Hello from Bangkok!

Update. We've been forced into a drastic cutback on feeding, but Henry still gets some when possible. The problem now seems to be some pidgees have figured out Henry's the key to the food and so follow him everywhere. He has his own cult! We still feed him if there are not too many other outside pidgees around, but sometimes he'll jump up into the window with virtually an army behind him, and we just have to point to the others, shake our heads no and close the curtains. He actually seems to understand; at least, he knows this means no, as he doesn't keep jumping up like before.

Susie is definitely gone. Joey has left, also. Moe and Zoe are still here ... we think, as there are several new young ones that resemble them. It's getting difficult to tell which ones are Moe and Zoe and which the others. One I call Spotty, as he carries a white Gorbachev-style blotch on top of his head. And some new grays. All of these are young punks who tend to fight among themselves, visibly annoying Henry.

And a new white one that is obviously Henry's just appeared in the last few days. Beautiful, just stunning, white with very few black markings, but a similar, albeit more faded, pattern on the very top of the head as Henry has. Not the one we called Sweetie, who has also not been seen for days. This one looks so elegant, we thought it must be a female, but this morning (Wednesday morning), this one puffed out its neck and made some very male-like aggressive moves against others; must be a Thai ladyboy!

Maggie has disappeared again also, so we figure she must be tending to some eggs again. Don't know why she does not come here much in her off hours if that's true.

Even when we're not putting out food, we always have fresh water available, and they appreciate that. Some pidgees have taken to lounging down in our tree pots and snoozing for long stretches. We're very popular with them.

Will try to post new photos soon.

I appreciate the great update, Sam.
I'm always wondering how the Bangkok flock is doing.

Wishing Susie, Joey and Maggie safety, wherever they are.

I'm glad to hear Henry is doing well.

I totally understand about having to adjust the feeding. I have to do the same thing at times.

There's been a disturbing development. Henry's been gone a full week now.

It's Thursday morning here, and the last time we saw him was last Thursday. I fed him around noon. I thought he seemed a bit skittish at the time. The wife fed him in the late afternoon. And those are the last times we've seen him. We were away last weekend, for just under 48 hours from Saturday noontime until late Monday morning. But even when we spent so much time in Vietnam, Henry still hung around.

Maggie did reappear on Monday, and I was able to give her a good feed with no other pidgees around. But she's not been back since, and that was her only appearance in a couple of weeks or so. In fact, there seems to be a noticeable drop in the number of pigeons coming around. It's still the height of the rainy season, and lots of bugs being pushed out of the ground and lush greenery, so they're not lacking any hunting opportunities. The Pretty One and Scruffy still hang around too, always together as usual.

I hope Henry's okay. He's hung out here for 14 months, his whole adult life, we think. It's good they're free to fly around and such, but then you start worrying about what's happened when they disappear.

Susie's still gone. Junior reappeared yesterday for the first time in days. Ladyboy and a few others like to lounge around in the mornings, then disappear in the afternoon. I went ahead and fed Ladyboy and Big Eyes today. Another pidgee showed up, then a couple more, but not the large number as before. Ladyboy and Big Eyes got into a fight that I had to break up. He's aptly named, Ladyboy, because although male, he looks so elegant and feminine.

Appreciate the update, Sam.

I'm so sorry to hear that Henry has been missing.
Being gone for a week is a long span for him isn't it?

I will keep him in my special thoughts and hope that he is OK.

Please keep us posted.

Good news! Henry showed up!

It was yesterday afternoon (Friday afternoon), and I was just shutting the place to head out. Just as I was closing the curtain, Henry flew down from somewhere and landed on the top rail. I thought it was Junior at first, who comes around now about noontime and had been here earlier. But no, it was Henry. I was sort of in a hurry, but I stopped everything and gave him some food. Immediately, he got into a fight with another pigeon, which I broke up quickly before leaving. Don't know what happened after that, he was on his own. The wife did not see him when she came home later.

So after eight days, Henry showed back up. Odd. Maybe he doesn't think of this as his place anymore, having grown tired of all these other pidgees that are trying to muscle in? Still no further sign of Maggie since Monday. It could have been my imagination, but Henry seemed thinner. I'm just glad someone didn't catch him to eat; around here, you never know.

Ladyboy has definitely become a regular now. I'm sure he's one of Henry's. Will post photos soon. And a new one has appeared, looks like marble -- half white (Henry?) and half dark in a marbled pattern.

That's great!

I'm sure glad to hear that Henry returned, Sam. Thanks for letting us know.

Hope he's okay. Looked a little frazzled ... and thin! Or at least not quite so plump. May be just my imagination.

Siam Sam wrote:

Hope he's okay.

Looked a little frazzled ... and thin! Or at least not quite so plump. May be just my imagination.

I hope Henry is OK too.

I doubt it's your imagination, Sam.
Not eating at 'Sam's Place' for a week probably has put him on the thin side.

Please keep us posted.

