth called a choana, and it connects the nasal and oral cavities. Mammals have one as well, but it's mainly in birds that this opening is narrow and slit-like, as opposed to wide and rounded. Bird choanae have small serrations on either side called choanal papillae, and blunting or shortening of these is a sign of vitamin A deficiency due to an improper diet. Not all species will have very obvious choanal papillae, however! For example, most pigeons have naturally short/barely visible choanal papillae, and that's completely normal.
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Some healthy lookin pointy bois (Photo from Hagen Avicultural Research Institute)
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Pointy bois have mostly disappeared in this birb, likely because they were fed too much seeb (Photo from avianmedicine.net)
Hope this helps, thanks for the ask (and for the long wait sdfkljalsfzkd)!
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karri-on · 3 years
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I'm in the unfortunate situation where I and my husband have developed sensitivity to the pigeon dust - especially my husband - and we need to rehome our pigeons Lyric and Melody for the sake of our health. Lyric was hatched at the Ramsey Loft, while Melody is a former racing pigeon. Lyric has long since gotten over his fear of hands, and is a friendly and amiable bird to have around. He is fine getting picked up and likes to sit on shoulders and heads, but isn't fond of being petted. His favorite toys are mirrors and bells. He's not particularly food motivated but learns quickly with positive verbal feedback. He knows not to land on couches unless there's a blanket, and will usually come if you say "come here" and scratch with one finger where you want him to land. He has an overly wide choanal slit which allows millet into his sinuses, and should have a millet-free diet.  Melody is a 3-year old former racing hen. She's not comfortable being grabbed and wary around hands, but is very food motivated (will eat treats out of hands) and fine with people being nearby. She likes to be around other birds and prefers to be out all day. She would rather die than eat a single sorghum seed. She knows about bedtime and will hop into her cage when Lyric is put away, and when I say "Okay, it's time for bed" or "time to go home."  Lyric and Melody are friends but not mated, and I would be fine rehoming them to two different homes, or together. Lyric is human-friendly enough that I think he should have an indoor home, but I think Melody would be happy in a loft as well.  I'm located in the San Francisco Bay Area, but happy to drive up to 4 hours or to ship. I just want to find them good homes to land in. Please contact me if you or someone you know are interested in a lovely, intelligent bird companion!
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itsdetachable · 2 years
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Kora is displeased BUT we are happy, she is healthy again! No weird noises in the lungs, no bloody choanal slit, no coughing, heartbeat is good, vet says she is looking very good!
Of course she's being a menace and trying to escape her carrier even though I have it covered. Kora please chill >_<
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celticfeather · 4 years
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Chpt 1 Here
Chapter 7: Yatagarasu
-Uchiha Itachi-
Itachi dragged his thumb through the blood and smeared it to a pattern on the dirt. Smoke overtook the scent of blood, and he saw soft light gently reflect on scaled black claws. Itachi did not know if he could trust his partner to help him, but the alternative was death.
"Bring me Kisame."
The four-spiked eye of a martyr blinked animally, and the toothy choanal slit inside its beak separated the fading light as his messenger cawed its obedience. Air and dust from the downstroke puffed against his face, and Itachi was terrifyingly, relievingly, alone.
Itachi focused on breathing. In and out, like the waves on the sand of the mangrove shore. He wanted to cough, but some still-reptile part of his brain advised him that was unwise. The vibrant world of the sharingan had faded in the sad colors and weak detail of an ordinary human eye, and then to something less than that. Itachi did not know if he closed his eyes, he did not know how blind he was, some things he saw from multiple angles at once... He drew gentle swirls with his fingers in the mud. Tiny Vs like rising crows, no, they were gills, three tight chevrons next to esurient silver eyes. Why was there mud beneath him? The summer was hot and dry.
He could see a dead weasel on the ground next to him. A convocation of crows gathered in an impatient funeral. With plunging swordlike beaks they tore out the weasel's tongue. They raised its tiny black eyes, tender as berries, and the nerves slithered down their throats. A crow hopped over the corpse's ribs, it had three legs. They tore open Itachi's chest and bore into his heart and all was hot and red, and then, nothing.
He heard a hiss. Samehada, no, heal him damn you!
He felt wind on his face, and his head swung dizzily, though he didn't remember telling his legs to move. The being who smelled of ocean's salt took him somewhere; its humid scent was unfamiliar to him.
Two strange tall birds looked at him. One was orange with violet eyes and the other was violet with orange eyes.
"He needs a healer," the breath of salt sailed to the violet bird.
"I'm a sensory ninja. Not a medic. But there's a doctor in a village nearby."
The world shifted as the ocean bowed. "I'm sorry for assuming."
