# Sticky  Your "handle" and how you got started



## Maggie-NC

Shi (Mr. Squeaks) mentioned that it would be fun to find out how we came up with our "handles" and I thought it may be fun to find out how everyone became involved with pigeons. So here goes my part.

The "Lady Tarheel" came about because North Carolineans are nicknamed "tarheels" and I am also a huge fan of the UNC Tarheel basketball team. I just stuck the "Lady" on to show I'm female.

I think I was born loving animals/birds. My entire family was always rescuing one critter or another, particularly my mother. There was always a rescued dog or cat we cared for and even though my mother was desperately afraid of dogs she usually wound up being the caretaker. She found an injured garden snake once and when I came home from school he was in a fishbowl on the piano. He stayed there until one day she put him out to sun and "Clarence" escaped. I have had pet chickens - one named Trudy who was blind and crippled and she lived a long time. We had one old rooster that stayed in the house until we went on a trip and a neighbor said she'd take care of him, and she did, right in a pot. Mother was so mad! 

I married a man who grew up the same way I did with animals always around. He raised many pigeons when he was a child and has always loved them. Early in our marriage he rescued one pigeon and we kept him until he could be 
released. The next bird we had was an Evening Grosbeak named Starsky (about 25 years ago). He was in our back yard with a broken wing and we
had him for a little over 3 years. We didn't get into the real pigeon business until my husband and I retired and he started walking several miles a day and began finding all these little fellows and bringing them home. Early on, we got in so many sick ones that we started looking around for help and found other rehabbers and veterinarians, took classes on bird rehab, read everything I could find and did a lot of it "by the seat of our pants". 

Rehabbing is a little different from what most forum members do, we suffer more losses and have more disappointments BUT our successes have far outweighed the losses and that is what is important. We love what we do because we love these wonderful little pigeons.

maggie


_June 15, 2009

Addendum to my "handle" post. Since I am more known by "Maggie", I decided to change my name from Lady Tarheel to "Maggie-NC). I still love the Tarheels though!!!!!_


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## pdpbison

Hi Maggie,

Cool...

I would love to take some Classes on Avian and rehab matters! I do not think there are any here, tho'.

pdpbison occured because I needed a user name and could not think, so that name came easy, since my initials are 'P.D.P.', and my Workshop - Business is named 'Bison Studios'. If you google it, or google Philip Poburka, you will find mentions of my Tool Making, and some mentions of my Box and Cabinet Work, although my Workshop is occupied in many different small scale things in addition to these occupations. Sole proprietor, no one else but me doing stuff in there. Long hours, low pay, dim light, clutter, dust. The last of the 'old time' for-real Workshops for this town anyway.

My first Pigeon was one I saw laying in a buisy street, I made a u-turn and parked so as to momentarily protect it, as I got out of my Truck and examined it and gently scooped her up. She was unconscious, had been mauled by a Dog, and took three days to wake up. She had lots of punctures, a broken thigh and many missing Feathers. 

I had nothing for prior experience or knowledge, but amazingly, she survived and got well over many weeks with no medications. She elected a mate which was a white and patches of pale grey Pigeon a Vet gave me that had been raised in a cage and had never flown and was grouchy for a long time, but these two made many truely beautiful Babys.

She was black with a white head tuft, long body and long wings and white primaries. Once she did start flying again, she was probably the fasted flier I have ever seen. She was an old Bird and had the larger areas around her eyes.

She ( who I had innocently named 'Elmo') and her mate, ( whom I had named 'Little Cloud') built a nest on top of my old Roll Top Desk, were tender and very dutiful parents to their many offspring, helped me raise various orphan Babys whom they accepted and fed and looked after, even as I filled in to give them resopites from the nest wwhen they were incubating or raising their own, and were sweet and charming Birds who flew out in the world every day. 

Elmo loved storms, and the more lightening and thunder and heavy rain, the more she liked it, and would perch on the top rung of an old Ladder that leaned against the back of the house whenever we had a good storm here.

Well, having her at first, eventually led me to a Bird Vet here, who started giving me bring-ins they thought I could deal with...orphan Babys, injured but likely to get well adults, and so on, so that is how it started for me.

Bad thing about that Vet though, they would never share any real info or guide me or educate me, and really, probably did not know all that much about Pigeons to do so anyway, they did not know how to treat the Trichomoniasius, and I got my first info on that matter from a fellow who had Hawks...so all of my humble education happened otherwise than frm ny mentors or teachers, and slowly...until Pigeontalk!

Phil
Las Vegas


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## dnrslucky1

I have always been an animal lover and also have cared for many injured and orphaned animals! My favorites are raccoons, I raised one that was only a few days old, very tiny, eyes still closed! She "Fi Fi" was adorable, but come spring they always leave on their own! By the way I live on 3 acres in a very wooded area. As pets, I have an African Grey parrot, whom I rescued from a local pet shop for way more money than I could afford! But he was so lonely, nervous and loved me from the first time he seen me! He would bite anyone but me. 3 cats, 2 who I hand fed also. One was found ducktaped in a box on a 90 degree day, and was near death, the other one was given to me by someone who didn't have the time to bottle feed, and the third was a stray. Also 2 dogs, a Llasa Apso, also rescued from a pet shop for more than I could afford, but he had been in a small cage for 2 months and I couldn't stand it! A large German Shepherd that the breeder was gona destroy, but after some begging decided to give him to me! So as to dnrslucky1, My name is Denise for the d, n stands for and, my son-in-laws name is Rick for the r, s for plural, lucky is the German Shepherd's name as we rescued him together and I always use that handle on all forums so I don't forget it! Lol! My pass word is always my other dogs name. My pigeon interest came came as I am trying to save a little deformed, helpless Pigeon now named Peepers!


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## upcd

*Upcd*

Unicorn, Pegasus, Chanelle,Debbie=upcd After that I thought of CD's with little wings flying all around.  Started into pigeon at 10 years old with my 1 st pair of Indain Fantails. Got into many different breeds of pigeons threw the years. Also raised many different kiinds of animals. I have worked in Vets offices, Zoos, Pet shops.  People have always brought the injuried animals. I tend to find the sick and injuried too. I just really enjoy working with animals.  But pigeons are my favorite. I now raise Indain Fantails, West of England Tumblers ,Brimingham Rollers and Teddy Bear Hamsters. For pets I have 3 dogs, 2 cats,3 fish, and 2 rats. So the turth is out. I am addicted to animals.


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## Victor

*Victor...*

Just plain ol' ordinary boring and basic VICTOR. Yup, that's me. But many of you recall me as Vdog505, but I already posted a thread titled "Vdog is gone"

I thought about creating a "special name" but I decided just be a regular ordinary me. 

It is neat though reading the thoughts everyone else is sharing about their handles and the love that we all seem to have for animals in general. 

Our hearts are focused on pigeons and birds in this forum, but we all have a place in our hearts for others as well. 

We have an almost 18 year old mixed terrior-poo (*Huggy*) that is still quite active. When I look into his cataract covered eyes, I still see the love he has in them as he looks back at me.Loyal and faithful he is indeed.

Our other dog, a mixed long haired Dauschand (*Sabastian*), is learning many of the ways of his older mentor as he has been with us for a few months.Loyal and faithful he is learning to be.

Then comes the kitty we rescued many years ago, age is crepping up on him now, but he will probably not be replaced, as he is one of a kind, and protective of my pigeon Tooter when he is outside. A few days ago a stray cat that has been lurking lately, approached Tooters outdoor cage, and "*Lil Kitty*" put the cat in his place. I have not seen the cat since.

Then there is our squirrel we rescued last early summer named "*Zipper*". She is now an indoor pet and very spoiled. We just ordered an indoor acrylic cage for her, so now we will have a larger indoor home for my pigeon.She loves her weekly warm bath and to be petted behind her ears.

And of course there is "*Tooter*", a wonderful compliment to our animals that we have, not to mention the wild birds and squirrels that frolick in our wooded back yard. Our pigeon has inspired us to learn more about pigeons, truly unique, intelligent and beautiful creatures they are. 

EDITED JULY 27,2006

Quite a few changes have occured since the last posting to this thread when we only had our single pigeon named Tooter. Many of you know that on December 31st a hawk had him but Tooter was able to fend off the hawk with a bit of help from me. Tooter fled the opposite direction and was gone for 7 and a half months til he miraculously re appeared on our roof top, and hopped into his cage. Quite a pigeon after 2 years prior being shot at twice. One pellet exited and the other is still lodged in near his lung. Tooter is quite the fighter...a hero in my eyes. 

During his absence, we also acquired 5 more pigeons, mainly from wonderful members of Pigeon Talk, acts of love and compassion:

Beaskley

Rosco

Uchiwa

Barbie (this one we rescued...unreleasable)

Paris

In addition, my daughters gave my wife Bev an adorable puppy that we named Chewy for mother's day. 

Our family has grown indeed!


*Adding two Siblings born Feb. 9, 2007 ffrom Paris and Barbie:

Clayton

Emilie*


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## TAWhatley

Well, I certainly wasn't too creative with my handle .. TA are my first and middle initials and Whatley is my last name ..

My first three pigeons were Ptero that I raised from a baby, my aged Traveler, and Stinky (aka Catherine The Great). Ptero totally stole my heart and Traveler and Stinky taught me just what very courageous and tough birds pigeons can be when faced with horrific injuries. 

Traveler was found at the local Green Thumb Nursery with his head looking like raw hamburger. He was a long time healing and did lose the sight in one eye, but definitely rules the roost around here.

Stinky was found in a trash can at a park .. she was extremely emaciated and had a badly broken leg and had just been tossed in the trash and left to die. She stank so badly, that Stinkly was the only possible name. The smell wasn't from being in the garbage but from her body shutting down and literally devouring itself in her attempt to survive. She smelled terrible for a couple of months but eventually became a plump and shiny bird whose leg healed perfectly (thank you, Dr. Lee).

So, that's my story ..

Terry


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## feralpigeon

Hi Maggie,Mr.Squeaks et al,

I've always loved animals in general and the "family" pet was always really "my" pet, my grandfather was a doctor, so I even thought of becoming a vet....then I started the first grade and changed my mind  
I was the official bleeding heart for animals in the family. 

My 1st rescue was a moth, who I decided to "help". I put it in my shoe and covered the opening so it could, um, recover. Silly girl. That was my first HVAC lesson.....always have an air supply.

I first noticed pigeons in high school when I saw a pic in Look or Life of an old woman sitting on a New York Central Park bench covered with pigeons.....I decided then and there not to succumb to the aging process. Well, damn, some three decades later and not a year younger, I got a job overseeing the facilities for a non-profit group that dealt with the homeless in SF. Enter, the wonderful world of inner city pigeons. 

At one of the facilities, one of the resident pijies adopted me. She would follow me where ever I went while there, including into the building to "help" me. When the flock would sight me outside and swarm me, she would wait by my car for me. As time progressed, her health was nose-diving and I was pretty upset by it. Folks started talking about the sickly pigeon as tho they were gonna get sick from her. I couldn't stand some of the attitudes about pigeons and started surfing for other info on the net. I found ray'njudy's story about Bernie on the internet, and some other positive sites, and then wow--Pigeon Talk. Since my heart had been stolen by this feral pigeon, well, you know the rest. I inquired here about the pij and eventually caught her and received help from this site for meds and care. 

Dumpster Diver or DD, is now a permanent resident here at my home. As life would have it, she's caught the eye of a WOE tumbler, Sir Lancelot. As for those two characters, to be continued......

In the meantime I've found great joy/fulfillment in feral pigeons and being an honorary member of the various flocks.

fp


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## nabisho

*NAB is just my initials*

I've been NAB since I signed onto my first dial-up BBS (he Motherboard) out of L.A. back in about 1985 using a Commodore PET and a Bell 113 moden, there was no Internet in those days, and speed was 110 bps ASCII text only. I hadn't had a pet of any kind for about 20 years when I ran into little George out back of the office in Nov. 2004. He was in pretty bad shape, legs paralyzed and I tried my best (with the help of all the fine folks here) but he died in about two weeks. It was about a month and I missed the little fellow a bunch so I emailed the lady that runs the Humane Society in Reno and told them George's litle story and ask if they ever got any pigeons in that couldn't be released to give me a call. About two weeks later they got in Gee-Two (stands for George Two) he only had one wing and was scheduled to be off'd because no one wanted a one-winged pigeon and they can only keep unwanted birds for a week or so. I went up and got him right away. Then one day last spring one of my coworkers called up and said his dog had bit a pigeon over in one of our buildings and he couldn't catch the thing, but it was hurt and hiding under the machines. So I went over and got the little fellow and named him Gee-Three, he had a crumpled wing and a punctured crop, but I got him healed back up and he's in pretty good shape now, but he can't really fly too well, he tends to crash and miss perches a lot, he wouldn't last long in the wild. So that's it, here in the high desert of the great American Southwest lives NAB, Gee-Two, Gee-Three and a whole yard full of bunny rabbits.

NAB 

http://nabshouse.20megsfree.com.20megsfree.com/photo4.html

http://nabshouse.20megsfree.com.20megsfree.com/photo5.html


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## Snow White

*Snow White*

Well, this is actually what my family and friends call me. I am truely a sap when it comes to birds and animals. I cannot stand to see anything suffer and will go out of my way to help. I have been this way all of my life. Most of my rescues have been kitties, but I have also rescued two dogs. Both of them are Australian Cattle Dogs (blue heelers) named Dingo and Dakota. My two kitties are gray tabbies, Emily and Snickers. Then, of course, there's Edie-Bird, my pij. My backyard lookes like a wildlife sanctuary with bird feeders of every shape and size, birdbaths, critter dishes, finch bags (you guys get the picture). I am very lucky to have my husband who keeps me grounded or I would probably have more of a zoo. I also participate in bird studies with the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology (not sure if I spelled that right) for migrations and disease studies of birds in my area. If anyone is interested, you can log onto their website at Cornell University and just search for Ornithology and it tells you how you can get involved.

O.K. I do have those big binculars to bird-watch. They were a present from my husband.


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## Lin Hansen

As everyone can see, I didn't get too creative with my user name either...it's my actual name, just shortened the Linda to Lin.

I can't remember all the details when I first joined Pigeon Talk, but I remember I tried a few other names that were already taken, plus I wanted a user name that was not too unusual and easy to remember for logging in. Little did I realize then that I would eventually become a "regular" who would be logging in several times a day, every day! LOL

I've always loved feeding the little birds and animals that would come to our yard. We live in a suburb that is pretty built up...the houses are close together--not too much open space. So, pretty much all we get are birds and squirrels. We had a feeder up for the birds and would put peanuts out for the squirrels. We even had one very friendly squirrel who would take the peanuts from our hands. Now and then, we have spotted skunks, groundhogs, opposums and raccoons, which is always exciting. We even had a groundhog living under our shed for quite awhile....he loved hearts of Romaine, carrots and apples!

Here's where pigeons come in....a couple of years ago, our town passed an ordinance that would allow only one bird feeder per family on everyone's property as some residents were complaining about some people who would have crowds of birds coming to their property. We only had one feeder up, even though we are a three family. So...my husband (being an ornary type), promptly put up two more feeders. Now, we had more birds than ever coming and little by little, the local pigeons discovered us. When they would gather, I would scatter seed out on my driveway so they could eat in comfort instead of trying to do the "limbo" to get seed out of the feeders. As you can imagine, we attracted quite a crowd.

One day, we noticed a pure white pigeon in trouble. He didn't have the use of one leg and couldn't fly very well. The temperatures were falling below zero and he was only flying to our roof at night instead of to a real sheltered roost, so we caught him and brought him inside. I took him to our local vets who were kind enough to look him over and give him some shots (they waived the ofc visit fee), but recommended a sanctuary about 2 hrs from my home, which is where I wound up taking him. I had him for about a week, and during that time, found Pigeon Talk.

I loved this forum because it was so informative and the people are so nice and friendly, so I just kept visiting to learn in case I ever had a similar situation occur. I still feed and watch over the ferals, and so far I've been lucky, but feel good knowing I have such knowledgeable friends to turn to, if a problem ever comes up.

Oh boy, this post is turning into a book, but just want to add that my personal pets are a guinea pig named Cleo (rescued) and a beautiful, sweet Calico cat named Penny, who was abused in her former home.

Maggie, this is a great thread....I'm enjoying reading everyone's responses. Thanks for starting it.

Linda


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## Victor

Lin Hansen said:


> Maggie, this is a great thread....I'm enjoying reading everyone's responses. Thanks for starting it.
> 
> Linda


I agree with you Lin, this is really a great thread. It is bringing out the best in all of us and helping us to understand each other a lot moe. 

THERE ARE MANY MORE MEMBERS OUT THERE, OLD AND NEW, LET'S HEAR FROM YOU TOO! COME ON WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?


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## KIPPY

Kippy was the first and only pigeon I had at the time and being pigeon.com. It was an easy one!


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## re lee

Mines simple also The RE is my first and middle intial then Lee my last name. I was young in the 1950s And just wanted pigeons. My dad brought me home I believe 2 pair of ferals That was then The bug bit me. And I have had pigeons Most my life. I have raised. racing homers, modenas mookies. And fantails. Have had for short times. trumpeters , magpies, pouters. rollers. owls, But really never kept them to breed. Thought I liked them when I got them then would change my mind. I now have the fantails. AND have 10 homers that have came back that I gave away about a year and a half back. I might just keep them AS they were young birds unflown trained out just 25 miles. So I think they are pretty good birds to come back after this time. But I do have to cut the birds back to stay in the birds. But thats some of my story on my life with pigeons.


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## Cricket

Cricket is my nickname since I was a baby. The story goes something like this, I used to crawl and crush leaves in my fists. Apparently, I crawled and crunched lots in my path. One day, while under the wathcful eye of my Aunt, I crawled into a bunch of crickets. I did not hurt any, but you can imagine, a fist full of crickets and a baby? Cool. I may have even tasted one? Anyhow, it stuck and it is also easy to remember for me. 
I have been addicted to the Animal Kingdom from the get go. I have been a vegetarian since I was about 7, when I really understood where all the food came from and that I did not need to eat animals to survive. I am an artist and my first artwork depicted pigs and cows and chickens pleading for their lives. Sad really, but the images helped to keep me a vegetarian! I worked for PETA during my college education and learned so much more about the plight of abused and or neglected animals. 
When I was a teenager, I used to go to our town green with peanuts and bread crumbs to feed the pigeons. These ferel pigeons would see me a block away and fly to me and land on my head, shoulders, arms etc. until I was in the park feeding them! It was such a privledge to be accepted and recognized so naturally pigeons quickly became one of my favorite species. I loved them all of my life, but had never considered raising or housing any. 
I have worked with horses for a large part of my life and am now the owner and operator of a dog and cat Grooming facility. I simply get along with animals, even more than with people! I know you can all relate. 
My first pigeon is the one I am currently rehabbing. He is sick presently, but with the help of all of you wonderful and exceptional animal lovers, he will recover to a world of happiness. I am in the process of building a fabulous pigeon loft and have every intention of rescueing more... 
I live with a rescued bunny rabbit named Psycho Bunny. She is a pure black dwarf rabbit found under a parked truck in a parking lot. I also own a shepherd/coyote mix named Raje. He is eleven and more like a brother than a pet dog. Then I adopted a siberian husky from a client who could not handle her. Her name is Chicken. She unfortunatley has a bad reputation around chicken coops... ugh. Not while in my care of course. She is nine. I would love to have cats but the coyotes are so abundant where I live to have a indoor/outdoor cat is dangerous. Indoor is not an option since I have a rotating door. Two teenagers, a husband and the dogs. Can't trust the door. 
I am obsessed with finding homes for dogs and cats through my shop. I have been grooming for almost 12 years and have hooked many people up with their pets. I love working with animals. I love being with animals and I love people who love animals! So naturally, I ended up here! It is great to learn about familiar names and to share with such an awesome group. Thanks Maggie for starting the thread.


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## pigeonmama

My handle ? Pigeon Mama? Why, what else would you call me? I've always loved animals, was always known as " the littlest Jordan kid" in our town, and known for having some sort of critter hanging off me or out of a pocket, somewhere there would be a critter, frog, fowl, or feathered. Frogs with broken legs, babt birds found on the ground, 3 raccoons, monarch butterfly larvae, snakes, all were cosseted, bandaged, healed (or died if too badly injured) then released when ready. I remember one of my male cousins catching frogs and throwing them out on a major highway (wow, tarred road up here), so that cars would run over them. I dodged cars and nearly got hit a few times, collected and saved what frogs I could, and when my cousin went back to the pond to capture more victims, I ripped a thorn covered cane from a rosebush in front of my parents store and whipped my cousin all the way home. Many of the critters here now are rescues, 2 cats are SPCA cats, many of the chickens and one of the turkeys came out of a terrible situation. These critters are much loved, but we don't allow eggs to hatch. We also don't eat the eggs. I collect eggs daily, and when I have a good batch, hard boil them, mash them and feed to the chickens. The dog, well, he's a " reverse rescue" He came to rescue us after we lost our Lucy Lickie Lips.
I used to ride the horses in town, even those no one else would ride, or had never had any training. My favorite little horse was a little Arab/ Quarter horse gelding that was supposed to be a "man killer" Well, he may have been a man killer, but I used to ride him all over town without a bridle, saddle, not even a halter. For me, he was hand, leg and voice control. I used to lay on his back with a book, sometimes even fall asleep, while he grazed. My parents tried to buy him for me, from the man I trained him for, but the man wouldn't sell. Poor Star, I'd go see and ride him often. The man didn't take care of him, he was worm infested. My mother would buy wormer for me to give him at her expense. Finally, Star got caught in barbed wire fencing and literally cut off a leg and had to be put down. I was so angry at this man, and did he know it !!
Well, there's many critters I haven't mentioned, but you all aren't ready to read a novel tonight, I'm sure. More, later.
Daryl


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## Victor

Wow, these stories just continue to fly in and they are so incredibly awsome. Keep the MOMENTS coming in.They are all GREAT!


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## Maggie-NC

I agree. I am loving the stories. Maggie


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## Pigeonpal2002

Hi Folks, 

My handle came about on the spur of the moment I recall. I think I tried a few other names (pigeonpal) without the "2002", but they were taken at the time. So "pigeonpal" because pigeons are my pals and I'm their "pal" and then 2002 was the year I joined pigeontalk. 

My first interest was the watching the wild pigeons. Their colours, flight and beauty always fascinated me. Every place I went, I had to feed the pigeons in the cities and towns. My parents would take us on vacation to different places and I'd carry a bag of seed with me everywhere. No matter where I was, what the trip, I'd be covered in them and LOVED IT Been into pigeons since I was a young boy, had homing pigeons growing up for a few years and also had a pair of ring neck doves. My adventures with the pigeons and doves only lastest a few years due to unfortunate circumstances all around. My love for these birds never died though, obviously.

A little later on in my life and after the pigeons & doves were gone, I got two cockatiels. I had those birds for about 17 years each and I had these birds pretty much up to just before I got back into pigeons with the Giant Runts. It's now coming up to nearly 5 years with these wonderful pigeons and I'm hoping for many more years with my 4 birds.

I've always been a nature nut growing up, loved animals all my life but took a special liking towards birds very early on. Birds have always been my passion and hobby and pigeons will always hold a very fond place in my heart and soul


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## mr squeaks

*THANKS Lady Tarheel*

for starting this thread. Am having trouble posting. Let's see if it works now...ok, one more time...

My first name is Shi (pronounced 'shy') and the first 3 letters of Shirley. Born in TX, I was an AF brat and moved every 3 years. Finally put down deep roots when I moved to AZ 30 yrs. ago from Ohio: ahhh, sun....ahhh, heat = HOME!

Have had cats all my life and now share my apartment with 4. Pigeons have always fascinated me and I enjoyed watching the flocks around my home and on the campus of Arizona State University, where I worked. For over a year, I followed the antics of Peter Pied Piper at ASU. I am now on permanent vacation since June 2005. When I last visited the campus, Peter and his progeny were still growing strong.

Two years ago, I found a young injured racing homing pigeon. He was a squeaker so I named him Mr. Squeaks. He has quite the attitude and insists that he is *MR* Squeaks, thank you very much! He rules me and the cats with an iron beak. He's a spoiled bird and demands his petting and scratching as his just due from his mate (me).

Because of pigeons, I found this site, posted Mr. Squeaks and Peter's stories in the story section and have made many new friends! THANKS is inadequate but y'all know what I mean... Really look forward to reading more on this thread!


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## kittypaws

*Kittypaws*

My "handle" is kittypaws because I adore cats ( have two at the moment - one rescue Tinky - that was the name she came with) and Freddie, who was a stray and named after the late Freddie Mercury of the group Queen, who also loved cats. However I also adore every other type of creature. 

I stop to pick snails up off the pavement so that don't get stood on, rescue all sorts of insects and of course there are the pigeons. My first pigeon, was a chap with a bad wing, who I managed to capture and take to the RSPCA.

I also am always looking out for the dreaded netting on buildngs and railways where pigeons can and do get tangled up. One particular row of buildings has taken me over two years to get most of the properties to either remove or repair their netting after seeing dead birds that persished. That is so awful to see and breaks my heart when I think how they must have suffered. I've written to landlords, tenants, the train people, solicitors, the police and of course involved the RSPCA trying to get things improved and saved a few tangled up birdies in the process.

My most scary rescue was leaning out of a 4 storey building window over a busy street, trying to cut free a poor pij who had got tangled in ripped netting and it was in the lap of the gods that I didn't fall out but I had to rescue this bird even if it killed me. I had the pij in one hand, the scissors in the other trying to cut him free. I did manage it and was shaking with either fright or adrenalin or probably both. His poor leg had swollen so much with the netting tangled tighter and tighter and it had also got tangled around his wing but I go him to a safe place where I was advised a few days later that he had been released as his foot had recovered.

With sick and injured pigeons please be sitting nicely on the floor without an ounce of strength so that we can catch you easily. Even the poorly ones that are grounded still try and give you a run for their money.

Now I have this wonderful Wildlife hospital to take them to so I'm sorted. I mentioned before that I did a sponsored slim and raised about £ 1000. The guy at the Wildlife Centre is going to use the money to repair and improve the pigeon aviary which is fabulous - I wonder if he'll fit en-suite bathrooms for the pijs?

All the best

Tania


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## John_D

I'm John_D cos that's me, but my email handle is "pidgie" for obvious reasons.

Must have walked round with blinkers for years, as I honestly don't remember noticing the pigeons everywhere. My first 'experience', tho, was when one pooped on my school uniform cap when I was even smaller than I am now, and my father said "Only a pigeon - it's a sign of good luck!". I thought it just meant a dirty cap 

Back in '95 in the summer, a tired homer walked into my lounge when I was out, having left balcony door open. Found him when I got home, chewing a potted plant. I knew so little I gave him crumbled dry corn flakes  (He got bird seed next day) He stayed about 3 days and then he was off. He was very tame and friendly and, I think now, obviously much loved.

Next year I found a squabbie in a plant pot outside in mid-January in the icy cold. Her father was "PP" who became my resident balcony pigeon for 18 months. He lost one mate to illness and got another, and raised numerous little PPs. If only I could have known then where to find out about pigeons, illnesses, treatment and plastic eggs. I had to do battle with the management and snobby neighbors to keep my pigeons in place, but they stayed until PP disappeared one day.

Since then, I've found a few sick, injured or just abandoned pigeons around here, but have had to take them to the wildlife hospital where I know they will do the very best they can for them. That's because, due to working schedules, I am not ever home enough to be able to give them care here.

It was entirely due to pigeons, through the web page I made about my balcony pigeons when I first got onto the internet, I met Cynthia! After we'd been corresponding for a couple of years, Cynthia was a wonderful support to me when I had a personal crisis, and part of 'recuperating' was my first visit to meet her, the pigeons I felt like I knew by then, and the furry residents. 

Fortunately, the canine section of furry residents decided I was more or less OK and could come back 

Over the past three years our aviary space has grown and grown (and will soon grow a little more) to keep pace with the needy pigeons that somehow end up there. 

Down here on the S Coast of England I still have balcony pigeons, and an occasional egg slips past me unnoticed until too late, so I've had just a few balcony babies too 

John


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## andinla

*My Handle & love of all creatures*

Hi well my username/handle andinla came from my name andi & I am in LA California. 

I have loved animals of every kind since birth my family tells me. I drove them crazy in my early childhood. I would bring home cats, dogs, birds, you name it I had it. My uncle owned a pet shop for years and I would go and help out in his store feeding & cleaning cages. I also brought home many sick animals to nurse them back to health if they were sick. I had my own dog walking business when I was ten, I went around the neighborhood and would walk everyone's dogs for free and after a couple of months some of them started tipping me.. My favorite client was a Irish wolfhound named Dermitt they are the largest dog breed in the world. 

I started a lost pet service in 1993 named ~ Dog Gone Locate~ which was the first taped show for Animal Planet. I could of been the DOG HUNTER! ha! I found my friend Zorra my 13 yr. old white Siberian Husky I rescued from Carson animal shelter 10 years ago she was going to be put to sleep that same day. She was my birthday present to myself. Mama Kitty She is a 11 year old rescue Himalayan cat who was about to deliver a litter of kittens, which she did on my birthday, (birthday thing again weird) I kept one of the kittens and named him D-O-Gee he is a black & white huge cat who likes to hang with the dog . He is a person I swear trapped in a cats body. We also have Sunny Bunny a white long up eared bunny who is 9 years old who came from a dirty pet shop situation, when he was just a baby. The past two years we have lost a 16 year old calico cat named SIB- "surprise in basket" came to me in a basket from a friend at 6 weeks old. Two other bunnies passed away from old age and this past Feb. 05 we had to put down our 15 year old golden retriever named Cider. 

As for pigeons I came to admire them when a pigeon showed up in my garage one day and would just stare at me, eventually she came and sat on my desk, I named her baby she lived under the eaves of my house and would visit me daily for several years, her life was cut short from a neighbor who shot her while she was on my back fence. I currently feed a flock of 75+ at the school yard (but don't tell any one OK) ha! 

P.S. If you ever find a cocoon make sure you place it in a jar or bowl that is larger in width than a butterfly's wings. I had found a cocoon baking in the hot Calif summer sun in my driveway and thought it was dead inside because it seemed hard as a rock. I placed it in a cup in my garage and forgot about it, to my surprise a week later there was this beautiful butterfly, as I examined it closer I noticed it's wings were crumbled at the ends. This was do to my sticking the poor thing in a container where it was unable to expand it's wings upon exiting the cocoon, if a butterfly is unable to expand and dry it's wings in the first five minutes of life they will be disabled and unable to fly. The butterfly was unable to fly, I felt so quilty I took it out to the flowers three to four times a day and would sit near it as it crawled from flower to flower. I fed it with a little spoon sugar water & salt water. I did that for two weeks. One morning I put her on a flower and my mom drove up and said lets go to breakfest, I did and had totally forgotton the butterfly. I could not find her when I returned. I felt so bad that she never got to fly. 

Sorry this was so long. 

Take Care 

I think you all are special people with hearts bigger than most, you all make me feel normal on those days when I feel helpless , or sad do to the inhumane treatment of our feathered friends, at times when no one seems to care (sometimes not even family members) So I thank you from the bottom of my heart & I know one day we all shall meet with are wings attached way up there in a place called pigeon.com ~AKA~ Heaven...........\| 

Attached some pics of some of our pets

Andi Dahm


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## feralpigeon

Thanks for sharing your story, Andinla. A very touching story about baby.

fp


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## tim16

The Tim part is of course my name. (don't post here much, too busy with work). The 16 part is the number that is assigned to me at work. Wish this was all more exciting.  

Tim


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## andinla

*I love reading all the members*

stories. I think it could actually be the beginning of a good book. I printed out several pages for a co-worker of mine to read, just to give her an idea how nice the people are here at pigeon.com are. She is a pigeon person too!!!

I hope more people write on this topic...

thanks
Andi


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## Mistifire

My name is the one I have been using for online games for years, I think i just liked the idea of mist and fire together. 

I have always had a love for animals, my family tells me when I was little I had imaginary pets instead of imaginary friends, one was a pony that slept in my bed  Before I could talk I would "rescue" potato bugs and worms from the sidewalk..which my mom found in my pockets on laundry day. I remember rescuing butterflys putting them in a box house outside but a spider found them and i came home to a pile of wings. 

My first pet that i rescued was a runt kitten in the winter some kids on a friends street chose to throw her in a kiddie pool. I tried rescuing eggs that fell from trees before i knew the requirements for it to hatch.

The animals everyone said dont touch them because they hate people and are mean, those are the ones i made friends with, I have always had a way to show animals my intentions. The wild animals always got more of my bread than I did when we ate outside. 

My interst in birds came from an advertisement I found for a small incubator and 4 quail eggs, after convincing my parents I got my quail baby and had to convince my mom he was not dirty just because he was an animal, eventually I saw her kissing and cuddling him too! He went everywhere with me because 
he cried when I left the room as I was momma and his mate. he used to feed me bugs  

When I lost my quail baby (eatten by a rescue cat staying for the night) a friend wanted to get me another bird to raise but wasn't sure of another quail, so He got me a pigeon egg. 

