# Missing feet and digits



## Nooti (Mar 14, 2002)

I'm a new member and was perusing through some old topics when I came across a thread discussing pigeons with missing feet and digits. We live very close to the canal here and idiots who call themselves anglers are very careless with their tackle, leaving strands of broken fishing line everywhere. At least 25% of our local flock have been affected by this stuff being wrapped around their legs. I have rescued a few and treated them, but I had one in last year who inspired me to write her story. I share it here with you and hope no-one thinks the post is too long. If it is I apologise, and I suppose it can be deleted.
Last October a pigeon which became rather special appeared from nowhere. She made her entrance at the start of a troubling time for us and helped to take my mind off our problems. Where she came from I do not know, but as I stepped out through our garage door one fine morning she was just sitting on the pavement outside. I noted her presence but apart from saying, “Hi there,” I ignored her. After all, there were plenty of pigeons in our neighbourhood and plenty of people milling around on the street who might scornfully notice I was passing the time of day with a pigeon! 
She was still there an hour later, arousing my curiosity. Horrified, I watched her stumble while trying to retreat from my approach. Now her plight was clear. Both feet were entangled in fishing line and she could not walk, but she was able to hop on one foot using her wings for balance. I tried in vain to catch her. She would allow my feet to come close but veered away when my hands appeared. However she did not fly off so I put a handful of corn on the floor. I was stunned as she fluttered to the little pile and began to feed. She was only inches from my feet! I felt she must be desperate and left her alone to fill her crop in peace. Then she flew away.
I quickly put the incident out of mind, so I was startled to see her again the following morning. She was sitting quite patiently on the pavement as I emerged from the garage, her head cocked to one side and her beady eyes were almost pleading as she looked up at me. I had completely forgotten yesterday’s encounter and I stopped in shock as I met her gaze. How long had she been waiting there? I almost felt her pain as our eyes locked and I was humbled by her determination to establish a relationship with me, even if food was her only motive. 
I rewarded her patience with another pile of corn and, as she bent her head to feed, I looked at her feet. The line was still entangled and one ankle was badly swollen where it had bitten deep. It must have been painful but I was powerless to help. Catching her was not going to be easy. She wasn’t scared of me but my hands frightened her.
As I watched her feed I wondered at her sudden appearance. She was not one of the 30 strong local flock that lives in our park. I guessed she was one of the canal flock - as Nofeet had been, which would explain the fishing line problem. What had caused her to seek me out? She couldn’t possibly know I was probably the only person in the area who could help her. Or did she? As we looked at each other I felt a connection. Perhaps she was blessed with more intelligence than the average pigeon? Or did she just sense that I was a kind person? 
Whatever her reasons she appeared regularly every morning around 11 o’clock and I began to watch out for her. Sometimes she would be on the garage roof, her sharp orange eyes questioning as she turned her head to watch me: ‘Would I feed her today?’ 
I was thankful she had slipped un-noticed from her flock and was alone. I could never have coped with the daily feeding of a group, and I wondered if she sensed her secret meals would be at risk if others joined her. But more likely she realised the disadvantages of fighting for food with her disability. So she came alone.
As the days passed we built up a level of mutual trust which I hated to jeopardise by trying to catch her, but now the state of her feet was beginning to worry me. Otherwise she was in excellent condition and flew strongly, so she wasn’t in desperate need of the food. But still she appeared each day, and always alone.
One morning I went out and she wasn’t there! I was rather shocked and a little sad as each day passed without sight of her and I had to presume she was dead. It surprised me how bereft I felt. It was like I had lost a friend with whom I had unfinished business.
As I arrived home about a week later the flash of her grey wings startled me as she suddenly landed on our garage roof. My heart jumped. I had given up hope and here she was as large as life! But my heart sank again just as quickly when she flew to the ground and I realised that she was now unable even to stand up. Her breast feathers were tatty due to repeated crash-landings and her condition looked serious as she floundered along the pavement using just her wings. It was clear now that she was going to lose both her feet, but having met and treated Nofeet 18 months earlier I could view this prospect objectively and I believed she would cope. I wished with all my heart that I could catch and help her. Despite her recent absence she still came straight up to me as I spilled my little offering on the step. It was very frustrating. I could almost touch her but she would not let me cross that final barrier. 
During the following three weeks I made several serious attempts to catch her and I became desperate, using any method I could think of. A blanket, a net, subterfuge and even my bare hands, but she always eluded me and, in the meantime, her feet became worse. However she seemed nonplussed by my attempts and I felt like a traitor as time and again she eluded my grasp. But instead of flying away she would swing around the back of me and crash at my feet again to continue feeding as though nothing had happened. Her capacity for forgiveness was amazing and it humbled me. By now she had become more than just a pigeon. She had taken over my waking thoughts and it saddened me that I was unable to free her from this hell that was claiming her feet.
