# The Mort Report, etc.



## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Squeaks is always wanting to know how Mortimer is doing. Mortimer is an abandoned chick that I found out in the loft on a cold day (March 4th). He was left pretty much within hours of hatching and I don't think he got so much as a first meal. He seemed completely lifeless (not breathing that you could see) and very cold (~50 body temp). I brought him in and held him in the palm of my hand under a heat lamp for about 10 minutes. He started visibly breathing within about four and felt warm and normal at the 10. I then installed him in the incubator and we began the feedings soon thereafter. This is probably the youngest one I've ever had to deal with.

One of the big things that I've noticed (that I never used to pay attention to) is the fact that when he got a little older and bigger (~5 days), his crop never really seemed to get as much smaller after a feeding as I got to thinking that it should. That is, it was always a bit puffy. He never seemed sleepy, he always cried for food and the only thing that ever slowed his crop down (by way of measuring the poop out the back) was me not feeding him because it seemed like he had "slow crop". I made the decision that I'd just pump him full of more food and not worry about the puffiness and see if things speeded up at the back end. They did. I swabbed his crop, looking for yeast growth. None. No weirdness in the poops, either. A tube inserted down into the crop area did not relieve any gas, probably because there wasn't any. What I'm getting at is that in some of these "slow crop" cases we may be advising people the wrong way. That's just something to think about.

Mort's running about 200 grams now. I used to bring him, incubator and all, with me to work but his screaming is WAAAAYYY too loud now--he'll alert you to his needs from the furthest corner of the house. With the vacuum running.

In other news, the pigeon with the broken leg that was given me at the vets' office when I took Unie in for her first nebulized treatment (she's fine, by the way) is right on schedule, using the leg lightly and stretching it normally. That one will be going back out to the wilds within a week.

And in further news, a lady in my neighborhood who originally called me about Big Fella (Ms. Pierpont's hubby), gave me a ring yesterday for a pigeon on her porch that something was wrong with and her dog had picked it up. She didn't put it in a box but she did get her dog to leave it alone. When I got there, the bird had made its escape walking out near the back corner of the fence to one of the neighbors' backyards. I used a ladder to get up on the very old and rotten wood fence, balancing with a hand to the rusted metal building within inches. I made my way to the other yards but couldn't find the bird. On a hunch, when I left I drove around to the next street over and cased the joints, looking for the bird and... Bingo! (need to name the bird that).

Broken right humerus, comminuted. This means that the humerus is so shattered midshaft that you can't even tell there is one anymore. And it's swollen, pretty badly. My only plan at this point is to get the swelling down and then probably trim off the feathers of that part of the wing and shoulder so that I can see if I can put a real cast on it to hold the length while it re-knits itself. It'd be similar to putting broken bones in traction like you used to see. And, yes, the bird's on antibiotics just in case due to the dog. There is a broad area of missing feathers on the other wing that point to a collision with something--they're just rubbed off. Until the swelling goes down, the wingtips are taped together and he's in a small enough pen to restrict movement.

Pidgey


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Hi Pidgey,

Thanks for the update and report. Interesting observation about the crop, I wonder if we could get anymore anecdotal reports like your on this. Sounds like you've been real busy between work and the birds, nice hunch on where to locate Bingo. 

Please keep us updated and good luck with them.

All the best,

Ron


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Pidgey, glad to hear Mort is doing well. To me, some babies just have "fat" crops. We've worried ourselves sick over some whose crops didn't seem to go down, always stayed a little plump, but the poopers worked good and we kept on feeding them with no ill effects. Then you get those in whose crops feel hard and you know there is a problem. Nine out of 10 times these babies had been fed raw beans or peas by the parents and they just sat in the crop until they were able to throw them up. I think the best thing we ever did was include yogurt and Benebac in the formula.

I wish you the best with Bingo but honestly, it doesn't sound good with the crushed humerus.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, at the worst (with Bingo) he gets to live out his days in the loft so it's not THAT bad. At the best, he probably gets to live out his days in the loft with the ability to make it up to a higher nest box. As a fantasy, he'll be able to fly again normally and can go back out. In reality, that might be the worst thing that can happen because the lady told me that she used to get more than 50 pigeons eating there per day (she's a self-proclaimed bird sanctuary and probably goes through 50 lbs. of safflower a week) but now less than 10. She told me that the person next door shoots them regularly and that there have been poisonings. Ironically, Bingo might just have lucked out bigtime.

Pidgey


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

I think this lady should probably stop feeding them. If her neighbor is that evil, she is just drawing them in to be slaughtered by him. In an idyllic world this guy would "get his" some way, some how, but I sometimes wonder if they ever do.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

ahhhh, YES! Whining and pleading CAN pay off!

Thanks, Pidgey, for the updates. Youse a good guy! (By the way, the lady who called you didn't have a weiner dog, did she? You do NOT need more weiner dogs in your life...one is enuf! )

In between your "busys," please keep us updated - now that our attention has been activated!