Since I live on my own now I have gathered quite the zoo myself, currently I have:

-My 2 rescued dogs, one was abandonded on the side of the road and afraid of people, to get her to my house I had to take the mushy dog food and filp a little to her with a spoon and scoot away a few feet, then flip her another little bit, finally got her home and someone thought she just wandered into the yard and they chased her off again, so back to the spoon of food.. now happily living with me for 8 years,
the other was an abused puppy that was going to the pound and i have had her for almost 2 years.
-2 toads saved from a dried up pond in a place they were going to build houses over, 
-my box turtle that was in the freeway and was under eatting and sick, 
-a cockatiel who came to my driveway outside, 
-my parakeet that was a runt and only had one foot, he was also under eatting because he could not get to where the food was in the pet store and his new mate,
-a pet store iguana that had a bad infestation of mites,
-I have a rooster living in my bathroom rescued from someone that did not want 2 roosters and was going to give him to someone that wanted to start a cock fight,
-my dwarf bunny,
-my ferret which my mom told me when i was younger i would never get,
-2 sugar gliders,
-a chameilon,
-my pigeon
-and my hubby if he counts 
I am curently tring to get a nurses assistant job at a vet near my home. It has always been my dream job. I found a feral pigeon flock and I fed a pair that had a little squeaker and I have been trying to decide where would be a good spot to feed the entire flock


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## Maggie-NC

What a wonderful story. You truly are an animal/bird lover. Thank you so much for sharing your history because I really enjoyed it.  

Maggie


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## mr squeaks

*I sure hope*

that you get that job, Mistifire! The profession needs caring people like you who have a "natural" ability with animals! 

GOOD LUCK and let us know!


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## re92346mos

I'm not to creative either, re is for Rena, 92346 is my zip, mos is for Modena. The breed I Show. When I was a little girl I read a book called "Chanco", this book was a book about a pigeon named Chanco who was in the Army Signal Corp. The book was written like the pigeon wrote it, and he tells everything from the time he was born to his learning everything, to ending up in the Army. There are even pictures of real Army birds in it. I tore out the pictures(which I now wish I hadn't) and hung them on my wall.So I was then addicted to pigeons!


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## Maggie-NC

Rena, I just had a chance to look at your site for the first time. It is really nice.
I particularly like the trailing "welcome". Never saw anything like that before. 

Maggie


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## re92346mos

*Thank you*

Thank you Maggie, it was hard for me to make it because I do not know much about computers. It took along time.


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## BrianNAmy

Brian and I are husband and wife (were engaged when we started) therefore "BrianNAmy" and needing a quick name to find info on a bird we needed help with. I don't remember which bird we first posted here with, but I do remember the birds that have come through our apartment.

First was Bernie (Short for Bernice, Bert's pigeon on Sesame Street) who was an adult male that just needed some time to rest. He stayed with us a few months, was reluctant to leave at first, but then flew off to find a girlfriend and be on his own. He would come back for seed every once in a while with his gal (Dali, short for dalmation because she was speckled)

Then there was Polly who walked up our stairs to our door, and also just needed a rest. She stayed only a few weeks, and was more than happy to leave.

Then we got Stewy (short for Stewart, we didn't name him) as a squeaker from a family who'd hand raised him after finding him in a trailer park driveway as a baby (He is recently gone from this life...unknown reasons...RIP kiddo!). He thought he was a people. He found a mate in Pizzie (from Pizza because we found her outside a pizza place as a young squeaker) so she stayed with us to be his mate. They layed many eggs, and we finally decided to let one hatch. That is Soupy (an odd mix of Stewy and Pizzie's name) who is about 4 months old now. 

After that there have been many that have come in and out of our lives. 

We had one pigeon that we thought was almost dead, and thought we were giving it a quiet place to die. Well, it got stronger with some rest, and by the next day was standing and looking around, but still week. We tube fed it and gave it some vitamins and antibiotics, and within a couple of days she was back to her strong self, and flew away. 

We found one by the dumpsters at night(named Dumpy) who just needed some rest, and went on his way in a few days. 

We had Splotchy who is a pied pigeon (hence the name) and was a squeaker who was sitting in the parking lot at work. I was informed that I could be written up and escorted from the property for taking this sweety (in a closed box) onto the campus. So I called Brian and he came and got her. She just needed to grow up and realize that she knew how to fly, and she was released to be with a friend of ours flock. She is doing well.

We've had several with varying injuries and illnesses that haven't made it, but as I'm sure you know from Brian's posts, we currently have 2 broken wings. Bebe is the one with the protruding bone, and is a mild tempered male. Puffy is the other one who was found in a bucket outside the pet store with a sign on it. He is a hot tempered male who will puff up if you even THINK about looking at him (hence his name). Bebe gets around better than Puffy even though his wing drags, so Bebe has the upper perch, and Puffy has the lower. It's an understanding it seems.

We also have 6 finches (3 from the humane society, prenamed Lucky, Sylvy, Sophie, 1 from the pet store to even the pairs named Dizzy because she kept knocking herself out on the windows in the pet store, and two children from Dizzy and Sylvy named Pinky and Dandy. Pinky and Dandy have two sisters named Squeeky and Toy that we gave to a friend of ours mother.)

So those are our birds (at least most of them...I know I'm leaving some that have been through out...I know there was Sweetpea the sparrow, and a dove or two...but they were passed on to other people to take care of, or simply passed on.

Brian- did I miss any?


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## mr squeaks

*Lady Tarheel*

is correct, Rena! You have one terrifice website! LOVE the music!

Do show us more about your birds...


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## traci_sss

my handle is boring ... my first name is traci.. and i have a lot of s's in my last name. 

I use the same name on everything and for every page I have to sign up for. 

my first pigeon was Hegee. She was brought home after my husband almost ran her over with his 18 wheeler. She has been the best pigeon and I loved her so much I wanted to get her a buddy. the buddy completely ignored her, so I got a few more and then they multiplied. LOL..

I love my birds..


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## bartuska

I have to use my name, Catherine or Bartuska--or I'll forget how to sign on I just got into pigeons last spring after reading an article about my brother in law in northern WI doing the dove releases. He sent me down 4 squeakers and I bought a few more and here I am. We moved to a house on the outskirts of town 3 years ago with a couple of acres and is still zoned as agriculture--so I have plenty of room for everything . I have always been a great lover of birds--but only if they can fly ( I feel too sorry for the caged ones). I avidly watch and feed the wild birds, also. I do the dove release--but don't go nuts over it yet--I prefer to just spend time with my birds. 
I have always had some sort of critter growing up--now I have my 19 pigeons (more to come) a terrier, 3 cats and 3 hermit crabs, 4 kids and a husband and a full time job --I'm a physican assistant in ER (hence my avian influenza pobcession) My whole family loves animals and we are also vegetarians due to that fact. My husband goes to his workshop to get peace and quiet--I go to my loft. Life is good


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## andinla

*Thought I would bump this up for the new members*

to post. So here ya go. 

Andi


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## GimpieLover

my first pigeon was Gimpie. i had found him unable to fly from lack of feathers and limping around the Mc Donalds parking lot. i have never been able to look the other direction at an animal in need. so i took off my expensive sweatshirt lol and scooped him up and continued to walk home. no real bird expirience except for my 2 parakeets, so i give the upmost thanks to everyone on this forum for all the help and advice they have given me. gimpies feathers have not yet grown back but he seems perfectly happy stuffing him self with sunflower seeds and checking him self out in the mirror  the lilttle darling is even scared to be outside now. and my newest member was rescued from a horrible pet shop. no more for me untill i have my own place. then i have a feeling i am going to go pigeon crazy


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## Reti

I am little late to this post, but anyway, Reti is my name (Greek from Areti).
I wasn't allowed to have any pets when I was a kid, so first thing I did when I lived on my own was taking in stay dogs and cats. The house was always full.
I never noticed the pigeons until four years ago when a couple of ferals came to my balcony. My husband gave them some crackers and I used to scold him and tell him that I wouldn't want a flock of pigeons frecvent my balcony, in fact I wouldn't want any pigeons on my balcony. Lee kept feeding them behind my back and the pair proceeded in building a nest in one of my plant pots. Needless to say it took less then four days to fall in love with them. I named them Frankie and Gerri. Only one of their eggs hatched, my beloved Andrew. I was, and still am so much in love with this little guy, he is a great friend. I was playing with the baby from the minute he opened his eyes, I fed him extra food, took him in at night when it was chilli and spend countless hours holding him. Luckily F&G didn't mind me handling the baby, they were excellent parents and fed him even after I had him in the house for hours.
Soon I had a flock of 30-40 birds coming for food, a bath and fresh water.
We had a lot of joyous moments but also a lot of heartache. Hawk attacks, illness, shootings from the neighbors, accidents and eventually poisoning and our eviction from the building.
Andrew and Whitney, his mate live with us inside now. It took him a while to adjust, since he was an indoor/outdoor bird, but he is fine now.
In additon to our many birds, we also have four cats, a turtle all rescues.
Three weeks ago I also took in two giant bunnies someone brought to the clinic to PTS (reason, he has a litterbox problem) Not a reason to PTS for me.
So, for now we are full and fun house, never a dull moment.

The funny part is, my mother (who dislikes pigeons) told me only recently that my grandfather, before he was married he used to rescue pigeons, he had a sun room adjusted for his birds he took in and he took great care of them. I never knew that story. 

Reti


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## Lovebirds

My husband and I met over the internet. After corresponding by e-mail and instant messages we called and talked to each other on the phone. Our handle on the instant messges site (Yahoo?), don't really remember was Lovebirds. That's how our loft name came to be........


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## Pidgey

Our (Lin and I) first rescue was the original "Pidgey" who lives with us today. She was about a week from being able to fly. I intended on keeping her only until she could be reintegrated to a local feral flock. We did do that but she'd come home with us every night. It got to where we could drive up to the area where she was sitting on the line with the rest of them, roll the window down, put out an arm and she'd just land on it and walk right in.

Then she'd perch on the closet door overlooking the bed during the evening. Lin couldn't stand the thought of ever losing her so we made her a loft and got her some true homers for companions. Today, you can throw her out but you better stand back from the window 'cause she'll knock you over to get back in.

We also started feeding the local feral flock and would occasionally get sick and hurt ones. Our first attempts at healing and fixing them up were awkward but every heartache drove the search for more knowledge, meds and other equipment.

While we've learned a fair amount due to our own experiences, I think the efforts to help emergencies on this forum has led to a great deal more study than I would ever have done on my own. It seems to be getting more difficult to separate actual memories of rehabs from the virtual ones from here. So many times, the urgency of a case here has precipitated a furious research project that has burned in so deep it seems completely real. Ya'll seem so much like family (goodness knows, ya'll are thought better of than _some_ family members... ) that it seems funny that we haven't even met!

Pidgey


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## Skyeking

That is true Pidgey, I consider the people here closer then certain family members, we are all bonded due to our mutual love and care of pigeons.

I developed a keen interest in homing pigeons after my sister gave up the hobby my father had started her on. I took over when she got bored with it and I was 10 years old. My dad trained my birds to fly from the mountains, oceans, and all areas in Southern California. They were "lean mean flying machines". I myself became their caregiver, and they became my dear pets, and of course, I named every single one of them. My father is a descendent of a pigeon racer in Holland, his grandfather won many races back in the days from the old school. I heard stories about how he would cut open one of his best racers crops, and clean it out when it was congested, and then sew it back up again. Weekend, family life revolved around the races, and no-one was allowed to distract from the attention to the race, and dinner was held up until they could hear the birds coming in on top floor. My great grandfather initiated getting markers on electric wires and such to keep the birds from flying into them. They flew their birds from the top room in their building, within the city. 

After a few years I was forced to give up my pigeons, because we had to move and they were not allowed on this rental property. I was quite upset about it, and sometimes it haunts me to this day.

I was re-introduced 5 years ago to the pigeon sport, by two of my sons. They built a very small coop in our backyard and brought home 4 young homing pigeons for my birthday. Now, I'm back in it full swing with my own homing pigeons including the originals, some show birds, and pigeons I have taken in because they needed a home. Our coop has grown from the small rabbit size hutch to a large walk in coop and aviary. The original coop has become the dining hall. LOL  

I really developed a bond with two pigeons, Skye and Sonic, that I had to hand raise since day 4. That puts the pigeon hobby into a whole new perspective, as pets are totally different from other pigeons in my coop. Being so close to them 24/7 they bonded to us, and I to them.

You will find their story in "A Tale of Two Pijjies..from two different cities" after Skye was on the Animal Planets, Pet Psychic I started my first thread here on the forum to share the experience with everyone here. I left for about seven months due to hurricane related damage, but am now back again, and hope to continue to share and help out whenever I'm needed. I don't have much history in actual rehab work, but I have learned alot from my friend and rehabber Doreen, and have learned alot from people here, as well as my father, who taught me about training and feeding, and housing. 
He is 90 years old now, and still yells at me if I don't allow the birds flight time, as he says it is essential for their overall health and happiness.


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## mr squeaks

*Wow! That is some background*

you have Treesa! You are most fortunate!

I wish Squeaks could fly but we will just have to make do with his hop/flap routine. Fortunately, Gypsy, being the mother kitty, makes sure he gets his practice!  

I am really glad that Andi bumped this thread because there were still members that I had yet to "meet."  

Since joining this site, soooo much information has been added to help people who are willing to help a pigeon(s). 

Becoming part of a world-wide pigeon family is TREMENDOUS! THANKS! We are our own United Nations and all because of pigeons...


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## Camrron

I also feel like the people posting here are family. A tremendous group who do care for the world around us and the creatures in it. The advice I have received here has made all the difference for my "Buddy" since I am still new with birds but I fell in love with the site once I started posting.

My handle is Camrron because somehow I lost the ability to use "Cameron" which is my real name. That's what I get for messing with my E-mail address I guess. Anyway, up until mid-October I really knew almost nothing at all about birds or their care. A total blind spot. I have always admired them from afar though and the few I found injured in the past I took to proffessional rehabbers. The results were mixed and something I know now that I didn't know then was that some rehabbers are just too quick to put down an injured bird.

I can't stand to see an injured animal though or one in distress. A few years back I came across a skunk lying in the middle of a busy street. The cars were just driving around him but not one stopped to have a look. A group of people sitting having coffee on the corner sat commenting on his impending fate. I felt sick about it because I myself was afraid of getting a bite but I plucked up my nerve, stepped into traffic and scooped the little guy up. I walked back to my apartment with him cradled in my arms and up the elevator I went. He sure stunk up the building let me tell you. Once there he huddled under my couch, terrified and badly hurt but I did my best for him until morning when a terrific rehabber came and picked him up. He had been run over and had a head injury but survived and was happily released wild over a month later

I can still remember looking through the peephole and seeing the landlord rant and rave as he tried to track down who had brought a skunk into the building!

I too have had dogs and cats over the years but I always wanted a pig for a pet. I worked with them for a while and I swear they are the Einsteins of the animal kingdom. Smart, curious, affectionate, communicative, even manipulative. Almost human the way they behave at times. Too bad they aren't allowed in apartments. It's probably people like me who cause landlords to be so firm on the no pets policy.

I was also a bee keeper for quite some time but developed a strong reaction to the stings so no more of that for me. I will just stick with the one bird I have for now. He has grown on me and I can see that he has in fact become a pet despite my early best intentions to return him to the wild. I just wish I could settle on a name. I call him Pumpkin, Punky, Buddy, Handsome etc etc. Either he is having an identity crisis or I am losing my mind!

Cameron


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## mr squeaks

You ARE losing your mind Cameron! Welcome to the club!  

What a heartwarming animal past you have had. I am SO glad you saved the skunk. We had one for a pet when I was young. He had been de-skunked. He got out one day and later we read in the paper that a few blocks away a "brave" policeman had captured the skunk, which was released in the woods. I kept my fingers crossed that he survived!

Sometimes, if you just "relax" your mind, a name will come to you for your pigeon. You could also concentrate on "asking" him/her what they want to be called...


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## Pikachu23739

Lady Tarheel said:


> Shi (Mr. Squeaks) mentioned that it would be fun to find out how we came up with our "handles" and I thought it may be fun to find out how everyone became involved with pigeons. So here goes my part.
> 
> The "Lady Tarheel" came about because North Carolineans are nicknamed "tarheels" and I am also a huge fan of the UNC Tarheel basketball team. I just stuck the "Lady" on to show I'm female.
> 
> I think I was born loving animals/birds. My entire family was always rescuing one critter or another, particularly my mother. There was always a rescued dog or cat we cared for and even though my mother was desperately afraid of dogs she usually wound up being the caretaker. She found an injured garden snake once and when I came home from school he was in a fishbowl on the piano. He stayed there until one day she put him out to sun and "Clarence" escaped. I have had pet chickens - one named Trudy who was blind and crippled and she lived a long time. We had one old rooster that stayed in the house until we went on a trip and a neighbor said she'd take care of him, and she did, right in a pot. Mother was so mad!
> 
> I married a man who grew up the same way I did with animals always around. He raised many pigeons when he was a child and has always loved them. Early in our marriage he rescued one pigeon and we kept him until he could be
> released. The next bird we had was an Evening Grosbeak named Starsky (about 25 years ago). He was in our back yard with a broken wing and we
> had him for a little over 3 years. We didn't get into the real pigeon business until my husband and I retired and he started walking several miles a day and began finding all these little fellows and bringing them home. Early on, we got in so many sick ones that we started looking around for help and found other rehabbers and veterinarians, took classes on bird rehab, read everything I could find and did a lot of it "by the seat of our pants".
> 
> Rehabbing is a little different from what most forum members do, we suffer more losses and have more disappointments BUT our successes have far outweighed the losses and that is what is important. We love what we do because we love these wonderful little pigeons.
> 
> maggie


*you got an amazing life*


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## Pikachu23739

*I'm right know living with my mom and i go to serrano middle school going to San gorgia highschool*


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## andinla

*Just moving it up once again for*

new members to post and read about everyone...

Andi


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## Lovebirds

Lovebirds said:


> My husband and I met over the internet. After corresponding by e-mail and instant messages we called and talked to each other on the phone. Our handle on the instant messges site (Yahoo?), don't really remember was Lovebirds. That's how our loft name came to be........


After going through and reading all these posts again I thought maybe I would come back and add to my post. My husband had pigeons as a young boy so he knew about them. I had 2 different birds that I remember growing up but I can't remember every seeing a pigeon or maybe I just didn't pay attention. Anyway, after we got married, I moved up to MI. I'm from NC. We used to go to a flea market every week end. There was a man there with chickens, a goat, rabbits and pigeons. Well I had to go over and pet the goat but didn't pay much attention to the pigeons, but my husband did. I looked over and he was holding one, looking at it's eyes, pulling out it's wings, etc............the man only wanted $3 for each bird. Thinking that we would go buy it a "parakeet" cage and make a pet of it, I told him to get one. Well, he got two. The man went to his truck and got a sack and put the two birds in it. I immediatley said that wouldn't do. My husband said they would be fine until we got them home. I said no way and insisted that we walk that flea market again until we found something suitable to put them in. We finally found a small pet carrier for $4 and put the birds in it. I was much happier then. Well.......that's how I got into pigeons. We built a small loft and added on to it before the paint was dry!! LOL Them 2 years later we moved here to VA and built the two lofts we have now. I don't have any pet pigeons in the house, but only because my husband would have a fit. I've raised a few babies in the house but moved them back out to the loft when they were old enough. We do have a cockteil named Wally, and pomeranian named Suzy and a yorkshire terrier named Gabby. After going all those years without noticing pigeons, now I can spot one a mile away. It's amazing how they are everywhere and I never saw them. I've never had an occasion to come across a injured one and frankly hope I never do. I'm not very good when it comes to any kind of sick animal. I almost panick so I'm better off letting all of you wondeful people care for the sick and injured. When I read some of the rescues and see some of the pictures here, I only admire what you all do.


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## Pikachu23739

check out my website http://www.freewebs.com/westiepigdy/index.htm


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## TAWhatley

Pikachu23739 said:


> check out my website http://www.freewebs.com/westiepigdy/index.htm


That's quite a website! Lots of terrific pictures (even some I recognized right away)  

I'll check back now and then to see what's been added, or maybe you can just let us know on the board when there has been an update.

Keep up the good work!

Terry


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## B. Sommm

Hi All!

I am here because of my mom, Shi, aka "Mr. Squeaks". Mom was always telling me stories from the threads that she read here and would encourage me to check them out. Since I wasn't a member I was unable to view the pigeon pics and wanted to see everyone's pigeons....I had no idea that there were so many different types of pigeons! 

I first joined as "B. Somm", which is my first initial and the first 4 letters of my last name. It is also my handle on another forum that I frequent. I would still have it here except that my attempt at humor while picking on my mom/Mr. Squeaks went awry with my first post and I inadvertantly upset a lot of folks. I was quickly "banned"....lots of protective folks here!  

After apologizing to the group and explaining who I was through "Mr. Squeaks'" account, I was allowed to re-register. I couldn't use my previous handle so I just added another 'm' so that I would remember what my handle was! Now I get to see all of the pigeon pics (kewl!) and participate in the threads.

This is a very interesting site and one that I normally wouldn't have known about if it weren't for my mom & Mr. Squeaks. Although feral pigeons are still "rats w/ wings" to me (Hi Mom!!  ) because they carry all sorts of ickies, I still have a renewed respect for them and tend to pay more attention to them more so than I used too, due to Mom's adopting of Mr. Squeaks. I don't think that I could ever have one as a pet, as they are too much maintenance for me (which is why I have a cat!), but it is fun to watch Mr. Squeaks around my mom and I get the biggest kick out of the fact that Mr. Squeaks considers her his "mate"!! He still won't let me get near him unless Mom is holding him, but like any "sister", I'm persistant!

Thanks for letting me lurk and even participate once & awhile and good juju to you all for having the patience & humanity to care for your pigeons!

B. Sommm


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## andinla

*Lovebirds post reminded me*

[/QUOTE]Well I had to go over and pet the goat but didn't pay much attention to the pigeons, but my husband did. I looked over and he was holding one, looking at it's eyes, pulling out it's wings, etc............the man only wanted $3 for each bird. Thinking that we would go buy it a "parakeet" cage and make a pet of it, I told him to get one. Well, he got two. The man went to his truck and got a sack and put the two birds in it. I immediatley said that wouldn't do.


> of the time my son and I went to Petco and we bought two white mice for my ex-husband (for pets) and when we got to the counter to ask for them the lady asked if they were for food or for pets? My son looked up at me and said mom! people eat mice?? I couldn't help but laugh and then explained to him that people bought them for food for their snakes...yuk!! if you purchase them for pets you get a cute little petco box with holes precut on it. And if they are for food you get a brown paper sack Andi


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## andinla

*Moving thread up for new members*

to post... Here you go. 

Andi


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## Lovebirds

Good idea!!!!


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## christina11

Well my first real pet pigeon was Todum I found him hiding near a church wall he was all scared and looked hungrey so I took him home.I had no Idea what to feed him im embaressed to say I actualy fed him bread and water the hold time of his little life then I started to add seeds but he turned out healthy and now I know not to feed a baby pigeon bread. 

As Todum grew he followed me and danced and did everything a pet pigeon would do.Unfortunatly Todum was eaten by a family of racoons because I had a lack of experience and did not know how to house him. 

After Todums death my dad took me to this auction and I got 2 pigeons Mountain who looked exactly like a bald eagle and Whitefeather who looked like a paint horse.
I had those 2 pigeons for about a month now and I went outside one day only to find Mountain dead In her cage I didint know why she died maybe from old age.After Mountain died I just played with Whitefeather and she grew so attatched to me and even tryed to follow me to the store.

Somtime's I could not play with whitefeather so I decided to buy her a mate and thats when I got Whiteriver the fancy footed crown headed pigeon also known as The king.
Now it took about 2 months before Whitefeather paired up with Whiteriver and when they did 2 eggs apeared and when they hatched only 1 survived that was Kyara the 2 diff coloured eye'd pigeon she was pure white with one big borwn patch on her back.

Later on a new pigeon was to come and when he did I named him the one and only Argranade as you all should know.
Months pased and Kyara and Argranade where full grown but sadly Whitefeather got killed by a coopers hawk and I still think of Whitefeather almost everyday. 

My pigeons moved out of the house and into the making of my shed they where in this large cuboard thing that I then stuck there large cage in and at night I closed it with large strings and wires.Kyara was killed about 3 months from when I moved them outside it was a racoon and her body was torn all over the cage all I could do was swear and cry.

Ok this is getting long so Im gona make it short from here Ill just say the pigeons I sold I have some other birds but there not pigeons.

Spirirt sold her.

2 runts sold them.

Kestralfeet sold her.

2 pouters sold them.

1 Lahore sold her.

1 hommer sold him.

Swiftarrow died. 

Now all I have is Argranade,Whiteriver,Lakote,Homming pigeon and a Pouter.

And I shall never sell another pigeon again because I love them all too much and I regret selling some of them.


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## amandajay

hi all, i'm pretty new here but enjoy reading posts and learning about pigeons and the people here. my name's amanda and my middle initial is "J" so i made it into "jay" so it would pertain to birds in some way.  

i love all animals. when i was about 7 i found a mocking bird that had fallen out of it's nest, and despite always being warned not to touch them, picked him up and brought him home...it'a amazing how much those little guys can eat!! i spent hours digging worms out of our garden for "tweety." my mom was a substitute at my elementary school, and she brought him with her so i could visit him and feed him throughout the day. he was growing and doing just fine until a friend told my mom to feed him bread balls soaked in milk, which she tried...i'm heartbroken to say that was a horrible idea, and tweety passed. ever since, i've loved birds. 

so for the pigeons... pretty unexciting story, a friend has racers and rollers and some lahores, and i visited him and got "bitten." i stumbled onto this website in my course of learning about pigeons before i acquired two lahores of my own. clive bird is a male lavendar lahore and midge pigeon is a black lahore. they're a little grumpy and wild, but we are getting along just fine. i guess they've decided not to have children yet, but maybe some day...  

anyway, i really enjoy this forum. i don't have much to post about, but i love reading everyone else's posts, and everyone here is so kind and truly loves pigeons and animals in general. it's really nice.


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## re92346mos

Your new loft is beautifull! Rena


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## Lovebirds

who's new loft is beautiful? What did I miss??


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## re92346mos

Melissa, Debbie's, and Chanelle's new loft. Real nice!


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## Victor

Hi all~ I am glad that Andi bumped up this thread. I enjoyed re-reading the posts. October seems like so long ago. I posted about my single pigeon Tooter, which the regular members know became missing on New Years Eve. So much has changed since then with us, and I wonder if any one that posted on this thread experienced the same?

Well,Tooter is the one who got me started in pigeons. Even though he is no longer with my family and I he is still thought of everyday and missed dearly. 

We now have a Papio male puppy that my kids got for Bev on mother's day named "Chewy". He is black with white "shoes" and a white "tie"...so adorable.

Of course there is also Beaksley,Rosco,Chiwa,Barbie, and Paris my current mini-flock of pigeons.

I start building my loft when I go on vacation in July. TOOTER sure made a difference.


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## mr squeaks

I, too, enjoyed re-reading the whole thread. Been a "long" time, as Victor mentioned.

Things haven't changed much with Squeaks. All 4 cats still here. Squeaks still chases. 

Only difference is that now he "cycles" from "mate" mode to "daddy" mode with a molt here and there. Now, he's sitting on his dummy egg and if, history serves, will continue to do so for awhile until he decides it's time to check out his territory (the whole apartment) and return to "guard & protect" mode!

Oh yes, he, at times, will now join with Feather (Wonder Woman) and me (Scorpio Power) as Super Squeaks (a.k.a. the Caped One), to help protect truth, justice and the American Way for pijies on this site from their, sometimes, notorious owners.


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## jerseygeorge

Well for starters, I'm from New Jersey and my name is George.

As to how I became a pigeon man/slave............

Rather than type this story again , I'll just use parts of a recent E-Mail that I sent Shi.

The company I work for used to be in another location , several miles away 
from where we are now. Back in 1999 Mom and Pop started hanging around my 
bay and I would feed them broken crackers in the morning. Before I knew it 
they had built a nest on a shelf in one of the spare bays. Mom layed one egg 
and a few weeks later Junior was born. Once Junior could take care of 
himself Mom layed two more eggs who would become Baby and Socks. Their 
first day outside they were standing side by side on the roof of the 
building. Socks was taken by a red tail hawk. Baby became : "The surviving 
baby" then later just Baby. From this point on I began exercising some 
birth control and getting rid of Mom's eggs. Every morning I would open up 
and they would all go out for the day. Then before closing they would come 
back in and get locked in for the night. By this time Junior and Baby had 
found mates who also moved in, and Jimmy and ****** had become tenants as 
well. One morning I came in and found Baby's mate dead on the floor. This 
brought the count back down to 7. In May of 2K Mom layed another egg that I 
let them keep. Around June 1st Fuzzy was born. bird count back up to 8. In Dec 
2K my boss informed me that the business would be moved to another location. 
I knew that if I left them behind the owners would probably kill them 
because this was their home and every time the door was opened they would 
try to get back in. I began working on an old building that my Dad built 30 
years ago which is behind our house. I spent almost all of Jan 2001 cleaning 
it out and getting it ready for them. On moving day I was able to trap Mom 
and Pop, Jimmy and ******, Junior and Little girl. Then Kath and I had to 
catch Baby and Fuz with a fishing net. What a job. Beginning in the spring 
of 2001 I began rebuilding the place. There was an 8'x8' lean to on the east 
side of the building. I screened it in with chicken wire and cut a door in 
the wall where they could come in and out. In Dec 2002 I found Mom dead in 
her nest box. I still miss that bird dearly. Several months later Little Girl left
Junior and moved into Pop's nest box and mated with him . Junior still hasn't
recovered. . July 2003 I designed and built a large screened area for them out 
of pressure treated 2x4s. . This replaced the lean to. I also put in Winter doors.
These doors are very small and just wide enough for one pigeon to fit through. This gives them 
access to the outside but doesn't let all the heat out of the building when 
they are open. Yes, I put a heater in the place. For the most part in the winter they stay inside the 
building. If they go out in bad weather they usually are back inside in a 
few seconds. Sometime in 2004 Fuzzy and Baby mated, things ain't been the same since.


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## Flying_Pidgy

Since i was 1 or two years old It seemed that i loved birds. ( my mom said that ) and after i was 8 years old i always seemed to find birds in trouble. I was ( and am) a bird magnet  to this date i have saved 7 birds 5 of them being pidgys.i might have saved more but i dont want to say i have and find out i didnt so i will just stick to what i know for a fact. i always let them go but one of them "golden" was a baby pidgy and i saved it ( it was in an alley in a CROWDED place filled with big foots walking ( or so it seems to him) i loved that bird alot. I still remember he loved to put its beak in between my fingers. well to keep this consice i wouldnt have loved pigeons as much as i do today if it wasnt for golden. Unfortunatly oneday it was raining and it flew on a roof and was never to be seen by me again. So i thank you Golden whereever you are for giving me the ability to love pidgeons and leading me to save so many of them. Sometimes it seems like his spirit is still with me somewere helping me find more pidgys in danger.


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## mountainstorm

*getting started*

I joined a couple weeks ago, to get more info to help Cielo, who has been with me for 7 weeks today. The first five weeks she hated me, pecking, ferociously attacking my hands, peeping and grunting at me, and then one day after the fifth week, she decided she liked me after all and flew to me!

Mountainstorm is the name of a throw in the martial arts. My email has h-a-w-k after mountainstorm, but that didn't get added because it didn't seem like there was enough space when I registered.

My mom wrote in my baby book that my first sentence was "Hi, dog." I had a beagle Timmy when I was three, but he bit me a lot, and so my parents gave him to a farmer. I barely remember him; looking back I know they did the right thing, but I still miss him, in a sort of vague way. When I was little, I read as many books about horses as I could, so that when I finally got one, I would know how to take care of it! (also, someone mentioned an imaginary pony--I had an imaginary horse, a ****erscotch and white paint named Rockite (the T and the E were silent, so it was said, rock-eye).

Right now, all my animals are rescues. My sister has a cat named Funny Face. Funny's fur is gray-orange, and the left side of her face is black, and the right side is orange. It looks either like she fell into pumpkin pie, or that someone punched her and gave her a black eye. My sister and Funny will be leaving soon so my sister can go to grad school.

I have two rats (the third Nibbles died last week), Juni and Brier Rose; I got them from petfinder, the person who had them had so many rats, that she didn't even have names for these three!

My cats, Mika and Kamea, both calicoes, are two of four that my sister found in a field outside her work last June. They were starving--literally skeletons with potbellies; my sister found homes for their brothers we called Hurley (who was renamed Bob) and Jack (who was renamed Viggo). This last November, I had the strongest feeling that I had to go to Subway to get lunch before work. I don't have a car, so I walked a mile to the restaurant, and on my way back, I found another kitten, a light-dusty orange; his name is Dusty. I think Dusty has become my mom's, which is okay, because I think Kamea has become mine. Mika hates Dusty and he's terrified of her, so they have to be kept separated. Mika and her sister live in my room (Mika is a lovebug, and she taught herself how to fetch--I'll throw a toy, and she'll bring it back repeatedly. Or, more often, she'll bring me the toy!)

And then there's Cielo, who had a broken leg and was old enough to have full feathers, but too young to actually fly with them. I once had a baby California quail, which had been attacked by a cat, and the woman who found him was my dad's boss, and he brought the bird home for me. But Shiloh only lived for thirty hours. :-( That was heartbreaking. As much as I'm now enjoying pigeons, I think as far as birds go, quails will always be my first love.