Shivering steel chilled Itachi's wet skin. A bee stung him on the arm. Someone gave him a glass of orange juice with a straw. It was sweet, tangy and delicious, bright as an orange blossom on a mud puddle. His attention drew to this glass of juice, and his surroundings sharpened. He became aware of a stranger in a white coat in the background.
"The IV will ease the desanguination. However, proceeding further has drawbacks..."
"Like what?" the ocean voice said.
Itachi was out of orange juice. He tried to get the doctor's attention, but he was busy. A blue hand gave him another juice. What a kind hand.
"Chakra-healing him will cause permanent scar tissue damage in his chest cavity. If we go through with this, he could have endurance problems for the rest of his life."
"And if you do nothing?"
"The internal bleeding will rot his organs, and in two days, sepsis will kill him."
"Please do all you can."
The doctor placed his cold hands on Itachi's bare chest. He felt he should have shivered, or flinched, but his body would no longer respond to its nervous impulses. A pulsing like ripples on a puddle spread across his body. It warmed his limbs like alcohol but dispelled the delirium like icewater.
Itachi coughed the blood clot that previously must have held his lungs together. The doctor grimaced.
"Excuse me," Itachi apologized through bloody teeth, looking up at an unfamiliar doctor from the red soaked towel.
The doctor's eyes traced to the medical-waste bin adjacent the chair, and Itachi deposited the towel there.
"How do you feel?" the doctor asked.
Itachi did not feel like answering. He looked instead at the two other menacing individuals in the room with him.
"You are, as usual, praised for your discretion," Konan, the violet crane, told the doctor in what was both thanks and a threat. She drew a black velvet pouch from her robe and paid him in gold coins. It seemed Konan at least was unconstrained by Kakuzu's budget. The pleased doctor accepted the gold without concern.
Itachi examined the treatment room. The equipment was modern, but it was on the ground floor of an ordinary building, with mud walls, and a glassless sunny window. Konan and Kisame stood backlit. He had thought he'd seen Pain, but their leader had not accompanied them to the doctor if he had been there at all. Itachi was not sure what he had imagined of the last hours and what was real. In as subtle a way as he could, he pressed his fingertips over his own eyelids, his tongue against his palette, to make sure they were real. That no crows had picked them out.
He looked at Kisame, his silver eyes were like cautious mirrors. In front of this doctor and Konan, Kisame's expression maintained a perfect mask of normality. Itachi was tempted to probe his thoughts, cast aside the flimsy tin shields guarding the man's mind and dive beneath. He could do it, but he didn't.
The three Akatsuki exited the building. Konan, tall for a woman at his height, walked on his right side with Kisame on his left. Her amber eyes slid to Itachi with aloof concern. "Who did this?"
"Anbu got a hit in while we slept. We took care of them," Kisame answered for him.
"It happens. Have someone professional clean your robes," she advised. She gave them each a gold coin. Little did she know they were already loaded with stolen cash. But they took the gold anyway.
She flared her angular paper wings, and Konan left the fire and water pair to their devices.
"Do we stink?" Itachi asked, turning the gold coin.
"Yes. Well, you do. I can't smell me."
The chakra healing left Itachi feeling disquietingly whole, minus a tightness in his chest. It had been since his Leaf Village days that he received effective treatment. The closest the Akatsuki pack of killers had to a field medic was Kakuzu, and well… fortunately Itachi had never needed his reattachment specialty. Or Sasori, who after a battle might aloofly recommend a certain plant. 'A purple mountain bloom with heart shaped leaves, but chew only its roots, for the pistil metabolizes a stealthy toxin when combined with hydrochloric acid…'
A stealthy toxin.
Kisame gave him a wary, perhaps expectant, side eye as the two men walked silently abreast.
"A question for you, Kisame."
"Yes?"
"You do understand, entrapping me would not be wise for your health," Itachi warned, eyes straight forward.
"You think I set you up."
"I entertain the possibility. You repeatedly asked me about the Infinite Tsukuyomi, interrogated me on the whisper of disagreement, and Zetsu reported it to Madara."
A daring smile. Kisame halted on the path. "Why don't you just look in my head and find out?"
Itachi used no genjutsu on Kisame. When he didn't, Kisame spoke.
"When you disappeared from that orchard, I imagined you and our leader had some Uchiha secrets to discuss. Or you pissed him off. That raven of yours found me, and with one look at your sorry carcass, I knew that you definitely pissed him off.
"But, if Madara wanted you dead, I would not have been able to help you."
Kisame's statement did not exactly exonerate him of double play. Obviously Madara had still had a use for Itachi in letting him live, and therefore Kisame would be instructed to treat him. But it did explain Kisame's train of thought. He believed Kisame was innocent of conducting any purposeful snare against him, for now. Perhaps in asking his questions, the wandering Kisame had just been curious on his worldview. And Itachi realized, he wanted to investigate his partner's principles as well.
"What happened after Madara took you?" Kisame asked.
