Velcro, almost lost her leg, hanging upside down.

Pic = 090311

I WAS SURE she was dead.... eyes closed, motionless, hanging upside down by one foot, she looked so very very dead.
(She would "stick" to me, therefore I named her Velcro)
A very happy carefree Voorburg Shield Cropper.
 
= = = = = = = = =
 
It was a bit later than usual, dark when I went out to close up the Chickens and Pigeons in the thunder, lightning, and pouring rain. Everyone was there except for my sweet Velcro. She would never stay out on purpose so I feared the worst. This is my prize Pigeon, my friend, my companion, my treasure…we’ve been thru a lot together... It seems she has 9 lives but she's already used up 4.  With flashlight I looked everywhere, several times, no sign of her. I was about to give up and hoped she might return the next morning. Then, for no good reason, I shined the light at the top vent high in the back of the aviary, and to my amazement, there she was, outside, hanging upside down by one leg, motionless, eyes closed, looking so very very very dead, I was sure she was dead.

Pic = 100527eda

I grabbed a ladder and with the light in one hand and heavy rain pouring down… with my light shining on her, her eye twitched so then I knew she was still alive, but a very short time longer and she certainly would have died. I think she was there for a few hours. I lifted her totally limp unconscious body and was attempting to free her foot when the ladder started to sink in the wet soil and would very soon tip over. I was afraid if I dropped her, her leg would twist and break... the ladder continued to tip. The hole was small and I could not reach past her body to free her leg. The ladder was about to fall so I quickly pushed her back into the opening without freeing her leg and hoped for the best. Success, when she fell inside (just a 4" drop to the nest roof) her leg was freed.

I ran inside the aviary and she was laying on the nest roof, eyes closed, exhausted and motionless, only semi-conscious and near death. But, her leg did not appear to be broken. I held her in my arms on the couch and she promptly fell sound asleep... or ... was she dying?  I held her for hours and hours, hoping she’d survive.

PIC = 100526dc

WHY? Did she go out the vent ? It seemed strange, she never had before and the aviary door was wide open anyway. But the next night, our Tuna cat desperately wanted to go outside, so we let him. It was because there was a neighborhood cat returned to the scene of the crime. Velcro had managed to escape, but got trapped hanging upside down on the outside. Tuna promptly chased the cat away. Tuna pays no attention to the Pigeons, Chickens, or Doves, ignores them, but he doesn’t like stray cats.

The next morning Velcro’s leg was badly swollen and steadily getting worse so I took her to the vet. The Vet said she would likely lose her leg, it was totally limp and no control and no sensation at all... nerve damage?  But she gave Velcro an exam and an x-ray. There were no fractures but then the vet said there was a 75% chance she'd lose her leg. By then I was so very upset, the vet hugged me to comfort me.

Velcro's life partner, 2.5 a white Homer Pigeon, was so very upset, frantic, and desperate to see Velcro… she didn’t know what to do, cooing loudly and continuously pacing back and forth in the outside aviary. She seemed to know that Velcro was in big trouble. The minute I put Velcro’s cage outside  on the deck, 2.5 immediately flew up from the aviary to be near Velcro. I could see that 2.5 was greatly relieved to see Velcro alive.
 
Vid =  100526aq

Pic = 100526bc  

The next day Velcro showed signs of being able to control her leg just a little bit, but not her toes (dangling) so there was a bit of hope. When she walked she’d fall on her face. By that evening she was able to use her leg just a little bit for support and could limp with great difficulty but still falling. By the third day her leg had much improved and she seemed to be able to control her front toes just a little tiny bit. By evening, she could sorta walk but with a very severe limp, NO pressure at all on her toes and foot, still no control of her toes.

 Vid = 100527aa

Later I brought Velcro in the house and before I could even close the door, 2.5 had flown inside to be near Velcro. The bond between those two birds is so amazing, so complete…. They truly love each other so very very much (Pic = happier days).

 100420ab

The forth day Velcro was doing so much better I decided she could be free inside the aviary to be with her lover 2.5. For the entire day, they hugged and kissed and coo’ed and coo’ed. So much happiness.

The fifth day she still limped badly, but it seemed she would be able to fly free and lead a mostly normal life so I let them both outside. It was a pleasure to see their happiness. They were jubilant to be together again, much continuous hugging and kissing. They flew around the neighborhood all day and spent a lot of time on the roof, so happy to be reunited and free to fly. I could see it was a great sense of relief to 2.5. Velcro was still limping badly but otherwise seemed in pretty good shape.
This is such a sweet video.
 