Guess that's it for now.
Rach


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## BirdDogg10

*The start*

First off, I'm an African American,(Well not completely). My family has a pretty interesting mix such as: On my Mom's side of the family there's a mix of Cherokee native American, on my Dad's side there's Blackfoot Native American. We also have a mix of Dutch, Irish and our last name which is 
"Clark" is brittish. But enough about my heritage, here's what you may want to know about me.

I've been animal lover for long time(Probably all my life). One of main channels I watched growing up was the animal planet channel. Although earlier in my life I never had much interest in pigeons except feeding flocks that were in the park, resterant parking lots etc... I never had much interest in them as I do now. But I have 2 interesting encounters with pigeons over time. My first one was about 7 or 8 years ago, this was at my Grandma's od house in L.A.(She sold the house in 1999 which caused us to move to Van Nuys,CA). But a coulpe months before we moved, some pigeons(They were feral blue bars) started building a nest on the rain drain that was right by our front door! I watched them build the nest and thought "This should be nice to see" but I was wrong. One night(I lost track of what happend) something landed on our doorstep.

It was the pigeon nest! the eggs were broken and the parents were gone. It wasn't a pleasant scene(well to me). About 1-2 years later, I had another pigeon encounter. It was at a Burger king resterant on Whilsire near La Brea in L.A. I threw some bread out for the pigeons that hung out in the parking lot, they all came over and ate the bread that I had thrown out. One of them I've nicknamed "Stubbs" was pretty quiet but he couldn't keep so well. The reason I named hi Stubbs was because he had a toe missing on one of his feet, other then that he was nice looking blue bar pigeon. One pigeon I had somewhat befriended from his flock was "Socks" she was all black with Amber eyes how I named her that was because she had white feathers on the feathered area of her legs. She was friendly but she kept her distance, which was ok since I had no intentions on petting her.

How I got interested in pigeons was from my friend Lonna, who owns several she's also sold a few of them. Now I'm currently waiting for if she has any available on my next trip to California. But incase you want to know about any other animals that have been in my life here goes.

Over the years I've owned serveral Goldfish and Fighter fish(a.k.a Simese fighting fish). My last fish was a green male Betta named Ted. When I first brought him home he seemed to be a little...well, shocked. But after some time he adjusted Sienna my beagle mix seemed to get a little jealous sometimes. Ted lived until March 2003 when I lost him to a ick parisite infection. He was a year old when he passed away(2001-2003). I still miss him though, I also lost my best friend of 11 years. Sienna my beagle mix, was the first dog I ever had. She was also my best friend, she passed away in September 2004 at the age of 60(in dog years). Since then we have another dog Bentley the pug. As tribute to Sienna I've made a website that focuses on her www.freewebs.com/sienna-beagle

I've even written a biography based on her. But incase you want to know about my interest in animals look no farther then what I've wrote here.


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## andinla

*BirdDogg10 my maiden name*

is clark also. Maybe we are related in some way? you never know..... usually I see clarks spelled with a e on the the end. e-mail me sometime of some of your relatives of the past ok...

Andi

ps i too have Cherokee native American in my bloodline... hmmmmmm ya never know email me some of your older relatives names ok


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## BirdDogg10

Will do Andi


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## Maggie-NC

I thought I would bump this up so new members could post.


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## Pisciottano

Pisciottano was my mother's maiden name. She was of Italian descent. I use it in one of my four email addresses. On my father's side I am of Spanish and French descent. Most uruguayans are like that. No red indians in Uruguay. It would seem that Uruguay not being very mountainous the indians run away to other regions at the time the Spanish arrived. A more romantic version says that "they were very brave and fought to the last man"

As a child I used to have recurrent dreams about a bird flying into the place where I was, sometimes in my bedroom, the family car, the garage, etc. I always tried catching him but he always flew away. I was so obsessed by these dreams that once I prepared a trap on the flat roof of the house, something like a cage whose door would close if a bird got into it. I did catch a sparrow but he was so desperate throwing himself against the sides of the cage that I immediately let him go and never started again. Apart from that one of the nicknames given to me by my brothers was "golondrina" (swallow) because I was always wanting to "fly" away from home, which I finally did.

I joined the forum last year because a couple of pigeons had made a nest on my balcony. At a given moment I had the impression that they had abandoned the little one(only one survived) so I tried to get some help from the computer and somehow landed on your forum. Then this summer when the same couple came back to raise a new family I renewed the contact to get advice on many occasions. Well, that's my story.


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## Pisciottano

Nobody else to tell his/her story?


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## mr squeaks

Pisciottano said:


> Nobody else to tell his/her story?


Depending on the number of new members or those who haven't already posted, there can be MANY new additions or a few trickling in here and there...

I'm sure more will add as time goes on...


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## Hillybean

*Hello*

I'm located in Southern Indiana, where I've lived my whole live, so far  . My real name is Hilary, but I go a by hil, hilly, my middle name and Hillybean. I have a pretty big family, sporting 9 living children, we're all pretty close. About eight years ago one of my older brothers (who I'm really close to)started calling me hillybean and it stuck  . What made him come up with the name had to do alot with my height, yep that's right, I'm short (4 ft-8inches)  . I use Hillybean as the user name on several forums and chat groups.

I've always loved animals. I've grown up mainly with dogs, fish, hamsters, G-pigs and a cat. When, little I always tried to help hurt animals. When, I was 12yrs old I started volenteering my time at a pet shop (handling the animals). Since then, I've learn how to hand raise several different animals. I'm also a companion to many.

About two years ago, while googling up on different pets I came across a posting about a pet pigeon. I started learning about them then. About a year ago I joined this forum and I was looking into getting a pet pigeon. Unfortunately, my health put getting a pigeon a hold. This summer I saved a baby house sparrow from dieing (hand raised it). It was able to be set released (not in the best way) back into the environment. I had kinda gotten use to handling it/caring for it . Then, started thinking about getting another bird, I then found all the information on pigeons that I had collected.

After reading up on them some more. I became active in the forum again and actually got my Pet Pigeon rescently  !

I'll be starting college this Spring. I plan on taking two years of general studies, getting a Degree in animal science and the rest on becoming a vet. I've wanted to be a vet my whole life and that's never changed... 
Just like my love for ALL animals. 
Thanks-Hilly


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## littlestar

Sorry, I never saw this thread. 

Here's my story.
I chose the name littlestar because of my starlings having stars on them. On one site I'm known as Littlefeathers the name of my first starling who was naked when I got her and when her feathers started coming out I would say to her look at your little feathers coming out and from that point on she was know as Littlefeathers. I'm asked all the time if it's an Indian name, I guess you could say it is. I do have a brother that was named Running Bear by Indians, and when he was a baby it fit him well .

From a baby I always had a love for birds and animals both. When I was little I used to find kittens all alone and I would bring them home and my mom would get so mad at me. Then as time went on if there was an animal hurt along the side of the road I would make my mom stop so I could help it. Well as I got older my love for helping somethings only got stronger. I helped bats, and even a opossum. Opossums believe it or not make wonderful pets, but the only thing with at is they when they are not is they seem to trust only the person who feeds them. As a kid I always wanted a pigeon, I guess it was because I spent a lot time around them. Where I lived before moving to NC I had many wild pigeons by my house and every morning I would go by them and talk to them, I didn't miss one day. I also had a sparrow and squirrels that come over to me if I was outside eating, and I would share my food with them. My mom who passed away in 2001 always said to me, you will never change, you are one that will always help anything in need. You know she was right because I'm still helping little ones in need. My first bird I saved was a starling, then a pigeon that was caught by a cat, and then more pigeons, starlings, and other birds. 

I joined this forum because I had something in common with y'all, pigeons and a love for them. I'm glad to be here with such wonderful people. 
Mary Ann


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## Pisciottano

Nobody else to tell their story??


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## Lin Hansen

Gladys,

Thanks for bringing this one up to the top again.

Maybe some newer members will share their stories.....hope so!

Linda


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## Baby Goose

*Spruce GOOSE a/n/a Baby GOOSE*

From the first moment I looked at this barely feathered squab, I knew he was going to be an all consuming project. It also crossed my mind that he would be a flying bomber (pun intended) Hence the name Spruce Goose which is Howard Hughes's life project (the largest aircraft in the world). This project was dismissed as IMPOSSIBLE, crazy and set so many of Hughes' colleague back. (just what everyone now thinks of me with 4 dogs, a pet pigeon, 6 kids between us and the neighborhood make shift VET)

I knew from the first successful feeding that this baby was my "Spruce Goose" Hence the name GOOSE.... I still call him Baby Goose and he will someday grow into Mr Goose or perhaps even MOTHER GOOSE. Im just not sure yet. 

But the name GOOSE was the perfect fit for my little guy that Im sure will be remembered in history for something... he is a MOVIE STAR!


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## Maggie-NC

Thought I'd bump this up since we have so many new members who may like to share their stories.


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## ipaq3115

*me*

well my first name on this forum was esms4 that is my moms handle( it was before i had a email) it stands for eric steckmann (my dad) melissa stekmann my mom and the 4 is 4 me and my 2 brothers and my 1 sis with = 4 this account just stoped working and know i cant post with it

my real handle is mindstormmaster1 a mindstorm is a advanced robot that i use and im the best so i added the master and yahoo mail makes you add a number so i added the 1 this account never worked and i cant figure out why i would like to use it but i can help mods

my cunent handle that i only use here is ipaq3115 witch is the name and modle # of my pda which i love and am using to this right know. 

i got started with pigeons when my dad googled them i got two which i loved very much but they were killed but some thing 

i then got three more a black splash and two grizzles then on flew away when i let it our after a snow storm

i then got 6 whitr birds and a pair of roller the female got out right after i got her and she flew away 

my breeders have hatched 7 babies 4 dyed some how and the one that is full grown it brown but him perents were both all white i know have to more babies that i banded yesterday that i hope will be white. 

thats my story hope you like if what you read was the bad spelling condensed version 

ethan


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## flitsnowzoom

*My "handle"*

I came to this forum because of a fancy pigeon that wandered into our back yard a couple of weeks ago. Pigeon still on the loose, but has to be somewhere in the neighborhood because it shows up daily. It's wary, but "cool" as in  

To make a long story --  We adopted a lost budgie last summer, but he was lonely so we acquired Snow, a cute, young, mostly white budgie. Lucky flew away last fall   . Although we posted to several internet sites, looked and searched locally, he has never returned, nor have we heard about him. Snow was lonely, so we got Zoom for her. He's quite a flier and "Zoom" is appropriate.
Flit is a bronze-winged mannakin that my son spotted at a bird show. He/she? only has one leg. My son fretted so much about it that . . . well, Flit came home with us. Flit can really fly fast and flits around. Because he's so small, we can't let him fly free. Flit's about the size of a small wren -- maybe 2 inches stem to stern and was too small to put with the parakeets, especially since he only has one leg. 
Hence, Flitsnowzoom.
PS. We got a very young bronze-wing mannakin to put with Flit to be his buddy -- Flutter. At night the little mannakins get as close to the parakeets' cage as they can. Everybody considers they are part of the same flock.


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## X3MTM

well mine is kinda simple...x3mtm....i got it from playing online video games..it stands for "extreme team" if u shorten it out...well i got started by buying 4 pigeons from a friend..i've never seen other type of pigeons, other than the ones on the streets so they caught my attention....they were a pair of russian and kormoner tumblers....from there i went on to getting different types or breeds...since i love birds so much...i didnt stop in pigeons only, but went and got cockatiels and parekeets.....in total i have 40 birds (20 pigeons, 8 cockatiels, 12 parekeets) and they are fun and "relieve" my stress from a work's day......


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## ptown wings

My handle is easy, I live in Portland Oregon-so Ptown it is! I grew up in Europe, mostly England and was told that I could not have any pets because we would soon move again. For that reason I rescued my pets with the idea that as soon as they were capable they would be released back in the wilds. This seemed to satisfy dear Mum and Dad. I had grand visions of having my own Zoo someday and be able to breed all sorts of interesting animals. I am married to my lovely wife of 30+ years and home to us and our rescues and pets is Menagerie Manor. Currently we have Miss Betty - our Pembroke Corgi, Otto - a Mini Wire-haired Dachshund, Max Cat - "the grandson" who "moved in temporarily eight years ago", Jack - a one legged Canary, Gus - the Cockatiel "he who owns the Sun-room", Ruby and Elmo - two very ancient turtles, Peggysue and Sarajane - two Buff Orpington hens that have hatched some pretty weird things over the years, twenty two White Homers, seven Lahore Pigeons, Dusty - a rescued Capuchine Pigeon, an eighty gallon aquarium with BIG FAT Fantail goldfish and a very large pond with 18 absolutely gorgeous large Koi ranging in ages 3 yrs. to 20 yrs. And there you have the nut in a nutshell!


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## Lin Hansen

Maggie, thanks for bumping up this thread for the newer members!

And thanks to all for contributing to it.....it's a lot of fun to learn about our members.

Linda


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## amoonswirl

My handle doesn't have an exciting story behind it. I don't like using my real name on the Internet so I sometimes use "moonswirl" or "amoonswirl."

How I discovered pigeons is a more interesting story...
Like many of you, I've always loved animals, and kept everything from rats to insects to horses when I was a child. Luckily, my parents were supportive of my curiosity about animals. My Dad even bought me an incubator one Spring so we could hatch chickens! He built a coop for them at our summer cottage so I could watch the birds grow up before we had to find them new homes. I thought I wanted to become a vet and every year when the Cornell University Agricultural school had open house, my parents would take me to see the various exhibits. (Once I got a little older and realized how many years I'd have to go to college, I changed my mind.)

Anyway - Pigeons were not really "on my radar" again until recently - though I had often admired them as a child. (Some of you may recall my "pigeon memory" post about my first trip to NYC to see the dinosaurs...) The story goes like this:

My husband and I are both musicians, so we go to see a lot of local performances of various types. At a friend's solo debut show one night, there was an experimental act on the bill. This musician used mainly electronic gadgets, plus a vocal mic run through lots of reverb - pretty interesting stuff. She must have lived near the venue (a very tiny art gallery set up much like a residential living room) because she'd brought a little pet dove in with her. This little guy stole the show - he hopped right up onto the chair where his mistress had set the vocal mic, and began to sing into the mic during her set! "Coo-coo-coo-rooooo! Coo-coo-coo-rooooo!" bobbing his head up and down. The reverb seemed to amuse him & he kept it up for quite awhile - making for a fascinating little duet. Then he hopped onto her shoulder where he spent the rest of the set. I was amazed with his calming voice and his confident stage presence.

I never got the chance to speak to the woman about her performing bird, but the memory stuck with me. Out of curiosity, I began to research doves and the more I learned about them, the more I liked about them. After weighing all of the pros and cons, and discussing it with my husband, I decided I was ready for a new pet. In the self-education process, I also became very interested in pigeons. And now, 4 birds later I am telling you this story...no idea where else the journey will take me, but I am sure enjoying spending time with pigeons...and spending time learning more about them is wonderful too...

(and no, I will probably not take my birds out for any live performances, but I do plan to record their enchanting voices to add texture to some of my home recordings...)


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## Charis

I posted my story on this thread earlier today from work. I'm disappointed because it seems to have gotten lost somewhere in cyberspace.
Littlestar my story is nearly your's with a few twists.
I'll redo tomorrow.
I've loved reading all your stories.


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## pigeonpoo

In the UK we call poop 'poo'. I could not _believe_ how much poop my first two little pidgies produced!!  Hence my handle - thanks to my teenage daughter who registered for me.


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## Lovebirds

flitsnowzoom said:


> I came to this forum because of a fancy pigeon that wandered into our back yard a couple of weeks ago. Pigeon still on the loose, but has to be somewhere in the neighborhood because it shows up daily. It's wary, but "cool" as in
> 
> To make a long story --  We adopted a lost budgie last summer, but he was lonely so we acquired Snow, a cute, young, mostly white budgie. Lucky flew away last fall . Although we posted to several internet sites, looked and searched locally, he has never returned, nor have we heard about him. Snow was lonely, so we got Zoom for her. He's quite a flier and "Zoom" is appropriate.
> Flit is a bronze-winged mannakin that my son spotted at a bird show. He/she? only has one leg. My son fretted so much about it that . . . well, Flit came home with us. Flit can really fly fast and flits around. Because he's so small, we can't let him fly free. Flit's about the size of a small wren -- maybe 2 inches stem to stern and was too small to put with the parakeets, especially since he only has one leg.
> Hence, Flitsnowzoom.
> PS. We got a very young bronze-wing mannakin to put with Flit to be his buddy -- Flutter. At night the little mannakins get as close to the parakeets' cage as they can. Everybody considers they are part of the same flock.



That's funny. I often wonder where a new member comes up with their "handle".......some are pretty easy.......I thought yours was 
Flits.......now.........zoom,  not Flit.......Snow........Zoom, so I figured maybe you had a bird that couldn't fly for a while but could "flit" around but now is better and can "zoom"...........anyway, I like YOUR version better.


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## abisai

No creatitvity here . . .abisai is my given name - came from the King James version of the Good Book. Back into pigeons from a long lay off before there were any PC's. And find that belonging to a group that "shares & Cares" is better than going at it alone. Happy to be here and look forward to the new posts.

A.C.


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## flitsnowzoom

Lovebirds said:


> That's funny. I often wonder where a new member comes up with their "handle".......some are pretty easy.......I thought yours was
> Flits.......now.........zoom,  not Flit.......Snow........Zoom, so I figured maybe you had a bird that couldn't fly for a while but could "flit" around but now is better and can "zoom"...........anyway, I like YOUR version better.


Thanks! It can be read both ways and when I'm typing it in to log on, I usually think like you wrote -- flits now zoom .  
I used to have lovebirds too, but your handle probably indicates that you love birds. I'm teaching my boy to love birds as well. He's doing research for his geography project on birds in the different biomes in South America confused: about what biomes are. I was too until I realized it was a new term for ecological environments). When Snow was really young and her flights hadn't grown in (she was clipped when we bought her), he wanted her to sleep with him. We settled for evenings on the couch with her perched on his shoulder and chest. Now she's a grown-up lady bird, she prefers Zoom to Charles  .


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## mr squeaks

flitsnowzoom said:


> Thanks! It can be read both ways and when I'm typing it in to log on, I usually think like you wrote -- flits now zoom .
> I used to have lovebirds too, but your handle probably indicates that you love birds. I'm teaching my boy to love birds as well. He's doing research for his geography project on birds in the different biomes in South America confused: about what biomes are. I was too until I realized it was a new term for ecological environments). When Snow was really young and her flights hadn't grown in (she was clipped when we bought her), he wanted her to sleep with him. We settled for evenings on the couch with her perched on his shoulder and chest. *Now she's a grown-up lady bird, she prefers Zoom to Charles * .


Isn't that the way it is?? Silly bird...they can be fickle...with their humans! LOL

Glad she has Zoom though...nice when same species get together!


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## Lovebirds

flitsnowzoom said:


> Thanks! It can be read both ways and when I'm typing it in to log on, I usually think like you wrote -- flits now zoom .
> I used to have lovebirds too, but your handle probably indicates that you love birds. I'm teaching my boy to love birds as well. He's doing research for his geography project on birds in the different biomes in South America confused: about what biomes are. I was too until I realized it was a new term for ecological environments). When Snow was really young and her flights hadn't grown in (she was clipped when we bought her), he wanted her to sleep with him. We settled for evenings on the couch with her perched on his shoulder and chest. Now she's a grown-up lady bird, she prefers Zoom to Charles  .


Actually, I don't have lovebirds. Just racing pigeons and one cockateil named Wally. Lovebirds is the name of our racing loft. My web site is below my name if you have time to check it out some time.


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## mr squeaks

Lovebirds said:


> Actually, I don't have lovebirds. Just racing pigeons and one cockateil named Wally. Lovebirds is the name of our racing loft. *My web site is below my name if you have time to check it out some time*.


And BELIEVE ME, WELL WORTH THE LOOK! GORGEOUS!     

Hope that nasty ole storm missed you, Renee!

HUGS & SCRITCHES TO ALL!


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## Lovebirds

mr squeaks said:


> And BELIEVE ME, WELL WORTH THE LOOK! GORGEOUS!
> 
> Hope that nasty ole storm missed you, Renee!
> 
> HUGS & SCRITCHES TO ALL!



Never did get any real rain, but we had one big BOOM and lightening strike and our cable went out but ONLY long enough for me to miss American Idol and then it came back on.


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## mr squeaks

Isn't that the WAY those storms ALWAYS are, Renee?? Cause just enough hassle to miss favorite TV program(s) and then comes back "on" just as if nothing had happened!

Well, we ARE a tech society... 

BTW, reminds me of the BEST storm I EVERY saw...backpacking with friends in the Superstitions some years ago. We could see the storm in the distance from our vantage point...WOW...just ABSOLUTELY AWESOME SPECTACULAR!

*SIGH* Miss those days...


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## flitsnowzoom

mr squeaks said:


> And BELIEVE ME, WELL WORTH THE LOOK! GORGEOUS!


No kidding it's a gorgeous web site and loft. If I were a pigeon those are darned nice accomodations! Those satinettes are too cute for words and your descriptions are so colorful and apt. 

I am so glad FancyPants (my son's nickname for our visiting feathered friend) came flying into our yard -- I'm learning so much about pigeons and I've "met" so many nice people on this board.  I may just hang around after we get our visitor caught and resettled.


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## Lovebirds

flitsnowzoom said:


> No kidding it's a gorgeous web site and loft. If I were a pigeon those are darned nice accomodations! Those satinettes are too cute for words and your descriptions are so colorful and apt.
> 
> I am so glad FancyPants (my son's nickname for our visiting feathered friend) came flying into our yard -- I'm learning so much about pigeons and I've "met" so many nice people on this board.  *I may just hang around after we get our visitor caught and resettled.*



Thank you. We would love nothing more than for you to hang out. Believe me, you'll see pigeons everywhere now, in places that you never noticed before. I bet you find another one some day OR another one finds you.........


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## mr squeaks

flitsnowzoom said:


> No kidding it's a gorgeous web site and loft. If I were a pigeon those are darned nice accomodations! Those satinettes are too cute for words and your descriptions are so colorful and apt.
> 
> I am so glad FancyPants (my son's nickname for our visiting feathered friend) came flying into our yard -- I'm learning so much about pigeons and I've "met" so many nice people on this board.  *I may just hang around after we get our visitor caught and resettled*.



Oh, PLEASE DO! This is such a great site!!

Besides, now that ONE pij as "found" you, who knows when the NEXT experience will occur. 

I can't always advise where illness is concerned, but contribute in - ah - other, hopefully..."helpful ways."


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## Maggie-NC

Hi Flitsnowzoom - I hope you do hang around. This is truly a wonderful group of people.

Renee, we wound up getting a pretty good rain today.


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## Charis

When I was registering for this forum, I used my real name. I thought you all had some unusual names but Charis is unusual so I felt like I fit right in. Anyway I like my name. When I was a little girl I wanted to be called Heidi. Someone read the book to me and I liked the idea of sleeping in straw and looking through a hole in the roof at the stars. I also liked the idea of having goats. 
Once my mom bought a tv, I wanted to be called June after the Beav's mom. [ She was so normal.] Now I like Charis. It's a good name. [It's ok not to be normal.]
Had I used the name of one of the creatures that has profoundly changed my life, my handle would have been something like-
CUCKCOO/MUTLEY/BABY/CARLEY/HUNGRY/SLYVIA/MIKE/PRINCE RUPPERT/EMMET/ ALLY/PIGGY/STINKY/THOMAS/TOBY/FRANKIE/WHITEBIRD/MATILDA.........You get the idea.
Prior to beginning school, I spent my first years on skidroad where my father ran a rescue mission. My first rescue was a pigeon that had been poisioned. It was the first of many, none of which survived.
The mission was more or less a family operation and my mother and grandmother worked there too. I remember granny trading a transient a bottle of wine for a baby monkey.The fellow was carrying around underneath his coat. It was a bitterly cold and snowy day. She had the monkey for 19 years and took him every where with her. It was the funniest sight to see her driving down the street, prim little lady with braided hair around her head, a monkey on her shoulder with his tailaround her neck. Several times she found hurt Starlings, fixed them up and wintered them over until a spring release.
Mother was also quite the rescuer. Once she stopped on the freeway to pick up a chicken that had fallen off a truck.Lucky,lucky chicken. If it wasn't a chicken, it was a cat or a dog.
I learned from them, at a very early age, that all creatures are valuable.
I didn't become serious about rehab and animal advocacy until Baby came into my life. Baby was a Starling that totally changed my life path. It was 1986. 
Baby is a long story so I will share the shorter version. After rescuing her from the neighbor's cats a friend suggested the the right thing to do would be to take bird to the Audobon Society wild life are center. I really didn't want to do that because I was already thoroughly enamored with her. The friend's concept was that Baby needed to be with her own kind.
Once at the care center I was told that she would be PTS because she was not a native species. I couldn't leave her and the non-native species concept
made no sense to me.
You know what happens. The word got out. Soon I was getting calls from a friend of a freind that foud a baby bird or squirrel or possumor hurt pigeon. So it started .
Early on I met a young Veterinarian named Deb Scheafer that truely loves all animals and has become a good friend. She has taught me so much and patiently answered my incessant questions and never complained about late night emergency phone calls. 
Nothing is turned away but my passion is for the non-native species. 
At present, the residents include 2 parrots, 5 beautiful chickens, 1 old feral cat, 1 dog, 2 house pigeons and 30 other magnificent pigeons, some of which will be relocating to N. California as soon as Monday.
I am blessed and in finding you all, I have found "my" species.

Writing this down took great effort.
I have never been part of a forum and tend to be verbal rather than communicating by writing so this is not in my comfort zone. It's very good for me.


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## mr squeaks

Well, Charis...from what I've read, you are doing a magnificent job! Your background is different and quite fascinating to read!

You are certainly a WELCOME addition to PT and we hope you will be with for us for a very looooong time! Your expertise will be invaluable!

Thanks for taking the time to tell us your story!

LOVE and HUGS     

Shi
& 
Mr. Squeaks


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## SANDYJABS

My first name is Sandy and the JABS stands for the rest of my family.
*J*ohn, *A*ustin, *B*rian, *S*arah.
I found this site through a search on the web. I needed to know what to do for a lost pigeon that flew into my garage one night. I was familiar with this type of message board since I am a member on a cruise board that uses this same format. 
I posted my story and within minutes members replied to my questions. It was very comforting. Everyone was very nice and I felt welcomed here. You can truely see the love that they have for these birds. I am very happy that it was my garage that this pigeon flew into. 
My kids asked me why is it always us Mom? We have rescued many other animals.
baby squirrels that fell out of the nest (actually my lab dog carried the baby squirrels into the house unharmed), a poisioned cat, litter of dumped kittens and mommy, another kitten, 6 gopher turtles, baby ducks, countless stray dogs and now the pigeon. 
Sandy Ocoee Florida


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## naturegirl

Well seeing I just stumbled on this thread and read all the extremely cool stories I might as well add mine too.  

Mine started off with my very first pigeon Pesto whom I saved from a crowded
parking garage in Colorado. After a raised her I tried to release her at a local park with other Pigeons but she only flew back to my head 4 times so I ended up keeping her (wasn't that just a shame  ) I have always loved all animals and have a soft heart for any animal hurt or needing human assistance so I started helping out any bird or bunny, etc that came across my path. I picked the name Naturegirl because I lived in Colorado, Ohio, Illinois, California (San Diego) Michigan where I reside now. Would rather be in Colorado for the rest of my life instead of here but that is another issue. After living in Colorado and going to the mountains all the time I became more of a nature freak. That is my story.  

Cindy


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## flitsnowzoom

*bumping up for everyone*

We need more stories here


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## LSG3240

The LSG part of the name is My and my wifes initials combined. The 3240 part is an antique firearms cartridge from the I800's. I dont know why I use the number part except I can always remember it. I dont own one or really have any desire to, it just got stuck up in my head one day and has been fluttering around there ever since. 
I saw my first pigeon when I was seven. They were not common in our part of Texas then. A man came to my parents place, set a cage on the ground, and turned them loose. I remember standing there watching them fly out of sight. My mother never would allow me to have any so I had to wait another 40 years or so. I went to "The Big City" a few years ago and saw two boys riding a bicycle with a pen full of birds on it. It triggered a long lost memory. I aquired some white homers( it was all I could find at the time) Built a small loft with a large flight pen, and I can sit outside and watch them to my hearts content. I dont race,show or use them for release's. I do cart them off and turn them loose about once a week. I then race home to see who gets there first, me or them. Life is good.


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## Maggie-NC

Hi LSG, welcome to the forum. I enjoyed your story.


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## Maggie-NC

Thought I would bump this up because we have many new members.

Now......don't be bashful, folks!


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## Pidgey

By George... I think you've found the secret to long life!!!

Pidgey


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## flitsnowzoom

Uh, I don't think Pidgie was referring to those wax worms


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## TheSnipes

"TheSnipes"...because, when I went out with my sister to rescue my first pidgies, we both said we felt like we were on a snipe hunt (you older folks will recall the classic frat. hazing legend..c'mon, you do remember..!) We'd been asked to remove a pair of nesting "white doves" from a horse arena, because they were spooking the horses. Since I kept parrots the people assumed I'd know what to do about them! (WRONG!)  A friend with pigeons told us we could easily catch the birds in the dark, so over we went with ladder, pet carrier, flashlight, and a strong sense that we were being laughed at behind our backs. As it happened we did catch those birds, who of course turned out to be white _pigeons_ (no doubt lost from a ceremonial release) as well as ambassadors into the new and wonderful realm of pigeondom. I have their grandkids, now.


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## TAWhatley

TheSnipes said:


> "TheSnipes"...because, when I went out with my sister to rescue my first pidgies, we both said we felt like we were on a snipe hunt (you older folks will recall the classic frat. hazing legend..c'mon, you do remember..!)


Ahhh yes .. I remember snipe hunting well .. that's from the era of watching submarine races ..  

Terry


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## goulian

I once, many years ago, had a small bird called a Gouldian Finch. It was the most beautiful bird I had ever seen and I loved it dearly. Well, small birds do not live indefinately, and one day he was gone. It was about the time that I got my first computer and made my first e-mail account. I intended to use the name "gouldian", but misspelled it "goulian". I did not even realize that is had been mispelled until someone emailed me and asked if I had used the birds name as my own, because the bird's and my name were so much alike. I remember thinking...so much alike..they are the same. It was then that I discovered the misspelled goulian. I just decided to keep it that way.

Take care, All.


Mike


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## MaryOfExeter

*scoots in*

Well I might as well tell my story too.

My name of course is after the WWII pigeon Mary of Exeter. 
As for how I got started, it's pretty simple really. I've always been a big animal fan, and for as long as I can remember, I've had chickens. My grandpa was a wild bird man, so when I was little I'd always look through his bird guides and draw pictures of them. My dad, being the pigeon kid when he was younger, noticed I had a huge interest in birds...so...when I was in 4th grade, he took me to one of his old friends and I got my first pigeons! Two pair of Utility Kings - Pudgie being the pure white male, Salt the white hen with only one faint black feather, Pidgey the grizzled male, and Pepper the mottled hen. I can remember when I was about 3 years old, my dad and his girlfriend (this was during the time my parents were divorced) were building me a huge pigeon house. I remember walking along the floor of it while he was building the frames for the walls. It was going to be more tall than wide. I also remember getting a few helmets (or at least that's the best I can remember them being. my dad said tipplers, but I keep seeing helmet heads on the birds) at a local auction around that time....We had them in these cages on the back of our storage building/shed thing....I remember seeing them on the roof of the building only once, then they're gone from my memory. I don't count them as my first pigeons, even though my dad did buy them for me. Anyways....my little kings followed me everywhere when I first started letting them out of the loft. I'd walk up to the garage to get a handful of wild bird seed to feed them, and they'd stroll along behind me  After that I fell in love with the little guys, and swore to have pigeons from then on. I went into a pigeon obsession which never wore off, asking my dad all sorts of things and sitting there while he told me stories of his WOE tumblers that set new standards. All that talk of countless different breeds he had made me want to get new kinds....So....we went out and got homers, rollers, a few Indian fantails, and a few muffed tumblers (a lot easier to say than WOE Tumbler. they are tumblers and they do have muffs, so it isn't completely wrong!)......Soooo....yeah  I went from just plain black and white kings to a loft full of colors, shapes, and sizes. How I started out isn't as interesting as some, but oh well....I've got 6 years off good AND bad pidgie memories to last me a lifetime 

The only problem I have now is the fact that I want to race....and I'm kinda on my own over here. My dad had homers, but fed them and trained them in no special way...and didn't race...He just took his homers everywhere he went and released them. They had their own radio/TV repair at home so he went on a lot of calls across town, which he took his birds. But hey, they came back from Florida on that simple care...In the same day! If he can't help me much on how to prepare to race or whatever, he has definitely made me want to raise my pigeons the best I can so I might be able to have MY birds fly back from FL

Wellllll...that's my pigeon-based life in a nutshell!


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## evermorebg

I jokingly call the homestead Evermore Ranch or Farm (because the are ever more animals). My name is Brandi and my soon to be hubby is Greg. 