LOVE, HUGS and HEALING THOUGHTS TO ALL!

For those who allow, LOTS OF SCRITCHES TOO!


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, I sheared a lot of the feathers off of Bingo's bad wing today. That's a chore! Looks like the radius and ulna are broken, too. I see now something that I've often felt on them when they're that way but never thought about before--they often lump up towards the side of the wing away from the bird. It seems to be a problem of both bones bending inward at the break, forcing the break to make a bump outward. It looks like that section will do a lot better if I straighten it out by splinting it with a stiffener like a popsickle stick running along it and then tape it firmly on. That's one good reason to clip the feathers off. It looks like it's going to be best to simply secure the wing to the body after the radius/ulna pairing are secured and flattened. Then, according to the book, it's three to four weeks of cage rest and healing. If the radius and ulna can heal well (don't see why not) then we might luck out and be able to fly. Sure is a lot of swelling all up the wing, though.

I let the one with the broken leg go today, he was doing fine and had plenty of energy.

Mort's pushing 250 now--almost as heavy as Unie. He graduated out of the Pigeonator and is lazing around in an easter basket. He doesn't squeak ALL of the time, anymore, only a lot of it.

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Hope for the BEST with Bingo!

And Mort sounds like he is coming along BIG time! Mmmm, if Mort turns out to be a hen, change name from Mortimer to Morticia?

Will you be posting pictures of both cuties?

HUGS and continued HEALING THOUGHTS for both!

Shi & Squeaks


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Wow! You do an amazing job of triaging and treating a wide variety of patients. So glad you were able to track down Bingo!


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, things change, too. A few years ago, we had plenty of wet weather and I saw a lot more Coccidiosis birds. Last year was much dryer and so didn't. This winter, the hawk was worse and for whatever reason, I've seen a couple of birds that seem to be suffering from PMV or a PMV-like thing. It seems like my local wild herd has gone from about 80 a few years ago to between 10 and 20 lately. I've heard tell of shootings, poisonings and PMV certainly could take a flock out. I'm surprised that I've only seen the one and gotten the other much earlier from a different place but still pretty close (only one underpass over).

Bingo got the full tape job today and wasn't too thrilled about it. However, I got the stuff forward enough that he can still walk. If you do it like the pictures, they always have a real difficult time standing, including getting their toenails stuck in the gauze. I'll try to post a picture later but I'm running real short on time these days.

Oh, yeah... should mention Mort, too. Mort's funny--he's never convinced he's had enough to eat, even when I loaded him down with 35 cc's of Kaytee earlier today in one whack. Most he's ever had at one time by almost half again and he's STILL squeaking to HIGH HEAVEN that he's STARVING TO DEATH! He's like a kid eating a bowl of ice cream that hears the ice cream truck and begs for a quarter to the point that you don't think he's going to survive if he doesn't get it (they say I did that once but I don't believe 'em).

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

*He's like a kid eating a bowl of ice cream that hears the ice cream truck and begs for a quarter to the point that you don't think he's going to survive if he doesn't get it (they say I did that once but I don't believe 'em).*

I am SURE you thought I would never be able to pass that comment up...and you are correct!  I DO believe 'em....there are still traces of - uh - mmm -nevermind!  

I hope that Mort is just spoiled and there is nothing wrong! Don't hear about a lot of other babies doing that, at least with any regularity, but then again, I don't have a loft and observe lots of babies.

Since he's doing the good pijie stuff: eating, gaining, pooping...I'm back to "spoiled." Then, again, I KNOW you wouldn't do such a thing... 

Hugs and Scritches to all!


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

mr squeaks said:


> I hope that Mort is just spoiled and there is nothing wrong...


Mort? Spoiled? You've GOT to be joking, Squeaks...

Fun thing today, was in a hurry at lunch and didn't attach the feeding tube well enough. Add to that I squeezed the plunger too fast, and the @%$& thing blew off and went down Morty's throat. While Lin was making sandwiches, I was busy gathering equipment for extraction. When Lin figured out that I wasn't responding to smalltalk, she looked over and... "WHAT'S WRONG!?!"

She stopped the sandwich making long enough to play ER nurse while we tried stretching Mort's neck out straight enough to see where it was (how far down the tube was) while transilluminating the neck. Mort, of course, took it that we must be getting him ready for a REALLY BIG MEAL and squeaked enthusiastically, even while being stretched out like a neck for the guillotine. 

As it turned out, nothing really worked except straightening his neck completely out by her holding his body upright and me with one finger in the commisure of the beak to hold it open while I used a head-mounted magnifier to look down his throat with only one eye and use the forceps in the other. The end of the tube was about an inch below the glottis and that was one spooky fishing trip. It's surprising how far down a pigeon's throat you can see with it perfectly straight like that. You'd need four arms to do it by yourself, though.

However, it beat the poop out of opening up the crop to fish it out. Not to mention what a waste of Kaytee it would have been--30 grams. Mort thought it was great fun as it was "coo-ality time" with Lin and I. We won't be repeating that performance, however.