Vid = 100530ff

BUT THEN that evening when I went to the aviary late in the day, I discovered  Velcro laying in a very large pool of blood. She was bleeding to death and hadn’t the strength to get up to the nest, SOoo much blood lost. She was laying on the aviary platform instead of up high by their nest as usual.  She was covered in blood and I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I finally discovered that she had NO control of her back toe and had been walking with her toe folded under her foot all day and the knuckle was bleeding badly. I cleaned her up some and got the bleeding to stop.  We taped a cotton ball on her foot to restrict movement and protect the wound. I was afraid it may start bleeding again.  From lack of blood, she was again mostly unconscious so I held her in my arms for many hours again and  we both slept soundly into the night. I was hoping she hadn’t lost TOO much blood, and that it wasn’t too late, or ... maybe she wasn't sleeping ... Again, maybe she was dying in my arms?

The next morning I made a splint… a cast… of styrofoam and gauze patches, carved with deep grooves to keep all her toes in place. She still limps badly but could now walk on her leg fairly well and didn't seem to care about the splint, it was working well. 


PIC =  100531bi  
I’m hoping that when we remove the splint tomorrow (Fri) that her back toe stays in the right position… then maybe… a day in the aviary and if that’s successful, then Saturday she and 2.5 can be free to fly together again. I’m hoping.

= = = = = = =    UPDATE 6/4/10. The 7th day started out great. Removed the splint and Velcro was happy and in good spirits (as usual) and walking pretty good with but with a serious limp, but with all her toes where they should be. I let her loose in the aviary and watched her closely for many hours and it looked very promising. Her back toe was always straight behind her all day long. She doesn't have perfect control of her leg yet so stumbles occasionally but overall, doing quite nicely.

BUT by evening, she was walking with her back toe under her foot again so we immediately put the splint back on and confined her to a cage. Will check again in a few days, but I fear it means she cannot control it at all, and then her back toe may have to be amputated ???

...Another potential problem. Her leg is still quite swollen and feels hot to the touch, she gets daily medication for it.  I was hoping it would be normal by now. Also her digestive system is not right. Her droppings contained far too much fluid. That means all is not well, but maybe that's to be expected under the circumstances... lots of stress. Otherwise, she seems healthy, alert and very happy (as usual).

UPDATE 6/11/2010 12 noon, The 8th day she is doing well except that she still has almost no control of her toes. The problem is that her rear toe continues to fold under her foot then she walks on it and it bleeds. The splint prevents that but if she's to get muscles and control back, her toes need exercise without the splint. I'm taking her back to the vet this afternoon for some advice and more pain medication. I'm still keeping her confined but loose in my office. She just now managed to land on my arm while I'm typing this.

GOOD NEWS update 7/9/2010 - Success. Nearly one month later and almost 100% recovered. All her toes stay in place and her limp is barely noticeable.

4/20/2009 More Good news update months later - She's fully functional, back to normal, same old happy carefree Velcro, my sweet little feathered friend.

 Pic = 090420da

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = END  = = = = = = = =

Bev Letard... just for your info... Can be another (final) story about Velcro
Terrible news 5/20/2014. Today a hawk killed her as she was flying to the deck to visit me. 
http://bertthemensachicken.blogspot.com/2014/09/this-is-not-sunset-picture.html

Como music Rachel Ries Dead Pigeon

Rachel Ries - 170128
Hi, I spoke with you briefly after your performance at Como Conservatory 1/22/17 about your "Dead Pigeon" song... Homing/Cardinal.  I mentioned to you that I raise Pigeons. Actually not raise them, I have them as pets... actually they're not pets, they are members of the family. I currently have five, they are my children and I love them dearly, and they love me SOooo much. I also have Chickens and sweet gently loving Doves (and cat and dog). .



A love story >Your song really moved me because of one of my dear sweet Pigeon named Velcro (she sticks to me ... a 7yo female Voorburg Shield Cropper).
 100312c.jpg

Video - Velcro loved to be with me.




A few years ago, Velcro had "died" on several occasions with very very serious injuries (interesting stories), but somehow she survived each time. I spent many many hours and days and days cradling her semi-conscious body in my arms hoping she'd recover, and each time a miracle, she did recover.

. . Another of my Pigeons, 2.5, a pure white now-10yo female Homer, lost her first 3 husbands to hawks and cats.
And then I got Velcro. At that time 2.5 did not have a partner, so the two females Velcro and 2.5 decided to become a couple. They fell MADLY deeply in love, they were inseparable... the ultimate love story.  They'd cry when they were apart. It was beautiful to see how much they loved each other, 24/7 constant hugging and kissing.

10420d.jpg

They were lovers for five years, THEN .....
. . . One day Velcro was flying from the aviary to the deck to visit me when a hawk swooped down and killed her in mid-air, broke her neck. Dead, she was laying on the ground with her "head next to her heart". I was devastated and still am... I cried for days. She is now buried at my farm up north. She was such a happy care-free soul, she just seemed to love life so much ... and she loved to be with me. I took it very hard, like losing a part of me. I cried, and cried, and still do... I miss her.

