Greetings From A Newbie :D

First I would like to say thank you for having me here! I look forward to getting to know everyone here :)

My name is Tara, and I currently live with my hubby, 5 cats, 3 rats, 3 chinchillas and 2 pigeon babies. My two pijis are Diva and Ozzy, both approx. 25 days old. Here is a bit of their story:

On Saturday the 13th, my brother called me, asking about baby pigeons. He's
security at a mall and noticed that matinence screened in all the areas that
pigeons were hanging out. There was one nest in there, with babies, that had
been screened in. The security team moved the nest over to were other nests are
(not in the building, but close by). They were without parents for 2 days
(security used a camera to be absolutely sure). He was worried about them in
case they were not reclaimed by their parents.

He called the SPCA and the Wildlife park, who both told him to leave them be,
they are just pigeons, no big deal sorta thing. Now, we don't agree with that,
and am now rearing them.

They are wonderful little boogers, now about the age of 24 days or so. They eat
very well, have no lice or fleas or mites, and are growing rapidly.

They are named Ozzy and Diva. Ozzy is the larger of the two - he's got a bit
more white feathering on his bum, and is very very relaxed. Diva on the other
hand, well everything to her is an ordeal, lol! She freaks out over everything,
flapping and crying. Ozzy picks on her a bit, but not so much now that they are
being fed on a regular schedule. (and yes, I realize that I can't sex them for
several months, but I'm just guessing, lol)

I have them enclosed in a large rabbit cage, filled with shavings, and a bowl of
water (plus toys - a few jingle balls & small bells, plus a stuffed dog they
like to snuggle with). There is a heat lamp on the other end of the cage,
keeping them at a constant temp (26-28 Celcius, in F I don't recall what that
is, lol, maybe 80?), but it's not right on them (they have a warm side and cool
side - they are free to move about as they please).

Both are starting to jump around and flutter, they will jump from my hand to the
couch or floor if it's about 1' away (no higher yet). They are also starting to
climb into and out of an ice cream bucked that I use to hold them when moving
them (tonight Diva went exploring around the living room floor, came face to
face with one of my 5 cats, then hightailed it back to the bucket, lol).

They are currently eating about 3 times a day. They are now eating grains and veggies out of a bowl. They are messy boogers, but they are too cute!

Anyways, I've posted a diary, lol! I love my little boogers, and wouldn't trade
them for the world! They are awesome babies, and I am so happy to be privileged
to have them in my life :)

Oh, does anyone know where I could get 2 snap on legs bands? I have no need for
huge lots, and it's not ecconomical for me to buy that many anyways. I don't
know any locals who have pigeons, which is sad, so I thought perhaps someone
here might have two I could trade for?

Thanks again for having me here!

Cheers,
Tara

First Day Home:


A few days ago:




Yesterday (showing off diaper, and no Diva doesn't have a sore eye, she blinked, lol):





Today, eating from the bowl, Ozzy was reaaaaally into it, lol!

to Pij-n-Angels, Tara.

It's great to hear about you and your 'babies'.
Your photos are wonderful.

I have been involved with pigeons for 7 years and have acquired 9 rescued pigeons and two rescued doves.

We look forward to visiting with you.

Cindy

Thanks for the introduction. We're always happy to meet new members and hear about their babies.
Yours are specially cute and I loved that you gave us the full account as to how they came to you.

It's hard for me to imagine that anyone could think of a living creature as a "JUST"...and to leave those poor babies to die...?
Do you intend to keep them?

I do have some snap on bands and I would be happy to just send you a couple. They have numbers on them and if I remember correctly, I have purple and gold...quite fetching to say the least!
Private message me your address and I will send a couple off to you.

Love the pictures, especially the ones showing off the diaper. Looking forward to more pictures and stories about Diva and Ozzy.

Thank you both for the warm welcome Gary and I plan to keep them as pets. We discussed the pros and cons of releasing, but in the end, I feel they are too bonded to humans and are unafraid of anything (they scare my cats, although the neighborhood Toms wouldn't be as timid, lol). We are surrounded by Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Kestrels, Hawks and Falcons, plus Ravens, Crows and Seagulls. I don't want my babies to become dinner for someone else. Well, it's my bed time soon, so I should get going, lol. Thank you again for having me here, and Matilda, thank you so much for the offer of bands (I've PM'd you).

Cheers!
Tara

Hi Tara and once again WELCOME.

Diva and Ozzy are beautiful and I am so glad that you decided to keep them as pets. I am really looking forward to hearing more about them as they grow up.

I think they might be a bit younger than 24 days, or their sad experience has slowed down their development. This is a photo of our Jessie when she was 20 days old:



Cynthia

TwinTails wrote:

Thank you both for the warm welcome
Gary and I plan to keep them as pets.

We discussed the pros and cons of releasing, but in the end, I feel they are too bonded to humans and are unafraid of anything (they scare my cats, although the neighborhood Toms wouldn't be as timid, lol).
* We are surrounded by Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Kestrels, Hawks and Falcons, plus Ravens, Crows and Seagulls.

I don't want my babies to become dinner for someone else. Well, it's my bed time soon, so I should get going, lol. Thank you again for having me here, and Matilda, thank you so much for the offer of bands (I've PM'd you).

Cheers!
Tara

Hi Tara,
:WHAT?: * WOW!! You have a collection of them all .
Keeping Ozzy and Diva safe with you and Gary is a wise decision.

You have done a wonderful job of raising them. They don't look like they've missed any meals.

We would love to see more pictures, as they grow.