In other news, Bingo is wing-flipping with the good wing, now.

Pidgey


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Pidgey said:


> Fun thing today, was in a hurry at lunch and didn't attach the feeding tube well enough. Add to that I squeezed the plunger too fast, and the @%$& thing blew off and went down Morty's throat.


I'm glad that all ended well. I've had that happen once with a stainless steel crop needle and also once with a regular feeding tube. I was able to "coax" both of them back up and out with my fingers. It's a bit of a scary experience for sure (at least for the human(s)).

Terry


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

YIKES!! Mort is certainly ONE special pigeon to still love and trust you after you almost killed him!

Please give him extra HUGS and SCRITCHES.

Sounds like you might be using too many hi-powered Energizer Bunny batteries nowadays, Pidgey. 

Thank goodness Lin was there to help and all went well!

Don't know about other members, but my heartrate is just now beginning to slow after reading that post... I am really becoming fond of that bird and would love to see him reach adulthood.

LOVE and HUGS to you and Lin for a job well done!


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Had the same thing happen and it was boo scary. Course, we don't use the long feeding tubes, just a 1 - 1/2" nipple and Lewis squirted the whole thing down into the crop. He grabbed him up and carried him to our rehabber friend who actually manipulated it up from the crop into the throat and pulled it out. His feathers were pretty mussed up but he was perfectly ok afterwards.

Now we glue the nipples on the syringe.  

Pidgey, I'm glad Mort is ok.


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*Some comments and questions on various subjects*

*Pidgey*, and others,

Sounds great with *Mortimer* and *Bingo*. As if life weren't exciting enough.

A longer feeding tube would mean 
(1) some of the tube still protruding from the crop if the tube popped off; but
(2) more pressure needed to get the food through the tube, and thus more likelihood of the tube poping off, right?, and
(3) more residual food in the tube, and thus wasted, right?

Maybe a black heavy thread through a hole in the tube near the upper end, or affixed with a collae of sticky tape? But then subject to more cleaning and sterilizing and so forth. At an army surplus I once bought a box of a hubdred or more surgical rags (lint-free cotton or linen multi-layer gauze, with a cloth loop for attaching a thread or hemostat to hang outside the incision during surgery, and they had a black-rubber-coated lead filament or thread which would show up under x-ray should one be left inside the body cavity by mistake and the patient complained of unusual pains. Still have a number of them. (Don't do that much abdominal surgery these days. To tell the truth, never have done any surgery other than on warts).

Well, if Mortimer enjoyed the attention, what the heck. Gives me an idea: if I could get my throat widened or distended, I could more quickly eat bigger meals. Call it the "Mortimer Mighty Meal Procedure." 

Maybe the neighbor lady would be open to a suggestion that she disperse the food more widely, or at nearby bird gathering places. You've probably done what you can with her, though, and been through the range of solutions without antagonizing her.

Last September I noted a marked drop in the number of pigeons at several traditional pigeon gathering places. The numbers seem to be up recently, and I don't think new squeakers account for the rise. At one place downtown I used to see fifty to a hundred pigeons on the streetcar power lines, then last September maybe ten or fifteen, but the other day I counted exactly ninety, with more in the neighborhod. So, there may be dispersals caused by factors we (or I) am not aware of. Maybe there's a hot pigeon poker game in the suburbs, or some such nonsense. 

After reading about sour crop on PT after rescuing two five-to-eight-day-old baby pigeons, *Chocolate* and *Vanilla/Pidgiepoo* in 2004, and having Chocolate die with abdominal distress on his thirteenth day with us, I adopted the procedure of giving the squeaker or rescue an initial or an occasional dose of 1-2 millilters of ACV Apple Cider Vinegar purchased from a health food store (with the "mother" sediment in it) with some (freeze-dried powder) probiotics (concocted for pigeons). According to what was stated on PT, the acidity of the ACV would neutralize the alkalinity of the undesirable bacteria, or perhaps make the crop environment more acidic than neutral or alkaline (which would be expressed in pH factors if measured).

Do any of you have any doubts, disagreements or reservations about the 1-2ml ACV with probiotics procedure? 

I've read in several places to withhold probiotics during antibiotic treatment. Antibiotics kill bacteria, good and bad. (Fungi and bacteriae are enemies, supposedly compete for the same "territory," if I understand correctly). 

I also speculated to myself that if he antibiotic klled both good and bad bacteria, adding probiotics simultaneously would perhaps leave a surplus of good bacteria as survivors, since they would outnumber the bad survivors. (My understanding is that an antibiotic, or even the immune system itself, never totally eliminates every bad germ, but mostly those it comes in contact with, since there are always some nooks and crannies, some small tubes and passageways and cul-de-sacs or dead-ends for fugitive "bad" bacteria. (This impression is taken from the old pre-1980 book which I think was titled Plague, about a fictional outbreak of bubonic plague in Manhattan, and attempts to hoard tetracycline and quarantine and blockade Manhattan island in the ensuing panic. Gave good description of what the "Black Death" does in the body). 