 140526d

Velcro's partner, 2.5 was also devastated. I had never seen a depressed Pigeon before. She'd sit near the aviary window day after day motionless all day, just staring off into space, waiting for Velcro's return home (Homing). 140612a

After that, 2.5 rarely left the aviary, always waiting for Velcro to come home. It took about 1 year for her to start a new life... 2.5 was alone now but she'd still come in the house and call and call for Velcro, searching the house for Velcro. They had spent many happy hours together in our house. It made me so sad seeing how desperately 2.5 wanted to be with Velcro again. It was easy to see that 2.5 was hurting ... so ...
. . So now it was just Newbie, a male 2yo Modena Pigeon, ...  and 2.5.



151224b

But, 2.5 resented Newbie and would not let him near her, she only wanted Velcro back. It took 2.5 many months before she finally accepted Newbies presence and then many more months before she reluctantly accepted Newbie as her new partner.
. . They've been together a few years now, but it's kinda sad though because it's just NOT the same. 2.5 finally accepted Newbie as a partner, but the love just isn't there. I never see those signs of deep affection like with Velcro. ... they just kind of live together. I know 2.5 still wants Velcro back.
. . Anyway... your song made me think of Velcro... I miss her so much.
.
.
I never think of them as birds... they are just like us, tiny feathered humans, and they have  *exactly* the same feelings and emotions that we do... love, fear, compassion, sadness, happiness, joy, loneliness, anger, jealousy, contentment, etc etc... I've seen them all. 
.
Over the years I have posted many many times about events in the Pigeons lives... tragic, funny, cute, humorous, emotional (Will make you cry), clever, and very sweet behavior. I have learned so much about life from my birds. I don't train them,... they train me - to do what they want me to do (food, water, in/out, hugs needed, etc), they speak very clearly if you stop to listen, all animals do.
. . . On my farm I had many hundreds of pets, domestic and wild. In town I can only have traditional pets plus Chickens, Pigeons and Doves (and cat and dog). I teach classes at various cities "The Art of Keeping Chickens"... Super efficient Solar coops, always above freezing for less than $5 per year, and super easy maintenance, VERY happy Chickens. 
.
. If I was a writer, I could easily write many books about the lives and adventures of birds and animals. My pet Seagull, Diddy,  deserves a book of her own, extremely intelligent and clever creature... SO many funny, unbelievable and amazing stories. She was the boss of the barnyard over my 140 dogs, 30 cows, 9 horses, sheep, goats, 9 cats, etc, and a pet fox. Diddy was wise and very intelligent.

. . Maybe you can meet Simon someday? He's famous.

                                         141013.jpg
Simon is a 16yo pure white Modena Pigeon.. he goes EVERYwhere with us.. camping, hiking, visiting, vacations, into stores, visiting relatives in the hospital, ...nursing homes (a therapy Pigeon)... we're never apart.      160830.jpg

He LOVES to ride on the dashboard. Maybe the most held by strangers, and most photographed Pigeon in the world, even been in a wedding.

131004a# Lake Superior, Split Rock Lighthouse
151012au 

151011aa - - - Simon questions the "Foot Travel Only".

Since he's so old, he is now a House Pigeon... every evening about 10pm he comes to find me to get his good-night hug. Again many Many MANY humorous and sweet stories about Simon Pigeon and his adventures... another book ~:<)  Simon has his own FB site too.
. . Anyway, mostly just wanted you to know about how your song affected me.

Les Larson (Ace or "Bert Larson" on FB (Profile is head Bert Rooster).

Velcro hanging upside down, injured

I was sure she was dead.... eyes closed, she looked so very very dead. 

It was a bit later than usual when I went out to close up the Chickens, in the thunder, lightning, and pouring rain. Everyone was there except for my sweet Velcro Pigeon. She would never stay out on purpose so I feared the worst. This is my prize pigeon, my friend, my companion, my treasure…we’ve been thru a lot together... she has nine lives it seems (she's already used up 4).  With flashlight I looked everywhere, several times, no sign of her. I was about to give up and hoped she might return the next morning. Then, for no good reason, I shined the light at the top vent in back of the aviary and to my amazement, there she was, hanging upside down by her leg, looking so very very very dead, I was sure she was dead.

I grabbed a ladder and with the light in one hand and rain pouring down… then I saw her blink so I knew she had a chance to live but a very short time longer and she would have died. I think she was there for a few hours. I lifted her limp body and was attempting to free her foot when the ladder started to sink in the mud and tip over in the wet soil. I was afraid if I dropped her, her leg would twist and break... the ladder was tipping over. The hole was small and I could not reach past her to free her leg. The ladder kept tilting further so I quickly pushed her back into the vent without freeing her leg and hoped for the best. Success, when she fell inside (just a 4" drop to the nest roof) her leg was freed.
 