"Madara used his ability to teleport me somewhere, through some other dimension. We exchanged words, then blows. When he let me live, I vowed my hatred."
"Hopefully he'll credit your rudeness to you being delirious from pain," Kisame continued. "Otherwise, you've got a problem on your hands."
Somehow Kisame's chastation relieved him.
"I know," Itachi agreed. "You need not worry about me. I'll hunt this beast of his — I would prefer not to die."
A short, sure laugh from Kisame.
Itachi's contract with Madara stood: the Leaf would be safe from him as long as he fell in the Akatsuki line. And Itachi would do whatever it took to serve the Will of Fire. Itachi was, for better or for worse, a master of small evils.
"In my hallucinations, I saw the three-legged crow, Yatagarasu. In the myth of my country, he heralds the emergence of gods," Itachi said.
"You've got some weird religion in the Leaf," Kisame dismissed.
"What is the folk religion in the Mist?" Itachi asked.
"Our elders say the world was born on the back of a giant turtle. And when that turtle dies, the world will sink back into the sea."
"So you learn how to swim," Itachi noted.
"I'm not saying I believe in giant turtle gods."
"What does Hoshigaki Kisame believe in then?"
A grunt, apparently.
Kisame was a being on the hunt, the hunt for some sort of belief system. He sought belonging in serving something greater than himself. So he attached himself to Akatsuki and the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Without it Kisame had no purpose and no self.
No, that last part was false.
"Thank you for helping me," Itachi said. "I apologize for accusing you of betraying me."
Kisame looked away from him and said, "Not a problem."
Itachi viewed the sky with his Sharingan. He searched for the ultraviolet aurora of the earth's magnetic field. Perhaps in a peaceful century, the Uchiha clan would reveal to scientists that this was the mystery of how birds migrated: they could see these magnetic, purplish, static in the sky that indicated latitude and north. But Itachi's ancestors taught him early to never reveal exactly how the Sharingan worked to outsiders. The magnetic field hazed in a weak aurora far to the northern horizon, indicating that they were further south than previously.
"Where exactly are we?" Itachi asked.
"Can you smell it? Land of Tea," Kisame answered.
An idea germinated in Itachi. It would be on the way. He thought of banished Susanoo, who wandering earth after his crimes, found his greatest weapon, his Totsuka Blade, in the belly of a giant serpent he had slain.
"I would like to speak with someone here."
"Never took you for one good at making friends."
"I'm not."
"Anything I should know about them?"
"If he licks you… bite him."
Kisame, expression amused, gestured for Itachi to lead the way.
In a few hours, the two dangerous men had arrived in an equally dangerous place.
With his Sharingan, Itachi noticed a small camouflaged snake emerge from a crack, flick its tongue, and recede. He was unsure if his target would answer his summons but it was worth trying. No, he would be answered. This man's greatest sin was curiosity. He would not be able to resist wondering why Uchiha Itachi was on his doorstep, even if it killed him.
The stonework hidden under the jungle vines began to tremble. Itachi had not seen this individual since their last clash in the Akatsuki. Itachi had paralyzed him with a glance and struck his body full of rods. He had not even needed the Tsukuyomi.
A slender white-skinned demon stepped from the revealed earthen cave. His venom-smooth androgynous voice coursed unruffled to the two ninja.
"The young crow approaches the snake at its den. Not how I expected your revenge, Itachi."
"If I wanted you dead, I would have done it already," Itachi commanded.
Orochimaru, somewhat more diplomatic than Itachi, narrowed his eyes. An uneasy wind blew between the two Leaf Rogues as Orochimaru waited for more information. Itachi was too merciless to speak twice.
"Orochimaru of the Sanin," Kisame broke the silence, stretching his lips over his teeth and maintaining eye contact in something between a greeting and a threat. "Good to meet you at last."
"And who are you?" the Sanin returned.
"Hoshigaki Kisame, formerly of the Hidden Mist. A pleasure."
"Mhm," Orochimaru hummed smug as a song, and his vertical pupils traced back to his main interest. The question was an insult: the most knowledgeable being in the five nations surely already knew who Hoshigaki Kisame was.
"I require information," Itachi said. He had reserved fatal judgement on Orochimaru at their last encounter in hopes that this Sanin's talents could be subverted. And one way or another, Itachi would collect his debts.
"Concerning?"
"Forbidden jutsu."
A sly, approving, perhaps flirtatious noise. "You know who to ask."
Orochimaru headed into his dark den, exposing his back in a gesture Itachi found coquette and arrogant. Orochimaru turned his head for Itachi to follow, and paced forward into the darkness. Kisame made eye contact with Itachi, sensing the matter was far more personal than it seemed. Perhaps Kisame's pause confirmed that he was welcome.
