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[babyjane]

DD had pet hamsters and I used to breed them, had 11 once, mum, dad and litter of babies.  Several of the pet hamsters had to be pts over the years and each one had me sobbing as I drove him or her home to be buried with the others. 

[Elizabethrose]

Babyjane I was the same. Hubby said and I quote ' I hope you make this much fuss when I kick the bucket!'

[Mbrown001]

Oh that is just so sad especially as they are a struggling species now.

What a kind thing for you to do Taz but upsetting as it didn't end well.

Hubby was sowing some grass seed today to try and rejuvenate our back lawn. Suddenly a pigeon appeared. Not one of our wild ones but obviously a fancy one that hasn't made it home as yet. Of course it starts to eat my grass seed. I chased it but it just waddled about looking kn****ed.
So, its now in my garage with the door open with a large bowl of seed and a container of water. It has two rings on each leg so I think it maybe a racing one. If it doesn't leave before bedtime and when I want to lock the garage up....well I haven't a clue what to do with it. It looks really weary. Oh heck I can't shut it in over night and I haven't got a cage to put it in....

I watched a neighbours cat kill one of my goldfinches this morning. If I turf this bird out then I don't think it stands much of a chance. Bloomin cat takes a lot of pigeons. Ive asked its owner to put a collar with a bell on it but she is ignoring me  . I know cats can get in a bit of a tangle with collars but you can get stretchy ones.
Anyway what do I do with my new garage resident.

Mrs Brown.

[Elizabethrose]

Oh blimey you sound like me: I really wish I didn't feel totally responsible for anything alive in my proximity.

Do you have a large cardboard box that you could put it in with water and feed and air holes until the morning? Then see how it is. I wonder whether they have contact numbers on those rings? x

[CLKD]

Put the pigeon out at dusk so that it can get somewhere safe; it will return to the wild.  If it is sent back the owners will kill it as it's gone off Course and won't pass on good genes.  We had several in the 1970s, contacted the owners via the leg rings - 1 survived as it was a 'good' racer, the other 3 were disposed of.  One became really tame, it would waddle towards us when we went to the compost.  It had access to fresh water and wheat, it stayed around for ages.

[ariadne]

That's so sad Taz but lovely that you made him warm and comfortable before he was euthanased, as the alternative, like you said was to spend his last days hungry and in pain.

Three sad bird tales to tell I'm afraid. Two were down to my cat who normally takes no interest in catching birds.

Hubby and I have enjoyed watching a pair of blackbirds nest building in our hedge.  My husband shouted me one morning when he went downstairs to tell me there was a dead bird in the dining room. It was a male blackbird and what looked like a thousand feathers everywhere. I was so upset and couldn't bring myself to speak to my cat for hours ( not that she understood)

Then earlier this week, the same thing but just small feathers and no remains.  I am now locking the cat flap at night as I think just after dawn is danger time at this time of year.

She is a lazy cat who rarely leaves the house and never leaves our garden but the hunting instinct seems to have kicked in this year I'm sad to say.

The third sad thing happened on the allotment. I had noticed that whenever I approached the two incinerator barrels, I disturbed a small bird that appeared to fly up from the ground but too fast for me to identify. I mentioned it to my husband and I took a good look around the area and in both incinerators. I also moved a pile of dry green stuff that was piled nearby in case the bird was in there. I couldn't see any sign of a nest.  A few days later I went up to join my husband on the allotment and he said he had something sad to tell me. He was tidying up and tipped the contents of  the small incinerator into the larger one. Too late he spotted a nest with five eggs fall from the bottom of the small incinerator and break as they fell into the large one. We were both upset about it and I couldn't stop thinking about the hours that little bird had spent building the nest and caring for the eggs. I hadn't seen the nest because the bird had been flying up underneath the bottom of the incinerator where holes had been burned through.

Ariadne xx 

[CLKD]

Your husband needs a  .  Probably a wren.  Fly fast away from the nest quite close to the ground.  Mum has one but we can't find out where the nest is. 

Usually cats catch sick birds etc..  Our white cat would bring in baby rats for me to kill  but couldn't catch birds 'cos they could see him.

[Mbrown001]

Hubby has found a box lol. He is making holes in it as we speak. I'm inside in the warm watching at the moment. This bird is really tame. I can stroke it's back and it just stands there. Well either it's tame or poorly or totally exhausted.
Hubby is muttering about pigeon pie but he is as soft as me with this kind of thing.

I'm the one that stray dogs attach themselves to. I'm also the daft one who will bring traffic to a standstill to rescue a wandering dog that's intent on biting me...oh I could go on lol.

Guess I've got an overnight guest.  Well at least now I can sleep without worrying about it. Thing is if it doesn't go in the morning what do I do then. 

Ariadne...just seen your post. Nature can be very cruel at times and your cat is doing what comes naturally. Your hubby would be upset about the nest too but these things happen.

CLKD...I can't just put it out. Poor thing is not great. I will do it tomorrow morning and see what happens.

Mrs Brown.

[CLKD]

If the pigeon doesn't fly keep feeding it and make sure it has fresh water.  Pull out both wings to see if there is any injury or damage.  It may stay around for a while.  Racers are handled regularly ...... I have photos of my JR with a couple of the ones we had ......

I was known as the dog lady; better than bag lady I suppose  .  If a stray dog appeared in the village or local woods I would be called  .   

[ariadne]

Your husband needs a  .  Probably a wren.  Fly fast away from the nest quite close to the ground.  Mum has one but we can't find out where the nest is. 

Awww, no he doesn't because he was genuinely upset over it. And he also pointed out that if that hadn't happened, the next thing might have been that he would have lit the bonfire and there could have been baby birds by then.

Ariadne xx

[Taz2]

Mrs Brown - info here about what to do with a ringed, racing pigeon http://www.rpra.org/stray-reporting/

Taz x

[CLKD]

Keep an eye out, she may well build another nest! Infact, he will build several until the female is satisfied ......... one should always pull a bonfire apart in case there's a hedgehog sleeping at the bottom.  Are you allowed to burn in your area, we aren't.

[CLKD]

Does it tell us what happens to the birds once they are returned?  I got as far as filling in the details  ....... 

[ariadne]

Keep an eye out, she may well build another nest! Infact, he will build several until the female is satisfied ......... one should always pull a bonfire apart in case there's a hedgehog sleeping at the bottom.  Are you allowed to burn in your area, we aren't.

On the allotments yes but with due care according to weather/holiday times etc.

Ariadne xx

[Mbrown001]

Well it's fed and warm and safe overnight.

Thanks for the information Taz.
We will let it out in the morning as the site suggests and if it doesn't go within the 48 hour period hubby can hold it and I will try and see if it's got anything written on it and then look at the rings.

It's a real beauty but I was just sure the cat would have it overnight.

Hopefully after a rest it will be on its way.

Mrs Brown