Poppy and Florentine |
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Poppy Pigeon was rescued July 26, 1999, where she'd fallen out of the nest, unable to fly, was abandoned, and about to be Dog Chow. Poppy was probably 15 days old, but her head and tummy were quite bald. Florentine was rescued on August 1, 1999. He was probably 9 days old, a little wet furball, also fallen and abandoned. Some teenagers had been throwing rocks at him, and he was bleeding slightly from the side of his head. I wasn't sure about bringing the tiny squeaker home; Poppy was doing quite well and I didn't know how they'd react to each other. But the sun set and every pigeon had flown to the safety of its roost, except for poor Florentine, who was looking at me! Needless to say, Florentine came home with me. I quarantined Florentine for the first night. He was teeny tiny and unable to eat by himself; I wasn't sure he would make it. I hand fed him and prayed that he'd make it through the night.
Flori rests on a teddy bear head! Close up of Poppy at 2 months old Poppy and Florentine feed, rest, preen, and exercise at the same times. Poppy has a good sense of sunset, even though I don't turn out the lights until later. When it's time for bed, Poppy knows it and she flies to her roosting spot. September
Update: Poppy and Flori are doing quite well: they're getting used to the
great outdoors. They spend half of the time inside and half in the covered patio
area.
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Birds in my Care |
The next morning, sweet little Florentine was still with us! After a full day, I
introduced Florentine to Poppy, expecting the worst. But much to my delight, the two
got along, and soon became best buddies. I continued to handfeed Florentine several
times a day for the next two days. Handfeeding makes me very nervous; I'm
not experienced. All I had to go on was my limited experience with Pepper and Peeper
along with having read every piece of literature on internet and in print that I could get
my paws on. 
By the fourth day, Florentine could imitate Poppy and
began eating by himself! I was quite relieved! I watched carefully to make sure
he was eating and drinking enough.
Poppy continued her own routine. Her roosting spot of choice was a rock
on top of her cage. She'd fly up there at night and stay until morning. The
only way she could get up there was to fly on top of my bed first, and then from the bed
to the top of the cage. This continued for a week, while Florentine slept in a
corner near the cage. 
It wasn't until August 9 that I saw
Florentine even attempt to fly. I'd encourage Florentine by putting him on fairly low
objects (2 inches high up to 5 inches) and letting him fly down. He wasn't too keen
on the idea, and I'd often have to help him get down. I put a box near their cage,
making the journey an easier two-step process. For the two nights before
Florentine's first flight, I had lifted him to a roosting spot near Poppy, providing Flori
with his own rock. When I came in Monday night, Aug. 9, Florentine had made it to
his bed by himself! I was so delighted!
In the morning, Florentine was afraid to fly down. Poppy
was already on the floor feeding, but she kept watching Flori. When she heard Flori
cry, she flew up to the box, the halfway point, and coaxed Flori down to the box.
From the box, Flori was able to make it to the ground.