Cindy

As usual I haven't been reading properly, I thought all the photos were taken on the same day! Now I see that the first one, where they are really tiny, was taken a few days ago. This is because I tend to mislay my glasses and end up squinting at the screen.

But being without parents for two days at such a young age has an effect on growth, because they develop a lot in a single day at that age.

Cynthia

Cynthia wrote:

As usual I haven't been reading properly, I thought all the photos were taken on the same day! Now I see that the first one, where they are really tiny, was taken a few days ago.
This is because I tend to mislay my glasses and end up squinting at the screen.

But being without parents for two days at such a young age has an effect on growth, because they develop a lot in a single day at that age.

Cynthia

:For Shame: * And then you're going to end up with a headache.

Cindy

Not going to...already did. I woke up with a whopper this morning!

Hello all :) Babies are doing well today, Diva even figured out how to eat brown rice on her own I went out to get them bird seed, however none of the local stores have any :eek: So, I bought a mix of various things and fed them. They were very hungry so I am still giving them a bit from the bottle.

This morning Ozzy decided that he needed to sit on my shoulder and screetch into my ear, lol! He was so sweet though, I couldn't be mad, lol! They deffinitely felt the pinch of not having food for two days But, thankfully they are growing like weeds and eating like horses, lol!

Well, I am exhausted. I will get more photos up tomorrow.

Cheers all!

I'll look forward to it.
There is nothing in this world quite like a baby Pigeon!

Matilda wrote:

There is nothing in this world quite like a baby Pigeon!

Oh how true! Today while out driving, I kept seeing pigeons and thinking, "I hope my babies are as beautiful as they are!" hehe

Your babes already are just as cute as can be. You've done a fine job with them.

Aww, thank you so much

TwinTails wrote:

Hello all :) Babies are doing well today, Diva even figured out how to eat brown rice on her own

I went out to get them bird seed, however none of the local stores have any :eek: So, I bought a mix of various things and fed them. They were very hungry so I am still giving them a bit from the bottle.

This morning Ozzy decided that he needed to sit on my shoulder and screetch into my ear, lol! He was so sweet though, I couldn't be mad, lol! They deffinitely felt the pinch of not having food for two days But,
* thankfully they are growing like weeds and eating like horses, lol!

Well, I am exhausted.
** I will get more photos up tomorrow.

Cheers all!

* Can't get much better than that.
** Will be looking forward to more pictures. We all LOVE pictures.

It is soooo gratifying to hear and to see how well they are getting along, specially when we know what their fate would have been!

Cynthia

Here are a few pics! Ozzy and Diva are now eating their grains out of a dish :) I still give them a bottle in the AM and PM, just because they are still squeaking and not eating enough grains IMO. But they are doing very well, starting to flutter about quite a bit, they are enjoying snuggling in my hair under my neck (and squeaking in my ear, lol). At the end of the pics you can see Ozzy getting freaked out and trying to peck my feet apart, lol. He's taking his clues from Diva, and finally started eating out of the dish :) They are doing great

Diva:



Ozzy:



Eating:

Those crops look nice and full!

They are so very sweet at that age, and grow up so quickly...fortunately they are sweet at any age.

My Taxi was about that age when I found him. Now he has a mate and a nest...if I let them breed he would have his own chicks in a week's time.

Cynthia

They're real "bookends"!
The cat's expression looks like..."if I just close my eyes, maybe they really aren't there!"
Poor kitty.

LOL! Thank you both Yes, they are so very sweet I love birds and have always had them (my first pet at age 2 was a budgie - I ended up hand taming him, teaching him tricks and words, he was a sweet boy who lived for a long time, hehe). Pigeons are just so beautiful, and wherever I go I end up having birds flocking to me It's a beautiful situation to find yourself in :)

Haha, Baby was scoled for swatting at Diva :For Shame: so when I took her picture she was a bit on the peeved side, lol! The other cats are interested but don't get close.

They are truly amazing birds! Even Gary (hubby) is loving them, which is rare as he's not a bird person, lol!

Once one truely have a chance to get to know a Pigeon, it's difficult not ot at least recognize they are inteligent creatures.
The people that say such hateful thing about Pigeon are just showing their ignorance because they haven't a clue. :For Shame:

Love your photos, tara. Thanks for posting them.
Dolly and Dumpling were raised in front of a camera.
It seemed as though every time I walked in the aviary I had the camera with me.
But they're pictures I'll always treasure.

Yes indeed, their crops are nice and plump.
You did good raising them!!

Cindy

Hi Tara, and welcome. Your babies are just adorable. I'm glad you decided to keep them. You'll love having them as part of the family. We started with 6 baby ferral pigeons, when someone had an old porch torn down, complete with pijjie nests. Two of them were only a couple of days old. Don't know how we did it, but we all survived somehow. We were planning on raising them and releasing, but fell in love with them, and just couldn't imagine them out there in the cold New England winters that we get. :( So we now have a loft. We have added several rescues since then, and with the occasional Oops baby, we now have twenty. We love them all dearly, and know you will too. It was so great hearing about your babies, and I love the pictures. Hope you will share more of them with us as they grow. I'll be great getting to know you. Thanks again for sharing this with us.

They are such cute little ones!

The furry observer looks kinda puzzled as to what these strange beings are :)

Thanks everyone! Here are pics from about 1/2 hour ago Both are now fully on seed! They love it, although Ozzy is still begging for the bottle, lol. But they are loving their seeds :) They go through about 2 bowls a day (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups each). Every morning they wait for fresh food and water, then snuggles :) Great little babies! Oh, and Diva flew yesterday! She flew about 4 or 5 feet, from where we were sitting to their cage. It was awesome Ozzy is still being lazy, lol, but thats ok