The day I was successful dawned just like any other day. She duly arrived and sat at the garage door. Not knowing she was there I opened it suddenly without thinking. Normally this would startle her and she would fly off a little way before coming back. This time she didn’t turn a feather! With my heart pounding I left the door propped open and put a handful of corn on the floor just inside. To my surprise she then let me step right over her in the doorway and as I bent down she made a feeble attempt to move away, but I picked her up quite easily. 
At long last I had finally caught her! She was calmer than I and hardly struggled as I examined each foot with trembling hands. The left appeared to be the worst. It was cold, clammy and she looked likely to lose it. The right foot was swollen and hot but still had circulation. The line had bitten through the flesh right to the bone and a single strand of nylon connected both feet. Once cut I used the ends to try and unravel the line around the swollen foot, but this resulted in sudden and severe bleeding. I was well aware a bird’s blood pressure can drop after just a small loss of blood and I hadn’t caught her only to have her bleed to death. My hands shook as I hastily wrapped the line back round and secured a small bandage to staunch the flow. 
Further examination convinced me I needed help with this case and I hoped Chris would not feel I was wasting his time as I rang to make an appointment. Even I have been brainwashed by years of listening to ‘flying rats’ and ‘vermin,’ and I almost stumbled over the word, ‘pigeon,’ when asked what I was bringing in. It was at the back of my mind that her feet were beyond help, but I didn’t want her put to sleep. So while I was waiting for my appointment I mentally prepared a speech which hopefully would convince everyone that even a pigeon was entitled to some help and should not be allowed to suffer.
“Hope you don’t mind me bringing in a pigeon,” was the start of my rehearsed speech and I was planning to elaborate on how special she was to me when Chris cut me short with a reminder of the number of pigeons he had passed on to me, therefore how could he begrudge treating one which I brought to him? I smiled as I realised the significance of what he was saying.
I relaxed even more as he very carefully unwrapped the offending line without any sign of bleeding. With it came the hook and the weight too. No wonder she’d looked miserable! It was at this point I realised that the left foot, which had been cold and clammy, was now warm and she was moving the toes! Obviously my cutting the connecting line between her two feet had relaxed the tension and allowed the circulation to flow. That foot looked better than the other which was badly swollen, but it seemed that both her feet could be saved and I was so pleased for her. 
She was discharged on antibiotics and proved to be a model patient. Her home was in one of the perspex hospital cages fixed to the inside of the garage wall and she showed no sign of panic as I gave her daily treatment, cleaned the cage and brought more food and water. I tried to handle her as little as possible in order not to destroy the trust between us, but she was so calm about my presence that I often had to push her out of the way to slip a clean sheet of newspaper on the cage floor! To allow her flying exercise I left the door open during the day but, although she sat quietly in the doorway most of the time, she showed no inclination to leave. She spent her recuperation time just resting and I watched the healing process carefully. It was going to take many weeks for the right leg to heal properly, but I did not want to keep her longer than necessary. Once she had completed the course of antibiotics and it was obvious there would be no more problems, I intended to release her. I know from experience than patients recover quicker in their own surroundings and I didn’t want her to become restless and feel I was restraining her against her will. In fact I hoped she would stay around and resume her daily visits.
The day she was released was the day we learnt we had won our case and the worrying time was almost over. For the previous couple of days she had been flying around the garage and I would find her in a different spot each time I checked on her. She had improved rapidly and, as no further medication was required, it seemed pointless to hold her any longer. It was a day of brilliant sunshine as I opened the garage door and herded her through it. She sat for a few seconds in her old feeding spot before recognition dawned and she flew on to a nearby roof. From there she flew unwavering over the rooftops heading straight for the canal banking. My suspicions had been correct. She was probably from the canal flock of which Nofeet had once been a member. It was my fervent hope that she did not meet up with any more discarded fishing line.
I have since wondered just why she chose me out of all the people in our area? She accepted my presence as though she had known me all her life and there was no panic in her behaviour. How did she sense I was not a danger? When she finally allowed me to catch her it was just in time to save both her feet. Had she realized that time had almost run out for her?
Although I will never know the answers to these questions, my encounters with pigeons have taught me one thing- that there is more to these dull grey street birds than we can ever understand. And somewhere out there is Twofeet, a little pigeon with a bit more about her than the others!