"Come," Itachi said. They needed to get away from where Zetsu could see them. And, he could use an ally's eyes in a house of the enemy. Itachi was not arrogant enough to think he was above being outsmarted by an Orochimaru with years to ruminate against him.
Like down the esophagus of a snake, the two rogues walked an earthen corridor after Orochimaru. Flaming sconces gleamed green on modern scientific equipment, and animal specimens lined the walls in glass jars. The jars contained mostly reptiles, but Kisame looked at a shark pup and a crow, and back at Itachi.
In the belly of his lair, Orochimaru halted before a green flaming hearth in a great stone hall. Library halls of tomes and scrolls stretched behind him. He faced Itachi with the flames at his back.
"How truly desperate you must be to come to me for wisdom, Itachi. However… my knowledge has a price."
Itachi did not come to trade.
"I've come to reap your debt. Your cooperation is wholly optional." Itachi's Sharingan spinned Mangekyou.
The fire at the hearth extinguished and it was completely, disorientingly black. Itachi and Kisame were blind. Itachi could not use his genjutsu without light. But he knew snakes could sense heat signatures as precisely as an eye could light. He felt Kisame tense next to him, and his arm reach for Samehada.
Stay calm, Itachi thought at Kisame. He would feel it in his body.
"There's no need for that," Orochimaru deescalated from the darkness. Apparently he had changed his mind on the payment.
"Good," Itachi maintained curtly. "We will continue this discussion in the light."
The green fire returned. Samehada slid back into its hilt. Itachi's eyes retracted to their normal red.
"So," Orochimaru said.
"Tell me all you know about the Second Hokage's instant transportation technique."
An amused purr. "Teleportation. My, my, who has got you on the run, Itachi?"
"We've got places to be," Kisame maintained. The Mist ninja was right.
Itachi cared little about being on time for their next mission in the Land of Rivers. But he had to conceal the exact target of his question from both Kisame and Orochimaru. Madara had no doubt used something related to the Second Hokage's technique for his dimension-hopping. And until Itachi had a way to bind Madara to this plane, Itachi knew he would lose their next fight.
"As much as I respect the Second, it was the young Fourth who was the true master of space-time techniques," Orochimaru said, stepping towards his library.
"I understand. The Flying Thunder-God technique gained the Yellow Flash a run-on-sight order from the enemy alliance, and created the illusion that he was in multiple places at once."
"You are not completely uneducated," Orochimaru pulled a scroll from the wall.
"I would also like to know how to disable it."
Orochimaru paused. "You mean, how an enemy could theoretically stop the Fourth from transporting himself."
"Yes."
"There is some research into this."
"By who?"
Orochimaru pulled a second scroll. "Minato himself. However, Minato's research went incomplete. It involved a sealing jutsu currently unreplicatable."
Orochimaru opened the scroll to Itachi. On it was written a simple character in a brownish ink.
"Human blood," Itachi noted. Aged.
"Minato's blood, specifically. Unfortunately, as you know, Namikaze Minato has been a corpse for thirteen years."
"There must be another way," Itachi said.
Orochimaru closed the scroll. "You could ask him."
"Make no jokes, or worse, threats, Orochimaru," Itachi warned.
Orochimaru dipped his sly head without submission. "I apologize."
Itachi examined Minato's blood scroll. "Are these two all you have on the transportation subject?"
"All that would be of succinct use to you."
Itachi turned the scroll in his hand. He would keep them both for study. Orochimaru was too wise to comment or object.
"We'll be taking our leave now." Itachi said.
"A moment."
Orochimaru presented Itachi with a snake's egg. It was rubbery and pill shaped, rather than hard and tear-drop shaped like a bird's.
"If you need to come here again, do be polite and use this."
Fair chance Itachi would awake to a snake hatchling poisoning him in his sleep, or find himself strapped on the demon's dissection table when activating it. But Itachi accepted the egg anyway. Same as the original Orochimaru, it could be researched, repurposed, or destroyed.
Itachi walked out of Orochimaru's lair, the two scrolls under his arm, purposefully slow and dominant. Then he and Kisame ran briefly in the daylight trees, not wanting to dwell in Orochimaru's territory, and slowed again to a walk when they thought themselves far enough from any possible backstabbing. Kisame extended the first of the two scrolls before him.
"'Mark the jutsu formula on the target...' how are we supposed to use this? We can't teleport ourselves to this country if we've never been there before."
"Indeed we cannot," Itachi said.
"Well!" Kisame closed the scroll with unusual enthusiasm. "Too bad your transportation idea didn't work. I suppose we'll have to travel to the Land of Rivers my way."
As he spoke, Kisame looked through the jungle trees at the emerging ocean.
Your way? Itachi battled a sinking premonition. "Does it involve giant sharks?"
"No."
Good.
"Just one question for you, Itachi."
"Yes?"
"Have you ever taken over a ship before?"
