# A Strange Day Around Here ..



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

It's been a rather strange day around here. Things started at about 5:30 AM when Slim, the rooster, woke me with his crowing. About 20 minutes later Moe, the African Goose, went off on an insane honking fit. I think you can understand how my neighbors might not be real fond of living next door to me  So up I jump, put my houseshoes on, and run out the back door to see what the heck is going on. 

I spot Angel, another African Goose, flipped over on her back and unable to right herself. Moe was pitching a fit so I would come and help Angel. Angel recovered nicely from her bumblefoot but started having seizures which really throw her for a loop (literally). So, I get Angel back on her feet and Moe settles down as does the new African Goose who was honking up a storm in support of Moe.

By now, I know I might as well just get dressed and forget about any more shuteye.

I waited until about 7:30 to go check on the birds that live in our finished garage which is also my office most of the time. The waiting was to allow for the neighbors to get up on their own with no further crowing, honking, quacking, cooing, or barking from my place.

As soon as I walked into the office Lucas, my cockatoo, starts screaming "little birdie owww", "little birdie owww" .. at least that is what I throught he was saying until I heard the sounds of wings flapping and then a gentle bonk on my head as a pigeon landed there. Turns out a young pigeon that I was rehabbing from a hawk attack had knocked out the seed cup, pushed up that cage door, and went exploring. What Lucas was actually saying was "little birdie out" .. duhhhh .. need to brush up on my cockatoo speak.

Then late this afternoon, Mark, our neighbor across the street, came to the door to tell me there was a wild bird in his office and could I help him get it out. So off we go with aviary net in hand and successfully removed a little Black Phoebe that had somehow gotten inside and took up residence in the corner of a window sill .. totally amazing that their dogs or cats didn't get the little bird. After a quick exam that showed no obvious injuries or problems, I brought the little Phoebe to my backyard and released it. It immediately flew to the top of the orange tree, sat for a few seconds, and took off for parts unknown.

Terry


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

TAWhatley said:


> It's been a rather strange day around here. Things started at about 5:30 AM when Slim, the rooster, woke me with his crowing. About 20 minutes later Moe, the African Goose, went off on an insane honking fit. I think you can understand how my neighbors might not be real fond of living next door to me  So up I jump, put my houseshoes on, and run out the back door to see what the heck is going on.
> 
> I spot Angel, another African Goose, flipped over on her back and unable to right herself. Moe was pitching a fit so I would come and help Angel. Angel recovered nicely from her bumblefoot but started having seizures which really throw her for a loop (literally). So, I get Angel back on her feet and Moe settles down as does the new African Goose who was honking up a storm in support of Moe.
> 
> ...



Oh my...... I'm SURE you're neighbors won't agree, (probably you either for that matter) but all that honking and cooing and quacking..........well, you're story just cracked me up. Sure it wasn't funny at the time, but you'd have to be on THIS end reading it for the first time........Are you going to bed early tonight??  And, hope Angel is ok.........


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Wow, what a day!  I especially love the story of "little birdie owww"...translation "Mom, thank GOD you're here! That bleepin' pigeon has been out for over three hours and I don't think I should be expected to work under these circumstances! Now would you please do something about it NOW please!"  Hope tonight and tomorrow are calmer around there.  And that's just amazing about Angel, I hope she is feeling better too.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Terry to the rescue!*

It sounds like you avoided alot of catastrophes,  wow, what a day! I can just imagine all the different avian verbals going on.  

Moe is sure smart to wake mommy to come help. I can't get over your cockatoo, telling you exactly what is going on. 

Never a dull moment.....


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## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Wow Terry, what a way to start the day!

Although it's kind of nice to think that the geese look out for each other that way!

And that Lucas! He must be smart as a whip..."Little birdie out!" I can' get over it!

Hope tomorrow is a nice and serene.......lol

Linda


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

How amazing this is, how those birds learn to communicate with you. You have some really smart birds there. 
Sorry you had another of those days. Hope tomorrow will be calm.

Reti


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Well, all ended well today. Truly, Lucas is amazing and Junebug even more so in her own way. Still it was Lucas who knew a "little birdie" was out. The geese are just being geese .. that's what they do .. amazing birds in their own right. And very protective of their own.

Lucas calls all birds smaller than himself "little birds" and all birds that are larger than himself and white "Aflacs". He knew Aflacs when he came here but he didn't know little birds. He is an amazing bird.

