We Have Pigeon Eggs

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1923

I wish you guys could have seen Ladyboy yesterday. While cleaning the balcony, she got up and defended the tree pot from me. Not the flower box, where her current nest and squabs are. But the old, taller tree pot. The flower box was scooted off to the left and had Dad on the squabs, while the tree pot was all the way across to the right. I was squeegeeing water, and she jumped up into the pot and took a stand. Pecked and wing-slapped me each time I drew near. The tree pot is empty now, not a single twig in there, but she was clearly warning me not to mess with the pot, because she has plans for it. I guess she intends to use it for the next clutch of eggs and go back and forth between it and the flower box and was worried I was going to do something with the tree pot, the way I was moving it around. And sure enough, this morning (Saturday morning), she and The Bully were starting to be sweet in there starting the courting ritual. Pigeons seem to have a certain level of planning.

Meanwhile, Johnny turns one week today, Liz tomorrow. Henry’s out there eating now, and the parents are gone. I always try to show him his grandchildren, but he only ever seems interested in the food.

1924

Thursday morning. Johnny and Liz are 12 and 11 days old. They look like they’re on track to become carbon copies of the previous batch, Danny and Mali, with Johnny the dark-patterned one and Liz the white. Assuming we have them correct, because we sort of lost track this time as to which is which, they both seemed about the same size for a while. But now we’re assuming dark Johnny, who is definitely bigger now, was the first hatched.

The parents are definitely planning to use the tree pot as their love nest while the squabs lounge in the flower box. We expect new eggs any day now. Ladyboy is so cute standing her ground and challenging me from the pot whenever I’m cleaning out there. She’s also taken to walking over and wing-slapping me if I’m petting the squabs while she’s off the nest. She certainly feels comfortable challenging me.

1925

And we have two more eggs.:smiley: Laid Saturday and then, right on schedule, two days later on Monday. Hatchings expected about St. Patrick’s Day, so we’re naming these Patrick and Penny (the latter in honor of Kaley Cuoco :D).

The eggs come pretty regularly now, always about two weeks after the previous ones hatched. But we can usually tell the day, because Ladyboy seems to go into some type of “labor,” drowsing around and generally acting lethargic. And The Bully will always stand by being attentive – giving her little head massages, standing guard nearby. Very sweet. The eggs always seem to come in the early evening, maybe late afternoon.

Meanwhile, Johnny and Liz are 17 and 16 days old today (Tuesday), respectively. Liz has twice now since last night fallen out of the flower box, presumably in her excitement to attract Dad for a feeding, and could not get back in. Comical. She’s big enough to stretch her neck up and look into the box with her head, just barely, but can’t get back in on her own. I have to give her a boost.

1926

Finally, some promised photos. :smiley:

Danny and Mali at 19 and 18 days, respectively, on January 28. At 22 and 21 days. You can see Mali’s white mask coming along.

Going walkabout at ages 24 and 23 days on February 1. And a family photo that same day (Mom’s on the new eggs).

Looking like real little pigeons at ages 28 and 27 days. And on the rail at 38 and 37 days. Again, Danny disappeared suddenly just a couple days after that last photo was taken, but Mali still stays here at night. She’ll be two months old tomorrow (Monday).

Now on to the new batch. The same day as that last photo of Danny and Mali, we have Mom guarding day-old Johnny and freshly hatched Liz, February 15. Then we have Dad checking them out and then guarding them because he’s getting a little nervous about me.

Dad watches over Johnny and Liz at ages four and three days. I think you can see Johnny’s eye is open a bit.

Liz (left) at 13 days and Johnny at 14 days. They’re looking an awful lot like the previous batch, Danny and Mali, aren’t they?

And finally, this past Wednesday with Johnny and Liz at ages 18 and 17 days, plus the new clutch of eggs. The parents now have two nesting sites on the balcony that they switch back and forth between.

And you can see all the photos on a single page here.

Meanwhile, it’s Sunday morning over here, and Johnny and Liz are 21 and 20 days old. After falling out of the box a few times in recent days, they now seem able to hop in and out of the flower box on their own, much to Dad’s annoyance as they swamp him for a feeding. Worryingly, they’re both starting to get little growths on their faces, particularly Johnny. I hope it’s not cancer. They seem healthy and active otherwise.

Timmy (just over four months old now), Ladda (just over three months) and Mali (two months tomorrow) come back and stay here at night now.

1927

Wednesday afternoon and little Patrick hatched this morning. Wiggly as usual. Still waiting for Penny. I noticed a hole in Patrick’s egg yesterday.

Johnny and Liz, 4-1/2 weeks old, aren’t doing too well. They act healthy enough, but these tumors or growths or whatever they are on the heads are growing bigger and threatening to shut their eyes. There’s a bird specialist at Chulalongkorn University’s small-animal hospital on Sunday mornings. I think we’re going to try to take them in.

Meanwhile, Ladda has disappeared. Timmy and Mali are the other ones here at night now.

1928

And we have little Penny, hatched this morning (Thursday morning). Mama’s keeping her covered up, so we haven’t actually seen her yet. But we do see the new empty eggshell.

1929

Man, their lives seem to go by on hyperspeed! (Do you suppose that is what redwood trees think of humans?)

1930

They seem to have the sex drives of college students, that’s all I know.

1931

I hope Johnny and Liz get well. Didn’t you once observe another pidgee with these growths? I don’t remember if it was a hatchling or a visitor.