Update on *Osk-gurr*, which I will post in Osk-gurr thread later: still droopy, seemingly lifeless right wing. Tail feathers coming in, half-centimeter-long feathers showing over large area of plucked back. 

Larry


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

I'd have to go shopping for longer tubes. I went ahead and secured it better and feel pretty good about it now. The extraction procedure wasn't that bad and it wouldn't bother me as much to do it again as to drive across town to get the longer tubing. At least at this harried time of my life, anyhow.

Mort's been pecking at seeds lately. He did pretty good feeding himself today and his poops are firming up (KayTee's biggest problem--very humid poops) so we'll start feeding him less on a continual basis so that he'll continually get better at self-feeding.

Bingo's about the same--won't know much until the tape comes off but he's in good spirits.

Pattie Cakers is in again for the same thing--abdominal. I never did take her in for surgery because it seemed like the lump disappeared last time. It's back but she's still pretty feisty. If she dumps her food over and I have to clean it up, she's mauling the back of my hand the whole time and growling solidly. You've really got to hand it to that bird--she's still got quite a spirit even after all of her problems.

Got a young mourning dove today--meanest little sucker I ever met, wingfu-in' like a champ at only 58 grams. Kinda' does that Karate Kid thing with his wings up in the air, just waiting for you to make your move and then... WHUPPAAHHH!!!

And you pick yourself up off the floor, trying to focus your eyes so you can get the license plate off that truck before it gets too far away...

Anyhow, supposedly orphaned. I'll get him to a dove person in a day or two.

One last thing--was trimming a big shrub in the back yard and found a cardinal's nest before I got it all whacked off. Have to leave the butch job until later, so that they can hatch, grow and fledge. Good thing it's the back yard...

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

So glad to hear about Mort and Bingo!! Keep hangin' and healin', guys!!  

Not so glad to hear about Patti Cakers! Warm healing thoughts and hugs for her!  

Mmmmm, I, personally, am finding your postings veeery interesting, Pidgey...as you seem to attract more "warrior" Wing Fu pijies than just about anyone around...makes me begin to wonder...is it your voice, the frown or the stern look in your eyes???

Oh well, guess it really doesn't matter...GO GET 'IM, GUYS AND GALS!!!


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Pidgey, if you have never cared for a dove give it a go. You do the same for them as pigeons and they are very, very sweet - after they get to know you. 

Now I'll have to start worrying about Pattie Cakers again. I do hope she gets ok.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

mr squeaks said:


> Oh well, guess it really doesn't matter...GO GET 'IM, GUYS AND GALS!!!


I see how it is.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty...

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

I'd have to go shopping for longer tubes. I went ahead and secured it better and feel pretty good about it now. The extraction procedure wasn't that bad and it wouldn't bother me as much to do it again as to drive across town to get the longer tubing. *At least at this harried time of my life, anyhow.*

I forgive you for that last remark, Pidgey, BECAUSE I awoke from a SOUND SLEEP with the thought that I had missed something in your post. Went back and found the "offender."

I can't really "tease" someone when they are "down" and have a friend like yours named "HARRY!" You have a rough road to hoe!  

If I were you, I would tell "HARRY" to take a hike...he's a baaaaad influence!! I'm sending Squeaks on a special SPP mission to Wing Fu the you-know-what out of HARRY!!  

SENDING HKLL in sympathy!!  


*P.S.:* BTW, doves seem to be the main birds attracted to my balcony feeder. Never saw a bigger bunch of bullies in my life...namely Mourning and White Wings! Talk about squabbles...enough to wake me from a sound sleep! Personally, I think they are "naturals" is the art of Wing Fu. Actually, Squeaks' Wing Fu Master was a DOVE! Little guy could MOVE!

Maggie: I'm sure that doves can be the greatest. However, with Pidgey, like warrior attracts like warrior!!


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Okay, Pattie Cakers got her surgery today. It seems that her oviduct had formed something akin to a diverticulum, which the vet ligated and removed. There were also some adhesions that also had to be ligated and separated. The vet feels that the stuff (similar to canker buttons; pictures later) that formed was more because of the diverticulum than an infection per se, but it's hard to say for sure. Anyhow, we got about an ounce of garbage out so she'll be breathing better. She's not really acting like anything happened at this point but I can tell she's a tad off.

As an aside, he mentioned that they've got plenty of feeling in the abdominal wall and can even feel the suture needle under the general anaesthetic (you almost want them to so that you can tell how far they're under) but they don't react to what you'd think would be far more painful in the actual gut. You can clamp the oviduct, which should be excruciating and they don't care (Pattie Cakers didn't) but the sting of the needle got a slight kick (just one).

Anyhow, it's over and done and she'll be feeling somewhat better (than before the surgery) probably within a day or two.

