# Izze's progress



## Guest (Jul 2, 2005)

Izze, my blind adolescent pigeon, is doing well. I still feed him by hand, ie I open his beak and drop in seeds, but he feeds himself a little as well. I've been so proud of him as he is gradually figuring out how to eat on his own. He doesn't seem to like eating out of a dish, or cannister, but perfers a little pile of seeds. It seem like he's just making it difficult for himself not eating out of some sort of a bin, but we all have our quirks. I'll probably find or make a shallow tray so his little food piles don't get so quickly dispersed.

He's facinating to watch. I still have him in a cardboard box, though I have a cage on order. At first I had the box open figuring he wouldn't fly out. He flew out. I then folded down a couple of the flaps so the opening wouldn't be big enough for flying out. He learned to jump, hook his beak on the edge of the box, pull his wings through the opeing and launch himself away. My husband once came home and found him out of the box. He looked all over the apartment. We had a window open so he very worried, but he found Izze hiding in plain sight on a bookcase. 

His eyes are "healed" I suppose. One eye looks almost normal, but diliated and a little sunken. The other eye looks a little weird. It's looks like the eye is no longer spherical, but is somewhat flattened. But again, we all have our quirks. I have not doubts he is completely blind.

It warms my heart when he chooses to climb on my hand. I bet the little guy get lonely and bored while I'm at work.

BTW I should introduce myself. I'm Monica, and I have three pigeons beside Izze: Soren, Marie, and Ludvig. They are all rescued pigeons I became so fond of I decided to keep them. Soren is my first from about 20 months ago. He was maybe 3 weeks old when I found him dazed, starving, and dehydrated in front of the downtown Seattle building where I work. He had a broken leg which healed up on it's own. A couple of month later a coworker brought me Marie and Ludvig, again both about 3 weeks old, wandering about an alley looking very skinny. My guess is that they are siblings. I thought Ludvig was male, but I was wrong. By the time Ludvig produced her first egg I was so used to calling her Ludvig I decided to leave her with the name.

Soren is pretty aggressive in his cage, so I'm keeping Izze seperate. I guess keeping Izze away from others is a no-brainer to some, but I really wish I could give him a pigeon-pal. At the same time I've become very attached to Izze having spent so much time caring for him and just watching him dealing with his blindness. Izze is fun to spend time with.

I'll probably post some pics of my birds in the near future. There is nothing really special about them, but they're mine, and I'm proud of them.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Monica, 


Welcome to our pigeon group and thanks for your lovely update on Izze It sure seems like he is doing very well considering his major handicap. It's really quite remarkable how birds/animals can and will adapt to being blind if given the chance as *we* are all learning and finding out here. By the way, have you ever read Pidgey's thread (another member) about his blind Pigeon? Here is the link to the thread in case you missed it.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=10825

I think, with any creature, it's just a matter of letting them learn and adapt and they MUST be given the opportunity to adjust to their disability. It is obviously possible and I've read other stories of other blind birds (not just pigeons) that can and do manage to find happiness and contentment in their lives without being "shut ins". 

Very well done Monica and your pigeons are all very thankful that you have come to their rescue in more ways than one


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Monica,

You've done really well, raising four young pigeons. Good for you! Have you worked with birds before? You seem to have a real knack for understanding what they are trying to communicate.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Wow...good doing Monica...!

Cartainly letting Izzy be an 'Action Bird' as I call them, meaning, having them with one when safe to do so, on one's shoulder or lap or arm or near in some way...is something he would like.

Preening those areas of his face and chin and neck, or pretending to anyway, with one's fingers...

Pigeons seem to enjoy Music, and he likely would welcome it especially, now and then.

What kinds he may like best, you will have to find out by experiment, and some intuition maybe...

Once his Cage is set up, of course he will learn just where everything is in it, and these should be kept the same for him to know where things are.

Sunlight from a window...can be something he would enjoy also. Direct Sun I mean, which in Seattle, might not be every day of course...

Phil
Las Vegas


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2005)

*Izze goes to the vet*

I took Izze to the Bird and Exotic Clinic of Seattle. They were so nice. Dr Kamaka looked at Izze. I wanted to make sure Izze's eyes wouldn't continue to deteriorate and lead to an infection. I also wanted to make sure the little fellow didn't have othere problems I haven't noticed.

He got a clean bill of health and compliments from the staff. I was so proud of him. 

As an aside, when I was waiting for the vet some of the staff were playing with a parrot that would start laughing so hard that he would get short of breath. It was one of the most bizarre things I've come across. I didn't know parrots could act so much like humans. Weird!

The Bird and Exotic Clinic had a really friendly and fun atmosphere.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Monica, 

How wonderful for you and Izze to get a good report on his checkup 

Thanks for letting us know,


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

Monica,

When Unie was that young, she especially loved going on the walks. I think that as children and youngsters they are just as curious as human children and that's the time to introduce them to all kinds of new experiences. Unie absolutely loved (still does) listening to all the songbirds during our walks. She often wanted me to stop when one was singing his little heart out. Who knows, maybe there are "words" in it that only they can hear.

I'm so glad that Izze's got a clean bill of health, otherwise. You know, just like Unie listening to the songbirds, WE like reading any funny, interesting and silly story about Izze that comes up. We all got a real kick about finding Izze on the bookshelf--that would have been worth a picture!

Thanks,

Pidgey


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Monica,

*GREAT NEWS!!!* 

Thank you for the update. I'm sure glad he found you!

Treesa


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## Guest (Aug 8, 2005)

*Izze's first summer*

Izze is doing well. He's liking the summer sun. 

























He looks happy to me! I haven't coaxed him into eating much on his own, but I've become good at feeding him, and he has become very compliant. He does seem to peck at his grit effectively. Eventually he might figure out this whole eating thing.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Thank you for the pics.
He is a handsome guy and looks very happy.
You've done an mazing job with him and all your rescues.

Reti


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Hi Monica.

This is a wonderful story but I will have to disagree with you on one comment. You said there is nothing special about any of your birds, but all pigeons are special. I have never met one I didn't love. You have done a terrific job with Izze - he looks so very healthy and happy and, to me, it definitely looks like he is smiling. Great job!


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## alaska (Mar 17, 2005)

Thanks for sharing the beautiful Pics of Izze.
He is very lucky to be looked after and cared for by you.
In the pics he looks extremely content, the happiness is oozing out of him.
Congratulations on a job Very well done 

Regards
Alaska


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Monica, 

Thank you for your update with pictures of Izze. Seems like a content pigeon to me as well. You've done a wonderful job helping this bird and hopefully he will learn to eat on his own in time as well


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