I cannot remember ever not having several animals around. My mother worked at a Vet's office that saw all kinds of animals. Both of my parents are licensed wildlife rehabbers, and after they could not do it any more the state grandfathered me into my license due to my many years of working with them. 

I was always rescuing animals of all kinds and eventually got a shelter up and running. unfortunately after 3 years we had to close the doors due to lack of funding in our area (but successfully adopted out over 700 animals of all species) i call still recall each one's name when looking through photos!

I am a navy brat and when my father retired we moved to land he inherited in north west Alabama. I got to buy my first horse. . . Rowdy who is now 26 years old and still loves to ride! A local farrier brought me Sunny last year a 25 year old horse who was starving ( little over a year later and he is doing great and a joy to ride). We bought Mojo ( my 2 year old baby) and Dakota since the other guys need to retire to just being a horse. 

I have 5 dogs 4 of them rescues. . . Able (a momma's boy) was a great Dane that the breeder's brought to me at 10 weeks old because he was so scared of people that he was going to be dangerous. well we ended up taking him to schools to do animal education (along with many of my other critters). Doobie is another dane that they gave me for helping them. Suzy, a border collie mix was abandoned by our neighbors as a pup and my son fell in love. She is a special needs due to a birth deformity. Bruiser was found with his litter in a box shoved between the tires of a logging trailer, and the guy that owned the trailer knew me. he was the pup that would not stay in the box on the way home, and had to sit in my lap. now he is just getting over having a leg amputated (1-8-08) and a 65 pound lap baby!

The 3 cats are all rescues. goofy 13 years old now, I rescued as a 5 week old kitten where the kids had burned his pads and cut him with scissors. it was several months before he could even walk, but he is STILL the boss of the whole farm! Bay Bay was the 1st drop off at the shelter before we even had the power on and she was pregnant hence. . . Boo Boo.

We also have 6 snakes 4 that were rescues and many chickens (too many to count) One day Greg was at a Flea Market where a guy had a few frizzled pigeons (and knowing that i had always wanted a pidgy). He was trying to get rid of one because all her feathers would break off. When he told Greg that all they needed to eat was whole corn he bought them feelig as though they were really rescues. They are doing much better now with a good diet and some TLC.

Well in my research on pigeons I happened across this forum. I love the informative and polite people so much that i am here to stay! Thanks


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## Snowbird Sue

Hello, and such a nice thread too! I am "new" to pigeons, and how I got started is pretty neat. I had 10 Shelties for 31+ years, and my last one passed away at the ripe old age of 18, of liver cancer. They all lived long lives, and most passed away of old age..... I missed her, and after about a couple months, my husband was out in our detached garage, with the door open, and in flew a pigeon. He came in to the house, and told me I should come and see the bird in the garage. Well, I did, and it had bands on both legs. It was eating some corn that had been spilled, and I walked right up to it and picked it up! WOW! I was so surprised, and I had a pencil & paper and wrote down all the info from the bands. Well, to make a LONG story short, I contacted the club secretary, and she told me to pen it up with feed and water for 48 hours, and then release it. That the racing pigeon only stops if it is injured, tired or hungry. It was not hurt, it flew fine, it was just tired and hungry. I did, and even wrote a letter to the owner, who lives in Ontario Canada, but never got an answer back. I released the bird, and never saw it again, but then, I also never heard from the owner either. It was fascinating having it even if it was only 48 hours. it kind of left a "mark" on me.....
I started researching them, and bought 2 pair, and since I live in "snow country", and I have "white homers", I chose "Snowbird Sue"...... Seemed to fit quite well! I also have a cat, she is 1/4 bobcat and 3/4 domestic cat, but she is an inside cat, and is 10+ years old now. She wouldn't know what to do if she ever came in contact with a bird She has never been outside. 
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my story along with the rest of you! I feel so lucky to be able to ask any question and there is always someone there to answer me. Thanks again, Snowbird Sue!


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## ZeldaCA

I use the name Zelda because it is a long-time, family nickname for me. My great-aunt was Zelda (Sayre) Fitzgerald, who was F. Scott Fitzgerald's nutty (but brilliant) wife. And in my teen years I took on many of those infamous crazy, zany characteristics, my family started calling me the "new Zelda" in the family. Not exactly a compliment, lol! Luckily, unlike my great-aunt, I was not seriously insane, just mildly eccentric and quite rebellious. Still am, in my own way, although all in all, I'd say I'm a pretty responsible citizen. And of course the CA part comes from the fact that I live in the Golden State of California.

I have felt a deep and abiding kinship for animals for as long as I can remember. I truly feel I have a calling and a gift for helping both animals and children, which is why I've spent much of my life in puiblic education. I was, like many of you, the child who always brought home stray or wounded animals to care for, much to my family's consternation. In that regard, not much has changed, except now no one tells me I can't do it! I've been rehabbing birds for many years, but truly love ALL animals. 

I really believe that there are some of us who are placed here as guardians of the creatures God created, and that it's an honor to serve in that capacity, for as long as He lets me. And I have no doubt that when I get to Heaven, I'll be working with animals there as well (otherwise it would simply not be heaven for me!). 

Isn't it a blessing to know exactly what you were put here to do? I can tell, by reading all your stories, that many of you are the exact same way. It is very nice to be among friends here, that's for sure!


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## amyable

*Shelties*

Snowbird Sue, Just had to pop a picture up of our two Shelties when I saw your post. It must have been difficult living without all your Shelties after having so many for so long. Ours came from a house that has fifteen shelties all living together as pets! It's fun when we go to visit and add my two, we get smothered in dog hair!!
These two are Sheltie rejects, Blake, the large one being too large, and Cameron the other, is not 'entire' as they say, a bit of a runt, but we love them.

I too have got into pigeons by accident, but my dogs unfortunately don't feel the same way about them, would rather chase them so I can't keep any permanently. In these pictures they are 'keeping an eye' on a juvenile Wood Pigeon I had hand reared before release. If you look hard you might see it in the cage soaking up the sun. They stuck like glue watching it's every move whenever I had it outside in it's cage. 

(sorry the pictures are so big I haven't learnt how to reduce them yet)!! 

Janet


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## TheSnipes

Amyable, what a pretty lawn and borders you have! Oh, and nice dogs, too!!


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## Charis

TheSnipes said:


> Amyable, what a pretty lawn and borders you have! Oh, and nice dogs, too!!


Yes. Absolutely gorgeous.


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## Maggie-NC

I love shelties. They remind me so much of a small collie and that is one of my favorite dogs. The neighbor behind us got into breeding shelties and showing them. They traveled to a lot of shows. She would let me know every time they had babies and it was such fun going there and seeing them. They are really, really nice dogs.

Geez, I guess if someone posted about any breed dog I would pop up and say I adore them too...and I do!


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## ezemaxima

I've used it for almost all of my internet forum membership. It's basically broken down into "EZ" "E" and "Maxima". My name is Eric and I started using this handle when i was into modifying my 98 Nissan Maxima for show and go.. I still own the car but hardly have time to drive the car now.

I used to own pigeons when i was younger back in the Philippines and actually left a bunch of them under my cousin's care but he later decided to let them be on their own. I got started back in 05 when my best friend told me that a pigeon has been hanging out at the 2nd floor construction of their house. I later caught the pigeon which was a male blue bar pied. I built him a 4X4 loft and he remained by himself for over a year until my younger brother obtained a pair of blue bars from his friend. My solo male immediately stole the hen from the new pair and constantly kept on beating up the other male. I later lost my pied blue bar but obtained a brown grizzly and a white homer from a coworker that does white pigeon release. On November 07 i built my 10X8 loft. By the way the blue bar hen is "Mama" and is pictured on my signature.

Eric


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## Maggie-NC

Terry, do you think this could be made a sticky because it blends so well with our new thread showing pictures?


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## TheSnipes

Yes, they do go well together and making it stick is a great idea!  I have been following both threads all week, what fun.


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## amyable

Thanks for your comments, the garden is a bit wild but that’s how I like it. I too am a sucker for any furry face and waggy tail, they all reduce me to an Aaaaaaaahhhh.
I’ve loved reading these stories so I thought I’d join in.

My handle is just an extension of my surname which is Amyes. I used it first when I found that the handle I'd tried on another forum a couple of years ago, 'Jantastic', was already in use, so this came to mind.
I, like so many others, have always been an animal person but unfortunately we didn't grow up with pets as my parents had never had them. We did talk them into letting us have a dog when we were young, a corgi called Chip, but he was sold to the milkman after about a year as we were young and only wanted to play with him, (the dog not the milkman!). So as mum couldn’t cope with him, and us she let him go.  
I then had a tortoise called Mable who ran away would you believe, she used to burrow her way under the compost heap and one day we couldn't find her. 

Once I started work at fifteen and earned my own money, I went into the pet shop one lunchtime and bought a budgie and just went home with him. I called him Michael Finnegan, or Micky Finn for short. Luckily he was made very welcome and became a part of the family. He was really tame and had the freedom of the house. When I left home to work in Jersey mum and dad took over caring for him. I used to visit as often as I could and sadly he died in my hands at the age of nine during one of my visits, it was as if he’d waited for me to come home first. That was my first introduction to birds.
Moving around with my job meant I didn't have any other pets for a few years. My next pets were two cats called Mitzi and Bushy. Then along came a Manx cat called Max. Then I rescued some abandonded kittens. Sooty and Smudge. When I married they came with me. Smudge went to live with our next door neighbours, (preferred the food there), and Sooty was my lovely friend until she died of cancer. 
By this time I had two girls and I resisted their pleas for rabbits and rats etc, as I knew it would be me that ended up doing the work, Just like my mother!
Then I gave in and we had a dog. Blake is a very large Sheltie, in fact most people think he is a collie. When there was another litter, guess what, we had another one, Cameron, to keep him company. (do look at my earlier post for their pictures)! So my life has now ended up revolving around my dogs. Cameron is a Therapy dog and we visit nursing homes together, I’ve met some good friends through having dogs and walk with them every day in our large local park.
I got into birds one day when I found an injured Magpie outside my house. He had been attacked by other birds and had a damaged eye. I cared for him for a while and then took him to a local ‘sanctuary’ where they gave him a permanent home. He has now lost the sight in both eyes but after being there for three years has adapted well and is still thriving. I volunteered to go and help with the cleaning and feeding of the other birds at this place really so I could keep an eye on ‘Alan’ the magpie, and then got more and more involved. They don’t really get much care there so I can’t help but go every week to try and make sure that they are clean and have food. One day a budgie was bought in that had been found. I had to find it’s owner or a home. I posted messages all over the place and in pet shops and amazingly I found the owner, it had escaped from a large aviary. The people didn’t really want the birds anymore so I managed to find a lovely lady who had a small aviary, and she took it in. After finding we had a love of birds she kept my number and phoned me one day to say she had found an injured Wood Pigeon and could I take it in. This was my first pigeon rescue and I didn’t know what to do! I’d only reared blackbirds before. That was when I found PT thank goodness. Cynthia came to the rescue and very kindly helped me through and Lambswood eventually went to live with her. Then a baby Woodie was bought into the ‘sanctuary’. I decided after learning so much from this forum that I’d take it home and hand rear it, another first for me. That was Monkie. He was successfully released through Amerton Farm, a wonderful wildlife rescue centre. Then came some baby ducks, they too went to Amerton and were reared and released there. Now I have Tipsey, a beautiful feral with a permanently damaged wing. She is going to live with Chriss80 and Piggi soon, which we're trying to arrange now.  
So it is like a series of events that draws you in, I’m a bit of a late starter but it looks like I’m hooked!!

Janet


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## horsesgot6

Hi everyone. How I Came up with My Handle Well There Use To Only Be 6 Horses On the Farm which Makes the Horsesgot6 They where All Got The Same Nigth At A auction At The Horse Center in VA. There is 13 Horses on The Farm Now. 
I Have Always Loved All Animals But Got Into The Pigeons When I Came To the Farm. we have the Farel Pigeons That Lived in The Barn And I Loved Watching Them. But wanted Ones As Pets. So I Ran A Add in The Paper For Wanting Free Pigeons As Pets With in A Week i Had A Flock Of Pets. What Sweet Birds They Are.


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## Dezirrae

This is such a wonderful thread - especially when combined with the mug shots!

I've been a "computer geek" since the early days of BBS's - before the internet had a kewl interface and a 56K dialup modem was to die for  So when AOL came along I signed up right away and got hooked on the chat rooms. I wanted an interesting screen name and Neil Diamond's "Dezirrae" was playing on the cassette player (yeah  when cassette players were expensive). I've used it everywhere ever since -- I think some people from college still only remember me as Dezirrae  By now it's my "adopted" middle name.

I've always been an animal lover -- we had a toy french poodle when I was little followed by two Shelties (seeing the pictures here brought back such fond memories of those two!). While in college we were permitted to have pets in the dorm room but my roommate & I were always bringing in stray kittens and nursing them to good health and then finding homes in the neighborhood. After college I've mostly had cats -- with an ocassional hamster and mouse. I've always been a bird watcher though and feed them in the backyard. 

A white pigeon that my husband & I nicknamed "Bird" brought me to this forum -- http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=23129
and I am so glad s/he did!! This forum really does feel like family and there is such a wealth of information and experience here. Having you all here made me feel comfortable enough to adopt my two Ringneck's -- Juliet and Noel. And I may be adding a Diamond Dove to the mix soon, but I'll tell that story if/when it happens


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## Maggie-NC

Terry, thank you soo much for making this a sticky.


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## luckyloft

I have really enjoyed reading all the stories on this thread!Here I go...I first got into pigeons when I worked with a guy who had homing pigeons.He raced and I started helping him sort of became his partner.Then he got out and I bought all his birds and equipment and built my own loft.When I took my first group of young birds to the club house for my first race on my own someone asked if I wanted to call my loft a special name or just use my name I said I would be LUCKY if I got any birds back.The race sacratery said ok LUCKYLOFT it is and it has kind of stuck ever since. Jeff


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## CHRISTIN RN

WONDERFUL AND TOUCHING STORIES!
STARTED READING LAST NIGHT AND TODAY AT LUNCH BREAK...JUST NOW FINISHED AND ENJOYED EACH ONE!

My name is Christin and I'm a Registered Nurse. LOL
I've had my e-mail since 95, so I just kept it for here.

I found this beautiful Birdie Family last Aug. 07 when my 1st Bird, Coco, landed in my front yard with all his tail feathers missing. The Animal Hospital that I brought him to wanted to put him down. My sister called me just in time for me to stop the procedure and take him home. I found you guys that night and have been thankful to God every day since!

I then felt sorry for a one-legged pigeon that was in need of adoption posted here, so I went to Queens, NY to get her to be friends with Coco...named Hoppy. They live in a large gazebo now named the Co-Hop.

Then there was posted a pair of doves that were left in front of a vets office in West Orange that needed a home, so I picked them up, Rally & Ally after Honeymooners, Ralph & Alice. I only had them for a few weeks when Ally flew out of my outdoor hutch and was gone for 11 days. She then was found at a car dealership with everyone's prayers!

At around the same time I adopted another pidgy from Bloomfield...named Bloomer. he was really sick....I tried to help him get better with all of you guys help to no avail...after a 4 day hospital stay, we still couldn't figure what was wrong and was getting worse. He went to Rainbow Bridge the same day Ally flew off. This really made me sad and very upset not to save him. Kind of made me scared to have anymore. All my past pets thusfar have passed from old age, so this really affected me...still does.

I also have other rescues...2 German Shepherds, & 1 Siberian Husky, & 10 rabbits...8 of them are near 10 years old, so I'm getting nervous about their departure, though they seem very healthy. They eat very well and drink reverse osmosis water as with all my pets.

I've had pets since 7 years old....of which I found and brought home to care for or adopted from shelters.
Since my children have graduated from college and moved out of state, I've had to take care of the animals myself for the last year and a half...with my work load and studying for another degree (hopefully graduate in March???)
it's hard to keep up, but with God's help some how I do it and still able to come visit with all of you beautiful people!

Blessings to all of you....always and in all ways!!! AMEN!


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## sgtpouter

*welll*

Well i was born and raised in miami florida my father was cuban as am i and we had buchones ( theif pouters ) and my father would let them go twice a day every once in the morning and once in the after noon to work the neighborhood and shopping centers and almost every day with out fail i would see our pouters returning with another pigeon.Since then i always liked theif pouters and still keep two with me not the same ones from my child hood cause that would make them almost 30 lol but two Gaditano Pouters i bought on my last trip to miami. so thats how i came up with the pouter portion of my handle the sgt is cause im a sgt in the U.S.Army.


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## TAWhatley

sgtpouter said:


> two Gaditano Pouters i bought on my last trip to miami. so thats how i came up with the pouter portion of my handle the sgt is cause im a sgt in the U.S.Army.


I envy you! There are some Thief Pouter fanciers here in So Cal that put on the BEST of shows with their birds at the local pigeon shows. I became totally enchanted with these birds when I saw them at a local event. There are some links to pictures and video of them here on Pigeon-Talk from both the LAPC Lawn Show and the Pageant of Pigeons. I'll see if I can find those links for you in a bit .. I think you will enjoy them! Do you "paint" your birds like the folks here do (meaning non-harmful coloration of the feathers)?

Terry


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## Cyn79

Well I have my Uncle Mario to thank for my love of pigeons. He always loved pigeons. When he was a teenager he made himself a loft in Great Brook Valley projects. He would take care of sick and hurt wild pigeons. His first pigeon was name Bullet. After the pigeons were all better they stayed in the loft making that their home. 

One day someone set fire to the loft and my Uncle lost a couple of pigeons But most got away because the top of the loft was always open for them to fly in and out of. My Uncle cried for weeks about the pigeons he lost. *This is the story I got from my grandmother*

Anyway... I always loved the loft my Uncle Mario had in Sturbridge. His favorite pigeon are Russian Tumblers. But he love almost all tumblers and rollers. My Aunt still tends to the pigeons there today. 

So anywho the first baby pigeon I had the a tumbler rejected by his mother. Sorry to say the little guy didn't make it. But then I got my pair of crested frills because my Uncle Mario said they were a MUST HAVE... 

So I guess my handle was My Uncle Mario...


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## Charis

Oh Cyn...What a lovely tribute to your Uncle Mario. He would be so proud that you honor him with your love of pigeons. He was a very special, sweet and kind man.


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## sgtpouter

*Only sometimes*

Twhatley I use to with my father we would paint them like that when there was a suelta competition which wasnt a big thing when i was growing up in miami so it was just a few friends partictipating in the sport Seeing whose pigeon Got the hen and the winner would keep the others hen and any cash that was bet.I enjoyed it very much watching these buchones chase down the hen through rooftops yards shopping centers you name it it was fun.
The two that i have now are cocks and they work the area pretty good i release them in the morning b4 i go to work and they fly offon the hunt
I've eyed them a good 6 to 10 miles from my house working the ferals on the power lines next to hwy190 . So i'm glad they are good workers and fliers.
Once i get back to miami and im through with the army I'm gona keep two lofts one for homers and the other for My theif pouters so i can get them hens and breed them then work thier babies.


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## TAWhatley

Here's the links to the pictures and video of the pouters (and lots more pictures of other types of pigeons:

http://www.rims.net/2007PageantOfPigeons

http://www.rims.net/2007LAPCLawnShow

Terry


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## Guest

very simple for me i was born into them i always had them from the day i was born so my dad tells me lol. my dad had them before me and his dad before him lol


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## Charis

So it's hereditary!


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## sheridangirl

My name is simply the little town I came from in Oregon. I moved to San Diego in 2004 and keeping this name helps me remember who I am. I have always been an animal lover and a pet rescuer. Since moving here, We have rescued our pigeon Gonzo, a second pigeon who is yet to be named, an injured crow, numerous rabbits, Rocky our baby squirrel, numerous pregnant cats, a dog and a partially blind cow. 
Here is a link when our cow got stuck in a drain pipe. http://wkrg.com/news/article/taking_the_cow_by_the_horns/6609/


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## TAWhatley

sheridangirl said:


> My name is simply the little town I came from in Oregon. I moved to San Diego in 2004 and keeping this name helps me remember who I am. I have always been an animal lover and a pet rescuer. Since moving here, We have rescued our pigeon Gonzo, a second pigeon who is yet to be named, an injured crow, numerous rabbits, Rocky our baby squirrel, numerous pregnant cats, a dog and a partially blind cow.
> Here is a link when our cow got stuck in a drain pipe. http://wkrg.com/news/article/taking_the_cow_by_the_horns/6609/


OMG! I'm so glad your cow was safely rescued! Bless you and yours!

Terry


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## xxmoxiexx

wow, there are farms in san diego? And cowboys? That is so cool, how is Violet today? that was you talking about her? What part of oregon is the town you are from? I am originally from columbia river gorge, washington side.


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## velo99

I raise rollers. An important ingredient in the performance is the velocity of the spin. I wanted a name that was roller related but not so obviously pigeonish as I also play in several fantasy (racing) leagues of various sports. So Velo99 was the moniker I adopted,Velo(city)99.


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## eric98223

*on my handle*

eric98223 is where i was from and was my original yahoo name. eric is me and arlington wa zip is 98223 now i live in spokane 300 miles away and here it is 99223. so there you go

my loft is called lostbirdlofts because i have always taken in birds and the first 20 or so i recieved from my club members i lost them all. and very quickly. was in too much of a hurry to let them out and to train. i finally got a bird who would return from about 7 miles away consistantly. one morning i wanted to fly him but was running late to work so i took him and flew him from work (less than 5 miles) never saw him again. the guys at the club started giving me birds and as the were handing them to me would say "dont lose them" so there you have it. lost bird lofts


how i got started. my friend rick wanted me to take 5 birds about 300 miles away and release them to kind of cull his flock a little, and said i could do whatever i wanted with them. well i still have 4 of them (one i had to go pick up at his house 40 min away) and about 70 more. so there is where i got started with 5 birds some guy didnt want any more lol


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## RoundAbout

*RoundAbout we go!*

I love all the individual stories! Everybody is unique. My name is the name of my favorite Birmingham Roller hen, RoundAbout. When my husband recovered from a nearly fatal lung infection, I wanted to give him something he would treasure. Since he'd often told me of the pigeons he had as a boy, which he had to hide from his disapproving dad, I decided to get him a pair of pigeons. On the internet somehow I stumbed onto a roller guy who was closing up. This man sent us a pair and an extra male, all very young birds. One was a red check we named RolyPoly, then the blue black hen RoundAbout, and finally the big blustery bossy blue check TopsyTurvy. Topsy took over Roundy right away, so Roly was alone, though the most beautiful of the three. I looked on the internet again to find a roller person in our town. This man is famous in the roller community (I've forgotten his name now) and he came over to check our loft and when he saw how nice we were, he gave us a lovely ash red bar hen we named UpsyDaisy. Roly was smitten within minutes!

These four birds had babies all over the place and it was so fun to find "roller" type names for them all. After a year or so, my husband lost interest and we gave away most of the birds. We kept Roly, Roundy, and DustDevil (who had crashed when rolling one day and was crippled). These birds have had another batch of babies who've grown up. So we have ten birds now. The most we had was 20 in the first batch.

Though my husband isn't as interested, I am more than ever. I love watching the birds going about their gossipy homey lives in the coop. I like to watch the flyers soar up into the sky on sunshiney days when I let them out. And Roly and Roundy are still my favorites and stay safe in the coop all the time. They must be about six years old by now.

This site is fun to visit!


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## birdie_mom

I'll give it a go.... I came up with "birdie_mom" becuase I've rescued numerous squeakers from my own loft and my brother in law's because either the parents either stopped feeding the young, got hit by a hawk, or the baby itself was injured due to fighting in the loft. So far I've rescued and raised 2 Yellow Trentons named "Peanut and Cashew", 1 Chocolate Fabray named "Cocoa", 1 CBS Jansen/something or other mix named "Champ", and am now caring for a 2 week old pure silver with an injured wing that I have not named as of yet. I discovered this one today in his nest box laying on his side with one of his wings outstretched upside-down over his body and said "That's not right" and took him out immediately so the injury won't be agitated in any way. He's nestled in a little box next to my feet as I type so I can keep an eye on him. I hope he's young enough to make a full recovery and will be able to fly.

My husband got me into pigeons. He's been in the hobby over 25 years, and he recently got back into it after taking a break for quite some time. I never knew I'd be so interested in them! I used to be one of those people that thought they were "rats with wings" but now that I have a better understanding of them and how there are more pedigrees in some than champion DOGS, I thoroughly enjoy having the little feathered friends around. I'm new to this forum, but have frequented this site to read up and learn about remedies and such, and am hoping that I will be using this forum to show off my "babies" that I rescue and nurture!!

Oh, that bird that's with me in the photo is the Yellow Trenton I raised. That one is "Cashew". Her sister Peanut is IDENTICAL to her. I sometimes have to look at the band number to tell them apart!


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## mr squeaks

HI BIRDIE MOM!!

WELCOME TO PT!! WE HOPE YOU WILL BE AROUND LOTS! 

NEW PICTURES/STORIES/UPDATES ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!!

Shi & Mr. Squeaks


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## conditionfreak

Not a big thing about me using the name "conditionfreak". I collect/invest in old comic books. When it comes to them, as with many collectables, "condition" is everything. I am a freak about the condition of my comic book collection. I have about twenty thousand or more books. Everything from "Best Comics" No. 1 and "Buck Rogers" No. 1, both from 1939, up to and including Spiderman No. 1 from 1963, and most things in between. I rarely read them, but find them very good investments. I was bought Fantastic Four No 1. for one dollar at a flea market type store, and sold it about a year later for $5,000. Now, of course, it is worth about 20,000 or more. I hate when that happens 

As to how I got started in pigeons, I really don't remember. I always had birds of some sort, throughout my life. Sparrows, chickens, and two ducks when I was about 6 or 7, that followed me around my neighborhood like puppies. And I lived in an alley in downtown Cincinnati at the time!

Besides a dozen racing pigeons, I have four pair of African Grey Timneh's, that I breed and sell the babies from. When they are about three weeks old, I remove them from the nest and hand raise them, to make them very tame. I also have several bird feeders around my property and keep them full for the wild birds, especially in the winter.


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## mr squeaks

Hi Conditionfreak...

LOL...I SURE remember comic books! LOVED 'EM!!

Of course, too bad we didn't realize how valuable they would be years and years later!! I could be VERY RICH!!

Your birds sound  ...posting any pictures? Or have you...that I've missed?!

Shi


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## conditionfreak

Yep, Mr. Squeaks, I learned to read mostly from comic books. Even back then they used big words.  Not just POW and Zap or Holy Cow Caped Crusader! I didn't graduate high school but I do okay in the spelling and reading department, and I truly believe it was because of all of the comic books I read.
Anyway, enough about books (I also collect first printing, first edition hardback books). I didn't know which "birds" you were referring to, but I will assume it is my pigeons and not my parrots. Here is my favorite cock, which I obtained from Sam Haslem (who is one heck of a nice guy). This bird is from "Pied President" who is out of "The President", and the mother of this bird is "Jessica" 01-GFL-526. Hope this picture thing works:


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## Lin Hansen

Conditionfreak,

I know I'm dating myself as an old fart but the comic books that I used to love were the "Archie" ones when I was a kid.......could never understand why Archie was always after Veronica!!! LOL

Anyway, I had friends who invested and did quite well with the type of comics that you collect and sell. Yes, it seems that everyone always sells too soon.

Linda


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## conditionfreak

Yea Lin (is that a hamster photo?). There is a saying amongst comic book collectors. "You never regret the book you bought, only the one you didn't buy", and I usually add that you many times regret the one you sold last year 

I have sold so many books for big money, but if I had them now, they would be worth HUGE money. But, you do what you think is the right thing at the time, and live with the consequences.

I never really collected Archie type books, although I have a few that were in collections of others that I bought. I do know why Archie was always after Veronica. Us guys want them all  

Well, we did, until we went past age fifty (dang it). Archie is still a teenager, after all of these years. I would like to see him in the comics as a middle age guy with three teenagers of his own, and fighting the fight of dealing with that.


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## Pinacola

*My Story*

My handle - I was searching for a drink recipe for a party and needed a name to get to the recipe I wanted. In front of me was a list of drink recipes and for some reason a non-alcoholic pinacolada was the recipe name under the registration. Since I drink pepsi, I used the pina and shortened the rest to just the cola. Funny thing is, I've been very comfortable with the name ever since!

Fostering children, (9 of them), caring for invalids, caring for developmentally disabled and just about everyone else who walks through my door has been the story of my life. There have always been pets of you name it kinds in the house or yard, excepting snakes. 

I have volunteered at a nearby Eagle Center, which also takes in all kinds of birds, animals and even some very large cockroaches for several years. Being a volunteer, I am not allowed to help with the birds, but I feed the rabbits and even the roaches sometimes.

In the process of helping my daughter with some wedding plans, I ran across the Wedding Dove Release information. I was thrilled with the concept and decided to investigate it further. Then I thought, maybe I should do that, now that I'm retired from work I get bored, so I kept looking for more information and ended up here. The more I read, the more interested I become in raising pigeons. My only drawback is that I am asthmatic and sometimes have a problem being at the Eagle Center because of my asthma.

We have always had animals around. Right now I don't, because my last little one, a Shih-tzu, tried to follow me to work by jumping through a window, fortunately, the glass pane was knocked out entirely because of old glazing, so he wasn't hurt. I gave him to a friend because I was so afraid I would come home and find him dead or seriously injured trying to follow me. All the animals in the world come to me without fear, I guess I produce the right scent, they know they will be safe with me.

I recently rescued a racoon that had been hit by a car. He ran into the culvert near by and we had to have animal control come to retrieve him because he was fighting the rescue. They took him to the vet then released him back into the wild a few weeks later after he recovered.

This is getting too long, there is so much more to say, but not room enough to write the book of my life. lol So perhaps I will tell more on different threads. I forgot to mention that my Archie, a very good man, passed from this world 12 years ago, so I'm a loner. Thanks for reading my story, Faith


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## Maggie-NC

Hi Faith, I enjoyed reading your story a great deal. You have contributed a great deal caring for others. You certainly seem to have a way with animals and I know they sense how good you are when you do your volunteer work. 

You don't have to have a pigeon to be an active member. We have several who don't have pigeons and they contribute regularly. Glad to have you aboard and hope to hear more about your volunteer work.


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## TerriB

Thanks for sharing yourself. With all your experience, I'm sure that Eagle Center is glad to have you as a volunteer. We hope to benefit, also!


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## jbangelfish

*My start*

My goofy handle comes from the fact that I used to raise Angelfish and I used the internet to sell them. It is the reason that I bought an internet capable computer in the first place. My wife is Jane and I am Bill. JB.

I started with birds almost from the time that I was able to walk and speak. I had Parakeets as pets when I was about 4 or 5 years old. Many years later, I raised and sold hundreds of English Parakeets.

I always liked pigeons, just watching the feral pigeons on the church across from our house. I used to enjoy watching them fly in flocks and was interested in the variety of colors that existed in these wild pigeons. My grandfather was the caretaker for this church and one of his jobs was to remove the pigeons from the church. He took many of them home to his farm and I guess he used to eat them from time to time. I have never eaten squab.

When I was 8 years old (1960), we moved to my grandfathers farm when he gave my dad an acre of land and he had a new house built. It was a small farm of 120 acres but still a large piece of land for me to roam around on and I spent nearly every day wandering around the fields observing the wildlife there.

I found a pigeon with clipped wings that was walking in a field behind our house in 1961. I have had pigeons ever since. His name was Pidgey, pretty orginal huh? He was not banded but must have been someones pet. He lived in my coop for over 10 years and had several different mates over his life. It seemed that he was rather unlucky with losing mates to various predators. My first pigeons were mixed breeds, feral pigeons and whatever pigeons I could find.

I did have a small flock of Rollers which I tried to keep separate from my mutts.

In the late 60's I began buying show breeds and fancy pigeon breeds, beginning with English Trumpeters and Muffed Tumblers. In my life, I have had somewhere between 50 and 100 breeds. Someday, I should make a list and try to figure out just how many breeds I have kept.

I've always had a special interest in performing breeds, especially Rollers and Tumblers. I am not fond of Parlor Tumblers or Parlor Rollers as I consider it cruel to raise a pigeon that is unable to fly.

In the 70's and 80's, I began to collect unusual flying and performing breeds and wound up with quite a group of birds. I had Syrian Swifts, Syrian Coop Tumblers, Syrian Fantails, Egyptian Swifts, Shaksharlis, Rchev Startails, Galician Highflyers, Dewlaps, Doneks, Ukranian Skycutters, Polish Orliks, Budapest Highfliers, Tipplers and probably a few more that I've forgotten.

I look back and wonder how I found all of the unusual breeds of birds that I had. Many of them went back to the collectors who were in the book "The Pigeon" by Wendell Levi. I managed to find the people who bought the collections from the likes of Walt Bonahoom who had a fantastic collection of Syrian and Lebanese breeds and Dr Hummel who had probably the best German Toys in the US.

During the same time, I also kept a good collection of German Toys in Silesian Swallows, Saxon Spots, Saxon Breasts, Ice Pigeons, Saxon Whitetails, Saxon Field Pigeons and Pheasant Pigeons. I still consider the German Toys to be as beautiful as any pigeons.