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Oh, by the way, Mort spent his(?her?) first full day out in the loft today. I didn't even make it up the stairs this evening before Mort landed on my shoulder to go back inside the house.

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Pidgey said:


> Oh, by the way, Mort spent his(?her?) first full day out in the loft today. I didn't even make it up the stairs this evening before Mort landed on my shoulder to go back inside the house.
> 
> Pidgey



*sigh* well, gee, Pidge, what did you expect? I'd want to go back in the house too! I mean you RAISED him/her from a WEE one...probably thinks YOU are a pigeon (SILLY bird!) and those "others" are aliens or something!


Glad to hear Patti Cakers survived her surgery! Squeaks and I wish her the BEST and look forward to eneventful healing!

HUGS and SCRITCHES TO ALL!!


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

O Pidgey, I am so glad Pattie Cakers made it through the surgery so well. I'm glad it is over with and hope she'll recover really fast.

Mort misses his poppa. Do the right thing and keep him in the house.


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## jazaroo (Jan 1, 2006)

Pidgey, I am glad to hear Pattie Caker's surgery is over, was successful. I am sure this is a relief to your mind.

All the best,

Ron


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

The suspense is killing me...is Mort STILL out in "alien" land?? Or did you bring him back to the house???

ALSO...HOW IS BINGO??

Although a little soon, I hope Patti Cakers is doing well!

LOVE, HUGS and SCRITCHES to ALL!!

Shi & Mr. Squeaks


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, Mort goes out to the loft while we're at work now and comes in for while we're home. Mort's a big pigeon now and needs to learn how to live out there instead of how to get disgustingly comfortable on the bed like he was doing this morning.

Bingo has been a pretty long haul for a broken wing but I've never seen one swollen up like that. I had to drain 3 cc's off the hematoma every day for a few days. The radius and ulna have firmed up pretty well, it's just the humerus that hasn't been healing. It was overridden to start and it may have been infected as well, don't know. 

I got a little more of the story a month later from the person who reported it. She thinks that her dog crunched on the bird (big dog) so maybe that's what did it although I thought there was some matching feather loss on both sides that looked like the feathers were rubbed off due to a collision. However, I didn't realize that her dog was that bad.

He can move the wing now a little bit but I'm keeping it taped up. In retrospect, he probably would have gotten it amputated as bad as it was a month ago if I'd taken him in. Nothing's rotting but it really looked bad for a lotta' weeks. He's actually in a pretty good mood and talks to Pattie Cakers quite a bit--it's been that way for several weeks now.

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Picture of Morty:



Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Wow! What a handsome PIJ! He looks like he has quite the personality. Hey, he sure knows where the "comfort" is! SMART boy!  

Well, I suppose if Mort gets in the house when you are home, that's OK...he still probably thinks he's being "punished" for some reason when he has to go back with those "strangers!"  

Squeaks' wing never did heal until the decision came to amputate. He sure wasn't the happiest pij either before surgery. Became a different bird once the "bad" part was gone...

HUGS and SCRITCHES to ALL...pigeons, that is...


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Morty continues to come in every evening to watch over us sleeping from a perch on the bedroom door. Lin goes to work earlier than me everyday so she gets up earlier. I'm beginning to suspect that she and Mort have worked out a plan that as soon as she goes out the door, it's his job to fly down to the bed and pester me to get up. Otherwise, he's a pretty good bird.

Pattie Cakers has been out in the loft for almost two months now and is doing just fine.

Bingo's out there too, for almost a month now. He's adjusted pretty well and I noticed him dancing in front of a female the other day so I guess he's got his will to live back.

We got another squeaker from the vet last Friday that is the single loudest and longest yelling one that I've ever seen. Poor Unie! Anyhow, this one almost refuses to "go" while in the nest so she holds it until you pick her up and hold her over the trash. We decided to name her... 

..."Squeaky Clean"

Pidgey


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Pidgey, I do love your entertaining updates!  That is a great report all around.
Squeaky Clean sounds cute. We try to rush ours to the trash can but...oooops do happen and splat on the floor.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Mort's been bad. We take him out to the loft early every day (even weekends since his habit is to land on the bed up near your face as soon as it's light enough to navigate). I had to break away from this post to go get him off the crumb cake Lin made today (thank goodness it was covered with plastic but now you understand what a problem child he is!). 

Twice.

Anyhow, as I was a'sayin'... Mort's been bad. We had to go mow the lawn at the lakehouse and when we got back, Mort was on one side of the screen of the loft window (inside) and two young squeakers (ferals) were on the outside. I'm guessin' they're siblings and this was their first day out in The Big Wide World. They were lost and scared and I know in my heart that Good Ole' Mort was telling them to wait on the windowsill so that His Pet Human would take care of them. To their credit, they didn't flinch when I opened the screen and they jumped in like they'd been doing it all their lives when it had only been open for a few seconds.