 PIC Stuck here = 100527eda 2731 Aviary Vent Velcro Injured-leg 2731.jpg

I ran inside the aviary and she was laying on the nest roof, eyes closed, exhausted and not moving, near death. Her leg did not appear to be broken but she was nearly unconscious. I held her in my arms on the couch and she promptly fell sound asleep... or ... was she dying?  I held her for hours and hours, hoping she’d survive.

WHY? Did she go out the vent ? It seemed strange, she never had before and the door was wide open anyway. But the next night, our Tuna cat desperately wanted to go outside, so we let him. It was because there was a neighborhood cat returned to the scene of the crime. Velcro had managed to escape, but got trapped upside down. Tuna promptly chased him away. Tuna pays no attention to the pigeons, chickens, or Doves, ignores them, but doesn’t like stray cats.

The next morning Velcro’s leg was badly swollen and getting worse so I took her to the vet. The Vet said she would likely lose her leg, it was totally limp and no control or sensation at all... nerve damage?  But she gave Velcro an exam and an x-ray. There were no fractures so then the vet said there was a 75% chance she'd lose her leg. By then I was so upset, the vet hugged me to comfort me.

The next day Velcro showed signs of being able to control her leg just a little bit, but not her toes (dangling) so there was a bit of hope. When she walked she’d fall on her face. By that evening she was able to use her leg just a little bit for support and could limp with difficulty. By the third day her leg had much improved and she seemed to be able to control her front toes just a little bit. By evening, she could sorta walk but with a very severe limp, NO pressure on her toes and foot. While recovering, she spent many many hours sleeping in my arms.

PIC in my arms = 100526ck 2731 VelcroSleeping Injured-Leg Les.jpg

Her life partner, 2.5 the Homer pigeon, was so very upset, frantic, and desperate to see Velcro… she didn’t know what to do, cooing loudly and pacing. She seemed to know that Velcro was in trouble. When I put Velcro’s cage on the deck, 2.5 immediately flew up from the aviary to be with Velcro.
 
 100526aq 2731 VelcroInjuredLegTravelCage 2.5pecking &Velcro.avi

Later I put Velcro in the house and before I could close the door, 2.5 had flown in to be near Velcro. The bond between those two birds is so amazing, so complete…. They truly love each other so very much.
 
VIDEO Limping= 1000527aa 2731 2.5 in house near Velcro-legInjury Limping.avi

The forth day Velcro was doing so much better I decided she could be free inside the aviary to be with her lover 2.5. For the entire day, they hugged and kissed and coo’ed and coo’ed.

The 5th day she still limped badly, but it seemed she would be able to be free and lead a mostly normal life so I let them both outside. It was a pleasure to see their happiness. They were jubilant to be together again, much hugging and kissing. They flew around the neighborhood so happy to be reunited and free to fly. Velcro was still limping badly but otherwise seemed in pretty good shape.

This is such a sweet video.

BUT THEN that evening, I went to the aviary late in the day.  I noticed Velcro laying a very large pool of blood. Velcro was laying on the aviary platform instead of up high by the nest. She seemed to be bleeding to death and hadn’t the strength to get up to the nest, SO much blood lost. She was covered in blood and I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I finally discovered that she had NO control of her back toe and had been walking with her toe folded under her foot all day and the knuckle was bleeding badly. I cleaned her up some and got the bleeding to stop. . We taped a cotton ball on her foot to restrict movement and protect the wound. Afraid it may start bleeding again, I held her in my arms for many hours again and she slept soundly. I was hoping she hadn’t lost TOO much blood, and that it wasn’t too late.

The next morning we made a splint… a cast… of styrofoam and gauze patches, carved with deep grooves to keep all her toes in place.

PIC me holding Velcro=  100531ba 2731 Velcro injured-Leg splint.jpg

100531fp 2731 AviaryCage VelcroSplint Closeup.avi



I’m hoping that when we remove it tomorrow (Fri) that her back toe stays in the right position… then maybe… a day in the aviary and if that’s successful, then Saturday she and 2.5 can be free to fly together again. I’m hoping.