I now am taking over a large group of Roller pigeons that my son has had for 20 plus years. Sadly, he has never had the desire to take proper care of them or to keep any form of records whatsoever. It's still a nice group of birds but needs to be thinned out. I was going to get rid of all of them but as I began sorting, separating and so on, the old pigeon bug has bitten me again and I'm going to keep 8 or 10 pair and try to build a kit of good performing rollers from them. There is Graham Fireball blood in most of them but there are also many other strains of roller which we bought over the years for unusual colors.

I am retired now and I have the time to get back to something that I love. Pigeons are in my blood.

Bill


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## TAWhatley

Hi Bill! Welcome to Pigeon-Talk and thank you for your introduction! There are often members here looking to adopt birds in need of homes, so if you have some that you don't wish to keep, you might consider posting them in our Adoption Forum. 

Terry


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## Maggie-NC

Hi Bill - welcome to the forum. 

I enjoyed reading your "story". Sounds like you really love pigeons and have had a great variety. We often have members who get in birds they can't identify so with your background in the different breeds you should be able to help identify many of them.

Your first pigeon had a fine name - Pidgey. You probably already know that one of our favorite members (well, one of mine anyhow  ) is a man who goes by Pidgey.


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## Lovebirds

Welcome Bill. Sure wish I had found pigeons when I was so young. I didn't discover them until I was almost 40 years old. Anyway, look forward to hearing more from you.


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## cryllc

*Hey I'm Cryllc*

hey everybody, my name is crystal but my little sister never could say my name as kids so she called me cryll. and my last name starts with a c. and she calls me cryll today and so do a few old friends. i've been on the site for a few months and i've posted some and read a lot. i've never really introduced myself. i'm from west virginia and grew up in the country. i've always been transfixed on animals and plants my whole life. i've rescued so many animals i can't name them all. insects and spiders really interest me too. but i'd never had birds as pets until 4 years ago. i recently had a post about my 4 year old dove "bobby" that passed away thursday in my hands after a battle with a sickness. i can only take comfort in that he knew i loved him and was there for him when he passed. that bird was my best friend and words can't express what we had. he was born, lived, loved, and died in my hands. he is forever imprinted in my soul. i could not take him to a vet cause there are none in my area but Pidgey on here was very helpful and i'm very grateful. i buried him yesterday at my mom's in the hills with a picture of us and a piece of my hair. i also have 2 pigeons. the oldest is nearly two years old and male and the younger is 9 months old and a hen that has already laid two clutches of eggs in twos. my male is a typical looking pigeon. he was brought to me when he was only a couple days old. very tiny with the closed eyes and sleeping all the time. my hen is black and has some feathers on her legs. she is very beautiful and larger than the male, i raised her from about a week old. i've become very obsessed with my birds. i think all birds are beautiful. but i never knew they were so loving and intuitive. i grew up raising chickens and would love to have them again someday when i've got my own big place. anyway the other animals in my home are a lone hermit crab and a 55 gallon aquarium with an assortment of fish. and several houseplants. so you can generalize me in saying if it's not human and it's alive i will do my best to save it. i hope to make many connections on this site. i enjoy reading all the stories, uplifting and the sad and the solid information. i made my avatar in adobe illustrator. i'm becoming a graphic designer. if anyone wants me to make them a custom avatar from a certain picture or just original email me and i'd be happy to. again i want to thank those who left the kind comments on my thread, they brought some comfort in these lonely days. here's a link to some pictures of my pigeons and few of my little ringneck dove that passed thursday. 
http://s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc47/cryllcc/my pigeons/


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## Charis

Welcome. You sound like a kindred spirit.
I'm so sorry about your dove.


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## samuri_spartan

Crystal, Your birds are very beautiful. Im sorry about your loss.



Well my name is Chris. When i was about 13 i was signing up for my first yahoo email address and i couldnt for the life of me think of a "cool" user name. I was really into history and ancient battles at the time. Both the samurai and spartans were honorable warriors. 

I have since then matured a bit  but it has always stuck with me. 

But even then, behind my "hardcore" ninja turtle influenced love for violence, i always had a soft side for my chickens. Every spring i had to have a new chick from the hatchery. We were always moving so i have probably build 15-20 chicken coops. I have always had animals. From mice to salimanders to Tarantulas to iguanas. Animlas in general have always amazed me. So much that i gave up eating meat. I have been rehabing sick and injured animals since i was 10. Everyone in my neiborhood knows that if a stray gets hit by a car or a baby bird is found to call chris. 

I moved out of the country when i was 17 and i couldnt take my chickens with me. After a year i moved back to the US to help take care of my grandmother, and we discussed about getting chickens. She was aginst them cause we live in town, but one early morning we were sitting out on the porch watching the song birds eat from our feeders, as we did every morning, and she began telling me about my great uncle Homer and his pigeons. I was interested so i began to read up on them. Then it got me. That bug or high or what ever addicts people to pigeons. I got my first pair of homers in october of 06'. Since then it has changed my life very drasticly, and I have met so many wonderfull people. They are my best friends. 

I am the Kansas Pigeon Club secretay/treasurer now and we are growing pretty fast. In fact we have a show date set for Nov. 14-15 in Hutchinson Ks. I dont know what i would do with out them now. I hope to have many more years with them at my side.

Well thanks for listening to me ramble. 

Chris

P.S. I did eventually get my chickens again.


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## Slamdance

Hey everyone!

My handle sadly has nothing to do with pigeons but is instead form the 80's kids show 'Transformer's' of which im a big fan. My dad has been racing pigeons for longer than i can remember and i myself have recently become interested in it.

Im currently doing my national diploma in animal management at Riseholme College in Lincolnshire, and part of our course is a self-set assignment. I've decided to do my project on pigeon racing and have stumbled on to this message board.

-Short but sweet i think.


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## Littlecoo

G'day Everyone!

Well I've been going by the handle/nickname 'Littlecoo' for over a decade. It is actually the name of my first ringneck dove I rescued/handraised about 13 years ago now... the first of many rescued/rehabed doves and pigeons I've cared for over the years. Littlecoo (the dove) is still alive and well (and currently snoozing away on top of my monitor) he may be getting long-in-the-beak but he is still my baby


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## Reti

What a sweet baby. Doves are so precious.
Thanks for sharing his story and beautiful pic.

Reti


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## Maggie-NC

Hi Littlecoo and welcome to the forum. I love your "handle" and you couldn't go wrong picking one in honor of your beautiful little dove. That is a great picture.


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## Charis

How wonderful you have found our forum. I hope you stick around so we can get to know you.


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## Ahab

ahab is a really bad guy from the bible... i dont know why i chose it... its the first thing that popped into my head.


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## Maggie-NC

Ahab, I want to welcome you to the forum. We're very glad to have you.


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## Avion

Ahab,
Are you from around Lancaster?

George


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## Ahab

i live in lancaster an hour from harrisburg or so. Like i said in the profile, its the heart of amish country.


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## Avion

I know the area well. I am from a town just outside of Phil. and my relatives are from Coatsville and Paoli. We used to hunt pheasants on the Amish farms in Lancaster and Bird in hand when I was a young man.

George


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## Lin Hansen

Love the Lancaster area...for many years we would go on vacation out there.

We would stay at any of the hotels along Route 30, and go to the attractions like Dutch Wonderland, The Red Caboose, Strasburg Railroad...but the best part of all was all the great restaurants.....Miller's Smorgabord was always my favorite!

Linda


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## Ahab

yeah... its a great place... most of the time anyway.


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## vouteman

I corned the handle Vouteman. It is just the combination of a Greek Voute pigeon breed and man because well I am male. I was raised in a family of pigeons fanciers. My grandfather came to this country with less that three dollars and four pigeons in a little crate that he fed part of what he got on the boat. I caught my first pigeon when I was almost six years old. I had a great aunt that raised canaries. The feral pigeons would come up from their dairy barn to eat the seed that the canaries flung from their seed cups. I caught a beautiful rec. red splash feral with the old box, stick and string and bread crumbs. It wasn't three weeks before my dad said that if I was going to have pigeons that it didn't cost any more to feed a good one than a cull. So we visited two different uncles to procure some racing stock. My great uncle had just imported some beautiful Bastins from a racer in France. It was a bishop sided white bird. I cherished that bird more than any animal I ever owned. There were several kids in my neighborhood who raised different types of pigeons. None had a baby out of imports. I was walking in tall cotton for sure. The envy of the neighborhood. Everyone wanted babies out of Clyde.


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## Pegasus

*My 1st Homing Pigeon*

Back in Sept 2005, I was in my troubled life until one day I was walking back inside my house from the backyard after I play with my dog of fetching his toy, I looked back and saw him, dragging his wings on the floor and I knew he's one tired and thirsty pigeon, so I walk back slowly as I could and opened the garage door then the 1st thing that came to my mind is to give him water; feeding him is not in my head at the moment, I dont know if he will drink or just fly away if he sees me opening the garage door which makes a loud noise bringing that up; but he just stood there watching me and waiting if Im going to make any spooky moves but since Im doing every moves so slow he noticed that Im trying not to spook him, then I grab a garbage lid then set it insde the garage and I grab the water hose and pour water it in the lid, with out any hesitations he just walk passing me by and start drinking, it was like 98 degrees then so I figure he is really dehydrated from flying, who owns this bird? I have no idea. No one to contact to or anything at all so I didnt bother posting this bird when I register in here with the name Steelers Army, anyway, while he was drinking, I start closing down the garage door and he's still drinking not even bother looking why Im closing the door finally I got the door shut and he probably got the sense of "Oh boy he will catch me now but he didnt fly or anything in the closed garage he just walk away and hide under the saw table and thats how I got my 1st bird. I know he is a cock so hes going to need a mate and thats when I start searching for some fancier around me, which I found John Wroblowski of Ski Loft in New Rochelle NY and bought 2 lovely hens. The day after I caught him, I start making plansto build the loft (on wheels) so I can roll it out from the garage to my backyard but I figure that winter is coming in the next few months so I build my loft in the garage and let it stay there until March of 2006. I honestly think he is send to me by that man up there so I can focus on something constructive, since then my life change having my second family with wings...


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## Charis

That is a heart warming story. Left me teary eyed. I appreciate you sharing it with us.


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## murphys42002

Murphys42002.....My last name the 4 is for me my wife and 2 boys 2002 is when I bought my first pc.

I just bought 20 pigeons about 6 weeks ago.I bought them for training my bird dogs to remain still when the birds fly.I have been raising quail for the last year and I can tell you pigeons are easy. Its funny how I have bird dogs and I have never hunted birds.

I never really like pigeons but I can say I like um now! They are way friendly. I think I'm hooked. They got to get out for the first time today.It was pretty cool just watching them.I even had a couple come hang out with me in the yard.

I also have 3 birds sitting on 5 eggs so I should have lil uns soon.HOW COOL IS THAT!I might name those lil uns.


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## weaver

I got my handle due to my driving when I was a lot younger 
I have loved pigeons from ever I can remember,a trait inherited from my father's side of the house.Kept them as a kid but was forced to give up by my mother.You would never think she was raised on a farm as she just dislikes animals 
I bought my own house about 16 years ago and was wandering round Belfast a few years later and called into a pet shop which had a tippler and a pair of fantails for sale.Bought them,cleared out my shed,added an aviary and been totally obsessed ever since...and my mother is still advising me to get rid of them LOL


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## Georgina

Well, Georgina is my name so that was a no brainer really!!

I started keeping pets when I was 11 and my sister turned up at my house with a McDonalds happy meal box.. I opened it up and there was Spooky, a little baby black and white bunny. Spooky lived less than two years as he kept getting recurring ear infections and they got so bad he couldn't even lift his head in the end. I sat with him in my hall whilst he was ill and let him lick water off my fingertips. He would still grunt a little greeting right up until his last hours. He was such a special bunny - even now, 11 years on, I still find it hard to think of him without crying (I am now after just typing that!!). A succession of bunnys have followed since, I currently have seven including poor little Snowy who I rescued from my dipstick of a sister (not the same one that gave me Spooky). My hamster lived in a bigger cage than Snowy... My Grandad noticed my love of animals as soon as I got Spooky. I would spend whole days with him and my Grandad always used to think I'd get bored eventually. I never did. For as long as I could remember, Grandad kept an avairy full of finches, softbills and canarys, a small pigeon loft and chickens. He offered to build me my own avairy when I was about 15 or so. I wasn't really interested in birds at that point, they weren't cuddleable, but I said yes anyway as I wanted to share my Grandads interests. He built me a fantastic 15x8ft avairy and I've kept all sorts of small birds since. Sadly, my Grandad died a couple of years later. I was devastated as I loved him so much and all of a sudden I found myself with no one to share my hobby with (it's only recently that I've discovered there are all sorts of people I can talk to online - it's still not the same as my Grandad though). I've also come to love my birds more than anything in the world.

A couple of years on I still had my rabbits and my birds plus some gerbils and hamsters... I went into my local corner shop one day and saw a sign on the wall asking if anyone had any finches to spare. I had loads so I rang the lady. She offered to pay for them but I refused her money so she suggested I trade with her for "avairy doves". I assumed she meant diamond doves so I said yes. The next day, she turned up with four cat boxes stuffed full of pigeons!! I think she bought nearly 30 in all. I was a bit taken aback and wasn't expecting it at all so I agreed to take four of them so as not to offend her. I always get quite upset that Grandad had gone before I got them as I'm sure he would of been chuffed to bits if he'd known I had pigeons! I kept just the four birds for a while and then I got three babies and then I lost two adults and somehow ended up with one hen and three cocks. I bought three more pigeons beleiving they were all hens only to find two were hens. So far this year, I've had four more babies. I started the year with four pigeons and in the space of about three weeks, ended up with eleven! I won't be getting anymore as I'm a bit pushed for space for them now.

So now I'm here today with seven rabbits, a hamster, eleven pigeons and dozens of finches and canarys. I love them all and wouldn't part with any of them. I only wish my Grandad was still here to share them with me.


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## Lovebirds

Georgina said:


> Well, Georgina is my name so that was a no brainer really!!
> 
> I started keeping pets when I was 11 and my sister turned up at my house with a McDonalds happy meal box.. I opened it up and there was Spooky, a little baby black and white bunny. Spooky lived less than two years as he kept getting recurring ear infections and they got so bad he couldn't even lift his head in the end. I sat with him in my hall whilst he was ill and let him lick water off my fingertips. He would still grunt a little greeting right up until his last hours. He was such a special bunny - even now, 11 years on, I still find it hard to think of him without crying (I am now after just typing that!!). A succession of bunnys have followed since, I currently have seven including poor little Snowy who I rescued from my dipstick of a sister (not the same one that gave me Spooky). My hamster lived in a bigger cage than Snowy... My Grandad noticed my love of animals as soon as I got Spooky. I would spend whole days with him and my Grandad always used to think I'd get bored eventually. I never did. For as long as I could remember, Grandad kept an avairy full of finches, softbills and canarys, a small pigeon loft and chickens. He offered to build me my own avairy when I was about 15 or so. I wasn't really interested in birds at that point, they weren't cuddleable, but I said yes anyway as I wanted to share my Grandads interests. He built me a fantastic 15x8ft avairy and I've kept all sorts of small birds since. Sadly, my Grandad died a couple of years later. I was devastated as I loved him so much and all of a sudden I found myself with no one to share my hobby with (it's only recently that I've discovered there are all sorts of people I can talk to online - it's still not the same as my Grandad though). I've also come to love my birds more than anything in the world.
> 
> A couple of years on I still had my rabbits and my birds plus some gerbils and hamsters... I went into my local corner shop one day and saw a sign on the wall asking if anyone had any finches to spare. I had loads so I rang the lady. She offered to pay for them but I refused her money so she suggested I trade with her for "avairy doves". I assumed she meant diamond doves so I said yes. The next day, she turned up with four cat boxes stuffed full of pigeons!! I think she bought nearly 30 in all. I was a bit taken aback and wasn't expecting it at all so I agreed to take four of them so as not to offend her. I always get quite upset that Grandad had gone before I got them as I'm sure he would of been chuffed to bits if he'd known I had pigeons! I kept just the four birds for a while and then I got three babies and then I lost two adults and somehow ended up with one hen and three cocks. I bought three more pigeons beleiving they were all hens only to find two were hens. So far this year, I've had four more babies. I started the year with four pigeons and in the space of about three weeks, ended up with eleven! I won't be getting anymore as I'm a bit pushed for space for them now.
> 
> So now I'm here today with seven rabbits, a hamster, eleven pigeons and dozens of finches and canarys. I love them all and wouldn't part with any of them. I only wish my Grandad was still here to share them with me.


Your Grandad sounds like he was very special. There's just something about those Grandpas..........Grandma's are special too don't get me wrong (I'm one ) but I too LOVED my grandpa dearly. Nice to hear your story and you're still SO young.......got lots of wonderful years ahead of you and there will be LOTS of animals helped because of you.


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## Georgina

He was very very very special!! Me and my mum think he's watching us as weird things keep happening that we can't explain. Mostly, birds keep flying in the back door!! It started when we moved house at the end of last year... I wanted some canarys as I hadn't had any for a while but the pet shops I went to didn't have any. I went to work later that day and on my way there, I see my mum and dad waving frantically at me as I'm driving along the road. I stopped and noticed mum had something in her hand... it was only a canary wasn't it??!! She'd been pushing my neice in her buggy and these two canarys were hoping along in front of her, just along the side of the road! One had just let her pick it up and the other had flown away. She took the one she's caught back home and I went to work. I got back home later on and mum came running down the stairs saying that a couple of hours later, the second one had knocked on the window of the back door so mum had opened it and it just flew in!! Weird. Totally weird!!

We've also had three random pigeons stop by in my shed for a visit and a woodpecker literally fell out of the sky and landed on the floor next to my mum whilst she was sat on her deckchair. She picked it up cos she thought it was dead but it wasn't so we kept it overnight but it was fine so we let it go again. These things always happen when me and mum think about Grandad a lot!!


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## the bird man

*uuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

well my real namei s john and i love all animals big and small (exept oppossums and cats)

alot of people mess around with me and call me the bird man and the kids in the neighborhood bring me all kinds of injured birds and they call me the bird man thats how i came up with my handle 

now how i got started in birds hhhhmmmmm, alot of you might not like me for what i about to say but i'm a hunter at heart.i regularly hunt doves,quail and bantail pigeons for consumtion.but i started that before i got into raising pigeons.anyway about two years ago i got into racing 4-bangers cars and met some1 who raised pigeons and it kind of struck a cord and interested me becuase the only thing i knew about birds was that they tasted good sautee'd in butter and garlic and it is fun to blast'em out of the skys.so about a year ago the guy gave me two pigeons to start out. one of them is bruce and his brother got killed by a hawk.but thats another story. so i got started in pigeons after i got bruce and i've kept the ball rolling ever since and now i have 16 of the lil buggers.and i love them all without butter and galic. and yes i still hunt but not my own bird and now i have a new respect for the animal that i love to eat. lol 

P.S. i race dwarf cars now
View attachment 9457


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## the bird man

i'm suprised i haven't gotten any hate mail from this post


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## TAWhatley

the bird man said:


> i'm suprised i haven't gotten any hate mail from this post


Well, you "fessed" up .. nobody had a problem with what you said. We're all glad you love and appreciate your pigeons. Twould probably be wise that you lay low on the hunting and stuff around here, however ..

I hope you are enjoying being a member of this kind and gentle board!

Terry


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## Maggie-NC

the bird man said:


> yeah i don't think i'll be posting any pictures of my catch on this site lol nobody wants to see ten dead birds layed out on a tail gate do they?



JMO, but you're pushing your luck.


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## mr squeaks

Lady Tarheel said:


> JMO, but you're pushing your luck.


AGREED!

Time to move on to POSITIVE pigeon stories/comments, Bird Man...

Many thanks!

Shi


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## Lovebirds

the bird man said:


> well my real namei s john and i love all animals big and small (exept oppossums and cats)
> 
> the only thing i knew about birds was that they tasted good sautee'd in butter and garlic and it is fun to blast'em out of the skys.





the bird man said:


> i'm suprised i haven't gotten any hate mail from this post





the bird man said:


> yeah i don't think i'll be posting any pictures of my catch on this site lol nobody wants to see ten dead birds layed out on a tail gate do they?






TAWhatley said:


> Well, you "fessed" up .. *nobody had a problem with what you said.* We're all glad you love and appreciate your pigeons. Twould probably be wise that you lay low on the hunting and stuff around here, however ..
> 
> I hope you are enjoying being a member of this kind and gentle board!
> 
> Terry


Sorry, but I've got a problem with it. Now, I know LOTS of people hunt and whether I LIKE it or not, has no bearing on what I'm saying here. 
Bird Man, you've been a member almost one month. You KNOW by now, exactly what kind of people frequent here and how we feel about ALL animals and to say the things you said above were totally uncalled for IMO...........sounds more like you were trying to get some of us riled up. Well, it worked.............on me anyway. If you feel you must hunt birds, then I certainly can't stop you, but there no member here that appreciates the pictures that your above statement conjures up and you could have gone forever without saying the things you said and you could have still gotten your point across. 
I agree with Terry, in that I'm glad that you have an appreciation for your pigeons. I wish you had an appreciation for the other birds, but that's not for me to say. 
I hope that we won't have to read any more about your hunting expeditions. We're all well aware of what "hunting" means..........
IN FACT..........if I were you, I would go back and edit my posts to be a bit more sensitive to the animal lovers here.


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## the bird man

well love bird i was going to leave it at that post but now you've got me riled up. i'm not going to edit my post.i already said i won't post any pictures cause i know what the forums are like. an trust me i won't bring up any hunting stories.but you should know hunters like me do more for all birds and animals habitat than any other socail group. we donate more money and time for rescued and reclaimed land and restoration of land. we also donate and money goes back to the land through the fees for hunting licenses and tags .and there is a reason we have regulations and limits.it to be sure that we hunt just enough to make populations flurish more than the previous year by offering more food to the remaining population. and i do respect and apperiate all living creatures and wildlife big,small,warm blood,cold blood,furry or feathered,Prey or preditor. i think you highly under estimate the love that hunters have for all animals we don't just kill for fun.we hunt to keep close to nature and her ways. we are all predators and prey get used to it!!!It's nature


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## the bird man

and what do JMO and IMO stand for!!!!!!!


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## TAWhatley

the bird man said:


> and what do JMO and IMO stand for!!!!!!!


IMO= In My Opinion

JMO = Just My Opinion

Terry


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## TAWhatley

*No More Hunting "Debates" Here Or Anywhere ..*

It's time to call it off folks .. no more discussion about hunting, dead birds and such in this thread or any others here on Pigeon-Talk. 

Everyone .. please .. if you don't know the rules of this discussion board, then please go and read them.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f9/forum-rules-of-conduct-7006.html

Terry


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## Nate F.

Hi
Nate F. comes from my first name being Nathan and my last name starts with an F. Pretty straightforward.
I got my first birds when i was in grade 3 and the school raised them for science. I named mine after my teacher. I've pretty much had chickens since then. I've had pigeons for 4 or 5 years after I joined 4-H and they gave me some free birds. I haven't really started breeding them till this year. I also have pheasants, partridge, and rabbits.


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## Msfreebird

Are you ready for this? 
I caught my husband cheating on me on our 21st wedding aniversary so I filed for divorce, making me "Ms". My next short term relationship was physically abusive, I put him in jail, making me "Free". And I love my birds. Making me "Msfreebird" - and I still have a sense of humor!


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## Msfreebird

little bird said:


> ''Sense of humor''.....even after the ''no see'ums''????


Especially after the "no-seeums"!
Now I'm asking everybody if they know what no-seeums are. Its 50/50. I was floored that you could actually "google" no-seeums! lol


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## TAWhatley

Yes, I know what No Seeums are! Just wait until you have walked through a "cloud" of them and sucked a bunch in through your nose or mouth 

Terry


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## Msfreebird

little bird said:


> BTW...did the salty water prove of any value???


Yes it did, I was actually able to collect some to (no) see what they were! I think I have them under control with alot of spraying and sevin dust.


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## Msfreebird

TAWhatley said:


> Yes, I know what No Seeums are! Just wait until you have walked through a "cloud" of them and sucked a bunch in through your nose or mouth
> 
> Terry


yuck! How would you even know it though


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## Pigeontoes

*Pigeontoes*

Im new to Pigeon Talk but I have raised pigeons off n on since U was about nine years old. But I chose Pigeon toes as a CB radio handle back in the late sixties early seventies because of my love of the birds not the actual shape of my feet LOL


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## Maggie-NC

Hi Pigeontoes and welcome to the forum. That is a really good "handle".


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## MizLiz

Liz is my real name. "Miz Liz" is what one of my co-workers called me at my previous place of employment, I guess just because it rhymed, but it may have been because I'm from Missouri.

I've only had a pigeon since Friday.  I found him standing, fluffed-up, in an open-air parking lot by a park, and he let me pick him up. 

I sat next to him for many minutes, before taking the plunge, thinking how impractical rescuing that bird would be. How I was already busy enough, and how proper medical care for it would be expensive, and that I didn't have a proper cage for it, and our dog and cat would kill it if they got the chance. How nobody I knew, or had ever known, had kept pigeons, and how friends and family might think I had gone crazy to bring a diseased vermin-bird into my house. And also, that I knew nothing about pigeons. 

But I wanted to help that pigeon. I needed to help him. I finally justified picking him up by realizing I would respect myself more if I tried helping than if I walked away. It would be hard to forgive myself for not helping. 

A few days later, I remembered a proverb (?) that had never really made sense to me before, but now did. "If you have two shirts, sell one, and with the money buy a flower."

The pigeon's name is now Fred, and my husband says he is very happy I brought him home.


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## brentjohnf

Brentjohnf is for Brent John Faucheux- I always liked animals and the outdoors hunting fishing trapping, studying. I always had some type of animal, it started from my dad, he had deer, ducks, red fox, turkey horse's, pigs, dogs, dove, hawks, owls, snakes, nutria, rabbits, ferrets, quail, pheasants, and most of all never lived a day with out pigeons, and ***** that just to name a few, He had racing homers, modina's, white silver kings, fan tails, tumblers rollers, and more.. some times mixed... so guess i get it from him haha, I will get me a few pigeons when I see the ones I like! Thanks


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## Critter

I've been hesitant to post on this thread because I'm afraid that if I start, it will end up as long as a novel  Here it goes anyway:
My parents say that I've been drawn to wayward animals since the day I was born. My dad went out to get the mail and found 3 baby racoons curled up next to their deceased mother. He scooped them up and took them back to the garage until the DNR could pick them up. I guess I really wanted to see them because that's when my dad had to rush my mother to the hospital and I was born.
My dad would take in lost or injured animals that he came across and I would help raise them until they could be released. *Critter* was the name of the last one that he brought home. It was a baby squirrel that he wouldn't let me name because we weren't keeping it. Instead he referred to it as 'the critter' which, of course, became 'Critter'. After that I was the one bringing home lost or injured animals of every sort. I'm just finishing my final semester of college so I'm still living at home which means that any animal I bring home must be temporary. Luckily they've made a few exceptions.

I have a dog that I adopted from a humane society. He had been there for a year and was scheduled to be euthanized.
Two cats that were rescued as little feral kittens from a barn.
A horse that isn't a rescue but her mother was.
And my pidgy Indy.
I hadn't seen many pigeons as a child so when I took a trip to Germany after high school I couldn't stop taking pictures of them because I thought they were so cool. Then I got a job at a place with a flock of feral pigeons and took in an orphaned baby pij named Nick which I hand-raised and found a home for. When I found Indy young and injured I'd intended to eventually release her back into the flock but that's not happening.  So now I have an (at least) partially blind pigeon that refuses to be weaned that (because shipping is too expensive for me to order it online) I have to special order food and grit for from a farm store 25 miles away that can only get 50 lb bags. Plus, I'm back on the search for a vet with bird experience because the vet that was going to see Indy found out that she was a feral and refused to see her. The whole thing is proving to be quite a challenge but Indy is completely worth it and I love every feather on her spoiled little body. I'm just so very thankful that I found this forum!  Indy says 'thanks' too!


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## tuxedobaby

my handle(tuxedobaby)came about for 2 reasons,
1.my gorgeous tuxedo cat (iggy)
2/my fender strat guitar(black n white)
i also contemplated calling my next band tuxedobaby,but that is on back burner just now as im back to university in 2 weeks

i became interested in pigeons when i moved here,we have a flock of ferals who live on roof accross from our house and we have became firm friends with them.my daughter is pigeon crazy,when asked what present she would like for her birthday,she replied"a guitar and a racing pigeon!"ok,she got the guitar,the racing pigeon is more difficult to do,as we live with 17 giant land snails,12 stick insects and aforementioned tuxedo cat,but i did say to her i would take her along to a racer club when she is a bit older,or an open day to show her what s involved and if shes still keen and understands i may consider it.for now we are happy with our feral freinds,caramel log,one eyed jack,milk,forcepoo,taggy long legs,bourbon,spread,chubby,cutey,whitewing,cereal,cornflake etc etc


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## psychopomp

i once read a stephen king novel where birds were referred to as psychopomps....messengers from the spirit world...

they always seem to appear when I am feeling down!

and it sounds cool 

jennifer


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## John_D

psychopomp said:


> i once read a stephen king novel where birds were referred to as psychopomps....messengers from the spirit world...
> 
> they always seem to appear when I am feeling down!
> 
> and it sounds cool
> 
> jennifer


I'm so glad you posted that, Jennifer 

I've been trying to remember where I have seen Psychopomp before

Like you, I read about it in the King novel

John


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## Hutchison

hi,
I think mine "Hutchison" came just out of despiration to find help for Latte' the little pij that hit my window. It's my last name. I usually go by Corso or Corsolady as that is the type of dogs I have. Cane Corsos (pron: Connie Cor-so) they're an Italian mastiff. 

Just last summer I rescued a bunch of baby oppossums from their road killed mother. I think there were 7 that survived the accident and were released later. It was fun having the little guys crawling around my back, they'd get tangled in my hair and were really hard to convince to let my hair go.

I have rescued a few Kittens although I have to admit they're not my favorite critters. One kitten was standing in the road next to her mother, darting around in fear. We stopped traffic and took her home called her roadie, and later she had gotten out of the house and hit by a car. 

The last kitten was found when I was walking my mastiff in the middle of a field, I kept hearing this tiny "Meeeewwww", at first I thought it was a cat bird... but then it didn't sound right and got more desperate sounding. So I turned back and followed the noise... sure enought a tiny tiger baby came running up to me, eyes all crusty, could hardly see. Half starved. I'm thinking Oh man.... I can't leave it...but, I don't want it either! So I scooped him up and took him home, it was fall and stormy so he'd never survive.

I hid him from my step daughter while I fed him warm milk.. and my husband said lets keep him for her.......ugh... I'm not a cat person..... seriously. So we named him Marbles...and did all the kitty vetting, fixing, etc... well, he ended up losing his marbles and attacking the dogs, a pit mix, a rottie mix and a mastiff, all big dogs that could eat him as a snack...... they tolerated him like the good dogs they were... but marbles needed a different home. The injuries he caused from attacking my dogs were getting too expensive. 
He would walk past the dog laying on the floor and viciouslyattack their faces with no provication from the dog, and we'd have infections and drain tubes and scars and vet bills.... not good. Marbles went to kitty rescue.

I've worked with dog breed rescue a number of times but the last time I helped rescue was a bad experience with a dangerous dog that injured myself and my dog... and I had to back out of helping for a while. 

The pigeons I currently have are Joe Puffnstuff and Walter (Wally) who are AGSG rescue birds. They have been a nice distraction after the death of my dog and best friend. I have been feeling pretty empty since his death and these guys have been keeping me entertained with their antics.

I keep Joe and Wally in a dog kennel inside and let them fly around the basement in the evenings. My husband thinks they should be allowed to fly loose but I'm afraid they'll fly away. We're making a shed this weekend and I'll be adding a small loft and flight cage on soon so the boys can be outside and get some more freedom. I have thought about getting mates for these guys even though they get along ok... Joe is definatly the boss. 

Can you have paired up birds, and not have offspring?

anyway, I found this site trying to help a little lost girl and come almost every day to try to find information that will help keep my boys fat n happy.


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## j_birds

My handle here comes from J_ for Jim and I added birds as I am always trying new ones of different types. I mostly have pigeons tho. I still also have a pair of manderian ducks, Male is a very pretty bird. I have starlings, figs, mookees, west of England tumblers,saxon monks, arch angels, blue rock barless,capuchines, B rollers, white homers, and lots of mixed breeds. Am sure there are still more out that I will want when I see them.I live in New Bern NC.


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## Mighty Heart

*My "Handle"*

Well......I just feel that all birds have Mighty Hearts. From the little "bandit" sparrows to "warrior" hawks. Everytime I rescue a bird, my heart feels mighty big too!


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## Ed

I was given my Screen name by a friend of mine many years ago.
I didnt know what name to use and he told me that StoN3d fit just right 
I think its pretty self explanatory LOL


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## Ivor

Hi,

Ivor is just an easy way to short my first name and my last name, Ivette Ortiz, When I came here it was the first thing that came to my mind, I was desperate looking for help to save a feral that I found in my yard... at least was available not that many people with my name. =)


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## corvid

Wow, those stories and people , all seems so close to my heart..
Im so glad I found this site . I was actually wakening up in the morning waiting for the time, when I can go back to the forum to read more.

I chose CORVID as my user name, cause I love birds and Crows and Ravens and Jays are the ones , I get to watch and interact with 24/7 now.