Author's note:
Aaand next up is chapter 8, the KisaIta zany sea adventure!
Many thanks to beta SilverLion for her help reviewing this chapter!
Thank you readers for being patient with this chapter. I had an especially difficult time navigating current world events and I had to leave my home. But it's important to weaponize your creativity when you're stuck in the unknown. Please share this story with your friends if you like it, and let me know what you think :D
Steadfast,
Kelto
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woe-eroa · 4 years
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Don’t Tread on Me — Prince Bush
Among cacti and scorching sun of struggle, Your tongue’s supple set of muscles, Papillae, slightly white matt springs Up from underneath—all this work To mumble the wrong thing—a rattlesnake, Courageous with venom, hisses. I skewer The choanal slit and glottis, my right- And left-wing distractions, poison Leaking down my Red-tailed-Hawk beak, Claws clutching the plate of the snake’s Small head; I snatched your license plate With my bare, black talons, as a matter of fact, I searched the whole parking lot after, still Peckish and piggish. The Red-tailed Hawk Has excellent eyesight, ergo I left with five Metal slabs of yellow rust—hunting so much With a raspy, screeching call to find more.
__________________
Prince Bush is a poet in Nashville, TN with poetry in Cincinnati Review, Cotton Xenomorph, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Pleiades: Literature in Context, SOFTBLOW, and elsewhere. He was a 2019 Bucknell Seminar for Undergraduate Poets Fellow.
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mellifexfarm · 6 years
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persi showing off her choanal slit
gross!
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flock-talk · 9 months
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Some choanal papillae for you
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flock-talk · 10 months
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my various attempts at getting a shot of the inside of his mouth
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flock-talk · 3 years
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Hi, Can you tell me what does it mean when a bird stretches it's neck up, and opens it's mouth wide almost like they are yawning, but they really aren't? I catch my bird doing this sometimes. I find this mostly after it has been preening.
Usually it’s adjusting their crop (shifting food around so it sits better/ digests properly), it can also be similar to when you need to pop your ears, the stretching/ yawning helps “pop” them. It’s possible they’ve got some sheathe or feather bits in the back of their throat or touching the choanal slit that’s causing them to need to yawn/ stretch if it’s exclusively happening after preening.
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theramseyloft · 3 years
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Trichomonas gallinae from Pigeons to Raptors
I talk a lot about why feral pigeons should be treated like stray dogs in other posts, from the perspective of them being being a species as purely domesticated as Dogs, which can’t survive away from humans.
They should not be clogging up wildlife rehabs, whose resources should be reserved exclusively for the native wildlife for which they were set up.
(Not one sane person would advocate releasing stray dogs among rehabbed wolves or coyotes, no matter how many generations of them had been born in that alley.)
There is no benefit to releasing feral pigeons “back into the wild”.
Certainly not for the pigeons... who are exclusively dependent on human hand outs or garbage for food and building to roost and nest.
Not for the people, who are generally disgusted by the byproduct of sick, hungry ferals, which does serious structural damage because of the high uric acid content of feces from birds who have not been able to get enough to eat.
Not even for their predators.
Because of the way their medical care is traditionally handled, lost pigeons and their feral decedents are unsafe for predatory birds to eat.
As stated in the previous post, Performing breed breeders and fliers go one of two ways regarding birds with any symptoms of illness:
Either
1. They don’t waste money on treating a sick a sick bird. If it’s sick enough to affect its performance, that specific one is just killed.
Or
2. They use a fraction of the dose of the meds designed to treat an actively symptomatic bird as a monthly “preventive” for the entire flock.
Killing off a bird that’s symptomatic doesn’t mean the other birds in that loft and flying from it don’t have that pathogen.
It just means that they aren’t showing symptoms.
Aaaand using small doses of a treatment as a monthly “preventive” would have any one anywhere near the fields of pathology and epedimiology tearing their hair out in horrified frustration...
Because that is praaactically step by step instructions in how to build up a pathogen’s immunity to a treatment.
Whish brings us to this heinous little bastard;
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which causes Trichomoniasis; Trich/canker/frounce.
Trichomonas gallinae eats epithelial cells lining the sinus, crop, and trachea, and forms plaques that make it very difficult for meds to get to as a defense mechanism against the immune system of its host.
Individuals are highly motile, moving with three sets of flagella.
Making it very easy to go septic.
There are three ways this parasite spreads:
1. Mouth to mouth feeding between mates or from parent to nestling.
(By far the most common in columbids)
2. Eating seeds thrown up by a starving late stage bird who physically can’t swallow them
(A common way to transmit it to song birds)
3. Eating an infected prey bird.
Pretty much any bird can catch and transmit the protozoan parasite Trichomonas gallinae, which causes Trichomoniasis; Trich/canker/frounce.
But most wild birds die from it very quickly, leaving it only a brief opportunity to spread to a new host.