 = = = = = = =    UPDATE 6/4/10 9:30pm. The day started out great. Removed the splint and Velcro was in good spirits and walking pretty good with a limp, but with all her toes where they should be. I let her loose in the aviary and watched her close for many hours and it looked very promising. Her back toe was always straight behind her... all day long. She doesn't have perfect control of her leg yet so stumbles occasionally but overall, doing quite nicely.
BUT by evening, she was walking with her back toe under her foot again so we immediately put the splint back on and confined her to a cage. Will check again in a few days, but I fear it means she cannot control it at all? ? ? then her back toe may have to be amputated ???
...Another potential problem. Her leg is still quite swollen and feels hot to the touch, she gets daily medication for it.  I was hoping it would be normal by now. Also her digestive system is not right. Pigeon droppings should contain no liquid, but hers does, quite a lot. That means all is not well, but maybe that's to be expected under the circumstances... lots of stress. Otherwise, she seems healthy, alert and happy.

UPDATE 6/11/2010 12 noon, Doing well except that she still has almost no control of her toes. The problem is that her rear toe folds under her foot then she walks on it and it bleeds. The splint prevents that but if she's to get control back, her toes need exercise. I'm taking her back to the vet this afternoon for some advice and more pain medication. I'm still keeping her confined in my office. She just now managed to land on my arm.

GOOD NEWS update 7/9/2010 - Success. Almost 100% recovered. Her limp is barely noticeable.

150128 An example of Jealousy in animals.

150128 JEALOUSY.  Velcro and 2.5 (both female) had been an inseparable loving "pair", ... madly in love with each other for 8 years.  Then along comes Newbie (Male).  2.5 makes it clear Newbie is not welcome.
 
. . Four months after this video, Velcro was killed by a hawk on 5/20/14 as she flew to the deck to visit me.  2.5 became totally depressed (me too), withdrawn, she mourned for months, day after day staring out her window for hours, desperately waiting for Velcro to return. 2.5 would come in the house and call and call to Velcro hoping she'd answer. It was so sad to see. They had spent much time being in love in the house. 
. . Eventually, many months later, 2.5 finally slowly accepted Newbie as her new partner, but... It's - just -  not - the same. The intense loving and non-stop hugging and kissing is just not there with Newbie. There is NO doubt that 2.5 still continues to mourn the loss of Velcro (me too).

2.5 is a Homer Pigeon now 9yo.
Velcro was a Voorburg Shield Cropper 8yo
Newbie is a Modena 3yo.

2.5 and Velcro on hutch. They'd come in the house and spend most of the day enjoying each others company.

 

 2.5 attacks Newbie  2.5 makes it clear she doesn't welcome Newbie's interfering.

2.5 finally accepts Newbie.


141103b 2731 Pigeon Bird Bath 2.5 Newbie

FB link = https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152991877645295

This is not a sunset picture. It is a message sent just to me.

This is not a sunset picture.
It is a message sent just to me.
It was overcast when we drove to my farm. A dark and gloomy day with a light rain coming down as I was digging. Then just at the instant we buried my sweet loving Pigeon Velcro, the sun shown for a few minutes then it became dark.
For those who may not know, Velcro and I were very close for nine years. She was killed by a hawk as she was flying to the deck to visit me. She now has a view of this sunset every night and of our cabin on the creek. It was not easy to drive back home and leave her behind. I miss her desperately.

Don’t you wish you could do this? Do what she does and you can.

Getting off the ground seems to be the hard part (Isn’t that true for all of us?) but once underway with forward speed it seems easier. . . . . . . But it still makes flying look like a lot of work.
Velcro makes a "clapping" noise while flying and I’ve always wondered why (seems inefficient), so with slow motion video I studied her flight. Now I can see why.  It’s going to be very difficult to teach her not to do that (wastes energy). I tried to tell her but she doesn’t listen.
First in Slow Motion, then regular speed. 

 

Picture Perfect - Inseparably entwined - Velcro and 2.5

I have never seen two creatures (including humans) more in LOVE than these two...Inseparably entwined.  My friends and companions are 2.5 and Velcro (2.5 is a Homer, Velcro is a Voorburg Shield Cropper, and "sticks" to me).

If separated, they are desperate to get back together again. They "cry", pace, flit about... etc... and are not content until reunited.  It's a joy to see the extreme love they have for each other.  

                            

 

Velcro has had several near-death experiences and during that time, 2.5 was a basket case... extremely depressed and despondent, even lost weight. 

2.5 even saved Velcro's life a few times.  Bird rescues another bird.

And when Velcro was MISSING,

For a more touching stories on this love relationship - - - > Velcro

(Warning, Some could make you cry)

She was hanging upside down by her leg for more than 2 hours.

6/6/2010 - See Update at the bottom of this post, and more recent updates in the comments.
I was sure she was dead.... eyes closed, she looked so very dead.  

