# Sticky  Lucky In Love - A Pigeon Story (Part 2)



## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

*Our Days Growing Up*

Lucky's growth each day was astounding. So was mine... By the seventh day her eyes were open, showing two little black shiny blinkers. Pinfeathers covered most of her body and she had grown to about 6 times her original size at birth. On the sixteenth day, Lucky was covered in light gray pinfeathers, with pure white tips. A few full white feathers were now showing.

Once we got past the more mechanical parts of daily existence such as eating, bathing, sleeping, pooping (we will address this subject later) and exercise, Lucky and I found that we actually liked each other very much. We became the best of friends. I enjoyed taking her with me everywhere. It was fun to watch her experience new things.

At morning breakfast, she would be into the Honey Nut Cheerios (no milk please), and warm tea. Morning and evening chores found her riding high on my shoulder. She was privileged to watch me feed the other pigeons in the main loft. I often wonder what she thinks of the other pigeons. She doesnt seem to have any interest in them, wishing only to follow me around all day. Most of my day is spent at the computer, with Lucky sitting on the monitor and occasionally walking across my keyboard. Her every moment seems to be in the here and now; and watching her intrigues me. Now and again, I will find myself with Lucky, absorbed in the here and now, just watching it all go by. And it feels fine.

Lucky is good for me. It would be terrible to be without her in my life and I cannot bring myself to imagine it.

*First Bath*

Lucky's first bath came during the terrible twos (2 weeks old), the awkward stage. Covered with pinfeathers and some beginning white feathers, I lowered her into a dishpan filled with warm water. Her first reaction was shock. Whats happening here Then she calmed down and realized that she actually enjoyed it! Then she pooped! So I changed the water for her. And she pooped again. Once more, I changed the water. Apparently all pooped out, she relaxed and enjoyed her first dip. I decided the bath was over when I noticed Lucky's eyes were closed, fast asleep, head bobbing almost under water. I plucked her from the dishpan and placed her on a dry towel, covered her with paper towels and gently patted her almost dry. I finished the job with the electric hair dryer, on low setting, (Lucky loves the hair dryer!) while she continued to sleep deeply. I thought to myself, isnt she cute

*First Flight*

At five weeks, the scruffy little pin feathered baby squab had grown into a lovely young pigeon, with feathers as soft and white as the clouds. She was now exercising her wings regularly, sometimes actually lifting herself off the table a few inches. This activity excited her, especially when my wife and I would applaud her efforts to fly.

At six weeks we would take walks outside near the pond, by the orchard, Lucky on my shoulder. She had accomplished some short distance flights in the kitchen, from the table to the counter top and back again. I knew she could fly, but I also knew she was very cautious about this kind of serious activity. She wanted to take it slow, and so did I.










On one special morning walk, I reached my hand up to my shoulder and she hopped on. Then I turned her so she faced me and lifted her upwards, into the air perhaps 6 or 8 feet. She opened her wings and gently fluttered back down to me. I caught her in my hands. She liked it. She had that lets do it again look all over her face. So we did it again and again. Higher and higher she went, sometimes circling two or three times before coming down to my hands. It was a wonderful experience, for both of us.

On another day, as we left the house for our walk, I set Lucky on top of the porch railing post. She just stood there craning her neck, investigating everything around her. I continued walking by myself, down the steps, across the grass, down the path to the pond. I looked back often, watching to see what Lucky would do. She just stood there, perched on the railing post, watching me. When I reached the pond I turned and raised my arm in the air and called out to her. At that very instant, Lucky opened her wings, lifted off the porch post, into the air and began to fly. At first she seemed rather hesitant, flying in my direction, then turning and flying in another. I called to her loudly. The distance she had to travel to reach me was at least 200 yards. She suddenly banked to the left and headed straight for me. Traveling very fast, she turned her wings to break, stopped abruptly, and fluttered downward, landing softly on my shoulder. It was a perfect landing. Wow! Lucky can fly! I got real excited and she looked so proud of herself. Later, as we approached the house, she lifted off my shoulder and flew directly back to the same railing post. There she waited for me to catch up with her. Lucky's first flight day was very special. To this day she flies like an angel, high into the sky, but always returns to my shoulder.