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Nooti,

That's a great story with a happy ending! 

I've noted that even an apparently severely disabled pigeon (i.e., missing all toes) can survive - but for how long? 

For those who've seen my posts on my 'wounded' pigeons, forgive the repetition.

I had a feral come round who I called 'Footless' - same condition as your 'Nofeet'. He was a tough bird, and I was amazed at what he could achieve. He could land on the flat-topped railing of my balcony, thud-thud along the wooden window sill outside, and he could certainly hold his own against any other pigeon when it came to getting his share of food! I don't see him anymore, but with the average lifespan of a city (or, in my case, south of England town) pigeon there is quite a turnover in the local flock. Also had one come round who only had one eye (so you can guess what I called him/her).

Currently, I have a little brown/white pigeon coming to visit who is like Nofeet - I have not been able to catch him to have the thread removed from his feet, so he now has one stump, and just two toes on the other foot. I almost took him by surprise (the cloth dropped over bird trick) on one occasion, but he was off like a little rocket. Since then, he just will not come close enough if my balcony door is open. Luke's idea of a sputnik trap might work - but it depends on me being there at the right time. With a full time job which often involves being elsewhere in the UK all the working week for months on end - interspersed with times when I'm closer to home - the pigeons I can rescue are generally only those I find at a weekend and aren't mobile enough to make a quick escape. Unless the thread has decomposed, I fear my little visitor will eventually lose both feet.

Thank God pigeons are pretty tough regarding physical injury & disability - they are quite amazing birds!

John


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## Nooti (Mar 14, 2002)

John,
I take it you have seen No-feet's story on my website. I treated him in 1999. He did eventually leave to take up his nomadic lifestyle again, and the last time I saw him was back in September 2000. Since then I had seen neither beak nor feather of him.
Then only two days ago - there he was! Foraging on my street. After 17 months of absence he is still going strong. He must be at least 5 years old now, and has probably been around all the time, we have just missed each other that's all. I cannot describe how I felt when I saw him again, as I had presumed for a long time that he was dead.
As for Twofeet. Still she visits everyday for her breakfast and afternoon tea. She spots me walking down the street before I even spot myself sometimes, and will suddenly land at my feet taking me by surprise. She even knows my car and will land in the road right in front of me as I arrive home. She does not do this with anyone else and I admire her ability to recognise me even from a long distance away.
I suspect she is nesting now. I know she has a mate, and recently her undercarriage and underside of her tail feathers have started looking a little tatty, although she remains imaculate elsewhere. I know she roosts with the others under the canal bridge and that is where she will be nesting. However, I trust her mate is on the eggs during the day, as is the norm. So she continues to freeload from me every day, and she is most welcome.


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## Nooti (Mar 14, 2002)

PS - John, we are not very imaginitive with our names are we????
No-feet, Twofeet, Footless.....
Let's hope I never get a drunken pigeon or I would be very tempted to call him Legless!