It was a bit later than usual when I went out to close up the Chickens, in the thunder, lightning, and pouring rain. Everyone was there except for my sweet Velcro Pigeon. She would never stay out on purpose so I feared the worst. This is my prize pigeon, my friend, my companion, my treasure…we’ve been thru a lot together... she has nine lives it seems (she's used up 4).  With flashlight I looked everywhere, several times, no sign of her. I was about to give up and hoped she might return the next morning. Then, for no good reason, I shined the light at the top vent in back of the aviary and to my amazement, there she was, hanging upside down by her leg, looking so very very dead, I was sure she was dead.
I grabbed a ladder and with the light in one hand and rain pouring down… then I saw her blink so I knew she had a chance to live but a short time longer and she would have died. I lifted her body and was attempting to free her foot when the ladder started to sink and tip over in the wet soil. I was afraid if I dropped her, her leg would twist and break. The hole was small and I could not reach past her to free her leg. The ladder kept tilting further so I quickly pushed her back into the vent without freeing her leg and hoped for the best. Success, when she fell inside (just a 4" drop to the nest roof) her leg was freed.
I ran inside and she was laying on the nest roof, exhausted and not moving. Her leg did not appear to be broken but she was nearly unconscious. I held her in my arms on the couch and she promptly fell sound asleep. I held her for hours, hoping she’d survive.

WHY? Did she go out the vent ? It seemed strange, she never had before and the door was wide open anyway. But the next night, our Tuna cat desperately wanted to go outside, so we let him. It was because there was a neighborhood cat returned to the scene of the crime. Tuna promptly chased him away. Tuna pays no attention to the pigeons, chickens, or Doves, ignores them, but doesn’t like stray cats.
The next morning Velcro’s leg was swollen and getting worse so I took her to the vet. The Vet said she would likely lose her leg, it was limp and no sensation. But she gave Velcro an exam and an x-ray. There were no fractures so then the vet said there was a 75% chance of losing her leg. By then I was so upset, the vet hugged me to comfort me. 

The next day Velcro showed signs of being able to control her leg a bit, but not her toes (dangling) so there was a bit of hope. When she walked she’d fall on her face. By that evening she was able to use her leg just a little bit for support and could limp with difficulty. By the third day her leg had much improved and she seemed to be able to control her front toes just a bit. By evening, she could sorta walk but with a very severe limp, no pressure on her toes and foot. While recovering, she spent many hours sleeping in my arms.

Her life partner, 2.5 the Homer pigeon, was so very upset, frantic, and desperate to see Velcro… didn’t know what to do, cooing loudly and pacing. She seemed to know that Velcro was in trouble. When I put Velcro’s cage on the deck, 2.5 immediately flew up from the aviary to be with Velcro. Later I put Velcro in the house and before I could close the door, 2.5 had flown in to be near Velcro. The bond between those 2 birds is so amazing, so complete…. They truly love each other so very much.

The forth day Velcro was doing so much better I decided she could be free inside the aviary to be with her lover 2.5. For the entire day, they hugged and kissed and coo’ed and coo’ed.   

The 5^th day she still limped badly, but it seemed she would be able to be free and lead a mostly normal life so I let them both outside. It was a pleasure to see their happiness. They were jubilant to be together again, much hugging and kissing. They flew around the neighborhood so happy to be reunited and free to fly. Velcro was still limping but otherwise seemed in pretty good shape.
This is such a sweet video.
 
BUT THEN late in the day, I noticed the large pool of blood. Velcro was laying on the aviary platform instead of up high by the nest. She seemed to be bleeding to death and hadn’t the strength to get up to the nest. She was covered in blood and I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I finally discovered that she had NO control of her back toe and had been walking with her toe folded under her foot all day and the knuckle was bleeding badly. I cleaned her up some and got the bleeding to stop. . We taped a cotton ball on her foot to restrict movement and protect the wound. Afraid it may start bleeding again, I held her in my arms for many hours again and she slept. I was hoping she hadn’t lost too much blood, and that it wasn’t too late.
The next morning we made a splint… a cast… of styrofoam and gauze patches, to keep all her toes in place.



Still covered in dried blood.

I’m hoping that when we remove it tomorrow (Fri) that her back toe stays in the right position… then maybe… a day in the aviary and if that’s successful, then Saturday she and 2.5 can be free to fly together again. I’m hoping.
 