Junie speaks better than Lucas and quite frankly is smarter .. she understands things in context and will reply in a likely manner. Lucas just knows "things" and will "talk" about them without really understanding unless it's Little Birdies or Aflac's .. Junie can run him into the ground with truly understanding what's going on and how to respond. Still, my big white bird, is most beloved by me, and he was the one to sound the alarm this morning.

They truly are amazing creatures.

I love you Lucas and Junie!

Terry


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

So glad Moe spoke up for Angel. Lucas is such smarty! It's amazing what animals will tell someone who is willing to listen. I think Maryjane pegged it - the birds knew they could count on you to solve their problems, whether it was a friend in need or something that was out of order.

Last week, I was closing up the coop for the night. Walter usually settles right down on his roost, but as I was shuting the door he suddenly rushed toward me, cooing loudly. It startled me enough to look over and notice that I'd forgotten to close off their access doors to the flight pen. As soon as I corrected the oversight, he marched back to his roost and settled down. No sloppy security on his watch!

You are so fortunate to experience such interesting creatures. Sure hope things stay quiet so you can catch up on your sleep tonight!


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Terry...



Wonderful tale of Bird Characters and intelligence...

I hope someday I too can have some Geese! and some Talking ( in English ) Birds!


Best wishes!

Phil
Las Vegas


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Birds are so intelligent and have such distinct personalities. Thank you Terri and Terry for reminding us of this.

Cynthia


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Terry, 

LOL! What a start to the day you had but it does sound pretty comical I can just picture the look on your face when that rooster starting crowing at the crack of dawn, and they are LOUD! lol. 

Your poor goose, flipped over on her back, but you were alerted by Moe's calls for help. Geese are pretty darn smart and definitely do look out for each other.

That's just so amazing and sweet that Lucas told you about the pigeon flying around! Your Junebug and Lucas truly do sound like incredible birds Must be great fun interacting with them


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*A Strange Day around here*

Some strange days are worth it (at least as seen by us other PT members) unless you are inundated by them. 

I wish you many more strange days, strange as that may sound. Perhaps I should say interesting days, but that can sound bad also. The Chinese supposedly had a curse for their enemies, "May you live in interesting times" (as in famine, flood, fire, plague, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, whatever). 

Your animals may also be commenting on this most unusual day: we spoke, and we were actually understood by a human for once! Will wonders never cease!).

Larry


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Just caught up on this thread!

How FUNNY, Terry! What a terrific chain of events. Some days are like that! THOSE are always the ones which live in our hearts and memories!

Amazing birds you have!

LOVE and HUGS to ALL...PLEASE tell them that Mr. Squeaks and I wish them a WONDERFUL 2007 (and you TOO, of course!!)


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Some remarkable stories from the two Terry(i)'s, thanks for sharing these stories with us. Terry, it's really bad when I have to 'google' for the defintion
of a word that a bird uses  :

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Aflac+Duck

fp


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

WHAT, fp, you have NEVER seen an Aflac commercial? They are among my MOST favorities!

The duck is voiced by Gilbert Gottfried, who is just "quackers" (a.k.a. perfect) as the "voice!"

_*AFLAC !!!!*_


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

mr squeaks said:


> WHAT, fp, you have NEVER seen an Aflac commercial? They are among my MOST favorities!
> 
> The duck is voiced by Gilbert Gottfried, who is just "quackers" (a.k.a. perfect) as the "voice!"
> 
> ...



_I know, what a mess not watching TV, what a bunch of poop...._


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

feralpigeon said:


> Terry, it's really bad when I have to 'google' for the defintion of a word that a bird uses  : fp


FP .. truly too funny!  Here's a link to a couple of Aflac commercials: http://www.aflac.com/us/en/aboutaflac/aflaccommercials.aspx

Terry


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Terry, I call your day a grand one. All that interaction with the kids sounds wonderful to me. 

Terri, cute story about your watchpigeon Walter. He would probably have stayed awake all night.  

fp - that's ok too that you didn't catch the aflac bit. Now, when you see one, they'll be fresh and you'll think of Lucas.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Thanks for all the great posts, everyone. I've been meaning to get back here and say that but kept getting sidetracked. So, thank you!

Angel had a particularly rough day today and is in a hospital carrier on heat this evening. I'm not sure she's going to be with us in the morning, but I certainly hope so.

