# Injured racing pij unwanted at Northern Cal shelter



## Elizabethy (Sep 25, 2007)

Hello-

There is a lovely 2008 all white male racing pigeon that was injured and lucky enough to be taken to a shelter. He's recovered and needs a forever home. (His owner has been located and says "he's not worth the drive to pick up".

The shelter says-
_The pigeon came in on 11/12 and has two bands, one on each leg. On his right leg the number reads AU 2008 AA 19972 and on his left the band is blank. He came in stray over the counter with a bloody right wing. The vet’s exam revealed a healing wound, i.e. scabbing, on the underside of the right wing as well as on the abdomen. We cleaned the wound daily and as a result it healed nicely. He uses the wing just fine and is pretty social. We can pick him up without issue. _

*PT- PLEASE advise me on the best adoption strategy for this bird... does he need to be in an aviary so that he doesn't return home or ???*

And please contact me at [email protected] if your interested in adopting.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

yes a flown racer can not or should not be released..he may fly (if he could) back to the idiot that won't pick him up and take care and nurture him.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

You need to contact the following to see who bought this band:

Club Name : CHARLES SIEGEL & SONS 
Club Code : AA 
Club Secretary : ED MINVIELLE 
City : JEANERETTE 
State : LA 
Phone No. : 337-276-3289 

No .. the bird cannot just be released and DOES need to be in an aviary or large cage situation until it can go back home or find a new home. If things don't work out .. send him/her on down on the next run. I have a good home for white racing pigeons in my area.

Terry


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Please note: Elizabeth said the owner _was_ located and does not want to drive to pick the bird up!

He needs a forever home...sure hope he gets one!

Love and Hugs
Shi


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

mr squeaks said:


> Please note: Elizabeth said the owner _was_ located and does not want to drive to pick the bird up!
> 
> He needs a forever home...sure hope he gets one!
> 
> ...


You're right, Shi .. time for me to put the kittens to bed and go there myself! Bird is welcome here if needed.

Terry


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## kippermom (Jan 11, 2006)

Swan is bringing an injured piji down to me next week from SF....if someone can get this fellow to him, I can take them both. We just added a 6x6x6 "screened porch" on the pigeon aviary so there would be enough room for them both. His info is on another thread under adoption.


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## Elizabethy (Sep 25, 2007)

Bless your heart, Diane... would it be any easier if I routed a non-flighted feral cock to you (Tiptoes)? or a non-flighted king cock (Sesame)? if I moved one of those guys out of my loft, I could make room for the Hayward racer.

Entirely up to you! I'd LOVE to send you the Hayward racer or I've also got flighted couples... you tell me what would fit in best!

One by one, huh? One by one... everytime I think here's the bird that I can't help, help arrives.

Ingrid, rescuer of another stray racer named Chauncey, is taking in a likely WOE Tumbler stranded at Montclair Vet Hospital because FeralPij is full up... another rescuer of a stray king adopted two more from SFACC to keep her company... one by one...


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## kippermom (Jan 11, 2006)

I PMd Swan to contact you if he was willing to transport next Tuesday....I could take a flighted couple if that makes more room...work it out with Swan and surprise me! 

Sorry I cannot take any more Kings right now....  Jane is trying to build a new flight cage in Malibu for the PMV birds Terry and I are holding...when/if that gets done it might free up a few slots for more Kings down here...right now when they have to be kept separated/quarantined, they take up alot of cage space.


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## Ivor (May 12, 2008)

Is hard for me to read these thread especially because I live in SF and not to do anything, I don't have a place in the house, is not my own house, but I will make a small donation to the Mickacoo I think you guys are doing such a great job, and is the only way that I can make a contribution to this cause. Thank you so much Elizabeth and Kippermom I know you both work together and help all the time. 

Ivette


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## Elizabethy (Sep 25, 2007)

*Update*

Thanks to Diane making room for two more of MickaCoo's (Coco & Ginger) in her aviary and Chris driving them and his rescue down to her, I'm able to take in an injured racer named Madeline that Ingrid and Hugh took in (rescued lost racer Chauncey's people) and they will be taking in the white racer from the Hayward shelter! They're picking him up tomorrow.

We all do our part when we can and where we can and one by one, these sweet birds get a helping hand.