What makes the feral descendants of racers and other performance breeds of domestic pigeon in particular especially dangerous carriers to raptors is their high immunity to it.
While a pigeon would have to have an active infection to spread trich to song bird (via vomited seed), an infected pigeon doesn’t have to be symptomatic to spread the parasite to a raptor, who is exposed directly by eating them in bite-sized pieces.
I have purchased birds from grand champion show breeders who looked to be in perfect health on arrival...
But their throats were swarming with Trich when swabbed. (part of my standard quarantine procedure)
Nearly every feral that’s entered our program through rescue has had a crop load of Trich, but were completely asymptomatic on arrival.
A raptor that had eaten one of these birds that was “healthy” by all appearances would still have sickened from it and died with out immediate veterinary intervention.
Our livestock doesn't exist in a bubble.
What we do (or don’t do) with our domesticated animals has consequences.
And when your biosecurity is nonexistent, and you either half ass treatment of a pathogen or don’t bother to treat at all, outbreaks are inevitable, and devastating to outside populations.
Pigeon fanciers talk about Canker like it’s nothing. Pop one pill and it’s done.
But this parasite is devastating.
And the way it’s treated by fanciers practically guarantees a fast track to developing drug resistance.
Domestic Pigeons left “in the wild” or “returned” to it not only have no beneficial niche to fill and no way to keep themselves fed,
They act as a reservoir for increasingly resistant pathogens practically engineered by the half-assed veterinary care of the fliers who provide a constant stream of new blood as racers and other performance breeds are lost from races or tosses or separated from kits.
Because of this, as much as the moral issue of having abandoned them in the first place, feral pigeons should not be ignored.
It is possible to drastically reduce their numbers with out any inhumane measures.
Taubbenhouses, comfortable shelters where nest boxes, feed, and water are provided, and any eggs laid are swapped for fakes, work wonders for population control.
With out injections, trapping, or poison, the reproductive rates of feral populations where this strategy was employed decreased by 95%.
Imagine combining that with better veterinary care for pigeons who belong to fanciers...
Maybe we could avoid...
This.
(Graphic photos under the cut)
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This pigeon died of Trich.
By the look of it, those plaques went straight to its lungs...
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This wood pigeon's entire throat was blocked.
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Here is a septic pigeon (three and a half weeks old or so), with lesions all the way down its digestive tract.
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Another septic pigeon (adult), with lesions all over its liver and even laced into its muscle tissue.
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This is what happens when a hawk eats a pigeon with resistant trich.
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This owl probably wasn’t able to swallow around that lesion 
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This falcon chick (in particular danger due to falcons primarily preying on other birds) won’t be able to swallow soon.
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This owl's choanal slit, glottis, and esophagus have been completely blocked off.
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This peregrine (post-op) was lucky to have survived.
From the article ( http://www.shropshireperegrines.co.uk/news/news.html ):
“June 2014 - Peregrine chick treated for Trichomonas Gallinae
Two young peregrines, one male and one female, have been recovered in a distressed state from a scrape in north Shropshire by members of the Group and taken for treatment at the Cuan Wildlife Rescue Centre at Much Wenlock.
On examination both birds were diagnosed with "trichomonias gallinae", an infection affecting the birds' mouths, throat and eyes. According to the vet who examined the birds, the infection had most probably occurred by eating infected pigeon meat. Unfortunately the female chick did not survive.”
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theramseyloft · 3 years
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Chinese owl, modena, fairy swallow, fantail, jacobin, and jiennese ?
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Chinese Owls are one of the components of our temperament project!
Structurally, these little guys are just lots of fluffy embellishments over a very upright bird that is perfectly bird shaped and well balanced.
Healthy individuals are muscular and stocky, and shockingly strong!
But for the love of all that’s holy, watch your blood lines!
I’ve had individuals with wonky choanal slits that got seeds stuck in their sinuses, one who wasted away of god knows what, and one whose lungs calcified into paper mache and popped!
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Modena are heavy breasted, bent-spined back pain incarnate.
They are affectionately referred to by their breeders as the Rottweilers of the pigeon world for their foul temper, which appears to be entirely discomfort driven.
They can barely fly and hate to walk because their breast is so large that it’s hard to stay upright, like a production broiler if if it were bred with that giant breast exclusively for the look.
When they lean to eat, they often lose their balance and stumble.
Just a mess of a bird.
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Fairy Swallow
Overall pigeon shaped, but those muffs are way too big for comfortable locomotion.
These birds flop their feet like they are wearing clown shoes partially because they are so large as to be a tripping hazard, but mostly because the shafts of all those feathers come out from between the scales of their feet and are each thicker than the bones of their toes.
The sheer volume of them makes bearing weight on their feet tender.
Clean legged variants exist, and are perfectly sound.
They are just hell to find.