Terry


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

TAWhatley said:


> Angel had a particularly rough day today and is in a hospital carrier on heat this evening. I'm not sure she's going to be with us in the morning, but I certainly hope so.
> 
> Terry


Oh no, Terry! I certainly hope that Angel will be ok in the morning. She didn't sound like she was in such a precarious situation in your original post and it seemed that she was recovering pretty much ok.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Pigeonpal2002 said:


> Oh no, Terry! I certainly hope that Angel will be ok in the morning. She didn't sound like she was in such a precarious situation in your original post and it seemed that she was recovering pretty much ok.


Brad and all .. Angel has been in a very fragile condition since she started having seizures. Though she has been hanging in there pretty well, I'm concerned for her tonight. I will be checking on her several times to assure she hasn't had another seizure that has put her into a physically difficult position, but each and every seizure takes a little more away from her, and it's very sad. She really has no control now over the movement of her neck and head and is very wobbly on her feet .. these are not good signs. Still, I will hope for a small miracle tonight .. perhaps it will be granted.

Terry


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I will say a prayer for Angel, that God will answer.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Poor Angel. Hope she will recover.

Reti


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Angel is still with us this morning. I hope she can regain some strength and control of her movements. I'm having to tube feed her which she hates, but she is no longer capable of eating enough on her own.

Terry


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## Feather (Dec 8, 2005)

Amazing, Wonderful Birds! Rooting for Angel.

Feather


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Terry, sorry to hear that Angel's condition is this serious and continues to 
decline. I know you will support her in whatever way is necessary for her comfort/well-being, and bless you for this.

fp


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

So sorry that Angel is not doing so well. Gravity is not kind to the larger animals of any species, unfortunately. I appreciate all you are doing to support her and make her comfortable. Sure hope she can turn things around.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

*Angel Has Passed ..*

Angel, the goose, passed quietly away last night. She had continued to go steadily downhill and had become totally unable to stand or drink or eat on her own. She detested being tube fed, but we were doing this three times a day at the end. In many ways, it is best for her that she passed on. Her pictures are in this group: http://www.rims.net/2006Nov15 

I had taken her to Mason Park on New Year's Day to visit her mate in the hopes that this would bolster her spirits. Sadly, it didn't .. he was either mean to her or completely disinterested. We did meet a couple of lovely people that were two of Angel's guardians at the park, and they were thrilled to see her but could see that she was not in good condition. I'm glad Angel had the chance to see her home of more than 14 years one more time and sorry that her mate was not able to understand that her absence was not her fault. He (the mate) seemed angry at her that she had been gone and wasn't able to go running off into the sunset with him.

Terry


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

So sorry that Angel passed. That was a smart idea, to take her to visit her home and mate. Sometimes, everything you can do is not enough. Seems like she was ready to go. Do you think her mate is too old to look for a new female?


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## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Terry,

Sorry to hear about Angel. Very sad. 

I'm glad to hear she had a chance to see her old home one more time, but too bad that her mate did not understand. Now and then, I really, REALLY wish that the animals would be able to understand our words so we could explain to them that the things we do are not meant to harm, but to help. This sounds like one of those times to me....

Thanks for trying so hard for Angel.

Linda


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

TerriB said:


> So sorry that Angel passed. That was a smart idea, to take her to visit her home and mate. Sometimes, everything you can do is not enough. Seems like she was ready to go. Do you think her mate is too old to look for a new female?


Thanks, Terri. The mate is also up there in age .. the two had been at this park for 14 years or more. He is in good shape and would probably take another mate .. unfortunately .. he is the only domestic goose at this park. They don't seem to get a lot of dumpees at this park, so I doubt a mate is in the near future for Angel's widower. I need to think about this for a little bit and try to make a non-emotional decision as to whether to leave Angel's mate where he is or to ask to remove him and find him a home. Pros and cons .. just need to think it through.

Terry


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Lin Hansen said:


> I'm glad to hear she had a chance to see her old home one more time, but too bad that her mate did not understand. Now and then, I really, REALLY wish that the animals would be able to understand our words so we could explain to them that the things we do are not meant to harm, but to help. This sounds like one of those times to me....
> Linda


Yes, Linda .. the mate seemed to be angry with Angel .. he nipped at her, then ignored her, then came back and honked at her in a scolding sounding way (what do I know .. I don't understand goose honks ??). Then would go away again, then come back and bite at her again. I tried telling him that it wasn't Angel's fault that she had been gone .. my goose-ese was obviously lacking, and I'm sure people passing by figured I was a total nut case for obviously trying to have a conversation with a pissed off goose.

Oh well ..