THANK YOU EVERYBODY.


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## kippermom (Jan 11, 2006)

UPDATE...Chris has delivered the three birds safely and they are all bedded down for the night in their "intro cages"....eating, drinking and snuggling in the hay.

Coco and ginger are beautiful birds from what little I have seen of them...Chris' bird is solid dark grey and quite small. I will check him out better in the morning....so far so good....a happy ending after all!


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## Elizabethy (Sep 25, 2007)

*Thank You!*

Chris- thank you so much for driving the lucky pij to Diane and Diane- THANK YOU SO MUCH for once again opening your heart and your home to birds in need. Those three pij hit the Birdy Lotto!

MickaCoo is working HARD to find new and more fosters and adopters. As much as I wish YOU could rescue every bird, I know you can't.


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## bluecheck (Aug 17, 2006)

For future reference - if you see an AU bird that has an "owner won't pick up blah-blah" notice, please immediately inform the AU itself. They will deal with it. Contact info is below.

*Deone Roberts
Sport Development Manager
American Racing Pigeon Union
P.O. Box 18465
Oklahoma City, OK 73154-0465
405-848-5801 or 1-800-755-2778*[email protected]


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## barnam (Aug 24, 2009)

I would be careful with advocating such a thing, unless and until we know for sure what exactly "they will deal with it" means. They might as well go ahead and cull the bird sooner or later and I don't think that is the intent of most sympathetic posters here.

I just checked this organization's "Code of Ethics" and it states:



> 310.13 When necessary, humane culling is the duty of any animal owner: AU members shall try to cull their birds in as discrete and as humane a manner as possible.


Alright then! As long as it is "humane", it's okay with them to kill "no good" birds.


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## Elizabethy (Sep 25, 2007)

Yes, that would be my concern- what does deal with it mean?

It's easy to let these birds be humanely and discretely euthanized- we can just leave them in the shelters where, after 5 days of not being recovered or adopted, that's what happens.

But, for some crazy reason, me and a bunch of other folks turn our lives upside down trying to find them good homes where they can live out their simple, undemanding lives in peace.

It's really tough because we are only able to help a few and every day racing pigeons are being culled and racing horses are being butchered and so on and on. Eight million dogs and cats are euthanized in the US alone every year.

But I can say with confidence that while my rescue efforts may have no impact on the big picture, they have had a profound impact on the lives of Rocky, Louie, Big Man, Sugar, Hollywood, Jesse, Mardi Gras, Abby, Sienna, Summer, Sweetlips, Dixie, Lee, Dolce, Macademia, Walter, Tank, Country, Bean, Blanco, Kizzie, Millie, Jazzy, Tum Tum, Santino, Charlie, Squeak, Persia, Sophie, Austin, Bandit, Madeline...


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

How the AU should "deal with it" according to their regulations on lost racers is in their document "Policy Title: Lost, Stray, Recovered or Rescued birds - Policy Number: AU320" which says, in part, "AU members have a responsibility and obligation to make every effort to pick up birds that they own which are recovered" and mentions that violations of their policy may result in disciplinary action. 

http://www.pigeon.org/titlelostbirds.htm

That may be what Frank is referring to. The quote posted from the code of ethics relates to loft practises generally, with no specific circumstances mentioned.

I'm not a pigeon racer and my interest is that of a rescuer, but I'm aware that the UK organization has similar regulations about lost birds - which their members may or (often) may not abide by.

I've had fanciers who were happy to arrange and pay for transport for their birds (healthy ones), but many (especially the injured ones) are not wanted - that's why we have several. Our gain, I say - we have some lovely, gentle homers in our gang. 

Last one I collected from a kind family to take him to his permanent home, the owner said he was a goner if he did come back. Same with a sweet little tumbler, just a squeaker when his owner abandoned him - he's in our aviary, but he is really a friendly pet pigeon who treats me like his best buddy.

The other side, we have a Belgian racer who hit wires in high winds on his way home from England. A fancier I know looked after him, nursed him back to health (tho' he can't fly much now) and asked me if he could have a permanent home with our birds. He does, he had a mate within days, and he is very contented now.