There are a lot of different fantail breeds, you are going to need to specify.
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The Jacobin is a train wreck.
It’s more flight, tail feathers, and mane than bird, so long that walking is a difficult shuffle and there is no way not to drag the tail and wings.
If you look closely, this bird is tripoded on its wing tips and tail.
The neck is fully as long as the birds’ actual torso and prone to collapsing into their shoulders with age.
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Show quality individual’s faces are not supposed to be visible.
Oooooohhhh my good lord, the  jiennese!
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This huge crop makes for a very deep coo...
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but I got two words for you...
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CROP ROT!
The crop is gravity fed into the esophagus, and the extra hanging down like a gross deflated sack will collect feed that just... ferments...
Whiiich can be fatal....
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theramseyloft · 4 years
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Are Frill, Owl and Figurita beaks short enough to cause breathing issues like brachycephalic dogs?
There are three separate breeds referred to as a “Frill”
And well over fifty Owl breeds, in which all of the Frills are included.
Figurita are also in the Owl family of breeds.
The Owl breeds are defined by their round heads, large eyes, and short beaks, making them varying degrees of brachycephalic by definition.
Whether or not they have breathing issues depends on how distorted their skulls and how short their beaks are.
For examples of the base line pigeon skull and beak length, Here are wild Columba livia subspecies:
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C. l. livia
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C. l. palaestinae
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C. l. targia
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C. l. dakhlae
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C. l. canariensis
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C. l. gymnocycla
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C. l. intermedia
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C. l. neglecta
Notice the fine, dove like facial features of the wild Columba livia subspecies.
Here are two separate localities of GA Feral
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Alex, a feral baby from Cobb County, Ga., is much more meaty with similar head structure.
This is the base line structure of a Pigeon’s head.
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Ankhou, a feral from Augusta Ga has a much shorter, rounder head.
Here are some performance breeds for further reference
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This was Wilson, a Racing homer; bred for marathon flights up to 500 miles in a race.
His beak is thicker than the wild rock doves’, and his head is smooth, making it very aerodynamic.
His wattle takes up more of his beak, and his nasal slits are long and wide, funneling air into their air sacs in flight.
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Apollo is a Birmingham Roller, a performance breed bred for aerial performances above their home loft.
These are also built for long periods of high energy flight, but they have nothing like the specializations for stamina bred into the homer.
Now here are an assortment of Owl breeds:
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Antonio is a Valencian Figurita, an exhibition bird bred for small size, very upright stance and a trapezoidal head.
Though smaller, the skull length is only slightly proportionally smaller. the beak is much smaller, though, with absolutely tiny nares.
They are over all well structurally balanced and not known for breathing problems.
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Chinese Owls have a proportionally normal head length, and one of the longest beaks among the owl breeds.
These are a low energy, not especially aerodynamic exhibition breeds that may struggle with thermoregulation in extreme temperatures (due to the chest, side, and cheek feathers growing in pretty much backwards), but not generally with the mechanics of breathing.
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Lucerne are another Owl breed with a long face and mid length beak.
Of the Owl breeds, this is one of the most structurally sound.
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This is the beak of a Classic Old Frill, considered to be poor quality. His head should be much more round, and his beak is too long and narrow.
This is the Frill breed with the longest beak.
While not especially prone to breathing problems, the combination of wide choanal slits (openings in the roof of the mouth through which air passes from their nasal opening) and narrow nasal slits can lead to small seeds like millet getting stuck in their nasal passages and causing inflammation that can be mistaken for an untreatable infection.
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This beakless, nearly noseless monstrosity is the Modern Orriental Frill.
This is pretty much an avian pug.
It can barely breathe or preen itself and is physically incapable of feeding its own young.
The Classic was bred as a return to form to the original breed standard for the Turkish Hunkari, from which both the Turbit and Mordern Oriental Frill descend.
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Old German Owls are probably the shortest an Owl Breed face and beak can get with out directly obstructing their air ways or physical capacity to feed young.
Astrid here has a shorter skull, but longer beak than the Modern Frill above.
These are a notoriously hardy little breed, like the Classic Old Frill and Lucerne.
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The African Owl Has no beak, barely a hint of a nose, and a skull so short and rounded that it nearly lacks jaws.
Like the Modern Frill, they struggle to breathe and preen themselves and feeding their peeps is physically impossible.
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theramseyloft · 4 years
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Hello! I'm mostly just asking since I've very curious and have a need for more information. I'm aware that probably everyone can raise any type of pigeon with enough research and an appropriate set up, but are there any breeds of pigeon you'd say are good for beginners? Are there any you'd say are better off with people with experience handling and raising pigeons instead?
There are definitely breeds that are good for beginners and breeds that are not.
It also depends on whether you are asking about good beginner breeds to breed, or to raise individuals of as companions.
I have my personal favorites because they are good starters for both.