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Nooti,

It is so comforting to hear stories with happy endings, specially when one is in the middle of one's own "pigeon experience"! I have also been trying to help a pigeon (Stumpy...a very imaginative name!) that got her feet caught up with thread. She is a particularly distinctive and beautiful pigeon, a very pale red-band. She has evaded all my efforts to catch her since June last year and even eluded a friend who is really experienced at catching doves that have become entangled in fishing line.
At first she caught my eye because she had a slight limp, then I noticed the thread which over the course of a couple of weeks tightened to the extent that she was "wing-walking". After a few days in that state the string broke (or was cut), but the damage had been done and she still had string embedded tightly round her feet. During the winter she lost one toe first, then the other foot. She is in a green where there is an established flock that will compete for the available food, but she knows that I will scatter seed widely round her for the others then toss a good supply of food just under her beak, so she always lands just about a meter away from me and waits for her special handful. I thought that she hung around the same area all day but yesterday, after I fed her, I walked to a different part of town where I suddenly found myself being escorted by a small gang of flying pigeons. Right in the forefront, hovering in front of my nose was Stumpy...and of course she got "seconds". When I returned to her usual spot she was already back, resting in the grass. 

I am hoping that this is as bad as her condition will get, but I check up on her every day and if I get the chance I will take her in.

Cynthia


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## Poulette (Feb 5, 2002)

Hi everyone, your stories are all so beautifull, they bring tears to my eyes, and as a pigeon lover since I had one for 15 years, I am happy to see that other poeple have this unique bond with those wonderfull birds!








Poulette


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Great stories everyone! I have a pigeon that I named Amazing Grace who came to me completely missing one foot and two toes of the other. I have no idea how she came to lose the foot and toes as the "wounds" were old and completely healed when I got her. She also had been surviving in the wild but eventually became weak and was rescued by a kind person.

I am still trying to catch the American Coot in my local park that is entangled in fishing line. It has lost all but one toe on the entangled foot. The bird is much like Nooti's pigeon ... it will come to me to eat but I can't get close enough to make a successful grab.

Terry Whatley


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Terry - 

Any chance of a two-person rescue with the Coot? Like, you luring him/her reasonably close with food, while a.n.other drops the towel, coat, net, whatever on the bird from behind? But, boy, do Coots have sharp bills - I had one stab my thumb one time









John


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## Nooti (Mar 14, 2002)

I think there is no one easy method of catching these afflicted birds. Often it is just opportunity which affords itself, and any forward planning just goes right out of the window. If you have a few friends with quick reactions sometimes one can catch a pigeon in mid air as it takes flight. If a group of friends semi circle the bird and drive it slowly toward the 'catcher' the pigeon often takes off in the direction of the catcher as he is a sole enemy and therefore not as great a danger as a group. I have caught some this way, but you need to be fast thinking as one never knows which dirction the bird will go in as it takes off.... much like a goal keeper who is trying to save a penalty!
As it is I am starting over again. As I was feeding Twofeet this afternoon, another pigeon turned up and she has some black cotton wrapped around one foot, which is badly swollen. I allowed her acces to some food hoping to gain her confidence. I do not usually allow other pigeons near Twofeet when I am feeding her as I do not want to encourage a whole flock to become dependent on me when they can quite easily forage for themselves. 
There are one or two persistent birds who try, like Leech and Freeloader- named by me for obvious reasons, but in the main the flock knows now that the food is not for them. They do not starve. The park is just across the road from us and many people feed the flock on a daily basis. Twofeet just gets the best in pigeon food from me.
Anyway I;m hoping that maybe I can eventually catch this new one if I can get her used to me coming. She is very wary though, nowhere near as calm as Twofeet, and I suspect I may not catch her.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

You, like many of us who love pigeons & other birds, must somehow attract them, Nooti. I'm sure almost every sick & wounded pigeon in my area must end up on my balcony, or just 'appear' outside where I happen to see it.

