Catch The Pigeon...
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| The Rescued Pigeons |
what happened
Approximately eight weeks ago we rescued a
badly injured dove from a lady in Loughborough after it had been shot
with an air rifle. The lady owned a horse and it was kept at a yard
where a flock of pigeons was residing, the injured pigeon being one of
them. Unfortunately the pigeon was too badly injured and lost her fight
for life.
We arranged to take in and offer the remaining birds a home. The lady managed to convince the yard owner to stop the shooting
and allow us to capture the remaining birds. We attended two weeks ago
to assess the area and come up with a plan, then last night we returned
to catch them.
As it was
dark the pigeons had gone to roost in the top of the barn which made it
easier for us to locate them. Using a ladder we climbed into the hay
loft and began by locating nests. There were quite a few babies and eggs
including fertile ones. Once we had collected the squabs and fertile
eggs we began catching the adults and older youngsters. This involved a
lot of team work, with one person catching them using a net and the
other using a pole to push them from their perching areas. We managed to
catch 31 out of 34 that were roosting, as well as taking 7 babies and 9
fertile eggs. Unfortunately there were a few dead youngsters and adults
within the roosting area, some mummified, with one having dried blood
on the feathers so we suspect this may be a parent bird that was killed
in the shootings previously.
We also took a racer and a very young wood pigeon squab that another lady at the yard had brought so in total we rescued 40 birds.
We plan to return within the next two weeks to attempt to capture the escapees that evaded us last night and any others that may turn up. The babies will be hand reared as they will most likely be rejected. If anyone can donate any hand rearing formula we would be grateful. We are currently using the kaytee extract formula.
These pigeons are now safe in a converted shed where they will be confined for at least four weeks. This is so they get used to roosting within the shed, meaning they will return to roost at night. Eventually they will be allowed free flight of the sanctuary along with our other pigeons. We have placed rings into the legs of all the birds with the rescues number so that if they should ever get lost they can always be collected and provided with treatment if needed.
Thank you to Claire and the pigeon rescue community who donated towards the new shed for these beautiful birds.
Reposted from the Burton Wild life face book feed read more about Burton Wildlife Rescue
We also took a racer and a very young wood pigeon squab that another lady at the yard had brought so in total we rescued 40 birds.
We plan to return within the next two weeks to attempt to capture the escapees that evaded us last night and any others that may turn up. The babies will be hand reared as they will most likely be rejected. If anyone can donate any hand rearing formula we would be grateful. We are currently using the kaytee extract formula.
These pigeons are now safe in a converted shed where they will be confined for at least four weeks. This is so they get used to roosting within the shed, meaning they will return to roost at night. Eventually they will be allowed free flight of the sanctuary along with our other pigeons. We have placed rings into the legs of all the birds with the rescues number so that if they should ever get lost they can always be collected and provided with treatment if needed.
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| Ringing |
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| flock from a different angle |
Thank you to Claire and the pigeon rescue community who donated towards the new shed for these beautiful birds.
Reposted from the Burton Wild life face book feed read more about Burton Wildlife Rescue
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