For the last few days I’ve noticed an injured Junco out at the feeder with the other birds. He is holding one eye shut, his wings look a little mangled, and just overall gimpyness.
Friday night was especially stormy here, lots of rain and high winds. I took my dogs (three German Shepherds) for their last outing of the night at about midnight and one of them came and looked at me all odd and then trotted over to the shed, looking back at me.
I followed her with my flashlight and she showed me what she had found. It was the little Junco, trying to get some shelter at the edge of the shed. So I picked him up and we took him inside. I put a clean, soft washcloth in a box, poked some holes in the top and put him in.
I expected him to be dead in the morning, but he was all feisty, flapping around in the box. I took the box outside, placed it by the bird feeder and opened it, leaving him to come out as he wished, and left for work.
When I came home, there he was with the other birds at the feeder. I kept an eye on him yesterday and hoped to catch him as night fell, but I couldn’t find him. He’s back today and flew off with the others this evening, so I guess he just needed a nice warm rest to recuperate.
My name comes from my old (5 1/2 yr) female Betta.
For the last few months of her life, she just couldn’t seem to float and I felt bad for her, sitting at the bottom of the aquarium, while all her buddies swam around. So I got a piece of boat-shaped lettuce, put it in the aquarium, scooped her up and put her in. She loved it! She was all happy and would flare up if anybody dare try to sneak into her little ship. I changed the piece of lettuce every day till she died. During that time, I called her Floaty Gimpy.
For her help with the bird, my dog got a huge hug, told how incredibly smart/good she was, and got a cookie. Mind you, the other two got the same treatment for doing nothing
Oh, I wish I’d thought of that lettuce thing when I had Spot, the non-buoyant goldfish. One the other hand, if he had a lettuce boat, his tank mates would have become way too bloated trying to eat it.
Spot loved to be up near the surface but after his swim bladder gave out, had to spend most of his time on the bottom. Every day, I’d sit by his tank and cup my hand just below the surface of the water and he’d swim up and park his scaly keister within. We’d sit there for a half hour or more just enjoying each other’s company. Eventually his scales wore out on the side he lay on the most and his skin was always inflamed and the time finally came where it seemed more humane to send him on to that big pond in the sky. Man, I still miss that sweet little guy. I know non-fish people won’t understand how I feel, but he was my favorite pet ever. He and his buddies helped me get through some very hard times.
The birds I get eating the seeds I toss onto my patio are mostly juncos this time of year. I enjoy watching them run around out there. Good for you, FloatyGimpy, for helping one of them out. And for being so sweet to the original FloatyGimpy too.
Tikki, your post gave me a lump in my throat! I certainly understand the connection with fish.
When I come home from work everyday, one of the first things I do is check on all my tank critters. I have a 33 gallon with fish and 3 African Dwarf Frogs. When I open the door, the fish all swim over to look at me and the frogs start swimming up and down.
Actually, I’m going to shut up about my tank as I realize that I will end up blabbing on and on about something that will bore most people.
I cared for a betta that had some swim issues. He was an office fish, and lived in his little betta-bowl on the counter. For 2 years he never really swam right, always floating in the “dead fish” pose, or occasionally upside down or tail-up. He could right himself to eat or when people came near, but spent most of his time freaking people out with his zombie fish act.
My SIL has a goldfish that is always upside down, near the top of the water. We think it’s a combination of a swim-bladder thing, plus the fact that he seems to be missing a fin. We don’t know why–he was won as a prize at a birthday party her daughter went to.
If he was missing his dorsal (top) fin, well, some goldfish breeds just don’t have them. It doesn’t seem to affect their swimming at all. Goldfish are prone to swim bladder problems though, especially if they’re one of the chubbier types. Someone told me that giving them frozen peas are supposed to help. Just drop one in the water every day. It might be worth it for your sister-in-law to give it a try. Wish I’d known that when Spot was still around.
Since I last posted I’ve been thinking about another Gimpy I knew. Gimpy the crow. He had a leg that stuck out at an odd angle but it never seemed to bother him much. He and his mate were my buds for five or six years. I always had peanuts for them whenever I went out. They could spot me from nearly two blocks away and they’d come a’flying. I never tried to get them to eat out of my hand or let me touch them but they trusted me enough that they’d come within four or five feet of me. Sigh. Now I miss them as much as I miss Spot and my other goldfish buddies.
Wow, FloatyGimpy, you’re a really kind person. It isn’t everyone who’d go to that much effort for a wild bird or an aquarium fish. Thanks for posting and reassuring me that there’s good folks who care about the suffering of our little beastie cousins. Props to your dog, too, for knowing what to do and bringing the matter to your attention.
Thank you. The Junco has been back every day since so he may make it. My yard is about the safest place in the neighbourhood for birds as the dogs make sure no kitties sneak in.
It’s not the dorsal fin, Tikki. It’s one of the side ones. But I’ll tell her about the peas. Thanks! Do they eat them? Does it have to be any special kind of peas, or just your every-day sweet pea?
Yup. Just regular ol’ peas you buy at the store. Goldfish love their veggies so he will probably gulp it right down in no time at all. I’m not sure how it works but something about the peas is supposed to help the swim bladder regulate how much air it holds, I believe, or make it healthier so it works more efficiently.
FloatyGimpy, I’d forgotten about your dog who showed you where the chickadee was. What a sweetheart! To be that concerned and gentle with a creature another dog would have torn apart, that’s really something! I bet she’d be great therapy dog too.
My dog is a real funny girl. Little birds are allowed to live. Last year a pair of robins decided that our yard was a good place to bring their almost-flying babies. I looked out the window to see Bella sniffing at something and, ever so softly, touching it. This was her first experience with a little bird and I wasn’t sure she wouldn’t kill it, so I ran outside in my socks to “save” it. No need, she wasn’t interested in hurting it.
Ravens and crows however, must die! In the summer they use our bird bath as a soup pot. They bring bits of road-kill, snakes, and the neighbours’ goldfish and put them in the birdbath. Then they all sit around the edge and rip up and eat their meal. It’s utterly disgusting. If one of the dogs spots them, it’s game on. Of course they’ve never even come close to catching one. The soup is even too disgusting for the dogs.
It was pretty surprising the first time I walked by the birdbath and there was a whole, but dead, goldfish in it!
My dogs aren’t bothered by small birds either. Or even crows. But buzzards, on the other hand…one day my dogs killed a 'possum in the yard, and for some reason we hadn’t gotten around to getting rid of it yet (sick, maybe?) Anyway, the buzzards showed up and the dogs went WILD!