At 12 weeks of age Lucky was an adult bird. Except for a few black feathers, located on her neck and tail, she was completely snow white. Her eyes were now a bright orange, with a large black iris. Her beak was black and very pointed. Her feet were pink, with short white feathers covering the legs and three toes. She was a beautiful bird.
As days went by I learned that she was not only a beautiful bird, but also a beautiful companion. Lucky expressed what I call pigeon love toward me. Pigeon love is almost complete surrender to my wishes (with some exceptions, which I will go into later). Our relationship was special right from the beginning, but as time went by, our bond became deeper.

Lucky also had certain expectations of me. Her priority list started with togetherness. Whatever I might have planned for the day was fine with her, as long as we did it together. When I took my morning shower, she was there too. She would sit atop the shower door. While shaving, she would strut back and forth across the vanity top. While brushing my teeth, she always had to get a sip of water from my cup. Her favorite bathroom activity was to crouch inside the towel cupboard, twitching her wings and emitting a soft cooing sound. When I noticed her activity, I would know that her expectation would be for me to give her some love petting. I would reach in and place my hand over her head and neck, giving her a back and forth tussle. At this point Lucky would begin a very rapid and loud cooing. She was obviously very pleased. She would have accepted this kind of affection for as long as I wanted to stand there and give it to her.

Pooping, everywhere and often was another expectation Lucky harbored. I have raised hand fed parrots, training them to deposit their droppings only in certain (OK) places. They were quite easy to train.

Pigeons are another story. I think pigeons are almost impossible to potty train, but I will continue to try. Lucky does have her special places. Places I call normal poop drops. The unfortunate thing is that her poop drops are seldom where my choice would be. Ive tried many techniques to train Lucky in proper bathroom behavior, without success. So currently, I have a pigeon philosophy that says: Pigeons and their poop come as a package. If you love pigeons, as I do, you will make an allowance for the whole package. You will keep a roll of tissue paper handy at all times, and table knife for use on the carpet. Fortunately, normal pigeon poop is rather hard, somewhat like soft clay, so it can be cleaned up quite easily. It is also odorless. So much for pigeon poop.










*Life with Lucky*

I cannot begin to imagine losing Lucky. Some pigeons will live to over 20 years. I hope this will be the case for Lucky. She is a gift from God, and somehow more special than any other pet I have known, including dogs and cats. I have many other birds including crows, doves, pigeons, parrots and lovebirds. I enjoy them all and they all have a place in my life. But only Lucky holds that soft place, near my heart.

What makes a pigeon like Lucky so special It could be the way she bows her head in greeting when I enter the room. Or, when she makes direct eye contact to tell me something without making a sound. Maybe its the way she flies across a field to land softly on my shoulder

Lucky doesnt talk like my parrots do. She wont chase sticks like the dog. Still, I have written no other story for any other of my animal friends

Lucky impacts my life profoundly so. Her quiet demeanor and gentle expression are not lost on my eyes. She communicates nearly constantly. Sometimes its only to let me know that her love and devotion are always there. I hope that I communicate the same as effectively as she does. I find myself completely lost in her charms. She seems to absorb all that is good. Lucky is like a mirror reflecting all the life and love around me, a continual reminder that life is good.

*By Carl Gulledge
June 2001*


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## rifki (Aug 15, 2013)

Thank you for sharing Lucky's story. I love it!


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## superemmy (Mar 14, 2016)

I Love this story, too. Is Lucky still alive?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Thank you for sharing Luckys story. Heartwarming.


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## eshghekaftar (Mar 7, 2009)

I Love the story!


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