All mine go to a bird hospital - Brent Lodge, linked on your site. And, regarding your site, I've now had a *really* good browse - sure beats watching TV







- and I hope others take a good look. I was totally immersed in your stories and pix for a good long time, and lauhed, marvelled and felt sad (in the original meaning!) in turn at the ups and downs of your rescues. Oh, you gave a whole new meaning to 'the owl and the pussycat'









John


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## Nooti (Mar 14, 2002)

John, Have you never heard of the beak telegraph? It is the avian equivalent of the bush telegraph only much faster. If you listen carefully among the flock you will here the whispering that goes on..... "Hey mate, see that sucker there? Go act sick in front of him/her and you'll get a free meal and a warm bed!" Yeah well. I have to think it is something like that. How else would they know just where to come? lol
I know Brent Lodge. They are very good. Nice to know they will take pigeons. A lot of pepole won't because they get over-run and there is always a danger of passing on disease if you have your own permanent stock. I do take them, no-one else in my area will and I would worry what would happen to them if I didn't. Sometimes I groan when someone rings up with YET another pigeon and my hospital room is full, but what can you do?
I have a special area with quarantine conditions and an isolation admittance procedure for pigeons because of my own stock. It means I can safely admit them and keep them contained. Most are quite healthy and pose little risk, but the odd one or two have nearly given me heart failure when I recognise the pox lesions on their bodies!
Thank God for ministry approved disinfectants.
[Oh, you gave a whole new meaning to 'the owl and the pussycat'] 
Ahah! Jodi and Toby! Yeah..... They gave me so much fun! I see a lot of interaction between different species in this line of work, and never fail to marvel at how well they will get on with each other in these artificial surroundings, whereas they would be natural enemies in the wild.
So glad you enjoyed the stories. I see so much each day and love to share what I see with like minded people.
Thank you. Helen


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

John,

Yes, a two person attempt on the Coot would probably be successful. Alas, my rescue buddies have been horribly remiss in showing up to help me with this bird after saying they would help. The Coot is very wary as I have been after him for about six weeks now and have made a number of all out chasing attempts ... soooo he is very careful around me. Sooner or later, I will get him though.

Terry Whatley


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## Laurel Rain (Mar 6, 2002)

Nooti,

I just read your story. It brought tears to my eyes (hopefully my co-worker did not see. I truly believe that animals sense kindness and that she came to you for help. I'm so glad that you were there for her.

I had never realized what a problem string is for pigeons. Once, about a year ago, I was eating my lunch near Washington Square Park, and I saw a poor little pigeon with string wrapped so badly around his feet that it looked grown in. His feet were actually tied together. I watched him helplessly and sadly. I pointed at him and a couple of construction fellas noticed. They looked like tough guys, but interestingly enough, they seemed to share my pity for the little guy. So, one of the workers got up from his seat, reached out very quickly, and caught him!! He held him delicately, turned him upside down, took out a pocket knife, and cut free the string tying his feet together. Then the pigeon flew away!

Every time i saw this guy later on, I told him he was my hero. I hadn't thought about it until now, but, do you guys think that, because the man losened the string, the pigeon was able to pick off the rest or he was in less pain?

Anyway, thank you for your story Nooti. I hope others can share stories like yours. And can anyone think of a way to clean up areas with a lot of string? I would be willing to do this in my area.

Laurel Rain


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## fred2344 (Jan 9, 2002)