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Racing Homers 
Are your basic all ‘rounders.
These are the most pigeon shaped of all purebreds; fit, mobile, muscular, and keenly intelligent, these have the least potential health problems and the longest expected life span. 
They are the average size, and take up a moderate amount of nest or enclosure space.
They are excellent breeders with high fertility and excellent parental instincts. They rarely have infertile clutches, set their eggs tight, and have very strong feeding responses.
These are probably the easiest to train because of their high intelligence, bold curiosity, and base line friendliness.
Rescue homers have usually seen some shit, and have learned to fear people because of it, but their high intelligence makes them probably the easiest breed to emotionally rehabilitate.
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Portuguese Tumbler
These are a tiny performance breed, but 
Because they are bred to perform, but nothing too extreme, so they are still very physically fit over all.
Their breed standard requires that their back toe lift off the ground in display posture.
Pigeons go into Display Posture when excited, and that three toed stance makes it hard to balance on skin or clothing, so ports are uncomfortable perching on people for long.
They are VERY friendly and curious, and really like people, but, because of their uncomfortable footing, they are not so much hold and cuddle birds as they are land on your shoulder, steal a kiss birds, and go play birds.
These are EXTREMELY prolific!!! Comfortable hens lay like machines and pairs tend to chain breed.
Babies tend to jump down very early, so watch peeps in a high nest box.
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Classic Old Frill
These charming members of the Owl family of breeds are my beloved favorite.
Smaller than homers, and slightly easier to house.
Being bred for exhibition instead of performance, they are less muscular and slightly less intelligent, but also less high energy.
COF are what I like to call the Total Pidge Package.
They are physically fit and well balanced with attractive, but minimal embellishments.
They have exceptionally sweet tempers, but they’re very bold, plucky, and just full of ‘tude.
They are an all around temperature hardy breed with excellent parental instincts.
They have earned an excellent reputation for tightly sitting on eggs and squeakers, and their breed standard specifies that their beak can never be allowed to get too short to easily feed their young.
They are excellent pumpers.
Some individuals have narrow nasal slits and wide choanal slits (the openings in the roof of their beak to their sinuses.). This can allow millet to get stuck in their sinus cavity.
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Lucerne Peak Crest
Have exactly the same embellishments as the Classic Old Frill; a peak crest and grouse muffs.
They are almost imperceptibly larger, and much more docile, but that docility can be a problem for breeders.
Some lines have peeps that are so quiet that they fail to trigger their parents’ feeding response.
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Show Type Racing Homer
Speaking of docile and sturdy, these are bigger than Racers, thicker muscled with tighter feathers, but they are bred for exhibition, not performance.
They are EXPENSIVE AF, though!
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Old German Owl
This is another of the Owl breeds. 
Smaller than the COF, with a similarly sweet expression and disposition to match.
These have no embellishments other than their darling bonnet of a shell crest.
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The Chinese Owl
Is a much more elaborately decorated owl breed.
You can see his stance in the photo is not that unlike the Old German.
His embellishments are all normal feathers whose growth orientation is upside down or sideways.
Temperament of these is similar to a gerbil’s; They either love people and are docile and highly treat motivated, or despise anything even vaguely human shaped with no in between.
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Old Dutch Capuchine
This gorgeous breed has a similar set of mutations to the Chinese Owl centered around their neck, building up to support the shell crest.
This breed has a reputation for tractability, but some lines can be very flighty.
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If you are up for housing something bigger, Frillbacks are a great option.
They are especially docile, even rivaling the Lucerne.
Full length muffs are painful, though, because each individual shaft is bigger around than the bones in their toes.
Clean legged or short muffed lines are hard to find, though, because only full length muffs can be shown.
I know a breeder that specializes in clean legged and grouse muffed frillbacks that I would be delighted to link you too.
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Voorburg Shield Cropper
Like the Frillback, these are a little hard to house inside because of their wing span. Which is exacerbated by their frankly ridiculous height.
 They are the only breed I know of whose show standard takes off points if they are not friendly and relaxed enough to try to woo the judges.
Voorbies are really fun to work with, especially since their version of aggression is more bumper cars than biting. 
Their globe swells up bigger than their beak is long, so drivy or aggressive cocks will just bounce off of you with out their beak getting close enough to actually succeed at biting.
They have to deflate a little to peck, and they have to be calm to do that, so if you have the space to house one, these are AMAZING for beginners.
My Therapy Pigeon project incorporates all of these because of their temperaments, physical fitness, and excellent parenting instincts.
I find blends incorporating two or more of these breeds to be even better for beginners than the pure forms, as most of them end up being the best of both worlds at least physically, if not both physically and temperamentally.
I apologize, but the two questions you’ve asked are very broad.
Some time tomorrow, I will continue with the fit breeds that require more experienced handlers in another post.
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