Yeah, but there's lots of good hunting right now, with the rains pushing al the bugs up from the ground. Back when Big Pidgee was the main resident here, he relied solely on hunting and stayed pretty plump.

Did not see Henry yesterday (Saturday), but he reappeared this morning, only briefly, but at least we know he's okay. Fed him ... and nine other pidgees who showed up immediately. Then he left. I think he's just tired of the hassle.

Now Ladyboy, Big Eyes and Max hang out here all morning long each day. Ladyboy is defintely Henry's; Max, who first showed up just a few days ago and has a marbled design, may be. For some reason, he looks like a Max, so thus his name. Max has fallen in love with the flower box and generally refuses to leave it, sitting either inside it or, like he is right now while staring at me, perched on the edge. We'll slip those a little food if no others are around.

I even had to chase away the Evil Gray, who decided to try and fight Max for occupancy of the box. Max put up a valiant fight until reinforcements (me) arrived.

Photos in the not-too-distant future.

As long as they come by from time to time so you know they're OK, that's great.

It sounds like you still have a balcony of pijjies on a regular basis.
Not only do they know where the food is with easy access they know it's a 'safe haven' place for them.

Looking forward to the photos.

Henry is now coming around more regularly again, often with Maggie. Not sure what that eight-day absence was all about.

But we're worried about Junior. On Wednesday, he seemed sick. He was perfectly fine even the day before, but on that day he was listless, sort of drooping and had a hard time keeping his eyes open. Was breathing heavily. And seemed to have no interest in food, which is very unusual for him. When I opened the balcony door, he flew over to the window frames, where he continued acting sick. That's the last we've seen him, and it's Friday here now.

Poor little guy, maybe only eight months old by our reckoning. No other pidgees are showing any signs of illness at all, and he does not look like he was attacked; with his white color, I'd think that would be obvious. Maybe he ate something poisonous?

Sounds like he may have a canker infection. It's eay to treat. Can you find metronidazole there?

Hi Sam,
I'm so sorry to hear about Junior.


While something else may be going on, canker would be the first suspect.
If you are able to catch and treat him, that would be great.

Please keep us posted.

I forgot to add:
I am soooo glad Henry returned.
I've been thinking and worrying about him.

No sign of Junior at all since that last time four days ago. We're fearing the worst. Whatever was wrong with him, it came on suddenly. Tuesday, he was his typical self, then Wednesday looked very sick. Everyone else seems fine. We wondered if he may have eaten something poisonous.

Assuming we can get ahold of some metronidazole and that Junior returns, how is it applied?

Max has disappeared too, but we don't suspect anything untoward in his case. Dang! We only named him because he seemed to want to stick around. Now we've used up that name.

It's very possible that Junior ate something that didn't agree with him, given he became sick so suddenly.
I hope he's OK. Bless his heart.

Still no sign of Junior, and it's been nine days now. Very strange. A healthy pidgee 10 days ago, sick and listless nine days ago. And not one other "regular" seems affected.

On the chance it was canker, is that communicable among pigeons, or does it develop on its own? And would that be enough to kill him, or just cause some degree of illness?

Meanwhile, not much else happening. I think I did catch sight one time, and only once, of a new Henry/Maggie offspring. Looked like Maggie but with a reddish moustache like Henry's. Henry's moustache has always had a light-red tint, but this pidgee's was more pronounced. Was here with Maggie, so I'm sure it was not her. It flew away frightened the first time it saw me and has never returned. Otherwise, we've still cut back on feeding. Man, this birdseed must be like crack cocaine, as there will be an army of nine or 10 pidgees all sitting out there staring intently at the curtains in the morning, waiting for us to open up and feed them. Will feed Henry and Maggie if not too many others around, but afternoons are best, as the others usually give up by that time and go hunting.

Siam Sam wrote:

Still no sign of Junior, and it's been nine days now.
Very strange. A healthy pidgee 10 days ago, sick and listless nine days ago. And not one other "regular" seems affected.

On the chance it was canker, is that communicable among pigeons, or does it develop on its own? And would that be enough to kill him, or just cause some degree of illness?

Meanwhile, not much else happening. I think I did catch sight one time, and only once, of a new Henry/Maggie offspring. Looked like Maggie but with a reddish moustache like Henry's. Henry's moustache has always had a light-red tint, but this pidgee's was more pronounced. Was here with Maggie, so I'm sure it was not her. It flew away frightened the first time it saw me and has never returned. Otherwise, we've still cut back on feeding. Man, this birdseed must be like crack cocaine, as there will be an army of nine or 10 pidgees all sitting out there staring intently at the curtains in the morning, waiting for us to open up and feed them. Will feed Henry and Maggie if not too many others around, but afternoons are best, as the others usually give up by that time and go hunting.

Hi Sam,
Appreciate the update.

I have to say, being that Junior appeared quite sick and hasn't returned in 10 days, the picture doesn't look so good.

Canker can spread like wildfire in a feral flock. All pigeons are susceptible to it.
Stress is a prime factor for canker to surface, whether it's due to illness, weather conditions/changes, etc.