Like everybody else here, I was born to care and rescue animals. I just had that need in me from as far as I can remember. I m much much better with animals , then people.
So was only natural . Birds I discover later on in my life. I don`t count chickens and ducks and goose, cause I did not had to rescue them,I just spend a lot of time with them , when very young, finding bugs for them and spending whole days with them. To the point I got a lot of flees and my mom was screaming a lot. I overheard my parents questioning my sanity.

In my 30`s I found poisoned Grackle in our backyard in Arizona. Only at the time I did not had a clue he was a Grackle, yet alone poisoned. Took him in and started looking for somebody for help. That was how I came to this lady house (rehabber) and saw all that babies all over the kitchen counter tabs, floor and tables in next room. Wow I was amazed. She was able to save the bird (lot of charcoal) and I was in for ever . So I started with volunteering and learning in the Organization, she told me about. After while I was able to do it independently from my own house. Lots of Doves, Pigeons,Mockingbirds,Thrashers, Starlings, etc . . Now in Oregon, I have much more Corvids. But still, like right now I care for a Pigeon with Candidiasis and Clostridium , which is long way to go for her and me...LOL

I do have so many sweet stories and memories, there just has to be some other time and place for it.


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## TAWhatley

corvid said:


> I do have so many sweet stories and memories, there just has to be some other time and place for it.


Thanks for the introduction! Please feel free to share any and all stories about birds and animals other than pigeons or doves in our Story and Picture Sharing area in the Other Birds section. You'll find me to be a real regular poster there!  Obviously, your dove and pigeon posts/stories/whatever can go in the pigeon areas!

Terry


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## Revolution Lofts

Hey  well let's see. I started keeping pigeons when i had finished grade 3. It was summer break. I don't know the exact date but it was somewhere in the first 2 weeks of July that year. Me and my dad built a 4foot by 4 foot by 4foot loft (we still have it lol) and we got 4 pigeons from my Uncle who had/has Pakistani Highflyers. Out of those 4 i still have one. So he's been with me through everything lol. And after that they just got more and more. And a year back i built my new loft. I have exactly 40 pigeons now. I had more but we moved less than 2 weeks ago so we had to give a lot of them away. I was like 8 when i started keeping them, and now i'm 15. So i've had pigeons for 7 years. Half of my life


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## corvid

Gosh , you are so young and already 40 pigeons...

Im predicting, your name (or your pigeons names) will be know in Pigeons

racing circles..  in the future...LOL

Hope , your Hawk problem there will get manageable somehow.


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## Owlskeeper

I just Took the plunge about a year and a half ago and bought a homer from a livestock auction loved that bird.
I would let him fly and he would come back till one day he didn't return.
So i got some satinettes which turned out to be 2 males
But finally ran across someone with fantails and shield owls been hooked on these for over a year now.
I only have 5 breeding pairs of owls and 2 of fantails but they make me very happy.
I also got hooked on doves started a year ago and now have 7 varieties of ring necks and over 60 birds Just love these birds


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## Lambish

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. My prize (prize because I love her) dove died, but her name was Lambish. And when I desperately sought help via our forum, I signed her name. Before that, I had read the forum, but we (Lambish and I and the flock) kept to ourselves. When your babies are dying, though, you reach out and ask for help, which is why I signed in and joined the forum. Lambish was a top racer and a highly skilled dove. She was the best of the best.


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## ceramicgirl

*How I got my Handle*

since 1974 I've been involved with pouring, cleaning and painting ceramics, so in 1980 when we got a CB radio, my kids started calling me Ceramicgirl it has stuck. 

I also go by Lady Andy, in memory of my 17 hand thoroughbred/quarter horse. he owned me for 11 yrs. and I miss him terribly. the day he died I belonged to a couple delphi forums, and one of them helped me thru the night as I nursed this dying horse. after he died, I took on the name Andy , then I found out there were 3 men using the same name, so one day I posted, the one and only Lady Andy it has stuck.

I also use Stumpo61 in the yahoo groups. Stump was my maiden name, and some one else was using it, so I added 61 the year I graduated from high school .


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## LittleJohn

*My handle*

LittleJohn is what my whole family called me up until I was about 16...then the hormones and the good eats kicked in and LittleJohn wasn't so little anymore.

I got into pigeons at about age 9 or 10, and I had a handful of birmingham rollers. I remember watching them fly, and how excited I was to get home from school everyday to fly them and then reward them afterwards with food, and then sit there for hours at the coop and just watch em coo and walk around. I distinctly remember the sound they make when they fly and it is always comforting to hear that....dont ask me why...just calms me down....go figure.

After a hitch with the Army and moving all over the country, I have finally settled in Pennsylvania and plan to stay here for a while.

I am just now getting back into roller pigeons and so far I have 3 pairs, two pairs of white bellnecks and one pair of blacks. I will be getting more soon, and I will keep them in the kitbox until my loft is completed. I am building a 6x12 loft and will keep the older birds split from the younger ones. The only regret I have is that I didn't get back into it sooner. Thanks for the great website and the nice people here. Feels like home already.
Here are a few pics of my birds.



























LittleJohn


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## TAWhatley

Thanks for telling us your story, LittleJohn (or not so little John anymore! ) Your birds are lovely! Glad to have you here on Pigeon-Talk!

Terry


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## Squeeker

My handle squeeker came about as I thought back of the many baby pigeons that I fed by hand until they were able to eat by them selves. I was brought up by one of my older brothers who always had pigeons around so they have always been part of my life. In those days we only had wild pigeons which we got from barns, bridges, buildings and other places. I am now 67 years young and have had racing pigeons for about three years. I try to keep active so that I will not end up as a squeeker myself.!!


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## TAWhatley

Thanks for the intro, Squeeker! You're only 67 years young, so you've got a long way to go here!

Terry


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## DayWalker

*DayWalker....*

My hubby laughs at my "handle" - - but this is how it came to be. I was a computer operator and was vacation relief for the night processor - - while on vacation a couple years ago he quit - - and I've been stuck here ever since. The hours are from 5 p.m. until anywhere between 1 and 4 a.m. (depending on if anything goes wrong! LOL) Early on a coworker here emailed me and refered to me as his "lady of the night". I was quick to point out that that I was pretty sure that phrase was reserved for women of illrepute that took money for it. He was quite embarassed, and next time he saw me coming into work, said "hello DayWalker" - - and the name stuck. There have been jokes about my shrinking from the sunlight and my serum I must drink daily to walk among those of you mere mortals. LOL Because as I tell people, it's not the late hours that kill me - - it's the next day that does it!!

My husband got into pigeons first - - he basically said one day: baby, I think I'm going to raise homing pigeons. And our journey began. We are still newbys (he is eyespyer on this forum) but are trying to learn all we can. The loft is mostly complete - - just need perches and a little more wire hung and they can move in!!! We currently have, I believe 11 pigeons. 8 homing pigeons to breed - - 4 are pure white. and my 3 capuchins. 

I love animals - - all kinds. During our 15 years of marriage we have had dogs, with one litter of pups (English Bulldogs, which is what we still have 2 of), cats with a few litters of kittens, a conure parrot we raised from a baby and hand fed (we purchased from a breeder), chickens, ducks, turkeys, a green water dragon, iguanas (one that I brought home from the local animal shelter after my water dragon died and I missed him so much!!), hamsters, rats, fish. Let's see - - did I leave anything out??  My husband, who is the level headed, analytical one of us is the only reason why we don't have a literal zoo at our house - - although it has appeared as a petting zoo from time to time. Oh yes!! how could I forget my bunnies!! New Zealands, which are not your little pet bunnies, but huge rabitts!! (picked those up at a animal show on a whim.  )

Guess that tells the tale fairly well. I am looking forward to learning more and watching our birds breed and can't wait until we can train the babies to "home" so we can watch them fly!!!


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## RodSD

My handle doesn't have interesting story associated with it. It is just my first name (Rod) and SD stands for San Diego. That way I wont forget.

I resurrected my pigeon hobby after I was gifted 8 pigeons last year (2008) from my brother's friend. I have had pigeons before like 12 years old or so. I have had lots of pets when I was a kid. I think I never ran out of pets. I even had pigs at one time, but that was used for food. I fattened that pig so much I was so proud to claim it was the biggest pig at my area. And once the day came to lose her, people had to hold me on both arms, body and legs to prevent me from rescuing her. Her squeals I still remember today. Such is life!


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## wolfwood

Just found this topic - great to get to know more about all the folks who have been so helpful to us!!!

KB & I met 32 years - camping - and we'd go out at night to hunt for "Wolfwood"... quite beautiful phosphorecent (decaying) wood ... also sometimes called "Foxfire". Here's the warm, fuzzy part - we finally found what we were both looking for when we brought our lives together 19 years ago ... and named our home "Wolfwood". When we 1st logged into this site, "Wolfwood" was the natural ID (and one I'm not likely to forget)

As for pigeons .... we are brand new to this and LOVING every minute!!! Although birds have been VERY special to me all my life (to the point *they* called me "Bird" when I was a kid), I've mostly admired them from afar. Occasionally rescuing/rehabbing one or saving one who had fallen down our chimney. I've been involved with Raptor Rehab and have even saved a Pelican (watch out for those beaks!!) Several years ago, my dog took me to (what ended up being) two 2 day old doves. With the help of the local "Bird Guy", Majic and I ended up raising the pair, teaching them to fly, and released them back to the wild. They then stuck around for a year or so and it was just incredible to walk through the yard and have a dove land on my shoulder or nest between the dog's feet!!! 

Magellan (aka Birdzilla) - an unbanded Homer - then appeared on our kennel deck last September and, although he's been free to fly whenever & wherever he wishes, he chose to fly our fields but come home to Wolfwood each night. No question that he had moved in!! Because it would soon be VERY cold and we don't have other pigeons in the area for him to flock with, we figured we'd provide him with shelter...which then led to also providing him with companionship....so we rescued 2 more Homers from a local Shelter. 1 of them immediately paired up with Magellan, so we needed to find a companion for the other. Again - 2 new pijs (Rollers) came home. We now have 2 pair and a solo female ... and 3 Grandeggs (1 due to hatch tomorrow!!!) We've recently been speaking with a local guy who's moving and needs to find homes for his 20 pet Homers & Rollers soooooooooo, depending on how our 3 current eggs turn out, we expect to adopt 2 or 3 more pair from him at the end of this month. We do have a 6x8 loft, with flight boxes in the process of being built, and a larger wrap-around aviary to be added this summer. We have no plans to race or show - - - we're just enjoying sharing our home with these new winged friends and we thank YOU for helping us learn how to give them the best care we can.


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## Maggie-NC

Daywalker, RodSD and Wolfwood - thanks to each of you for wonderful stories of your names and, more importantly, your love of pigeons. I enjoyed each story very much.


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## ian price

hi all how r u


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## Pidgelsmom

What a great read, everyone! My name, Pidgelsmom, well it is easy, my first pigeon Pidgel I found as a squeaker, he was being forced out of his nest by his Daddy who mercilessly picked the same place on top of his head. He wasn't ready to fly yet, so I took him home not knowing what to do with him, what to feed him or anything. I had a parakeet so Pidgel ate parakeet food for the first few weeks. This was 5 years ago next month! time flies, so to speak! Now he has my husband trained to break open peanuts for him at a designated time every day. He still loves parakeet food, but it is only a treat.
I have been a bird person since I was young. I rescued seagulls and rehabed them. They can get real spoiled, too! 
Pidgel stays right by my side when I am not feeling well, he brings me presents ( small wires, bread ties etc) He has slept on my bedroom door since day one, and is just pretty much my feathered mate. I still can't lay eggs, though. I'm sure glad my husband isn't the jealous type.
Lianne


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## Maggie-NC

Lianne, Pidgel sounds like a wonderful friend and I'm so happy you found our forum and hope you will continue to join in our discussions.

Would love to see a picture of Pidgel.


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## LUCKYT

GOD! I hate these kinds of threads, BUT O.K.
When i was YOUNG, eons ago, i picked up the nick name "Lucky" I will not go into the associated situations, due to the sensitive "nature' of some of our posters.  When people found out that i bred waterfowl, "AKA" ducks, and the fact that i a have always been blessed with "LUCK",( o.k, not when it came to Love or money) Until i turned 35............. The old saying was "The luck of the Duck". OR You are so F------ LUCKY. (to those that did not understand me ). 
Same when i was racing, although,(i thought it was skill.)
So my Wife, Kathy said your lofts name is "Lucky Touch" DAMN! she would not even negotiate! So, Lucky Touch Loft, lucky Touch KOI, Evolved into Lucky T. GOD! I hate this kind of thread. Dave


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## Critter Paws

*critter paws*

Guess you can tell by my handle that I love all animals big or small. I guess I got that from my Dad. We had almost everything you could almost imagine at one time or another. I had a Wolley monkey, alligator, Pigeons, all types of full blooded dogs,the usual number of cats. I now live on a farm in NC with my husband of almost 46 years. We have Boar goats, Alpine milk goats and various kinds of rabbits, guineas and chickens, along with some cats and a dog. I got a mated pair of king pigeons from a friend. They have laid an egg. Since I am fairly new at birds, I happened onto Pigeon Talk looking for some answers. How long will it take for the egg to hatch? Is it normal for them to only have one egg in a nest? What would I expect to pay for a mated pair of Kings? My friend wanted some white guineas and I wanted some pigeons, so we traded. dI really enjoy watching and interacting with these birds..


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## Maggie-NC

Critter Paws, welcome to the forum. I'm happy a fellow North Carolinian is aboard! This really is a great group of people and I hope you enjoy the forum.

King Pigeons are wonderful! We do only rescue work but have acquired a couple that way. To me, they are extra special - usually very sweet and gentle. Would love to see pictures of yours plus all your other animals.

Far as I know, it takes about 19 days for the egg to hatch. Usually they lay two eggs with a day in between the two eggs. Sometimes pigeons only lay one egg and I think they are usually very young or older and nearing the end of their reproduction cycle. 

I don't know the price of a mated pair but I can tell you there are ALWAYS pigeons to be adopted. In our "Adoptions" forum, there is a thread about Kings needing homes and many of our members are working very hard to get rescued Kings from California to various parts of the country.

This is the thread: http:www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=33005

It is a long thread but fascinating reading. Again, welcome!


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## Losille

*Losillë is from Tolkien's LOTR*

My name is Rosalita. In Tolkien's writings he says the Elves refer to Rosie (Sam's wife in the Lord Of The Ring's trilogy.) as Losillë. I have used if for so long that people actually call me Losillë, lol pronounced incorrectly of course, in real life. 

My interest in birds brought me to the forum. 

When we moved to area where there was LOTS of dove hunting my husband and I had an on going argument about the birds at our front yard feeder. I insisted the birds were pigeons. I had lived in NY and I KNEW what pigeons looked like. He insisted that the birds in the front yard were doves. One afternoon after trying to convince each other of the birds name I pulled out an encyclopedia edition of the dictionary that had lots of illustrations. He demanded I go to doves first. 

There was one sentence.

"See pigeon." 

We cracked up after weeks of arguing we found out were technically both right. 

PS: Last time I admitted my husband was right.


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## Snowy_pied_chic

*How I got started*

In one of my previous threads, I write about Pooper and Miss Dalmation (ringnecks). I got the idea of my name when I was browsing the 'net for how to handrear squabs and I saw this website. 
I read through the site (messsssssmerising... ) and I thought, well, why don't i become a member? So i was trying to think of a cool name for ten minutes until i heard some sort of commotion coming from my cage. Aaaaand... this is when I found Pooper (yea, the whole story interrelates) and a cat chasing him. I took him inside, and chased away the cat (nieghbor's cat, she lets him out every evening  ) 
At the time, I didn't have Miss Dalmation, so Pooper was my first ringneck. Anyhow, halfway through his rehab I met another pigeon fancier (except he's into ringnecks more than anything else... )
and he helped me care for Pooper (my other birds at the time were some rollers, a pair of pouters and Opal. They didn't like Pooper) 
So when Pooper was starting to look a bit healthier he gave me one of his birds, this cute little pied squab (Miss Dalmation). 
Therefore, totally in love with my two new ringncks, I thought of a name.

(drumroll) Snowy_Pied_Chic!


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## Tennman1

Hi everyone. My handle just came about because I am from Tennessee, I'm a man and the 1 is just because I guess I grew up all over the country. My first rescue attempt was a red tailed hawk with a broken wing when I was 10 and lived in California. My dad told me the hawk may die and unfortunately he did. I love watching animals and caring for them. I'm amazed at God's creatures. I have decided to get into pigeons because my daughter is getting married and I thought it would be nice to have them release a coupel of white(doves) pigeons at her wedding. I had friends with pigeons when I was young and always liked to watch them fly. So, I accidently found this site, have been studying and reading alot and have turned my little girls 18 year old playhouse into a loft and have some birds coming this week to train before she gets married. I hope to post some pictures of the loft and the birds as I progress with their training. There is so much good information on this site and interesting stories that I have really enjoyed reading and gleaning information about pigeons. I want to keep about 6 birds, then maybe try breeding just to keep a few around and enjoy, since I understand that I may lose a bird now and again to a hawk or other cause. I hate the thought of that, but it is the way of nature I guess. Anyway, I look forward to raising and training and taking good care of my birds.


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## menageriemom

*Menageriemom*

I have this name because that is exactly what I have here at home--a menagerie!! Right now there isn't that much diversity, but I have had so many different critters over the years that the name seemed to just fit! We have been home to rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, snakes, lizards, birds (both exotic and rescues), dogs, cats, turtles, tortoises, horses, ponies, goats, chickens, pigs--you name it, we 
have probably had it! LOL! Right now we have several birds--a cockatiel who is 10 or so, two lovies that I hand raised, a parakeet, three diamond doves,and now the baby pigeon. We have six dogs--St Bernard, rescue mutt of the larger variety (75 pounds), German Spitz, Chihuahua cross, and two Pom puppies. Two cats and a desert tort round out the present menagerie, but don't hold your breath--that could change at any time! LOL! 

Sheri
aka Menageriemom


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## menageriemom

*Menageriemom*

I have this name because that is exactly what I have here at home--a menagerie!! Right now there isn't that much diversity, but I have had so many different critters over the years that the name seemed to just fit! We have been home to rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, snakes, lizards, birds (both exotic and rescues), dogs, cats, turtles, tortoises, horses, ponies, goats, chickens, pigs--you name it, we 
have probably had it! LOL! Right now we have several birds--a cockatiel who is 10 or so, two lovies that I hand raised, a parakeet, three diamond doves,and now the baby pigeon. We have six dogs--St Bernard, rescue mutt of the larger variety (75 pounds), German Spitz, Chihuahua cross, and two Pom puppies. Two cats and a desert tort round out the present menagerie, but don't hold your breath--that could change at any time! LOL! 

My brother raised pigeons for years when I was a kid. He had some exotic colored ones and some big fat white ones that couldn't fly. I always loved to watch them and listen to the coo-ing.

A few years back I rescued a young pigeon. I fed her and had a cage for her in the back yard in the patio. She could come and go freely and she was so cool! she hung around for about a year and then one day she flew off with a flight of pigeons that I believe belonged to someone near me. I was happy for her to be with her own kind, but I missed her and her funny personality.


Sheri
aka Menageriemom


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## SilviaGTO

SilviaGTO
old screenname Ive been using for years. Mix of my two favorite cars, the Nissan Silvia and the Mitsubishi GTO (3000gt in the states)

I started with pigeons after I adopted a homer who had come into my animal hospital with a healed broken wing that made him unable to fly ever again. The owner said to euthanize or dispose of him, and I took him home instead. Rupert is a great pigeon.


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## Doves in the city

*change 'handel'*

hi i used my own name when joining, and would like to change it. how do i do this please, as i have another handle in mind, 
thankyou
ps. thanks to john for choosing to change it to my new 'handle' as its very appropriate.


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## Lewella

My handle, "Lewella" is a variation upon my Grandmother's name, Luewella. I've taken to using the name Lewella for my pen name when I write and when I play a lot of online games. I was going to name my son Luewella but he turned out to be my only boy and he got my grandfather's middle name instead... 
I got into pigeons very recently and I only have one rescue baby so far. But I've always been an animal lover. There are very few creatures of the wild or domesticated world that I don't much care for. (Scorpions, Earwigs, Fleas, Ticks, and aggressive types of Snakes or Spiders make that short list). I wanted to be a vet when I was a little girl, but I learned that I get too woozy or faint at the site of blood and I really can't handle giving animals shots. My mother was a beautician when I was young and she started doing baths and cuts on animals at her friends vet clinic, that's when my huge interest in animals really took off. As pets I've had dogs, cats, a turtle, a spider, a corn snake, and a horse. My horse lived at my grandfather's cattle ranch, so I have plenty of experience with cattle. Currently I live on a farm where we have: Rabbits, Chickens, Turkey, a Peacock, my Pigeon, Cats, Dogs, Horses, Mules, and a huge variety of wild animals that visit at will. Just lately a coyote gave me a bit of a scare when it got too close as I walked down our country road. We regularly see Deer and wild Rabbits along with numerous types of wild birds. Right now I know that in the barn we have nests from: a Pigeon, a few Starlings, and even a Hummingbird.
I have 3 kids and my oldest is also animal crazy, she went to Zoo Camp and Audubon Camp for many years.


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## markymark

well cant remember if i replied to this post but here it is.. i was born into racing pigeons my farther had them when i was born and so his farther before him so as you can see its been handed down the line as the saying goes,i hope my lad do the same but he dont seem that interested like i was when i was his age they dont want to do as we did when we were kids all they want now is to sit in doors and play pc games or that wee thing they play with think thats what its called lol.we didnt have all that sort of thing when i was a lad we made our fun outside with the pigeons and things.so thats the reason i think that youngsters of these days wont have anything to do with pigeons,but anyhow thats how i got into the pigeons,

mark


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## rfboyer

*Guessing that this is the equivalent of an "introductions" thread...*

My handle is my initials and maiden name... just to keep things simple. 

I haven't really 'started' since I don't have any birds; my house is full of cats, (all rescues of one sort or another ) and we have no "back yard" to speak of. I live near Lou Arcuri's loft and can hear his pigeons from the parklet next to his yard when I'm out taking exercise, but didn't know that he raced them until I came to the forum. I am working up enough gumption to go introduce myself and ask to see his pigeons close-up. 

Birds have always fascinated me; _they fly!_ There's just something about flying that is _awesome_. I grew up "out in the country" among plenty of wild & domestic creatures. Some of our neighbors kept chickens and guinea fowl (imo the dimmest birds on earth; I don't know how many of their nests my dad ruined while mowing, and they will stand in the middle of the road staring as your vehicle bears down on them ). My mom feeds all kinds of wild birds, mostly songbirds. Sometimes mourning doves will come to her feeders. Once in a while we'd see pheasants or turkeys, but not often.

I never really encountered pigeons until I came to Pittsburgh (PA) to school, and lived right in the city. 
Pigeons didn't impress me much, one way or the other, (except occasional annoyance at finding guano on outside seating meant for humans) until...

A few months ago I attended a week-long conference in Mesa, AZ, and the conference center had a flock of feral pigeons who came daily to its courtyard dining area to feast on fallen olives, (from the trees, not the tables). They were very mannerly, and did not ever beg or attempt to steal food (unlike some of the *other* birds that hung out there), and that was a big surprise to me. I had no idea what pigeons prefer to eat until I started reading here.

One particular young (I guess) blue bar cock was attempting to attract a mate, all day, all week long,  and none of the hens would give him the time of day (despite the encouragement he was getting from humans), until finally, the last day I was there, I saw a little spread hen billing with him.  I was fascinated by the group dynamics of the flock (surprised by very little fighting or other hostility among themselves) and when I had some free time lately, consulted Google for more info about pigeons, and that led me here. Pigeons will never "all look alike" to me, after seeing the pix & videos the folks here have posted...

robin, pigeon fan


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## prophecy

My ''handle'' is *prophecy* because it is something i allways enjoyed reading about.....prophecies,mythology,mysticim,religions,shamanism,etc.

My 'start' in pigeons actually started with my first pets moving out from home,when i was 18. Two white doves,named Pigger(who i still have) and Monica (who passed 4yrs ago). I loved the way they were as pets,and moving from country to city,there were obviously a ton of feral pigeons,who i fed everyday...simply because I enjoyed them. I knew my dad had homing pidgeons as a young man,and really enjoyed the stories of his birds.As my doves aged,I didnt want to be without the birds I adored once they passed,and at the loss of piggers mate,Monica...i wanted to give her some company,found the forum here, adopted a feral and am now hooked.Now anything else pigeon is history in the making!


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## velo99

*Velo99*

Its a descriptive moniker derived from velocity and the number 99 in relation to 100. I raise roller pigeons and spin velocity is a big deal.


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## Mindy

I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed reading this thread. I haven't been able to get through all pages, but I will. 
As far as my username, Mindy is my nick name, Melinda is my birth name. As far as getting started with pigeons, I hand raised a couple of starlings and after joining starling talk, people told me about pigeon talk. Then after adopting a couple of pigeon from Reti, the rest is history. I'm hooked and will have pigeons in my life for the rest of my life and will be a voice for pigeons to whoever will listen to me. I've learned allot on this forum and will continue to learn from it. Its a great site. 
mindy


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## technocactus

Technocactus - because I like techno music and I just thought of adding "cactus" though I don't like cactus. 

I have 2 juvenile clown pijjies. Rescued when they were still 5-7 days old I guess. I didn't want them because I knew how much time I'd spend handfeeding and taking care of them. But nobody else wanted them - so their destination was the trash! Heck, I couldn't sleep thinking about that so I had to accept them and was planning to get rid of them when they were weaned.

Now they're 4 months old and I don't wanna get rid of them. They stay with me forever!!


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## doveone52

I've always had cats and dogs and horses but never thought of myself as a bird person. I keep bird feeders filled and enjoyed watching the wild birds come to them. About 2&1/2 yrs ago, I lost my 29 yr old daughter suddenly and unexpectedly. Being an artist of sorts, I began noticing how often doves/pigeons are depicted representing spirit. I began watching them with renewed interest. Always looking for good experiences to share with the three grandson's she left me, I decided we would try this! I'm so glad we did! They give me peace when peace is hard to come by. My husband built me a wonderful loft where I just pull up a chair and watch the pigeons personal soap opera! My olderst grandson has a "way" with them where even the flightiest bird will come to him! Wish I had that! I have learned so much here on pigeon talk! Thanks so much for all who participate!


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## roadrunnermike

*RoadrunnerMike*

Well My nick name has been Roadrunner since Hi-School in the 70's cause I drove a Roadrunner car with 400 HP racing everyone and running from police and I was 17YO. and Crazy! and the name stuck I guess, now Im 53 a little slower and drive around in a little truck with a Pigeon in the back. 
Mike


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## Msfreebird

roadrunnermike said:


> Well My nick name has been Roadrunner since Hi-School in the 70's cause I drove a Roadrunner car with 400 HP racing everyone and running from police and I was 17YO. and Crazy! and the name stuck I guess, *now Im 53 a little slower and drive around in a little truck with a **Pigeon in the back*.
> Mike


LOL , Now that's funny


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## idoveyou

*Idoveyou*

Well, I am fairly new here, but my grandfather used to talk about wanting to find "homing birds" when I was a little boy. I just had the opportunity to live out his dream and fell in love with the white ones at first. My daughters and I started a wedding business in out town where there is limited resources...hence...I dove you! (www.idoveyou.com)


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## Eapalekthiloom

My handle is my Sahaptan given name. 

I was deeply involved in Permaculture years and years ago. One of the best compost starters I've ever used came from my loft of Indian Mondains. 

Now I'm settled in twenty acres of forest and beginning to build a Food Forest once again. I also found the same strain of Indian Mondains that I played with way back when. Feels like I'm finally back where life made sense.


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## TAWhatley

idoveyou said:


> Well, I am fairly new here, but my grandfather used to talk about wanting to find "homing birds" when I was a little boy. I just had the opportunity to live out his dream and fell in love with the white ones at first. My daughters and I started a wedding business in out town where there is limited resources...hence...I dove you! (www.idoveyou.com)


Welcome, Idoveyou! Nice site and thank you for introducing yourself and your site.

Terry


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## TAWhatley

Eapalekthiloom said:


> My handle is my Sahaptan given name.
> 
> I was deeply involved in Permaculture years and years ago. One of the best compost starters I've ever used came from my loft of Indian Mondains.
> 
> Now I'm settled in twenty acres of forest and beginning to build a Food Forest once again. I also found the same strain of Indian Mondains that I played with way back when. Feels like I'm finally back where life made sense.


So, your handle means something in Native American .. is that correct? If so, could you share with us what it means? Nice to have you here on Pigeon-Talk!

Terry


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## Eapalekthiloom

Eapalekthiloom means 'cloud piler' or 'pile of clouds' or 'clouds piling up' in Sehaptin. This is a language group rather than a language, comprising the spoken tongues of many Native American Tribes of the Pacific Northwest and the Columbia River Basin of Washington and Oregon/Idaho.

I was given the nickname because whenever I made Itsipi Ceremony it would rain or snow.


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## blacksheep

*Hello Everyone!*

My name is Beau. I reside in WI and have always found pigeons extremely interesting. I had my first pigeon at the age to 16. My little brother and I climbed up under a bridge and caught it in the wee hours of the night. We had a bunch for awhile, but as we got older our time for them eventually ran out. We raised wild pigeons mostly. Now that I am married, and have little ones, I would once again like to get back into raising pigeons, which eventually lead me to this site. I however, would like to get into specific breeds. I just wanted everyone to know a little about me. This site looks as though it will be a great help. Thanks!


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## dublin/richie

hello everyone

mine is easy i am from dublin in ireland and my name is richard 
i had racer pigeons when i was in school i was about 13 great times but lost interest only back in to them.found this site while trying to buy tumblers.i have tumblers because i find them a lot easy r to look after.i have 8 pars rollers tibblers tumblers all mixed in the same loft.i dont mix breed all free flown 1 have about 17 young birds 5 flying.i had a lot more old birds gave them away thay were lazy or dirt as we call them.i am hopeing to get some pics up very soon this is a great site


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## LovesPijjies

Well, the username says it all, I live in the UK and have always loved birds and animals, more so than people at times.Animals and Birds are never deliberately cruel to people.

Since I was young I have always had injured/baby birds and animals in the house, successful with some, others not.These have been pigeons, sparrows, finches, once an enormous heron, hedgehog, lizard.Once I stayed up all night cleaning a pigeon who was covered in oil, and another time trying to help one who had come down a chimney and was black even though when i cleaned him he was actually grey, but he had too much coal dust in his lungs and died.

Our normal house pets were cats, I have had lots and lots of cats but the birds fascinate me.They are a lot more intelligent and loyal than people realise.


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## Cyreen

Cyreen is my middle name, which has been suggested is a misnomer. I like to point out that serenity doesn't define an act but the state of mind with which it's undertaken.

I have this bum living in my house that I picked up off the street about a year and a half ago. She's pretty much been my crash course on pigeons and the ongoing need for information, of course, lead me to the internet. Viola.


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## skidplate

Just got my first pigeons, I got my handle from a guy I worked with when I was a tire installer and I used to talk about Jeeps and 4x4s all the time. One day he just said "You are a skidplate." it just stuck. I'm skidplate on my other two forums too, Ice Shanty.com and My Fish Finder.com.


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## newtobirds

When I joined my 1st forum for my 1st love, Saltwater Reefkeeping, I picked Newtofish. When I joined a national Reefkeeping forum I changed to Newtophish, so when I registered here Newtobirds just seemed right.


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## fischerfeathers

Well, I guess 2010 is the year we decided to raise birds. Username is the name our family (Husband, my 3 sons-9,8,7 yr old, and 1 daughter-2 came up w/ for our farm of feathered friends-thus Fischer's Feathers Farm. We farm cattle in NW KS and our boys joined 4H this year and fell in love w/ pure bred chickens-We had no idea there was such a thing. I said I would never own a pigeon-we have a ton of wild ones in the area...but today we go to a small town animal auction(mostly poultry) and there they were. These beautiful White birds with fantails. Wow! I wanted them, hesitated when I heard they were pigeons, but the bidding started and I ended up w/ 3 white fantails. We have not a clue on these birds and are scattering to find as much information to raising them and we raise happy birds on our farm. Lots of room to roam and grow. I look forward to reading more on this site and any information for us in welcomed! We are also on Facebook and started posting pics. I'll get our new flock on soon at http://www.facebook.com/fischers.feathers


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## TAWhatley

fischerfeathers said:


> Well, I guess 2010 is the year we decided to raise birds. Username is the name our family (Husband, my 3 sons-9,8,7 yr old, and 1 daughter-2 came up w/ for our farm of feathered friends-thus Fischer's Feathers Farm. We farm cattle in NW KS and our boys joined 4H this year and fell in love w/ pure bred chickens-We had no idea there was such a thing. I said I would never own a pigeon-we have a ton of wild ones in the area...but today we go to a small town animal auction(mostly poultry) and there they were. These beautiful White birds with fantails. Wow! I wanted them, hesitated when I heard they were pigeons, but the bidding started and I ended up w/ 3 white fantails. We have not a clue on these birds and are scattering to find as much information to raising them and we raise happy birds on our farm. Lots of room to roam and grow. I look forward to reading more on this site and any information for us in welcomed! We are also on Facebook and started posting pics. I'll get our new flock on soon at http://www.facebook.com/fischers.feathers


Welcome! Please be aware that fantails are show/fancy pigeons and won't do well kinda out on their own. I was born in Colby Kansas .. where are you, if you don't mind saying? I live in Lake Forest California now.