I isolated them in a container (had to--one of them was immediately collared for trespassing) and put some feed in so they'd learn what to do. I'll give them a few days of that as well as teaching them The Wonderful World of Water before throwing their vagrant little ****s out so they can go back to the underpass where their kind belongs.

Mort's on my shoulder as I've typed the latter portion of this, by the way. Preening. Furiously.

Pidgey


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

So glad that Pattie Cakers is doing so well! I know you've put a lot of time and effort into her well-being.

Pretty cool that Mort put the word out to those two feral squeakers! Bet you didn't expect him to be doing the advertizing for you.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

I am sure glad to hear Mort is doing well! He sounds like a pij after my own heart! I will continue to send little suggestions to him via a seed hole to keep up his - ah - friendly ways! YOU GO MORT!! Sounds like he's a REAL pigeon ambassador. Can't wait for more to turn up on your doorstep!

I hope Pattie Cakers is still doing fine. SCRITCHES...

Squeaky Clean? I must say, you and Lin DO have a way with names! Can understand her wanting to poop in a certain place. Squeaks has his favorities too. Of course, his just HAPPEN to be in a major walkway from the bedroom to the living room. I DO have to watch!

Didn't you have a little one who needed a name and was being treated?

Hey, Unie, you keep everyone in line now, y'hear??

Love Hugs and Scritches

Shi
& Mr. Squeaks


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Pidgey, that was a sweet, sweet, post. So funny how we can growl over them doing something like Mort trying to get into Lin's crumb cake, but deep down, we're tickled over the mischief they can get up to. Mort sounds like one of those "once in a lifetime" pigeons with personality plus.

That was pretty neat about the 2 fledglings showing up. I'll bet those you've released took them there.


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## Vasp (Jul 25, 2006)

About the crop thing...My babies had that. When they were very young, their crops would empty incredibly fast. But not later in life. I think this is because they don't have to empty entirely or can't, especially not that soon after feeding. Their parents feed them without any thought as to how full their crops are, and that's what squabbies are built for - being fed a lot of rich food very often by their parents. The new food pushes down the old food from what I can tell - my babies had no complications. When we hand feed babies from day 1 and are very observant of their behavior and actions, we learn a lot. 

For one thing, though many rehabilitators think otherwise, a crackling sound upon breathing usually means absolutely nothing, and many babies have it pretty late into life. Lots of people who rehab or raise squabs a lot don't even listen to their breathing, but if they did, they'd realize that they have it at birth and only really lose it when they start weaning, though it cuts down a bit. Respiratory stress is much different from crackling. They can go hand in hand, but crackling alone is most often nothing. Respiratory stress should be looked after immediately. I made the mistake of putting a normal, healthy squab on antibiotics from crackling breathing. His name was Fizban. He died because the antibiotics overran his system and he couldn't take it. I thought he was improving at first, growing a lot more and getting more playful, but it was just the fact that I was feeding him more at each feeding, and holding him more because I was worried about what I thought was his ailment. Fizban died in the most horrible way I've ever witnessed. He lost control of his legs and couldn't swallow. He couldn't breathe anymore, either. I think fluid from his crop kept coming back into his mouth, though he wasn't regurgitating. Part of his crop got really hard and swollen, and the other side was way too puffy. RIP little Fizban. To me, he sets a great example for why we shouldn't jump to conclusions, and shouldn't always believe what others say. Watch your babies, watch their behavior and everything. If they're losing weight, is it because of the temperature or how much you're feeding them? You could subconsciously be feeding them less. It can happen.

I guess, too many squabs have been at the mercy of bad diagnostics.


PS: Mort sounds adorable! He's a keeper. I just love mischievious little pidgies. My Toad was like that. He also got pretty ticked off at pieces of hay when he was a squeaker. He'd pick one up and toss it away, and then run after it, almost falling over, and do it again, all the while squeaking furiously, cross-eyed, trying to figure out what was wrong and why it just wasn't going away.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Mort ALWAYS comes in at the end of the day and ALWAYS flies down from his perch on the door to land on me in bed to wake me up. In the evenings, he's always territorial and in the mornings he's always very loving. I can't figure out if it's a Jekyll/Hyde kind of thing or if he's just a morning person.

Anyhow, update on the two little ones. They are undersized and will always be--they must have endured much privation as children. Each morning now, I throw them out to be with the feral flock and each evening they're on the window ledge to be let in where they gorge in their apartment and drink like fish. Gluttons. For such small frames, they are pretty solid now.

However, they don't seem to have much use for the wild life, their peers or their birthright as creatures of the sky. All they want is to wallow in food and drink, it's disgusting. I've already been giving them Tough Love by throwing their miserable ***es out every day and now I'm probably going to have to resort to Tougher Love, I just haven't thought of how--maybe finger wagging...