 = = = = = = =    UPDATE 6/4/10 9:30pm. The day started out great. Removed the splint and Velcro was in good spirits and walking pretty good with all her toes where they should be. I let her loose in the aviary and watched her close for many hours and it looked very promising. Her back toe was always straight behind her... all day long. She doesn't have perfect control of her leg yet so stumbles occasionally but overall, doing quite nicely.
BUT by evening, she was walking with her back toe under her foot again so we immediately put the splint back on and confined her to a cage. Will check again in a few days, but I fear it means she cannot control it at all? ? ? then her back toe may have to be amputated ???
...Another potential problem. Her leg is still quite swollen and feels hot to the touch, she gets daily medication for it.  I was hoping it would be normal by now. Also her digestive system is not right. Pigeon droppings should contain no liquid, but hers does, quite a lot. That means all is not well, but maybe that's to be expected under the circumstances... lots of stress. Otherwise, she seems healthy, alert and happy.
UPDATE 6/11/2010 12 noon, Doing well except that she still has almost no control of her toes. The problem is that her rear toe folds under her foot then she walks on it and it bleeds. The splint prevents that but if she's to get control back, her toes need exercise. I'm taking her back to the vet this afternoon for some advice and more pain medication. I'm still keeping her confined in my office. She just now managed to land on my arm.
GOOD NEWS update 7/9/2010 - Success, looks like she'll be ok. 
More Good news update 5/1/2012 - She's fully functional, back to normal.
Terrible news 5/20/2014. Today a hawk killed her as she was flying to the deck to visit me. http://bertthemensachicken.blogspot.com/2014/09/this-is-not-sunset-picture.html

NOW I have good proof. Bird rescues another bird.

Proof that animals think, love, worry, fear, plan, etc and behave like humans.
Link= Animal have emotions too
This just amazed me. One bird knowing what to do and going thru exceptional effort to rescue another bird.

Velcro (right) has never left the yard in her life until 3 days ago (10 months old) (except when nearly killed once (LINK=MISSING). Now that it’s warmer, Velcro and 2.5 (left) have started to take short flights around the area.
>Velcro's lover partner (both female) 2.5 is a homer pigeon, Velcro is not.
>2.5 is a fast and powerful long distance flyer (60mph), Velcro is not.
>2.5 can always find home, Velcro’s breed gets lost.
>These two are madly in love, a lot of hugging and kissing (French kissing) and they can also get a little kinky. Here's a Flying Video.

SATURDAY - - - - When we came home from out of town at dusk, 2.5 was in the aviary but Velcro was not…Velcro was missing and lost. Her chances of survival outside overnight are not that good. She is SO tame and trusting, so white, and lots of owls, hawks, cats, fox and coyote…and she was lost.
….....We think she and 2.5 went flying and Velcro just couldn’t keep up and wasn’t able to return….totally lost, at risk, with no chance of finding home by herself. I really didn’t expect to ever see her again… so sad. Her only chance would be if 2.5 searched for her.
SUNDAY - - - - At 6:30am, Velcro had not returned, still lost or dead. 2.5 saw me and very clearly told me she wanted to get out and search for Velcro. Normally she wouldn’t leave the nest until 10: or 11:am but she was very anxious and worried. I knew that was the only chance for Velcro, SO I opened the door and 2.5 immediately zoomed off (normally wouldn’t happen) and vanished over the rooftops to the west.
…..But… 1 hour passed, no birds. 2 hours, no birds, 3 hours passed, no birds, but then amazingly 2.5 found Velcro and they finally came back home together. It was very clear they were overjoyed at seeing each other (endless hugs and kisses).
Amazing - - - 2.5 actually went out, scouted the entire area for miles around for 3 hours and miraculously found Velcro and guided her back home. Not bad, eh?
- - - - - - - -
MONDAY - - - Again they went for a short flight and quickly returned. Then late in the day, another longer flight. It’s dusk and 2.5 has returned but again Velcro has not.  2.5 was breathing heavily, apparently a long fast flight home? Hopefully, 2.5 can go search and find her again tomorrow?? Another night of Velcro risking her life to predators. So worried again.
TODAY (Tuesday) - - Again at 6:30am I let 2.5 out and again she zoomed off to search for Velcro.
.......A little over an hour later they returned together.  For now they are both back safe, and the reunion was bliss for them. These are such very happy birds.
Hmmm, I’m trying to decide if I should close them in? or continue risking their lives. They are both quite vulnerable when flying around… so white, like a target to predators. There are many hawks and owls in the area and have been in our yard. (Hawk troubles.) I am hoping they learn to stay closer to home, like they always used to. ???
Should I restrain them or let them fly free?
UPDATE - now 2 months later. Velcro and 2.5 will rarely take very very short flights together (within sight of home) but occasionally 2.5 will still take long several hour flights by herself then returns while Velcro stays home with me. Velcro has not left the yard area ever since.  I hope they have figured out that Velcro cannot fly as fast and gets lost, and Velcro will always stay here at home.
UPDATE UPDATE - 7 months later... all is well. Velcro stays near home but 2.5 will occasionally take a short trip then returns home. These two birds are so madly in love with each other, they are inseparable. Sometimes I open the patio door and both will fly or walk inside and spend the day with me in my office.  
Yet another update 1-1/2 years later.  They still take neighborhood flights together but always return. Often, 2.5 will go on a longer flight by herself then she returns. Velcro never leaves the neighborhood, seems they have learned their lesson.
Update - Now they never leave the yard... still madly in love an happy birds.