Terry


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## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

TAWhatley said:


> Yes, Linda .. the mate seemed to be angry with Angel .. he nipped at her, then ignored her, then came back and honked at her in a scolding sounding way (what do I know .. I don't understand goose honks ??). Then would go away again, then come back and bite at her again. *I tried telling him that it wasn't Angel's fault that she had been gone .. my goose-ese was obviously lacking, and I'm sure people passing by figured I was a total nut case for obviously trying to have a conversation with a pissed off goose.*
> Terry


Actually, maybe not. I think anyone who owns animals tends to talk to them like they understand us....especially at a time like that when they are upset.

I know this sounds wacky, but in our local newspaper we have a "pet psychic" that people write to for advice about their animals. She's a big believer in the Bach essences and also communicating with your animal with your mind using images. Who knows if this stuff works or not, but believe me, I've tried it a now and then in desperate times....nothing to lose, right? 

Linda


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

TAWhatley said:


> ...I tried telling him that it wasn't Angel's fault that she had been gone .. my goose-ese was obviously lacking...
> Terry


Sometimes your tone and manner can convey at least some information. However, in this case it may be that the gander was so irate that even a direct mind meld would not have been effective.

Regarding the gander's future, considering his age, I wonder if he would be better off with the support of domestic life? Although the pair seemed to have a good thing going at that pond. Good luck on this tough decision!


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

I'm sorry you lost Angel, and glad that her suffering has ended. It is very difficult to have an animal who has such a love of life that they hang on and on, even when they are too ill to enjoy life. She is now flying free and happy and young again.  Thanks for taking such good care of her, and I hope the decision about her mate isn't too hard.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Terry, 

My sympathies to you over Angel's passing She was a beautiful African goose and fought hard to recover but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Sad to hear her mate rejected her like he did, makes you wonder what they think and why they do what they do.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Terry,

I'm so sorry to hear about Angels' passing. I know this is hard for you, but it is better she is not suffering anymore, and that will ease the pain.

I talk to my birds too. I have a sweet little hen named, Ashley, she wouldn't hurt a fly. I brought her in for observation and a break from her very aggressive mate, Arthur.

She obviously didn't like the time spent away from the coop, but instead of letting me know, she beat the C_ _ _ _ out of Arthur when I put her back after a few days. I guess she was mad at him for not coming to her rescue, because I have never seen anything like it. After a whole day of beating him up and having him in a head lock and going 'round and 'round with him, she finally calmed down, and accepted him in her presence. LOL 

I apologized to Arthur and Ashley and said it was my fault, not his. Quite a different little lady she was, that I had never seen before.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

I, too, am so sad to hear of Angel's passing. Sometimes, though, when one is in such bad shape, death can be a blessing. Her quality of life certainly wasn't what she would have wanted.

Thank you for all you did, Terry! I know she could not have been with anyone better during her last days!

Do let us kow what you decide to do with her mate. Such a hard decision!

As strange at this may sound, _perhaps_ Angel's mate may have been telling her that she looked terrible and why was she putting herself through all this, that he KNEW she was ready to go and why was she waiting! Also, that he would be joining her in the not-too-distant future! Geese may look at death differently than we do??


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

*Angel's passing*

Terry,

Sorry to hear of Angel's passing. 

Anger often follows shock and fear. Maybe Angel's mate had been wondering where she was, only to be shocked by the big change when she did return, and angry that whatever she had done while gone wasn't helping or didn't help her. I think we would often do the same: be angry at a loved one after they departed, be upset wiht them for dying. Lashing out at anything and everything, anyone and everyone. 

Thanks for the link to AFLAC. New to me, and the video clips are funny. I appreciate geese even more now.

Larry


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Larry has a good point. Angel's mate reacted angry cause Angel left in the first place, he might have not noticed she didn't look well.
I am so sorry for her passing.

Reti


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Terry, I sure am sorry to read about Angel. You helped her and all her pals so much.

I've mentioned we have our pigeon ****** in the house for a while recuperating. We have been bringing her mate Ken in to stay in the cage beside her for a large part of the day and night. We do put him out in the aviary for several hours a day and every time we bring him in he fusses at her like he's angry with her.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

Lady Tarheel said:


> Terry, I sure am sorry to read about Angel. You helped her and all her pals so much.
> 
> I've mentioned we have our pigeon ****** in the house for a while recuperating. We have been bringing her mate Ken in to stay in the cage beside her for a large part of the day and night. We do put him out in the aviary for several hours a day and every *time we bring him in he fusses at her like he's angry with her*.


Maybe he's just trying to tell her to hurry up and get well so they can be together ALL the time...


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