It's nice to have you here, and you'll get/find all the info you need here!

Terry


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## fischerfeathers

Thanks Terry, yeah, I caught that they could not be out in the open but have room to make something for them. I already have a few ideas. We are very concious of our animals and have never lost anything to other animals (other than a dog sometime back but we gave him away to someone else right away when he got a chicken-he just wanted to play) We live outside of Ellis. on the Saline River. So nice to hear from someone who knows our area. Yes the site has been great for being extremely new to this and so quickly needing to learn it. Thank goodness for the internet.


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## Thunderbird Racing

I used to race go-cart, build dune buggies and street rods, and I always like plenty of chrome, so my friends and family started calling me "Chromie"....it just stuck!!


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## Rooster241-

Well, my favorite John Wayne (<--Hero) movie is True Grit, and his characters name in that movie is Rooster. After that it was supposed 24 (age) and 10 (year) Rooster2410. But I hit the wrong key and didnt know till I tried to log in. :-(

I never liked birds at all really. I grew up with a couple Blue and Gold Macaws. Anyone who has had a Macaw will understand what I mean. Even though they are beautiful and smart. They can be very obnoxious and loud. I aslo worked at a petshop for over a year. So all my experiences with birds has been noise! 

I always knew pigeons and doves were not loud but I never thought about getting one until I was reading an article awhile back about how they were used in wars. So I started reading up on training (To see if I wanted to get involved). After seeing how simple it was I thought it would be really cool to give it a shot. Took me awhile to find a breeder in my area though.


P.S. I dont HATE birds, I just dislike screaming and squaking all the time in my ears. I love animals, I took Conservation Wildlife in highschool. Worked at a petshop for awhile. Volunteered at a Fish Hatchery a few times. Member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and have taken Hunter Education.


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## Pigeon lower

Rooster241- said:


> Well, my favorite John Wayne (<--Hero) movie is True Grit, and his characters name in that movie is Rooster. After that it was supposed 24 (age) and 10 (year) Rooster2410. But I hit the wrong key and didnt know till I tried to log in. :-(


The moderators can change your name if you really would like to, Atleast im pretty sure they can as i think they have done it before.


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## Rooster241-

Saweet deal, which one do I ask?


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## wcooper

well let's see....my handle is my first initial and last name...yeah I know how original right? 
I started raising pigeons at age 10. The first birds I had were a couple pair of Rollers my step-dad gave me. After a couple years I started looking into show birds. I bought some Fantails at a local pigeon/poultry show/swap, Kept them for just a little while then found my two true loves, the West of England Tumbler and Helmet. I bred and showed them both from the time i was about 13 until I graduated high school in 1999. I then left home in search of the adventure of life. 
I got out of pigeons for a few years, work and other things kinda took all my time up, and I really had no place to keep them. In 2003 I bought a house and some land and shortly after that a pigeon loft was in the works. From then till the present I have had Wests as well as some other breeds, Mookees, Rollers, Modenas, Ringneck Doves, Figs and so on. 
I can honestly say that I will have pigeons until the day I am no longer among the living. The hobby has been and is very rewarding to me and the fellowship is just that much more of a bonus.
So, if anyone out there knows someone without pigeons give them a pair, it was one of the best things to happen in my life.


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## Pigeonmumbler

Well the Handle is what I Am, A “Pigeon Mumbler” I started with my first 2 Pigeons in my backyard in 1972 that I got as pets, I was 12 Yrs old in Brooklyn NY, Five years later I finally Convinced my Landlord to build a Coop on the Roof. I had about a 150 Mix Stock of Tipplers & Flying Flights. My Class room was Tooties Pet shop on Flushing Ave, Where I would learn all I know about the care and breeds of Pigeons from the old Timers. I’m Currently living Deland FL. And breeding only Red & Yellow DHF, Danish & Lovatt Tipplers. 
Louie


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## Tuule

My handle is kinda nerdy really :/ Tuule is the name of one of my first role playing (not dnd or anything, but written style role playing) characters. My first and only pigeon (conveniently named Pigeon) i found outside my workplace on the corner, my coworkers told me she had been there a few days so far and hadn't really moved so at the end of my shift i put her in a box and took her home. 

I had intended to release her somewhere not public (as we all know people can be so cruel to grounded birds) cause there wasn't a place that would take her near where i lived...but....as i was taking her home in the box i put her in, top all open and stuff, but too tall for her to get out...all i saw was a little beaked face staring at me like she was on her tippy toes just to see over the edge of the box.

Once home i set up a cage for her and set it outside in the shade. She was outside for only a few days when we noticed the neighbors terrier always over staring at her so we took her inside. After looking at her more and looking up information we came to the conclusion that she was just a hair too young to fly. Still had a little bit of yellowish down on her head. She (at the time we assumed was a he) learned to step up and fly to us and was generally an all around great bird !  

Now its around a year later and i still have Pigeon, that is definitely female (the eggs were a dead giveaway, lol and a huge surprise!) But now she isnt as lovey as she was when she was young, she is extremely cage territorial and will bite onto your skin and shake as if she wants you dead. Outside of the cage she will fly to me from across the house and seek me out to perch on if something scares her, so all in all im just a perch.

She loooves my boyfriend (well not if he reaches in her cage, she hates anything that enters her cage..even if its offering food) She has, several times, offered herself to my boyfriend. Its quite funny if not a little disturbing. 

Anyway, sorry for going on for so long! Just joined the forum yesterday cause im at a loss as to what to do with Pigeon and her aggression, i don't want to breed her but i feel bad that she is alone.


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## Macdf2

*The National Bird*

I havn't always went out of my way to rescue and treat pigeons. Nor did I ever imagine I would be putting out about 30 - 40 lbs of seed a week for a flock where I live. But, a few years back, I began to notice the cruelty and hatred most people have for pigeons. So, in an effort to balance the scales, I became their alli. 
Unfortunately, most people don't know any history about pigeons. If they did, they might understand why pigeons hang around humans, our homes, restaurants etc. I would love to ram this story down the throats of American pigeon haters. 
On October 3, 1918, Charles Whittlesey and more than 500 men were trapped in a small depression on the side of the hill behind enemy lines without food or ammunition. They were also beginning to receive friendly fire from allied troops who did not know their location. Surrounded by the Germans, many were killed and wounded in the first day and by the second day, only a little more than 200 men were still alive. Whittlesey dispatched messages by pigeon. The pigeon carrying the first message ("Many wounded. We cannot evacuate.") was shot down. A second bird was sent with the message, "Men are suffering. Can support be sent?" That pigeon also was shot down. Only one homing pigeon was left: 'Cher Ami'. He was dispatched with a note in a canister on his left leg:
"We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven's sake, stop it!"

As Cher Ami tried to fly back home, the Germans saw him rising out of the brush and opened fire and for several minutes, bullets zipped through the air all around him. The men of the Lost Battalion saw Cher Ami tragically shot down, but miraculously, he was airborne again soon. He managed to arrive back at his loft at division headquarters 25 miles to the rear in just 25 minutes, helping to save the lives of the 194 survivors. In this last mission, Cher Ami had delivered the message despite having been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, covered in blood, and with a leg hanging only by a tendon.
Cher Ami had become the hero of the 77th Infantry Division, so army medics worked long and hard to save his life. They were unable to save his leg, so they carved a small wooden one for him. When he recovered enough to travel, the little one-legged hero was put on a boat to the United States, with General John J. Pershing personally seeing Cher Ami off as he departed France. Cher Ami was awarded the Silver Star. 
Now, I ask you, what has a Bald Eagle ever done for anybody?

Macdf2


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## Rooster241-

Great story. I know im kinda behind enemy lines here but I dont think pigeons would be a good "National Bird". It is great that they have saved lives and what not. But they are only doing what comes natural. It doesnt give a great impression on a Nation that symbolizes and animal fleeing from battle. (With all due respect to my pigeon friends)

The Eagle on the other hand represents streangth, courage, power, nobility. The way they perch up high and glare down on their prey. Catching fish out of the water, or some larger eagle taking down a deer. 

Predator animals are typically always smarter than prey animals. It doesnt take a whole lot of brain to stand around and eat grass, or seeds. It takes alot of brain to stalk, hunt, understand stealth etc.

A pigeon is still a better idea than a turkey though like Ben Franklin wanted lol.

(Not trying to start a fight with anyone, just my opinion)


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## abluechipstock

a blue chip stock aka chip was my tennessee walking horse's name, been an animal lover all my life, i've had birds since i was young anything from zebra finches to parrots, i have a 16 yr old white fronted amazon which is the only current house bird i have, i have chickens and i recently got into pigeons, look out the obsession has grown, i have a list of what i want, currently have capuchines and birmingham rollers, glad i found this forum!


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## dod rennie

Glad to hear you keep birmingham rollers do you have problems with cats stalking your loft because I have big time we have 4 cats so I am not a cat hater


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## Speedy1

*My "Handle."*

When I reported for my first submarine duty in 1954 and handed the deck watch my orders he glanced at my name (John D. Gonzales) and said, "Hey, it's Speedy Gonzales himself." I have been Speedy1, or just Speedy, ever since. Hasn't bothered me at all. I had my first loft (30+ birds - barn pigeons, my Grandmother Ott called them) between the years 1940 through 1949 in south Texas, but had to get rid of them when we moved off the farm and into the "city." (Laredo) Following 10 years in the Navy, and ending up in Albuquerque, NM, I had for a time a small loft of 10 white kings. Once again, however, due to traveling extensively with my job around New Mexico and Texas I found it necessary to give up my birds. Currently I have my home in Southern Colorado up for sale and plan on moving back to New Mexico in the Belen area where, if everything works out, I will again have a pigeon loft. I have always liked kings and will start with them, but probably also have fantails. I'm sure down the line I will be looking for plenty of help here and from my visits I can tell it's available from many knowledgeable people.


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## alejandro10352

Speedy1 said:


> When I reported for my first submarine duty in 1954 and handed the deck watch my orders he glanced at my name (John D. Gonzales) and said, "Hey, it's Speedy Gonzales himself." I have been Speedy1, or just Speedy, ever since. Hasn't bothered me at all. I had my first loft (30+ birds - barn pigeons, my Grandmother Ott called them) between the years 1940 through 1949 in south Texas, but had to get rid of them when we moved off the farm and into the "city." (Laredo) Following 10 years in the Navy, and ending up in Albuquerque, NM, I had for a time a small loft of 10 white kings. Once again, however, due to traveling extensively with my job around New Mexico and Texas I found it necessary to give up my birds. Currently I have my home in Southern Colorado up for sale and plan on moving back to New Mexico in the Belen area where, if everything works out, I will again have a pigeon loft. I have always liked kings and will start with them, but probably also have fantails. I'm sure down the line I will be looking for plenty of help here and from my visits I can tell it's available from many knowledgeable people.


Hi speedy, that's a great story. I had to give up my pigeons too years ago, and I,m staring another loft too, i have a few already. I,m very happy for you,(i know how you feel) GOOD LUCK!!!!(SPEEDY GONZALES)!


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## Msfreebird

Speedy1 said:


> When I reported for my first submarine duty in 1954 and handed the deck watch my orders he glanced at my name (John D. Gonzales) and said, "Hey, it's Speedy Gonzales himself." I have been Speedy1, or just Speedy, ever since. Hasn't bothered me at all. I had my first loft (30+ birds - barn pigeons, my Grandmother Ott called them) between the years 1940 through 1949 in south Texas, but had to get rid of them when we moved off the farm and into the "city." (Laredo) Following 10 years in the Navy, and ending up in Albuquerque, NM, I had for a time a small loft of 10 white kings. Once again, however, due to traveling extensively with my job around New Mexico and Texas I found it necessary to give up my birds. Currently I have my home in Southern Colorado up for sale and plan on moving back to New Mexico in the Belen area where, if everything works out, I will again have a pigeon loft. I have always liked kings and will start with them, but probably also have fantails. I'm sure down the line I will be looking for plenty of help here and from my visits I can tell it's available from many knowledgeable people.


Welcome 'Speedy1" 
When your ready for birds, their are plenty in need of loving homes and will welcome a new loft!! You can find King's here..... http://www.mickacoo.org/
It's sad that you had to keep giving up your birds.
Welcome to the forum......there's alot of information and Great People here


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## CooCooCaChoo

I'm just getting into pigeons. I had a handful of birds that I got from a friend about ten years ago and let loose on my father's farm. In my opinion that doesn't count so this is all new to me. CooCooCaChoo is from my favorite song, and it's in Finding Nemo,(my favorite movie), and it's kind of what a pigeon says. So CooCooCaChoo to all of you. Just bought a rabbit hutch on ebay and I'm gathering my other supplies. Not quite ready for my birds yet. I want to start with a pair of fantails so if any of you are local,(I'm in Southern Indiana, near Holiday World and the town of Santa Claus), and have fantails; look me up.


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## kcmodena

Ta Da - I am new to this wonderful forum, so I figure I should introduce myself and my handle. Country raised I had basicly every kind of critter a kid could pick up, catch or beg. TG my mom was tolerant of pretty much everything - although my nanna was not! snakes were totally off the list. they would be admired and released, or in the case of one injured/dead specimen - taken in to science class. : ) my first pigeons were your typical barn caught and hand fed squabs. raised up and released - they would not have gone well with the Peregrines I kept begging my mom for. (back then you could buy them from the catalog!!) 
My real interest in pure breds began with my son in the early 80s. Damascene were wonderful!! and Zitterhals! had Jacobins for a while - but the two favorites were the Voorburg Shield Croppers and the Modenas. time moves on and I did too. 4 years ago I got a couple of pair Satinette - and I just added 6 pair of Voorburg!!! Ye HAW.
OH - KC my initials ... and Modena - well you can figure that out!


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## Revolution Lofts

Well lets see where to begin...well I was in grade 3 so around 8 or 9 years old when I got my first 2 pairs of pakistani highflyers. I got them from my uncle who had bred and raised pigeons for over 30 years (In Canada but also back home in India). He gave me one really good male pigeon and 2 females that weren't too good, and another male that had proven to be a good flyer. Well I started with a simple 4 X 4 X 4 pigeon loft but then as I got more pigeons I expanded. I then built an 8 X 6 loft that held my breeders and a 8 X 4 loft that held my flyers. At one point I got to around 50 pigeons altogether but then I had to make a trip to India for 2 months and there was no one to take care of my pigeons and so I had to give them all away including my 8 X 4 loft made for the flyers. A few months back I started again with a group of pakistani/iraqi/indian highflyers that I got shipped from Toronto Ontario to Abbotsford BC. I now have around 30 pigeons, some of the BEST highflyers in the region and I will be expanding another loft soon.

So there you have it, from 4 pigeons, to 50, to nothing, and now back in the 30 range. Pigeons have, and will always be a part of my life no matter what I do or where I am. I'm 17 now, and these past 10 years have taught me a lot. Heck, grade 3 to grade 12 has been a rewarding journey. I'm not only graduating with my friends this year, I'm also graduating with my pigeons cause they've been there for as long as I can remember


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## DannysDoos

DannysDoos is my username (also on YouTube) because:
1. My name is Danny
2. A "doo" is a Scottish dove/pigeon.
3. ALLITERATION!!!

This is how I got into pigeons... When I was 10/11 I was doing a school project (assignment...) about WWII and was particularly interested in the use of Homing Pigeons and their important role in the war. I then started researching fancy pigeons and fell in love with fantails. I now breed white garden fantails, white rollers and white "doves".

I have just started my first hand-rearing project at the age of 14


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## manu_ku

*My handle...*

Trying to type with one hand... dove in the other hand.

My family is from Hawaii, so:

Manu= Bird; any winged creature 
Ku=coo 

So... cooing bird, bird that coos, dove, pigeon


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## blacksheep

*A bit late but.....*

My name in Beu. I'm Hmong and my name is somewhat pronounced "ber." People, teachers, everyone non Hmong just started calling me "bah" since it was easier to pronounce. It just stuck. I got the "ba ba blacksheep" all the time when I was young. Oh and "ba humbug" durring Christmas. 

Turns out, I became the blacksheep of the family. The 1st to not attend college right out of highschool, the one to run away from home for the weekend, the one who dated outside my race, the one to get brought home by the police. I blame it all on my childhood, they set me up for failure. You can only be told something so many times before you start to believe it (sarcasim intended).


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## pigeonpleases

pigeonpleases - it pleases me when im around them. born in chicago , grew up in the philippines got a few birds and got hooked eversince... when i got back in chicago you cant keep pigeons no more... i moved to mount prospect , IL and you cant keep em there either. will try to move again soon. anywhere in cook county , IL that you can keep pigeons? prospect heights is not an option , they only allow you to keep 4 pigeons.

im glad that i registered at this forum where all the pigeon people are! 

have a good night guys!


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## pigeonpower!

Hi, I just got a pair of rollers and have had them for a few days, but I can't seem to get anywhere taming them. I have tried hand feeding them with no results...is there any way else to get them to gain your trust? any help will be appreciated. Thank you.


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## joycenjohnb

*joycenjohnb*

This is from my email address always use it for logins so I do not have to remember to many. It comes form my late wife and my names. I started with pigeons when I was very young because my grandfather raised them. Most of the ones I raised came from going out to barns at night and catching them. When my gransfather past away he left me with his birds, 4 white doves and a pair of American fantails. When my wife and I got married at 16 and had 5 children there was no time for pigeons. Now that the kids are grown and my wife of 42 years past away I decided it was time get back into a hobby I love.


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## LizBerg

My name is my internet handle (remember kiddies, don't use your real name on the internet). As for pigeons, we got them originally for bird dog training (the dogs don't hurt the birds), since then I've just kind of become hooked on the birds themselves. 

I currently have one king cock, two king crosses (cock and hen), 4 supposed rollers (so far they just fly up to the roof and sun themselves) 3 cocks and 1 hen and 4 homers that have not been released yet 1 confirmed cock and 3 squeakers. I joined this site because I'm having a couple of major issues. 1. I have way too many cocks compared to hens (6 to 2 and 3?). 2. They're not breeding. I have tried to balance my flock. I was sold a "bonded pair of kings" who turned out to be two males. The rollers were supposed to be 2 & 2, and they're not, as for the homers, I was given a "bonded pair" the female left and the 3 squeakers. 

As for the not breeding, they lay the eggs, sit them for a while, then the king cross hen tosses the eggs out of the nest and the roller hen's broke (it was her first egg and I'm not sure if it was fertile). I'm thinking of doing a couple of things, either raise the birds myself, or switch the eggs with wooden ones, incubate them through to the last couple of days, and then put them back under the hen. I don't think the birds would accept a hatched chick would they?


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## The Egg

Hello all! I'm new to the forum.... obviously.


My handle is I think the egg amazing! The life of an egg during incubation is fasinating to me. 

As a kid I had all sorts of birds. Started with pheasants and have ran course through emus. Birds captivate my little mind. My first pigeon was one we found in a storage unit with a broken wing. I'll never forget the first flight once the wing was healed. Currently have a group of roller mixed pigeons.


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## PigeonAmateur

To me it all started when I was 8 years old (living in my birthtown, Lisbon) and my dad and me were driving at 80MPH on the motorway and suddenly a flash of white hit our windscreen, we stopped to check it out and we saw a mangled cockatoo on our windscreen. We took it home and named it 'Beauty' but in portuguese. Eventually, when I was 10 it died of old age. I still miss it and I am 21. Since then I have bred snails and worms specifically for my pidgeon colony that will soon move into my shed in the back of my garden. We are going to have to fix it up though! XD We are thinking of breeding Homing Pigeons or Budgies. We are not quite sure yet but the worms are breeding plentifully and will soon be ready to be eaten! The snails will need a year or so to be ready though...


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## jaelyn loft

im not all that original in my handle either... jaelyn is my daughters name... i live in staten island ny, my father used to fly birds as a kid on mott st in nyc and when i was a kid we had 2 lofts in my yard...i loved them as a kid and as i got older i would always would help out a injured feral or 2..., and one day i was walking in my apartment where i lived with my girlfriend(now my wife) and a lost satinette flew on my head..lol.. i kept it for a while until i found its owner, and my wife fell in love ... so now when we finally got a house of our own with a backyard i was able to put up a loft , i fly tipplers and i had to get my wife a few old german owls because they resembled her beloved satinette... but who am i to argue lol


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## mosman

*"Handles"*

Well Mosman came from the guys I worked with. After having several lower back surgeries i ended up with Titanium screws and steel rods and Titanium spacers in my back, so since I had so much steel they nick named M.o.s Man Of Steel,,,,, lame I know but it stuck for ever...


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## Sevenof14

Truth be told, my handle is my cat's name.... I had a feral cat in the backyard (I live out in the woods) that had kittens. On day, we discovered that one of the kittens had somehow made it into the garage (doors had been closed for days), so we brought her in. Since she was about 7 weeks old, and it was the 7th, we named her Seven. Long story short, the mom evaded capture for years and had 2 more litters, and between friends bailing on adopting them, and then the no-kill shelters being filled after Katrina, we found ourselves with a total of 14 cats!.
Fast forward to today, and we've had 2 neighbor's cats "move in", a dog, 2 raccoon rescues (who think they're cats!), and 3 pigeons who were injured and can't fly..... So, in reality it should be Seven of 22!


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## almondman

*My Handle*

Very easy. Almond colored pigeons have always been favorites. And at one point only having almonds in the loft. Not that big a deal at the time, I only had three birds. A neighbor took notice and started calling my almondman. Also the neighbors thought I was a bit NUTS to keep pigeons.

Did you catch the pun? nuts - almonds


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## Michy

My handle is the shortened version of my name...Michelle


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## TattooedLady

New here...my handle is TattooedLady because I have quite a few tattoos (chest, stomach, back, arms, legs, and lip). I have between 20 and 30. I've always been fascinated by birds and have kept many since I was about 8 years old. I've raised finches and lovebirds in the past and had many from finch to macaw size. I have a Blue Front Amazon at the moment (Oscar) and just built a loft of sorts in my garage for my 5 Valencian Figuritas that I recently drove to the middle of BFE to get from someone on Craigslist.


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## almondman

TattooedLady said:


> New here...my handle is TattooedLady because I have quite a few tattoos (chest, stomach, back, arms, legs, and lip). I have between 20 and 30. I've always been fascinated by birds and have kept many since I was about 8 years old. I've raised finches and lovebirds in the past and had many from finch to macaw size. I have a Blue Front Amazon at the moment (Oscar) and just built a loft of sorts in my garage for my 5 Valencian Figuritas that I recently drove to the middle of BFE to get from someone on Craigslist.


Welcome to PT.


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## raptor8594

*Colorado Pigeon Club*

Just wanted to let every one know that the Colorado Pigeon Club is holding a field meet this weekend on Sunday the 12th in Eldorado springs. Any one is welcome visit our web site www.pigeonrycolorado.ezweb123.com for details and how to join the club for FREE!!!!!!!!


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## BansheeX9

My handle is my gamertag on Xbox360 banshee has been my nickname since girlscouts. I'm a singer & also an insomniac. one night on camp out I snuck away since I couldn't sleep. well I started singing to myself and didn't realize how loud I was getting. apparently I woke the other girls up & scared tham when I hit a high note (I had been singing the song "Someday" by Mariah Carry) My best friend told everyone it was a banshee. the name stuck
X9 was added since someone else already had Banshee. 

As for how I got into pigeons. They have always facinated me especially homing birds. I have always kept birds & have always wanted a bird I could let fly that would return. soon I will get that chance. But in 2002 I happened upon someone at a pet fair selling white ringneck doves. I purchased Lovey then searched for 5 years before I found him a mate. Shauna is a wild type ringneck. It took three years for them to bond with each other but they have hatched three chicks, Jr., Dos & Snow. so now we have a very loud house with three males cooing in one room.


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## Jaye

One of the girls soccer teams I used to coach was called the Banshees.

You should have heard our pre-game cheer


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## raptor8594

Since I can remember, my interest in animals and aviation has been rapidly expanding. It was not until around a year ago when I discovered a way to combine the two and create a perfect lifelong passion; falconry. It all started at a small farm tucked snug in a valley on the New Hampshire countryside. It just so happened that, in a rundown wooden barn, there were cages full of pigeons. My brother, friend and I were looking around at all the different kinds of birds when the owner approached us and offered a couple of pigeons for free. I took the news back to my parents and eventually convinced them to let me have a bird. I ended up picking out two pigeons. I brought them home and set up a large screen house that was sitting in the garage. I quickly equipped it with perches and converted it into my first aviary. The next day, I began training a colorful male I named Rio. I fashioned a small leash and created anklets out of cable ties. After a couple of days, I eventually plucked up the courage to let Rio fly free. This taught me a valuable lesson, because he never came back. Since I returned to Colorado, I have been working every day with my other bird, Smokey. I’ve hand-made jesses and a hood out of leather, attached falconry bells, and have managed to train him to fly free and return on a whistle. I am also working on lure training and have started the Colorado Pigeon Club. Even though I now have a great love for pigeons, I feel I am ready to graduate to raptors. I have set a goal and I am determined to become a licensed falconer, and have a bird by the end of 2012. I am slowly reaching this mark, but I wouldn’t be where I am now without the generous help of Deanna, Sylvia and the entire Colorado Hawking Club.



Also i just wanted to know if any of you have hered of people flying pigeons like hawks?? Where they fly around and come back on a whistle?
Also visit my site at www.pigeonrycolorado.ezweb123.com


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## pigeon ring

Conscious and Unskilled


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## Daddycausingchaos

A few years ago I was irritating and teasing one of my daughters, who was about eight at the time. She ran off to her mom and tattled,"Mom, daddy is causing chaos again!" It caught on and it's a constant lament around our home,"Daddy's causing chaos!"


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## DannysDoos

raptor8594 said:


> Also i just wanted to know if any of you have hered of people flying pigeons like hawks?? Where they fly around and come back on a whistle?
> Also visit my site at www.pigeonrycolorado.ezweb123.com


Yeah, a lot of people do this (minus the falconry gear.) All you need to do is hand-rear a squab. They become incredibly tame and are easy enough to train with food.

P.S. - I wouldn't advise using a falconry hood on a pigeon, due to their eyes being set very much on the sides of their head


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## Chad20190

My name and zipcode oooh so interesting lol.

Got into pigeons in the mid eighties in the Philippines then got out of it for a couple of decades when I moved here. The love for the birds never left me they kept out of serious trouble. Just got back into it this summer I couldn't fight the urge anymore haha.


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## Fortunate_Son

*Fortunate_son*

That was the name I flew under when I raced in the 70's. My friend named his loft Quicksilver and It was 1970 and I liked CCR, Credence Clearwater Revival. One of my favorite was "I ain't No Fortunate Son".
And now you know the rest of the story!


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## Tookie Doo

*Tookie Doo*

Tookie Doo Ln is the street I live on.


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## kingdizon

*kingdizon*

My tag comes from a tattoo on my chest(King),and my last name(Dizon). The King was a nickname a pretty girl gave to me in middle school.
I remember walking at the waterfront with my family as a youth and i used to watch dozens of pigeons fly around and try to cox people into giving them food. I always used to watch them,even as a child,and feel calm and peaceful when i would watch them fly together. Recently i was surfing youtube,ended up watching Valiant and The Homing Instinct... and now i am getting into the hobby!


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## TwinTurboPigeon

The "TwinTurbo" part comes from my fascination of the super fast Twin Turbo Toyota Supra. The Pigeon parts comes from the obvious, the love and passion of pigeons that I have. So in conclusion, my username means "super fast pigeon"!


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## Woody Pigeon

*Woody Pigeon*

Woody Pigeon came from the pigeon I love and support, the Common Wood Pigeon, Columba Palumbus, and what I would call one if I ever had one as a pet, Woody.

My interest in pigeons began a few years ago when I visited a show near Colchester, (England), and there was a pigeon tent. Inside there was a small pigeon show and competition, and an enclosure where you could hold a pigeon. When I went in, a pigeon landed on my arm, and looked into my eyes, and, it led on from there.









I watch over the kit in my local field, and sometimes they look over the garden from the fence


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## JinglePigeons

My handle is JinglePigeons because I will soon be getting my first pigeon which will be named Jingles. I have had many birds growing up and they are my very favorite animal. My parents told me last years they would get me one for Christmas... but I said no because I was going to college and didnt want them to have to take care of it. But, I will be out of college in about a week so I have been talking to a breeder about getting a German Owl pigeon. Super excited and cannot wait!


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## DumasLoft

*Intro and name origin*

Hello all.. Pleased to be here and to make acquaintances. I hope to get all kinds of info from you all.. I have been lurking for a while and just decided to come out the shadows and say hi..

My nickname is Daks, I'm in my 40's and kinda new to the pigeon world.. Been a featherhead for a few years though -- mostly watching, reading and learning about different birds. While out one day with the Lady taking some pics at a nearby lake, we struck up a conversation with a lady walking her dog. In mid-convo she looked up and with a casual excitedness said, "there's some of our birds coming in..!" Me, being the inquisitive chap that I am wanted to know all about ithis. So she invited my wife and I over to meet her hubby and their birds. He showed me all through his 5 lofts and gave me all kinda info. I told him I would do some research and he said when I was ready he'd give me birds. 

I studied for a year..read a bunch of books and checked a ton of vids and finally built a loft in Feb-March. I came back to my friend and told him I was ready and he gave me 7 tipplers to start with. I'm sure a couple were his rejects but a couple were really cool too.. I later found out from my 90 yr old Grandma that my Great grandfather also kept pigeons back in the day. I was floored when I heard that..in a good way. His nickname was Dumas.. so I named my loft Dumas 7.. hence the profile name. I currently have 13 birds, tipplers and Birmingham rollers and am about to start building a new loft for some racing homers. I'm totally smitten and having a blast.

I am humbling myself, knowing that there are gonna be huge gaps in my knowledge of keeping pigeons so i hope you all can help with that..

Currently, my birds are doing very well and are pairing up and a few are sitting on eggs.. Only real problem I have is with one of the younger birds that I got initially.. of the first 7.. i surmised that he has canker and I think I may have waited too long to treat.. I have been observing closely everyday. He was lethargic/feathers ruffled for around a week but eventually starting getting strength back and being active and it looked like the sore was changing.. Now though, his beak is quite deformed.. The top beak is turned one way and the bottom is turned the other.. will post pics tomorrow. But it has gotten uglier and he seems unable to pick up any food. I will treat with the antibiotic stuff this weekend. Is there hope for this bird?? Do the beaks go back to normal? I want to help him but I'm at a lost.. 

Is there a preferred med over another? Spartrix, etc..

help.. and thank you!!

Daks,
Dumas7 Loft


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## wade futch

hey!!!!!!! People will some one help me. Ok whats the best But youngest age to take a pigeon away from the mother. like if i wanted to sell some to a man that he want to stay at his house if he let out they would come back. thanks!!!!!! Hurry and Replay


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## pinkyglory123

Pinkyglory123-the names of my first two whippets-now deceased-and I use it because I don't forget it. When I was a school kid my friend's Dad trained his Labrador retrievers with pigeons. They were tossed in the air-I believe their wings were restrained in some way-a gun was shot-and the dogs retrieved the bird where it landed. I went with them once and after that I would sneak over to their house at night, cut the wire and bring home the worst wounded birds, rehab them and release them. After that I actually bought a pair of fan tails. Now I have a trio of birds from a local man-they fly at will and return to the coop. AND yesterday picked up a homer found on the ground in a friends yard. After tracing the band they contacted the owner who said to "throw it in the air and tell it to go home." It repeatedly fell to the ground. Apparently it was 500 miles into a race with 300 more to go. The bird is thin but after a day of food, water and rest is now able to at least stand on a perch. Opened the door to the coop-it walked to the doorway, looked out and returned to the cage. Apparently not ready to leave just yet. Hope to enjoy flying the birds home from pretty local destinations.


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## Maine Fancier

*Handle and how I got started*

I got into pigeons (still getting in, actually) after I discovered the fancy while studying falconry, oddly enough. I love all birds, but pigeons yanked my heart away from the BoP. Initially interested in racing, the limited local scene sent me looking for other ways to enjoy pigeons. Lo and behold, I found rollers and this is my focus and study.
As for my handle, well, I like to keep it simple.


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## Msfreebird

Maine Fancier said:


> I got into pigeons (still getting in, actually) after I discovered the fancy while studying falconry, oddly enough. I love all birds, but pigeons yanked my heart away from the BoP. Initially interested in racing, the limited local scene sent me looking for other ways to enjoy pigeons. Lo and behold, I found rollers and this is my focus and study.
> As for my handle, well, I like to keep it simple.


Welcome to PT Maine Fancier  I'm in Maine.......as far as you can go Southeast! Where in Maine are you?


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## Maine Fancier

Msfreebird said:


> Welcome to PT Maine Fancier  I'm in Maine.......as far as you can go Southeast! Where in Maine are you?


Up in Winslow, where at least we're not Lewiston


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## Msfreebird

Maine Fancier said:


> Up in Winslow, where at least we're not Lewiston


I'm in Eliot, tucked in behind the Kittery Outlets. Summer is a nightmare with all the tourist 
You have another member up by you in Skowhegan.....lissa1, I sold her some Fantails.