Pidgey


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

Pidgey said:


> Anyhow, update on the two little ones. They are undersized and will always be--they must have endured much privation as children. Each morning now, I throw them out to be with the feral flock and each evening they're on the window ledge to be let in where they gorge in their apartment and drink like fish. Gluttons. For such small frames, they are pretty solid now.
> 
> However, they don't seem to have much use for the wild life, their peers or their birthright as creatures of the sky. All they want is to wallow in food and drink, it's disgusting. I've already been giving them Tough Love by throwing their miserable ***es out every day and now I'm probably going to have to resort to Tougher Love, I just haven't thought of how--maybe finger wagging...
> 
> Pidgey


Oh, and don't forget to wipe "Sucker" off your forehead as you "tisk, tisk" them.  

They're smart little ones. Hotel _le Pidgey _is so much more comfy than the great outdoors, not to mention the fact that you are offering free continental breakfast and dinner.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

My real guess is that they followed their dad to where he eats (my place) and they were too scared to follow dad back home, just paralyzed with fear. Or, their dad went missing and they followed the crowd. When they got to my place, they saw a pigeon behind the screen and fixated, afraid to go anywhere else. So, they stuck like glue. I gotta' give 'em credit, they don't get lost--while they fly around the house, grounds and up into the trees, they don't get far enough away to get lost. I just wish they'd learn from the other ferals how to eat the stuff outside instead of insisting to be brought in every night. They're really not basking in the hospitality so much as they're terrified to try anything new. After all, they already did and look where it got them!

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Darn! This psychic stuff really works!! Woke up THINKING and WONDERING how Mort and the gang were doing!

An update after my own heart, Pidgey! Yeah, like you would FORCE the siblings to live the grunge life in the bad outdoors! They came to you for a reason...and they are "Mort approved!" You are just going to have to live with it!! I agree 100% with Flitsnowzoom!

Hey, I haven't used an alarm clock for YEARS! If my cats aren't getting me up, then Squeaks decides it's HIS turn. NO one can sleep when he starts STOMPING. How that bird makes ALL that noise is beyond me, but, unfortunately, he now knows that it WORKS!  I guess he found out that bell ringing isn't "strong" enough! 

Every so often, a pij will come along who has personality PLUS...Mort is such a one! How MANY people can say they have a PIGEON ALARM CLOCK? For REAL!

(Squeaks DID mention that he had sent some human "wake up" suggestions to Mort! And, Mort, being the smart pijie that he is, figured out the rest! BRAVO, MORT!!)

HKLL to ALL
Shi
& Mr. Squeaks


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, I now, at least, have some hope for Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee--they went down to eat a little bit with the feral flock today. Sure, they sat around in the trees for the most part or on the windowsill but they're aware of what the other guys are doing when they're down there pecking. The only bad thing with them (besides their close friendship with Mort) is that they, themselves, have brought ANOTHER squeaker there. The last two evenings there've been three instead of two. Fortunately, the third one doesn't hang around when the window screen opens.

Bingo gave me a fright. He was standing straight up this evening and looking like a pouter. I caught him and, sure enough, he had an embolism and his neck was so full of air that he couldn't bend it down to peck for food. I brought him in and bled off the air with a hypo. It took a good half hour to get it down. In the interim, he pooped and you could see nothing but bile strings and water. He hasn't been able to eat all day, I expect. When I took him back out, eating was the first thing on his mind. I better check him for canker, I expect.

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Sending POSITIVE HEALING VIBES for Bingo, Pidgey! Sure hope he will be all right!

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, eh? How fun! Sounds like you now have a Tweedle DEE DUM (the Third!)...Hey, what can we say...word gets around! I LOVE IT!

Couldn't happen to a better....pidgey...er, person...

Keep us updated between feedings and such!

Shi
& Mr. Squeaks


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, MIZZ SQVAWKS, turns out that Morty's really Mortie, judging by _the egg _that she's protecting, now. I expect this concludes the coming-in-at-night routine. Lin's devastated.

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

OH NO!! No WONDER she always came to wake you up!!! ROFLMAO

Mmmm, so she can't sit on her egg(s) in the house? Is she sitting all the time? Isn't it about time for the second egg?? What is she using for nesting material?

AFTER she comes off her egg, will she be brought back in at night (if she's in the loft now)?

How is Squeaky Clean? Second Chance? Patti Cakers?

I know Unie is doing just fine! Bet she was glad when you came home from vacation! Probably thought you had abandoned her!

HKLL TO ALL

Sh & Squeaks

    

WOW! Who would have thunk?? YIKES!!

P.S. How is Bingo and the Tweedles??


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Unie did get a little depressed, according to the interim caregiver, but she's certainly gotten back into the groove now. Squeaky Clean and Second Chance both live out there now under their own recognizance and are doing good. Pattie Cakers is currently inside for observation although she seems to be doing fine. Actually, her worst problem is she's too acquiescent when her mates drive her to the nest, which they do too much because she can't lay an egg anymore. She gets behind so I have to bring her in for food-and-water-catch-up from time to time.