John


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## bluecheck (Aug 17, 2006)

Barnam, you asked. I'll answer. The selected segment you chose to quote is quite accurate. Sometimes, you DO have to cull a bird. Sometimes injuries are so severe that they can't be healed or the bird would have no quality of life - try keeping a bird that has no legs, e.g., as happened to one of mine that hit a wire and literally ripped its legs from its body. Culling IS humane at that point. So is culling an 18 yr old bird that can no longer lift itself from a squatting position. Because we try to be understanding of folks' sensibilities, such culling is usually done quietly. Sort of the same thing is done everyday in thousands of vet's offices when someone puts down their cat or dog or rabbit or guinea pig or parakeet. In some countries it's done with folks who are teminal and choose it. 

Now, back to the statement I originally posted. The A.U. was upset that the owner of the bird that was mentioned in the other thread said what he said (by the way, it turned out that the owner was NOT an A.U. member, in fact, but the A.U. was there for the bird AND for the hobby.) The A.U. sought a home for the bird and as you know from my other post, they were not only thanked by the shelter that had it, the woman running it was amazed by the care and consideration of the people in the A.U. organization. 

Those of us who have reared pigeons for decades - who have created the breeds that many enjoy and love - care for our birds in ways that some of you here have no idea of. The A.U. is THE largest pigeon organization in the U.S. The fact that many of you can even legally HAVE pigeons as pets in your city or area is often a direct result of the work that the A.U. has done over the years with state and city governments. 

Deone went to bat for the blue homer in the other thread and he would have done so for this one, except that I noted it was already taken care of. I informed Deone myself of the other bird's plight, so I know his call was placed within 10 minutes of my notifying him this morning. (_I'm granting that I'm sure you probably also immediately called when you learned of the situation as well and offered to take the bird or make sure it was cared for, because you obviously seem to care about an animal's welfare also._.) However, IF the owner were an A.U. member, then the national club DOES have the right to talk to him and/or discipline him for cause.

The A.U. is working hard to keep the PR for pigeons on a positive note; to keep the hobby available for a new generation; to provide a strong basis for breeding pigeons that can fly and home from up to 600 miles in a day. They're good people doing an often thankless job. A.U. members are some of the most dedicated pigeon people on the planet.


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## Guest (Dec 17, 2009)

wouldnt it be nice if every pigeon had a place they could call home no matter what


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

The AU DOES do a very good job of "policing" situations where AU banded birds are found. They go to extraordinary lengths at times to see that AU birds are picked up and cared for by either AU members or rescuers that they know in the area where the bird is located. Members that do not responsibly respond to contacts about their found birds ARE disciplined by the organization.

Deone, by the way, is a she, and is single handedly responding to every single AU pigeon that is reported on 911 Pigeon Alert .. she and the AU are extremely dedicated, and I appreciate them tremendously.

Just my $.02 ..

Terry


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## Guest (Dec 17, 2009)

bluecheck said:


> Barnam, you asked. I'll answer. The selected segment you chose to quote is quite accurate. Sometimes, you DO have to cull a bird. Sometimes injuries are so severe that they can't be healed or the bird would have no quality of life - try keeping a bird that has no legs, e.g., as happened to one of mine that hit a wire and literally ripped its legs from its body. Culling IS humane at that point. So is culling an 18 yr old bird that can no longer lift itself from a squatting position. Because we try to be understanding of folks' sensibilities, such culling is usually done quietly. Sort of the same thing is done everyday in thousands of vet's offices when someone puts down their cat or dog or rabbit or guinea pig or parakeet. In some countries it's done with folks who are teminal and choose it.


 Humane euthanasia to relieve suffering of a critically ill or injured bird is one thing. Causing the death of a bird because it's not a winner or the wrong color is something totally different.


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## Elizabethy (Sep 25, 2007)

_Humane euthanasia to relieve suffering of a critically ill or injured bird is one thing. Causing the death of a bird because it's not a winner or the wrong color is something totally different._

I send my heartfelt thanks to all who help pigeons, whatever kind they may be. 

Personally, I'm not able to understand breeding and culling those that don't fly fast enough or are the wrong color, etc. Whenever I see a fancy or highbred bird (fantail, racer, etc. etc.), I feel like I see it surrounded by ghosts of all the birds whose tails weren't big enough or flight swift enough. It's hard for me to understand loving one and not the other.

My 2 cents.


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