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## Maine Fancier

Msfreebird said:


> I'm in Eliot, tucked in behind the Kittery Outlets. Summer is a nightmare with all the tourist
> You have another member up by you in Skowhegan.....lissa1, I sold her some Fantails.


I was hoping there were more up here, I got a couple of numbers from the APRU but I'm just looking for loft and general advice on getting started. I've just about read everything online, twice.


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## Msfreebird

Maine Fancier said:


> I was hoping there were more up here, I got a couple of numbers from the APRU but I'm just looking for loft and general advice on getting started. I've just about read everything online, twice.


Well just stick around here and you'll find everything you need to know! Are you looking to compete with your Rollers? If so, post those questions in the Homer and Racing section here and I'm sure they can help with that aspect. I don't free fly my birds, too many hawks around here all year!....So I just build them big flight cages, which the hawks sit on top almost daily for a short period. My birds have NO desire to leave their comfy, safe home! I'm just a fancier and take in rescue's and unclaimed racing homers from the wildlife center.


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## asdfghjonathan

I was born and raised in the Philippines. When I was about 6 we lived in a 2 story house well it wasn't ours we just lived in the second floor lol. One day a homing pigeon flew into the window to our house. Me and my older brother didn't know anything much about homing pigeons and we felt bad for it so we decided to make a loft for it. That's when I became involved with pigeons. 


Now I'm 16 looking to get back in the pigeon game lol. I currently build a 4x4x4 loft that I'm planning to make into 4 x 8 x 6. I have 15 birds a mixture of jannsens, meulemans etc.


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## Doig

Msfreebird said:


> I don't free fly my birds, too many hawks around here all year!....So I just build them big flight cages, which the hawks sit on top almost daily for a short period. My birds have NO desire to leave their comfy, safe home!


After my pigeons got chased two times in a row each day from a hawk, maybe goshawk or red-shouldered, today they seem to not want to come out from the loft. It was weird b/c usually they will always try coming out through the trap door after feeding, but today... they just flew back onto their perch. I even took one out of the loft and placed it on the perch where they enter the trap door.. and it went back into the loft directly... I think they are too scared to come out now... poor things.


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## Pewwriter

*hawks*

We also have a problem with hawks here in my area. I don't force the birds out bc if there is a hawk in the area, the pigeons already know it. The bluejays let everyone know when a hawk is nearby. My husband made the mistake of forcing them out a few times and ended up losing one to a hawk before he learned to pay attention to what the flock was telling him. The day you couldn't get them to go out on their own, they probably knew the hawk was still there.


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## Doig

Pewwriter said:


> We also have a problem with hawks here in my area. I don't force the birds out bc if there is a hawk in the area, the pigeons already know it. The bluejays let everyone know when a hawk is nearby. My husband made the mistake of forcing them out a few times and ended up losing one to a hawk before he learned to pay attention to what the flock was telling him. The day you couldn't get them to go out on their own, they probably knew the hawk was still there.


Perhaps that is true, today I let my pigeons out nearing 2 pm. They stayed up in the trees and played around till 7 pm. Then they all suddenly flew really quickly to the trap door after the "alpha" male (the pigeon that seems more experience with coming and going) entered through the trap door. The blue-jays were chirping and my rooster was yelping this really awful screech. Next thing I knew I saw this linear line of stripes fly towards my direction; though it turned and left back into the forest. I want to believe it did that b/c it saw me right next to my pigeons, but last time it attacked even when I was watching my pigeons like 30-50 feet away. 

I guess they do have a sense that a predator is nearing. Next time they act scared I guess I will just close the door and wait another day that they actually want to come out. : )


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## Pewwriter

I sit at my kitchen table and watch what goes on in my back yard which includes the pigeon pen - a lot. When there are no pigeons on the floor of the pen, I've learned there is either a cat or a hawk close by. Watch your birds


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## Pewwriter

No, I don't intend to compete with the Rollers. Right now, I just want to get the pen fixed so it's easier to clean, and keep the birds healthy.


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## Maine Fancier

Msfreebird said:


> Well just stick around here and you'll find everything you need to know! Are you looking to compete with your Rollers? If so, post those questions in the Homer and Racing section here and I'm sure they can help with that aspect. I don't free fly my birds, too many hawks around here all year!....So I just build them big flight cages, which the hawks sit on top almost daily for a short period. My birds have NO desire to leave their comfy, safe home! I'm just a fancier and take in rescue's and unclaimed racing homers from the wildlife center.


Not sure yet if I'm going to compete, I guess I will see how my luck runs with the rollers I start with, right now I am mostly looking to have them just for enjoyment. If we find each other agreeable, then I may compete. If not, we'll just be lifelong companions.


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## Pewwriter

I love your lofts! And your yard is beautiful. beautiful birds! Thanks for posting the pictures.


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## applecheeks

My username has nothing to do with pigeons since I'm new to the pigeon world. AppleCheeks comes from one of my favourite books "Catch 22". If my poor little injured Mr. Duckworth makes it I may have to change it to AppleBeaks.


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## Koshka00

*How I got started with pigeons.*

I was reading the book "9 Do It Yourself Experiments to prove that the Law of Attraction is real" by Pam Grant, so it was fresh in my mind. I randomly read The Oatmeal's comic of Nikola Tesla. (google it, yo!) In it it said how he never had a lover, only a love for pigeons. Possibly had a soul mate that was a mostly white pigeon. I decided to use the LoA to bring pigeons to me. I started seeing them EVERY WHERE. My family turned it into a big game. 3 days into it the neighbor's daughter said, "What's that across the street?" ..........Turns out it was a sick/injured pigeon, almost in the gutter, straight across from my house.

So.
The Law of Attraction & Nikola Tesla led me to my pigeon.


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## heeler

Well my handle is because I rodeo or should I say team rope, it's an addiction really. One roper catches the horns and the other catches the heels of a cow and when the horses face each other the time stops. And of course the fastest time wins the $$$$$.

Now on to how I got hooked on pigeons, my wife found a racer in one of our horse stalls one night while cleaning up, he was banded and just looked tired. She put a little crate over him and he never moved. So we fed and watered him and said if he stays we'll name him and if he leaves well there ya go. He did stay for about 3 weeks. I never left him in a cage we just left out food and water for him and he would sleep up in the rafters of the barn.
He would be gone for a day or two and then show up again. But I guess he finally got his strength built back up enough to go back home. I liked the fact that he was so tame and friendly even never haveing seen us he was still not nervous at all with us walking around him. I thought would'nt it be cool to have our own. To watch em fly and trap like they WANT to live here.


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## piddy feet

*Piddy Feet*

Our White Pigeon is a free roamer in most of the house and is very attached to us. She follows us around the home and her feet make "piddy" noises.


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## Snakeman13

*My Handle*

Hi Guys,

I was given the name "Snakey" by a wonderful lady on her 90th Birthday who loved snakes and was fascinated by my pythons. The name eventually became "Snakeman" and I added my lucky number to it so "Snakeman13". 

I have collected captured and released many snakes in over 50 years of Herpteculture. I have had pigeons about the same length of time and my interests include racing rare coloured homers and how the genetics affects them. 

I have included a pic of my car winner and a Dilute Recessive Red Spread hen I will be racing some of her young ones in 2015 here in Thailand.

Also you can check out my website http://www.magicpigeonflight.com

Enjoy.


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## Nyrial

Greetings! This seems as good a place as any to introduce myself. I'm a long time avian pet.. (they own me)

My handle is my character name from Everquest. Lots of people use the name now, but I lay claim to the original Nyrial. It defines part of me. 

I stumbled upon these forums looking for help and information relating to the care of pigeons. I adopted one today. She has one leg.. It's a long story. I've wanted a pigeon for a pet for a long time. While it was mildly impulse, I'm hardly unprepared to care for an avian companion. I have raised and hand fed parrots since I was in middle school (I'm 32), I have raised and hand fed doves, and I'm also a mildly crazy chicken lady. Our current flock consists of an umbrella cockatoo.. Sydney is 32, and I've had her since I was 13. Two cockatiels, Rudy and Pierre, who I adopted from a coworker, 2 serama hens, Rhea and Alex, who are very broody and VERY cranky (their favorite treat when not broody is shredded cheese, they follow me to the kitchen). They are sitting on borrowed eggs, because they want to be mommas so bad, and I don't have a rooster. And now, Peggy (short for peg leg). I look forward to learning as much as I can from all of you to do right by her.


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## coo_lets

My handle is the nickname I gave my noisy doves...coo-lets. I've always been fascinated by doves because they are so sweet


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## Godsend

*How I chose my handle*

Hi, I am brand new to this site - infact this is my first post. I purchased my first Diamond Dove 3 days ago, and he/she has been a "Godsend" to me helping me heal from the loss of a 14yr. much loved dog. I have a couple questions but cannot for the life of me figure out how to post them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## paul bassett

*paul b*



Godsend said:


> Hi, I am brand new to this site - infact this is my first post. I purchased my first Diamond Dove 3 days ago, and he/she has been a "Godsend" to me helping me heal from the loss of a 14yr. much loved dog. I have a couple questions but cannot for the life of me figure out how to post them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


I have had in my barn for 40 years as many as 38 wite pidgions Some years the numbers fall to 12 .
Last week I had 14 that have been there for about 18 months.
On Tuesday this week I awoke to find none were there. They have vanished.
What could have happened?
The house is out in the country and the barn is next door my house
Paul b


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## Trylancer

I am from the Philippines. The hobby came up after my son caught a wedding pigeon.  Now I have some racing homers. 2 small youngsters and 2 breeders and a small loft.


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## pigeonflier

My name is pretty self explanatory,, its a name I use on all of the message boards I belong to! Have been a member on other hunting boards for 9+ years and just found this one. Could not believe this name was available on here as I have had it already in use on other hunting boards. I am from South Bend, Indiana and enjoy racing homers!!


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## Bright Eyes

*Handle and Pigeon Start*

Hi All,

I'm the newbie . . . just could not pass up on this chat. 

Bright Eyes is what my husband and I call each other. Our song "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler . . . end of the song he sings to her "turn around Bright Eyes". In other words, we will always be behind each other in support, with love. (LOL, yes mushy but love makes us tick).

Here is the link to our website page that tells the whole and real story. http://brighteyesdoverelease.com/about-us/ Yes, the white dove really did land at my back doorstep the morning after my father passed away, on 8th anniversary of 9/11.

Dad knew how much I loved animals and wanted to be a veterinarian. Even with my GPA of 3.95 in pre-vet medicine . . . it would not get me into Vet School. For every 10 students that got into human medical schools, only one got into Vet School (back in the 1970's). So instead I believe dad's dove landed to help my husband and I to see a different flight path. 

We are also registered with our local Humane society (Vancouver, WA) for bird rescue as well. With our 250 white doves, we perform releases in our local area for all types of events. We love and train our doves to return home . . . and they return because we maintain an "open loft" policy so that they can do what they love most, i.e. flying to their hearts content.

Yes, dad's spirit dove changed our lives and as we release a spirit dove for Christopher Stover (and 50 doves to represent each states service men and woman, including animals that serve our great nation) http://www.oregonlive.com/clark-county/index.ssf/2014/01/capt_christopher_stover_air_fo.html . . . at Fort Vancouver Memorial Day Celebration this year, we know that my father, was a Navy Sonarman and that paying tribute to all that serve our nation is how my father's memory can be most served . . . on the wings of a white dove. 

Thanks for allowing a "newbie" to share . . . and may you all have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day!


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## Bright Eyes

paul bassett said:


> I have had in my barn for 40 years as many as 38 wite pidgions Some years the numbers fall to 12 .
> Last week I had 14 that have been there for about 18 months.
> On Tuesday this week I awoke to find none were there. They have vanished.
> What could have happened?
> The house is out in the country and the barn is next door my house
> Paul b


Paul b . . . do you actually feed them, or have you left them to find their own food source?


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## wyllm

I saw the newbie post earlier and realized I never added mine. 

Wyllm, like Nyrial, is a role playing pseudonym, not from EQ. An Elven bard, I started playing Wyllm on a RPG chat and he even had homers that he used to deliver spy messages.  

The name is unique enough to use on a few different adventures.


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## yegua308

Yegua308 - Yegua is the creek nearby that turns into a small river and fills Lake Somerville. I live in Blue Texas, which is named for the Blue arm of the Yegua. We live on County Road 308. 308 is also my favorite rile caliber. So it's Yegua308, because Bob is always taken. I use the handle everywhere on the internet.

I have had pigeons off and on for most of my life (59) only recently have been a little more serious with showing them. I have been showing Modern Game bantams for 30+ years. We raise pretty much every kind of birds except cage birds.


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## CBL

CBL is short for crazy bird lady. Family member gave me that label when she saw all the birds I had rescued.


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## Bassman3001

I play bass guitar and one of my basses is a Rickenbacker 3001. So Bassman3001.


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## Bassman3001

Forgot to mention how I got started. Like many things we do. My kids. And 4H. Lol I enjoy it more than the kids.


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## charlie dimino

Thc band race $50 per band 6 bands for$300 and 6 bonus which can be activated on shipping bite.Handler's are available upon request contact me for more information.The race has been around for quite some time.Buy ten bands and get 15 bonus bands.The race is a 300mile race flown in late November or very earley Dec. [email protected] 727-478-5962. Remember this is the largest club in America.Drug testing is in effect for fair play anyone can compete and have a fair chance to do well the prides go pretty far depending on band sales.Buy 6 get 6 more bonus bands a total of 12 birds in the lofts. Not bad.Good luck pursuitloft


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## cwebster

Just used my name as my handle. Got our first pigeon after she flew into a fan twice where I work. People were sticking food into her neck wound as she was nearly decapitated, and her wing was broken. I called the local wildlife people but they just euthanize pigeons. They told me to take the bird to a local vet but of course they did not tell the truth about who would pay the vet. After the pigeon was surgically repaired and was ready to go home from the vet, didn't know what else to do but take her home because she was recuperating and the wildlife people said, we don't rescue pigeons, they're domestic, not wildlife! When her wing and neck were healed, we got her a large flight cage. That was seven years ago and we have had Phoebe ever since and cherish her. Didn't know anything about pigeons before that. Now we know they are wonderful!


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## pigeonoak

*How I got my handle?*

My last name is Holyoak and I like pigeons so after smushing the two together I got pigeonoak. it was not taken at the time so That's it. 

My brother Curtis and I rescued a pair of barn pigeons at my Grandpas house back when I was about 9 or ten. My cousins were going through the barn with 22 rifles and generally making a mess of many old and young birds alike. Anyway, after stashing them in the back of the folks' Ford station wagon under the fold up seats, my white grizzle squab and Curt's red squab went home to our house. (yes we had some explaining begging and pleading to do) After this, I had pigeons on my brain for most of my growing up years. I never forgot my early loft building attempts and scavenging for bird food and supplies. My Mom and dad were good at overlooking my obsession for birds and many other critters that came to our house. At least they kept me out of worse trouble. 

In my mid 30's, after a long absence from birds, My wife and I finally bought a little property with an abandoned shed on it. It was a great place to put a house and continue raising our kids. Little did my loving wife know what first popped into my brain when I spied this old shed. Lucky for me George, an old Russian man kept chickens and pigeons lived just down the road. I bought 6 blue bar white splash and wing tipped homers from him. I have been back into birds ever since. My wife stated many times over the years how much she hates or is afraid of birds but has since mellowed some to the idea. She has learned that at least she knows where I am and it keeps me out of trouble. I will be turning 53 in about a week. So every bodies happy! 

Tim


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## Pigeonworldwide

I'm Sam, British but raised and living in The Netherlands - use to run a website called pigeonworldwide.com hence the username.

When I was a kid, round 10 years old, I found a wood pigeon with a broken wing. I brought it to the farm next door to us, as I knew they had pigeon lofts. The woman who lived there was a widow, her husband use to keep pigeons. I was allowed to use one of the lofts to keep the wood pigeon in. Another bird lover in my street taught me how to splint the wing. After a few weeks the pigeon seemed to have fully recovered so I released it back into the wild. Shortly after that, exactly the same story, actions repeated and released the bird back into the wild.

In the meantime, on of the widow's visitors learnt about me. He was a pigeon breeder (homing pigeons). He asked me if I wanted a few young birds to get started with. I was over the moon, and got permission from my parents and from my neighbour to use her lofts. I actually got one of her husbands pigeons, the guy who gave me the youngsters had a bird in captivity that use to belong to her husband that hadn't been outside in over 10 years (he just kept flying back the first few months so he got locked up). Boy, was he happy to be able to spread his wings again (he was 12 years old at the time)!! The amount of pigeon breeders in this small town of 15000 people is quite shocking, I joined the local pigeon racing club (0.5km from my house) and started racing my birds. The amount of support I got from other members was overwhelming.

Eventually, I also started keeping fancy pigeons and moved my birds to my own back yard. Unfortunately school & other activity's started to get more and more in the way, and 8 years ago I stopped keeping pigeons due to lack of time (wouldn't of been fair on the birds). By that time I had about 40 of them. I ended up giving them all away. I still miss having pigeons, every single day.


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## Doig

@pigeonworldwide
That is a really touching story... As I started at a young age like you too... At first I was able to bring back to life a small chick that was attacked and dead by banging a big metal tub over the chick. From that day on... I thought I was the hero... I also did the same with a cardinal that hit my dads truck... I actually had pigeons then... Just didn't know much about them....

I'm too afraid I'm going to have to leave my beauties behind... BC school right now definitely is taking a lot of time away from my birds. 

I know exactly how you feel without your birds... I schooled 2 months for a summer program away from my birds.... I was becoming delusional and crazy.... I tell my self everyday when I see my birds.... "If you really love them... You would let them go"..."for reasonable purposes... Being a young person in this hobby..." 
Makes me sad just thinking about it.

Douglas


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## TRueLife

My first initial is T, last name is Rue, and same for my wife, so I just riffed off of that.

I got started with a white pigeon that I found at work freezing to death in a snowstorm. I brought her home in a box, and within a few hours, she was walking around our apartment checking things out. We named her Freya. 

After a week, we got her a cage (it's kind of ridiculously big but we wanted to give her plenty of space). I have since picked up a couple of bowls for her cage, and some toys. She will freely fly down from her favorite high place in the living room and go into her cage to eat and drink, then come back out to return to the same spot. Sometimes I can even get her to hop onto my finger and she'll let me carry her to her spot or her cage.


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## Bright Eyes

*Winged blessings to TRueLife and Freya*

Beautiful story TRueLife . . . great pics you shared. Hope you enjoy our story of a little white pigeon. http://www.brighteyesdoves.com/about.html

Winged blessings to you, family and Freya!

Jadia Ward


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## Dark*Star

Dark Star is a Grateful Dead song and also a different song by Crosby, Stills, Nash. Both favorites of mine.

I've not yet "started". I've been lurking, learning and taking notes. I plan to have a loft built by Spring for 8-12 pigeons. I'm interested in Homers or possibly Tipplers. I don't plan on racing but would not rule it out. I'm hoping it will become a hobby my 6yo, 11yo and I enjoy together.

I'm from SE Wisconsin...if you're near please shoot me a PM. Love to chat or visit your loft.


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## Skogsdua

Skogsdua is a norwegian word, and means wood pigeon. 

About 3 years ago my boyfriend and I was in Denmark on holiday, and also for him to pick up some pigeons he really wanted from a danish breeder. In his loft I saw some stunning big pigeons, French Sottobanca. I picked 2 pairs, and returned them to my home. Now, 3 years later I have 25 of them, some of them grandchildren of my original pair. Unfortunately I'm the only one in Norway having this breed, and most of the written things I find on the world wide web is on french..a language I do not know. The google translater is not a friend either.. 

My son beeing 14 at that time got interested in pigeons as well. My boyfriend got him some nice Norsk Petent, a little norwegian pigeon. Last year he went to the show with his first pigeons from his own breed, 11 of them, all getting 92 points. That was when I sat down and read the standard, hehe. 

Two month later, at the national norwegian show, he brought 5 pigeons of the lot he brought on his first show, and all got 95 points  (the same jugde) Ok, so it could be better, but not that bad either pairing the pigeons without knowing anything about color or standard the first year  Two of the pigeons he showed on his first show though, got very good critics from the jugde who would give them 96 and 97 points, -but unfortunately they both got a big black fleck in their otherwise white face.. Anyway, we did not want to remove all those black feathers only to show them, so they are staying home in the future. 
Well, as my son's interest through this last year somewhat are sinking, my interest is increasing. Bringing them to shows too, wich I did not care about when I first got my pigeons. 
When new colors suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the interest for the genetic side was lit too. I have put rings on about 60 Petent-babies so far, and yet a few to come before breeding season is over. 

My boyfriend, now beeing my x-boyfriend, still has some of his pigeons on my property, so at one point we had over 100 pigeons living here. I have given away about 20 Petents, some to non-breeders who don't care if they have some faults due to the standard, and some to a breeder I have swaped with. This year we breeded on all the birds awailable because we needed more variations, but next year we'll only breed the best. Otherwise I'm gonna end up with a 1000 in the end  I must say though, it's hard to give away any of those pretty babies <3


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## [email protected]

My handle is my first name and date of birth.

I first had pigeons in primary school after catching the bug from some friends.There were ten juveniles in all,a rag tag bunch including a male fantail,a female tumbler,a beautiful female with a 'cow-lick' behind her head,a pair of Archangel types and some barred/checkered homers.Unfortunately I only got one chick from the bunch before I had to give them away,and it died.Going to boarding school meant no one could look after them.


I'm starting off now with less than a bang  but with much joy in my heart,I have a small loft that can take about 40 birds,and five Pied racers and a white fantail female,pigeons are proving much more difficult to obtain than a couple of years ago.


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## BFE Loft

I'm new to pigeon keeping but i've had a life time of dealing with all kinds of domestic and exotic animals. Everyone knows what BFE stands for right? lol well my version is a little different. BFE stands for Baker Family Exotics which is my home based hobby business and of course since this is for pigeons I tossed in loft.


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## beatlemike

As a kid my friends and I would search the feedlots and catch ferals. I came about many a stray homers mixed in with the ferals and my interest in them grew and my interest in ferals faded.


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## SilverCreek

Our Handle is our loft name-- 'Silver Creek Loft' is named after the creek that flows behind our property


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## Gypsy-Tinker

I found Gypsy (a dirty and sickly ringneck dove) on the side of a road. I kept him and 3-4 months latter I happened to find another ringneck who I named Tinker. I guess they are wedding release doves, but it was so great to find two ringnecks in less than half a year. They were the first pet birds I have had (I have taken in wild birds for rehabilitation.


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## Big Bill

New to this site but not Pigeons I got the Big Bill handle from work as we had two Bills on the payroll, I was the bigger of the two. Probably a familiar story I had pigeons as kid in the mid 60s for 4 or 5 years until I discovered girls and got a drivers license. I had always wanted to get birds again but something always sidetracked me until 1985 or 86, when I got I contact with a child hood friend that still raised birds. I picked up a few pair of birds from his racing stock thinking that I would like to try my hand at racing with the local club, which I did for a season or two but it became too much with work and raising a family. Now here is where the story gets interesting, my wife had always liked the pigeons and really knew more about the care and breeding of the birds we had. But she liked Fancy Birds better so she/we got a few pairs of Oriental Frills not an easy breed to raise, as we needed quite a few pair of feeders to foster the young. We used the Homers as feeders and we were very active on the hobby in Calif. for maybe 20 years, she even earned a Master Breeders award from the NPA for Oriental Frills. Life got in the way again and we have been birdless for the past 10 years, but I have the bug to build another loft and get a few pair of fancy birds and a few pair of flying birds, probably some Chinese Owls and a few pair of Birmingham Rollers. There is still a few very active clubs in the area and I am excited about becoming active again. Thanks for listening to my story.


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## kelcam

*Pigeon convert*

Hello,
In the last year, I've gone from thinking of pigeons as almost vermin to revering them. I'm quite ashamed of my former prejudice, which came from ignorance (as all prejudice does). I wish I could keep pigeons, but as an apartment dweller, I'm limited to surreptitiously feeding one particular pair. I can't quite recall exactly how it happened, but I ended up falling in love with a pigeon who I assumed was female, due to her beauty and winning ways. 
He (yes, oops) one day brought a reticent, less spectacularly beautiful pigeon to meet me and it was really sweet how he backed away while encouraging her to come towards me and eat the pigeon seed I put down for her. When she was still too shy, he came up and ate a few seeds himself, and then backed away again, until finally, she got up the nerve and approached me herself. That was last year. When I first saw them kissing and nuzzling each other, it made my heart melt. One day, they took to eating in shifts and then, a month or two later, they came by with a fledgling! 
Anyway, in the first couple weeks or so of the fledgling appearing, if a parent came by without it, they would always leave the littlest seeds behind. Then, they would come back with the fledgling, who would eat it up. I have now realised that the pair do it with each other, as well. Whenever I am erratic in my schedule and skip our little feeding times, the bird that comes by first will only eat half of what I put out. Then, they fly away and within a few minutes, the mate appears and eats the rest. 
In times of dearth and uncertainty, the pigeons forgo eating themselves, so as to ensure their mate has enough. I am amazed.
I really wish people knew how much pigeons cared for one another and the depth and beauty of their relationships. For example, in the linked photos, this is the father pigeon caring for the fledgling! 
Some of my friends and family think I've gone a bit loony, but I just think they're amazing.  

https://www.kellascampbell.com/birds-1/2018/7/29/babyandfatherincorner
https://www.kellascampbell.com/birds-1/2018/7/29/babyandfather

https://www.kellascampbell.com/birds-1/2018/7/29/pigeonfledgling


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## Kimbob

*Kimbob*

I got Kimbob from friends at work, one of them started calling me Kimbob and it stuck. 
I had pigeons as a youngster, have always had an attraction to them, started getting a few just in the last 8 months. I now have a good sized loft and 17 birds and two babies coming along. Questions about the young are partly why I'm here now. Looking forward to chatting with you all. 

I'm going to throw this out in the beginning to see how it goes. I'm what I call a practical bird enthusiast. I've listed one of my hobbies as hunting, I hunt big game and also Upland birds. I am in the process of training my bird dog. The gent who is helping me train made the statement one day, "If you're gonna train a bird dog ya gotta have birds." That was all the excuse I needed to get back into something I enjoyed as a boy. 

My loft is made up of a few birds given to me, a couple feral's I have caught, random birds I have bought from Craigslist, and some very young birds given to me by my trainer. Only one out of three survived, and is now my wife and I's favorite. His (?) name is Peepers. My intent is to have birds I can take to train with, and they will return to the loft unharmed. When the shooting stage of training comes along that will be done with birds purchased from a game farm.

We enjoy the birds and spend some time with them every day. We both have our favorites, and I've been instructed Peepers will "NEVER" be used for training. 

So with all that said, I hope my purpose does not offend anyone. 

Thank you.......


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## Jay3

Kimbob said:


> I got Kimbob from friends at work, one of them started calling me Kimbob and it stuck.
> I had pigeons as a youngster, have always had an attraction to them, started getting a few just in the last 8 months. I now have a good sized loft and 17 birds and two babies coming along. Questions about the young are partly why I'm here now. Looking forward to chatting with you all.
> 
> I'm going to throw this out in the beginning to see how it goes. I'm what I call a practical bird enthusiast. I've listed one of my hobbies as hunting, I hunt big game and also Upland birds. I am in the process of training my bird dog. The gent who is helping me train made the statement one day, "If you're gonna train a bird dog ya gotta have birds." That was all the excuse I needed to get back into something I enjoyed as a boy.
> 
> My loft is made up of a few birds given to me, a couple feral's I have caught, random birds I have bought from Craigslist, and some very young birds given to me by my trainer. Only one out of three survived, and is now my wife and I's favorite. His (?) name is Peepers. My intent is to have birds I can take to train with, and they will return to the loft unharmed. When the shooting stage of training comes along that will be done with birds purchased from a game farm.
> 
> We enjoy the birds and spend some time with them every day. We both have our favorites, and I've been instructed Peepers will "NEVER" be used for training.
> 
> So with all that said, I hope my purpose does not offend anyone.
> 
> Thank you.......


No pigeons should ever be used for training. This is a pigeon advocacy site, so maybe you are in the wrong place.


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## KTPIGEON

*Just where I came in...!*

hi friends

this is my 1st post to pigeon talk and Im so excited to get my community

Pigeon is my passion and let me tel u how I started to develop this

I have a pair of feral breeders in the exterior of my house since last six months, it is their 5th clutch they are currently sitting at, and now we know each other very very well. 

At the start I didn't pay attention but I notice they didn't have proper & safe place to breed, 1st eggs were just fell off, for second I arrange some cardboard and grass, but was taken away by crows when I was not around, 3rd time I was damn serious about their breeding, that is when started my deep studies about pigeons, their breeding, incubation timeframe, hatching, development milestones... and lot lot more.

And main of all I made a very lavish nest box with nice egg bowl and protection from all sides, that nesting area as of today have expanded soo much with so many facilities by the way, but that time I was so excited to offer them a nest box, which they accepted happiely and it was my successful 1st breeding, 

lots happened later but for now only this much

will keep updating..


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## KTPIGEON

*My young friend*


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## KTPIGEON

*ohh sorry*

sorry guys for inconveniance

didn't know the file size will give so big image


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## FLIGHT 901

Kimbob said:


> I got Kimbob from friends at work, one of them started calling me Kimbob and it stuck.
> I had pigeons as a youngster, have always had an attraction to them, started getting a few just in the last 8 months. I now have a good sized loft and 17 birds and two babies coming along. Questions about the young are partly why I'm here now. Looking forward to chatting with you all.
> 
> I'm going to throw this out in the beginning to see how it goes. I'm what I call a practical bird enthusiast. I've listed one of my hobbies as hunting, I hunt big game and also Upland birds. I am in the process of training my bird dog. The gent who is helping me train made the statement one day, "If you're gonna train a bird dog ya gotta have birds." That was all the excuse I needed to get back into something I enjoyed as a boy.
> 
> My loft is made up of a few birds given to me, a couple feral's I have caught, random birds I have bought from Craigslist, and some very young birds given to me by my trainer. Only one out of three survived, and is now my wife and I's favorite. His (?) name is Peepers. My intent is to have birds I can take to train with, and they will return to the loft unharmed. When the shooting stage of training comes along that will be done with birds purchased from a game farm.
> 
> We enjoy the birds and spend some time with them every day. We both have our favorites, and I've been instructed Peepers will "NEVER" be used for training.
> 
> So with all that said, I hope my purpose does not offend anyone.
> 
> Thank you.......


I'll temper my comment. I find you repugnant. Period.


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## FLIGHT 901

It was easy, I got my handle from an ironmongers. A few screws and a turn and the door opened. There was nothing to it.


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## KTPIGEON

U mean it was a rescue..


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## Friend John

KTPIGEON said:


> sorry guys for inconveniance
> 
> didn't know the file size will give so big image


No problem, it does that to everybody.


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## KTPIGEON

Roosting near me in my bed


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## FLIGHT 901

KTPIGEON said:


> sorry guys for inconveniance
> 
> didn't know the file size will give so big image


You've also put your thread into another thread, unless this site has got a glitch. My apologies, you are showing pictures and discussing the bird. Incidentally, all I can see are cartoon birds on a duvet cover!


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## Friend John

FLIGHT 901 said:


> You've also put your thread into another thread, unless this site has got a glitch. My apologies, you are showing pictures and discussing the bird. Incidentally, all I can see are cartoon birds on a duvet cover!


This site magnifies the images for some reason. One way to view the pictures posted on this site is to right-click the image and select 'view image,' which will open up a tab with the image in its original and much more manageable size.


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## Marina B

This thread is open to anybody that wants to post about their pigeons. KTPIGEON, your pigeon looks lovely!


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## FLIGHT 901

Marina B said:


> This thread is open to anybody that wants to post about their pigeons. KTPIGEON, your pigeon looks lovely!


What is it with you, waiting to pounce like a Mantis! I merely pointed out that the thread was about one's handle. I observed that this was originally KITPIGEON'S post and that he was then extrapolating facts about his pigeon to which I apologised.

It must be hard struggling for subject matter in a dull and dismal existence to initiate a conversation and using bland posit as a substitute. Try reading a book.


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## FLIGHT 901

Friend John said:


> This site magnifies the images for some reason. One way to view the pictures posted on this site is to right-click the image and select 'view image,' which will open up a tab with the image in its original and much more manageable size.


 Thank you comrade John. On point with that.


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## KTPIGEON

*Its always a new start..!*

With every egg that my breeders lay its a new start

With every egg that hatch in my aviary its a new start

With every young bird that grow eating out of my hands its a new start

When it flap its wings and take the 1st flight its a new start 

And the cycle goes on ...

So I don't think it will ever be a routine thing for me,.. Things are mostly predictable and almost known (at least by now) but still I always feel its a new start!


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## KTPIGEON

1st bath of my baby


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## Friend John

That is such a cute picture.


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## KTPIGEON

Thnx for complement


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## KTPIGEON

Heres my newly hatched (2nd one hatched this morning), I could click pic coz the mother just went to throw the egg shells.


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## KTPIGEON

Dear friends since Im new & I have lot to share I think I should go/start appropriate thread/topic. 

But I really appreciate u guys bear with my excitement and made me feel at ease.
Sooo friendly of u guyz..!!!


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