Mort's first egg came last night so the next one won't be until Tuesday afternoon. Lin wants me to do the unthinkable and bring her in at night per her regular schedule and make her hubby sit overnight (on a regular basis). She (Lin) has no concerns whatsoever whether this might jinx Mort's relationship with her hubby and force them into nesting counseling in the near future with a possible legal separation and separate maintenance agreement. Lin kinda' sees it that since they didn't come to her for a blessing to begin with then they can't complain if they get a curse instead. I tried to explain that you can't blame Mortie since we were on vacation but she won't listen to reason at this point...

Pidgey


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

The solution: Bring them both in!

Glad Unie and the gang did well while you were gone.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Darn! Too bad the MALES don't sit on the nest at night or that would work out great!

See what happens when you go on vacation and leave a lovesick pij (who up to this time probably thought 2 strange looking nakkid pijies were her mates!) She was forced to go with second best! 

I bet you are going to tell us that Mortie's (Morticia sounds like a good name) mate is too "wild" for a house bird, right? 

Guess, you will just have to see what develops with Mortie, her egg(s) and her pij mate(?)...

Sure bet Lin hates being your alarm clock again! No WONDER she's upset!  

HKLL anyway to you two at this "sad" time...

Shi
& Squeaks (who says he may have to talk to Mortie like a dutch uncle and let her know how her actions have devastated Lin! You, Pidgey, are probably secretly _delighted_ not to have a pij startling you awake!)


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Pidgey said:


> ...Pattie Cakers is currently inside for observation although she seems to be doing fine. Actually, her worst problem is she's too acquiescent when her mates drive her to the nest, which they do too much because she can't lay an egg anymore...
> Pidgey


I had a similar situation with KD. When she would get to the point that she'd sit for a while in the nest just to appease Charlie, I'd slip her a warmed dummy egg. Two days later, a second one. That way, she had her days free to get out and about and relax. Charlie really likes to set eggs. He hangs on several days after she gives up.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Well, Mort came in for the night last night and didn't pine a bit sitting up on top of the bedroom door. Wasn't even in a hurry to go back out this morning, either. We'll see if that changes when the second egg drops. Not that Lin cares--she just wants her pet to go on being her pet.

Pidgey


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

TerriB said:


> I had a similar situation with KD. When she would get to the point that she'd sit for a while in the nest just to appease Charlie, I'd slip her a warmed dummy egg. Two days later, a second one. That way, she had her days free to get out and about and relax. Charlie really likes to set eggs. He hangs on several days after she gives up.


I think Pattie Cakers is attracted to the wrong kind of men--she always ends up in the abusive relationships, bless her heart!

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Yeehaaaw! 

Good for Mortie! She knows a good thing when she has it AND, don't be surprised IF she drops her second egg while ON the door!

YES! The feathered alarm clock pij is BAAAACK!!

HKLL to ALL

Shi
& Squeaks (who says "you & Lin (especially) are welcome!" He talked to her via seed hole!)


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Morty's back to coming in every night again and that's the way Lin wants it. Morty's certainly not puttin up a fuss but her hubby ain't likin' it one bit.

Got one from someone in the neighborhood a couple of weeks back that had a broken wing (not too bad) and a booboo at the front of the keel. Same stink as Winston had--little bit of a pungent bacterial smell. I let it go for a few days but then finally worked up the courage to work on the dried-blood-in-feathers clump. Turns out there was a perfect hole about 3/8" in diameter with scab-like material stuffed in it up from the forward point of the keel (sternum), called the "carina":

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/skeleton.html

Anyhow, the hole went straight inward, through where the point of the furcula should be (wishbone) and then angled towards the left wingpit (for lack of a better word). When cleaning the garbage out of this part, mostly with forceps and flushing with a big syringe & saline, it was surprising how far it went in--one full inch, measured with a Q-Tip. I can't tell if this was a tracking abscess or a deep puncture of something bigger. There wasn't any feather debris in there so I'm leaning away from it being a BB or pellet wound. It's sealing up real well now and the bird's getting a lot feistier now.

The broken wing wasn't floppy even when I picked the bird up--there was already a callus forming and it's both the radius and ulna, just above midshaft. I think she'll do just fine and I wormed her last night (roundworm eggs in the fecal). I expect she'll have to go out to the loft for a couple of weeks to exercise the wing here in another week or so and then back out to her feral life if she can fly okay.

Pidgey


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Wishing your new one all the BEST in fast healing, Pidgey!!

SOOO glad to hear Ms. Mort is back, tending to her alarm clock duties and keeping Lin happy! Such a GOOD pijie! Her mate will just have to put up with a "part-time" relationship!

HKLL TO ALL

Shi 
& Squeaks (back in daddy mode, molting away)


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

The new one got to fly in the house a bit last night--she's going to be just fine in a few more days.

Pidgey


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Just read the Mort report and about your new one. Glad the new one is doing so well. Don't blame Lin for wanting her house pij for awhile. I always hate it when mine grow up and transfer their affection to their mate and my little house pij is no more.

Margaret


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