One way it spreads is when the host is eating and shakes his head in an attempt to get the canker out of it's mouth. Pieces will fall off and other members of the flock will unintentionally pick it up while eating.

A pigeon with visible canker will have yellowish nodules, looking somewhat like cottage cheese in it's mouth. There may be a foul odor accompanied with the canker.
On occasion the mouth may be full of a sticky mucous. Generally this indicated an advanced case.

There is also internal canker. Which there may not be any visible signs of it.

If a bird seems to be having difficulty eating, shaking it's head, appearing listless and maybe even isolates himself, there's a good chance he has canker, whether it be visible or internal.
Yes! Canker can, and most likely will, kill if it goes untreated.
Treatment is the keyword.

I'm glad to hear all else seems to be well.

Hi Sam,
For more information on canker Click here.

Thanks for the info. I'll see if I can find some metronidazole here. Would a regular pharmacist carry that?

It's been almost three weeks now since we last saw Junior, that day he was visibly ill. Whatever happened to him came no sudenly. Poor little guy.

Something may have happened to Scruffy, too. One of the two we call the Pretty One has Scruffy for a mate, and they sometimes even mate on the balcony. Unlike Henry and Maggie, who are only seen together some of the time, this Pretty One and scruffy were almost always together. Almost always. But we've not seen Scruffy for a week or so, and the Pretty One hangs out on the balcony all day long, staring out like he's looking for her. Maybe he's waiting for her to show up? Sad. We try not to feed this one, as he's very mean to Henry and Maggie both and others. Seems a little heart-broken now. But not ill.

Otherwise, business as usual. Henry and Maggie get fed mostly in the later afternoon if one of us are here, as too many others hang around in the morning, maybe 5-7 or even more. Like a little community center. We always leave water out. And there's been a noticeable change in the seasons since last Friday. The rains have ended suddenly, and we've entered the so-called cool season. There are some relatively cool breezes in the mornings, and the pidgees all fluff their feathers out against them. May have even seen one new one, another Moe and Max marble-patterned one, possibly belonging to Henry and Maggie.

Will try to get those photos up soon.

Appreciate the update, Sam.

I am so sorry to hear that Junior hasn't returned, even for a short time.
We always keep up hope that they will find their way back, especially if ill or injured.
It's the unknown that really hits the pit of my stomach.

And now Scruffy.
There's no doubt in my mind that Pretty One is watching, waiting and hoping to see her come flying in.
Bless his heart.

Please do keep us posted (as you always do).

I'm glad to hear that Henry and Maggie are doing good.
I hope you and your wife are doing good as well.

Our weather has finally changed, somewhat.
Our evenings and morning are wonderful (high 50's and low 60's). We are still having some days in the 90's though.
In fact, today and tomorrow are supposed to be 91 and 93 respectively.

I will continue to think positive thoughts for Junior and Scruffy.

I know the pigeon angels are watching over them, wherever they may be.

sorry to read all is not well on your balcony, hope it all works out

We're getting a little concerned. We figure Junior must be dead, as it's been a full four weeks now since we saw him acting ill. Then Scruffy disappeared, leaving The Pretty One to hang out here mourning and seeming to wait for her to reappear. A few days ago little Moe seemed a little sluggish, not much, not ill like Junior, but noticeable. Have not seen him since, and it's been almost a week.

We're wondering if maybe little Susie didn't just fly off after all. Maybe she took ill and died. Whatever hit Junior came on suddenly, and we never did see Scruffy ill at all.

Meanwhile, Ladyboy and Big Eyes have decided they like our balcony and hanging out here, but there's a big gray male we call Evil Gray, because he is an insufferable bully. Even chases Henry away. If we try to feed Henry, we have to watch and keep Evil Gray back. and he knows we don't like him. If he starts chasing another bird, we'll point to him threateningly, and he'll back off, but Henry and Maggie seem to sense we're on their side, helping them out.

A new young one has appeared that we're pretty sure is Henry's. Mostly white. Some black speckles and even brown speckles, but oddly there's an orange gash across the right wing. I thought it was bleeding the first time I saw it! But no, it's just the feather color. We've named it Som, which is Thai for "orange." Cute little guy. Stares all around in wonder like the new adults always do.

Hi Sam,
I really appreciate the update.

Just by the off chance, do you think the seed might be old?
I've read where some have bought seed that was either old or had gotten a bit wet (just enough to cause the seeds to go bad, but not detectable) and their pigeons became sick. It's just a thought.

Another is the pijjies might be going elsewhere to p/u a bite or two and that food is bad. but something is definitely amiss.

Could also be a case of canker running through the flock.
Although in Junior's case, IMO, canker doesn't fit the pattern, where they seem fine one day and dragging to the doorstep the next.

From my experience with our flock, a canker pij will gradually slow down as the canker increases and the ability to eat decreases.

I'm so sorry this is happening to your flock.

Please do keep us updated.