I went back to one of my prior posts to copy and paste it here. There is so much information in this group and I urge everyone to go back over all of the old topics to see if anything can apply to your particular situations. 
String:
Have you ever seen a pigeon that has missing toes or even a missing leg? The chances are that the digits and/or leg were lost from string being wrapped around them.
I can't think of anything more horrible than that happening to a bird. Imagine tying a rubber band around your finger as tightly as you can. You know what kind of pain there will be. You can take off the rubber band. The pigeon cannot take off the string. They can't walk up to anyone and ask for help. They suffer great pain and it can take over a year before the pain goes away along with the toe(s) or foot or leg.
For me, this affliction represents the symbol of humanity's neglect of the natural world. String as thin as nylon thread to wrapping string is all discarded on the ground. Pigeons walking on that ground will get it wrapped around their feet. The string curls and twirls around a toe or more digits and knots form. They begin to tighten and start to cut into the skin. Then when the string cuts though all the skin and muscle and tendons, it begins to tighten around the bone. 
A dry type of gangrene forms. the toe begins to die from lack of circulation. Lack of circulation affects the other toes and they begin to curl into a permanent contorted postition. Eventually, the toe falls off or if the string is wrapped around the leg, that falls off. If anything falls off prematurely, the bird will bleed to death. And throughout this process, the bird is limping in pain and trying to survive. 
String can wrap around and tie both legs together so if you see a bird lying down on the ground and eating, that could very well be the cause. 
An injured bird will be far more reluctant to allow a person to approach within grabbing distance and that makes it much tougher to get it. I have gone for more than a month trying to capture any particular bird with string wrapped around it.
If you get one, the trouble is just beginning. You need a pair of magnifying glasses even if your eyesight is good. You have to get as close as possible to the site to see what is going on. One wrong move and the bird can begin to bleed heavily. Pressure can stop the bleed but try to find the right point when you are working in blood and twisted contorted flesh that no longer resembles a foot.
You need a good strong light similar to the tensor lamps. You need dental type picks and those can be purchased at a number of hardware stores. They have different tops and straight picks are not always the right ones to use. You need a good pair of small surgical scissors and a good pair of tweezers. You need small Exacto type knives. There has to be cotton, cotton swabs and something like Quik Stop to try to stem any bleeding. Finally, you need Betadyne to disinfect the area when you are done. All of this has to be available before even starting to work on the string.
Pulling on the string up from one side is simply going to pull the string on the other side more deeply into the tissue. The picks have to be placed under the string and a knife used to cut it. Tweezers are used to unravel the string which can be wrapped around the inside of the wound a few times. When you hit a point where you can't unwind the string, you are at another knot and have to work with the dental pick again. If you can find other loose ends on the other side of the digit, cut wherever you safely can and maybe you will get lucky and the string will be able to be pulled out in pieces.
Incidentally, if you are working alone, one hand is holding the bird while you are tring to use your other hand to work with the tools.
Don't be surprised if you find that as you unravel the string, it may follow all the way around the foot or ankle from places where you didn't even realize there were cuts.
Sometimes all that is holding the toe to the body is the string and in taking the string off, the toe could come off with it. If there is still a blood supply, expect to apply pressure to the stump constantly for at least 40 minutes to stop a major bleed.
If you are fortunate enough to get all the string off, your work is not finished. 
I once had a bird where the string was wrapped around an area above the ankle and below the knee(hock joint). That part of the leg was going to come off and if it came off too early, the bird would bleed to death. After the string was off, I fashioned a wire splint that wrapped around the bottom of the foot and taped to an area above the wound so the leg could not fall off until it was time. When it did, I kept the bird until it healed and then released it. He did very nicely for a few years.
What do you do about the remaining toes that are curled from lack of circulation? Trace an outline of the bottom of the foot and cut out a piece of plastic coffee can cover to match. Cut small notches in each piece for the toe nails and place the fitted plastic on the bottom of the foot. Tape each toe to the plastic piece and tape the center of the foot to hold the entire device. You may have to stretch the toe in order to make it fit but that is the whole point. Straightening out the toes can take three weeks or longer but they have to be stretched by this device or it isn't going to work.
Sometimes, if one toe is involved, there is no curling of the others but the toe can be dying from lack of circulation. The toe dies from the top down so that if there is still circulation at the base and the bird accidentally hits the toe, it can break off prematurely and cause a major bleed. If I can release the bird save that one condition, what I do is cut off that part of the toe that is dead so that only a small stump remains and the bird can be safely released without my having to worry about another injury happening. If there is still circulation in the toe, I wait until it disappears and then cut with the surgical scissors. It's dead tissue and the nerves are gone so the bird feels nothing.
There can be pus pockets in the foot or not. In any case, I give an antibiotic.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

I've never tried it myself but I have been told that the scissors that men use to trim nasal hair are excellent for cutting string that is embedded in a bird's leg because they reduce the risk of cutting the bird.

Cynthia


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