Looks like Velcro is going to stick around

If you missed part 1, Velcro nearly died -
Part 1 - Missing or dead, My best friend gravely injured. But It was a happy day with Champagne in the water bowl with the reunion of Velcro and 2.5 after 9 days apart (short video). 2.5 was so sad the whole time but was overwhelmed with Joy when Velcro returned. They love each other so very much.
2.5 didn't know what to do.. jumped from perch to perch for a half hour, then they went into the nest where 2.5 moaned and moaned for hours and hours (Orgasm?) .... Interesting, because they're both female (Lesbian Pigeons?).
Velcro is doing very well, her limp is getting better and her feathers are already starting to grow back and part of her stitches have fallen off. She slept on my arm all day yesterday, she's happy and content.
Today Velcro and Spot-Dove went to visit the family and twin 8 yr old girls who rescued Velcro the night she almost died. We gave them Beanie Baby birds, like Velcro.

MISSING – worse odds than the lottery, but…

I just can’t believe it…I just can’t believe it.. I just can’t believe it. I had already said "Goodbye" to her. I was sure she was gone forever, gone 5 days, 2 days in a very nasty blizzard, -25 wind chill…I was sure I’d never see her again. She had died. 

Pretty tough bird. Now I know what happened to her. Now I believe in miracles.
At night, 3/7/09 around 8:00pm, she was attacked IN the aviary by an animal (Cat I presume). She managed to escape and flew two blocks in the dark and spotted an open garage door with the lights on inside…she flew inside and landed up on a shelf. The Husband came out to close the door for the night and spotted her.
He chased her out but she flew right back in and back on the shelf again. His wife and twin 8 yr old girls came out and again they chased her out and she flew back in again. Then they realized she was bleeding and badly injured. The Husband simply reached up and put his hands around her and she didn’t resist. They took her in and cared for her then took her to an all-night Animal Emergency Hospital about 10pm (about 2 miles away).
The animal hospital stitched up a half inch puncture wound in her chest and shaved all the feathers off her back and under her wings and on her chest, then stitched up two long gashes in her back. She was x-rayed and limping but had no broken bones. Today 3/12/09 she is still limping badly, but in time I’m sure she’ll be fine.

Three days later the animal hospital brought her to the Humane Society where, to my amazement,  I found her Yesterday.
The entire staff of 6 and a few customers huddled around and we were all misty eyed and sniffling as I thanked them and took her home.
All her life she had never flown out of the back yard. She and 2.5 are the best of friends and they always stay in the yard.
This video is one of the reasons I love her. 

For years I didn’t close the aviary door at night but then a year ago I started to have some trouble. Over a few weeks, 4 pigeons killed or missing. Then I saw a cat lurking around and tried to trap it..no luck. So that’s when I began to close the aviary door every night. Now, for nearly a year, that cat has not been around. Since no cats were around and it was still cold, I decided to leave the door open like I always used to. The next day, Velcro was missing. I was hoping she had just gotten lost and would return but for days, she didn’t, I waited and waited. I tried to find her body in the yard. I began to put up posters. The Humane Society is many many miles from us so I didn’t check there until yesterday… and I was still hoping she’d return.
But she is now home and I’m typing this with one hand because she is sleeping on my arm. It’s nice to have the family back together again.
And now (a few days later) I have more good news. I have the sweetest video of Velcro... and related events... will post soon.
Update - Part 2, the reunion
= = = = = =
Doctors (Vet) report below:
Emergency clinic report (excerpts).
Pigeon with ID on Left foot MFRG 2008 785
Physical exam
Stable, alert, tame and interested in eating. Ambulatory with pain on left leg, not fully weight bearing. Physical Exam does not reveal source of pain, but could be related to the two large sores on her body: Dorsal gaping 2cm wound with necrotic tissue, and latero-ventral left side – scar. Suspect animal bite injury, Radiograph did not reveal shot in body. Affected leg can grip finger, She can perch and walk around cage, is flighted but not flying around room area. VERY GENTLE.
Q/A – Stray pigeon with skin injuries and left leg grade 1-2/4 lamb.
P – Clean wounds, provide warmth, food and analgesia/abx.
Enrogloxacin 3.24 mg BID IM – 22.7mg/ml" 3.24mg (0.14cc)Imkx
Meloxicam .0.0325 mg PO QID
Isofluane mask – Primary wound on left body wall and secondary V shaped flap right body – makes bite wound suspect. Debrided skin edges and removed contaminated/discolored tissue. Flushed well. Closed skin with a 4-0 vicryl in interrupted fashion and cut tags short as they will fall out with time.
Pigeon doing well, Will bring to Humane Society.
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