1932

Yes, we’ve seen a few with these growths, mostly visitors but one or two older howmegrown squabs, and they always seemed to get sicker before disappearing, presumably dying. But if you try to catch them, they perk up and flee. Johnny and Liz aren’t flying yet – a little odd for five weeks old, which they both are this weekend – so I think we’ll be able to catch them all right. Johnny’s starting to look a little sluggish, and he’s the worst affected. Liz still acts normal, but she has fewer. However, Liz’s eyes look like they’re in danger of closing up. This is the earliest we’ve seen the growths form.

We have a box prepared to smuggle them out of the building in.

1933

Sunday afternoon after a morning of high drama for little Liz when we kidnapped her and spirited her away to that small-animal clinic at the university. Johnny looks much worse than Liz, but he started flying. Left yesterday, was back for the night, but then left again this morning before we could grab him.

But we got Liz, who has been looking worse the last couple of days. Not flying yet but was doing helicopters this morning. Despite that, she seems weaker. We smuggled her out of the condo in a shoe box that already had a couple of nice big holes in it for air.

The clinic is quite an impressive setup. Not sure what I was expecting, but it’s certainly well run. Spread over several floors of a couple of buildings, it even has sections for resonance imaging and – I kid you not – acupuncture. After registering Liz – she has her own card now – we were sent to the “Exotic” section. The vet knew what the problem was right away. A virus that is similar to smallpox and common among the bird population. He prescribed medicine and showed us how to use it. There’s some eye ointment to apply twice a day, just squeeze it into both eyes, don’t even have to rub it in. Looked awful but Liz didn’t seem to mind, although she may just have been in shock from everything. Then there’s some medicine for the virus or symptoms, not sure which (you can’t cure most viruses, can you?), and we administer 0.3 milliliters twice a day, using a syringe to get it down her throat. Then a bottle of liquid vitamins to boost her strength, also 0.3 milliliters twice a day using a syringe. We told the doctor there was a sibling who was worse off, and he prescribed enough medicine for both. Said 1-2 weeks should be long enough to recover.

So we paid for and picked up the medicine, then had to go to the on-site pet store for the syringe. While there, I noticed a nice, small plastic pet carrier with lots of air slits around the sides and on the lid. Knowing Liz is on the verge of flying like her brother, I bought that too to keep Liz in for the next week or so. If and when Johnny returns tonight, we’ll put him in too. Cost for everything including the carrier (but excluding cab fare) was 664 baht or about 20 bucks American. (The carrier accounted for about a third of that.)

So we got Liz home, sneaked her back in. We still have some soil left that I used for the tree pot and flower box, so I lined the floor of the carrier with that. The doctor already administered the first eye ointment treatment for the day, but I had to give he the other medicine and vitamins. Finished that and put her inside her new box along with some food and water dishes. She’s not happy about it, but it will only be for a week or two. Plus she may have her brother for company soon. Seems to be roomy enough for two. And the doctor said if they get better, they’ll be immune from catching it again.

We told the doctor that the parents seemed healthy, but he said they could have it but be asymptomatic carriers. But once symptoms do appear like this, the bird will die if not treated. Liz was already starting to look sluggish, Johnny has been for a few days now. Still eating though. We’re keeping the box out on the balcony and will make sure they have enough food and water. Again, just for a week or two, so hopefully they can stand it. We’ll also write down the names of these medicines in case we have to buy more in the future for others.

So that was Liz’s big adventure today, which marks five weeks old. Johnny turned five weeks yesterday.

Meanwhile, the new squabs Patrick and Penny, four and three days old, respectively, seem to be doing fine. Patrick opened his eyes yesterday. Penny may have hers open today, but we’ve not been able to take a good look at her yet.

1934

I’m afraid Johnny’s most likely a goner. Monday morning now, and he didn’t return home last night. Poor little guy. But Liz seems to be responding well to the medicine. Looks a little like the Elephant Man with her pustules, but at least she doesn’t seem to be getting worse. The main medicine that I shoot down her throat via syringe is an antibacterial that will stop bacteria from forming and hopefully prevent her from getting worse. The liquid vitamin complex is to bolster her strength. And then there’s the eye cream to prevent infection there. And of course, the food we give the birds on any given day is high-quality fare loaded with nutrients, so she’s eating well. And she is eating, that’s good. She seems to be stabilized now, and I think the doctor said if she just doesn’t grow worse, then the pustules should dry up and fall off. Handling her like I am now, I can even feel pustules hidden under her feathers on her chest and throat. (No worries. this virus is not transmissible to humans.)

Liz seems to be taking her incarceration stoically. We’re doing pretty well administering the medicine, but the wife will be away tomorrow, so I’ll have to do it on my own for the first time.

For the new guys, Patrick and Penny, the latter is four days old now, and I don’t think her eyes are open yet. Not unusual, although Patrick had his open two days ago at age three days.

1935

I am awfully impressed by you. So many would say ‘it’s just a pigeon.’

Thought: can the medicines be used proactively? As in, would it be sensible to dose the new babies even if they aren’t showing symptoms yet?

1936

I’d rather not start treating all the squabs proactively. But I’ll be watching for symptoms much more closely, and now I know which medicine to buy.

We’ve also set the carrier up on top of the flower box in a bid to keep ants out. They might start burrowing in and form an ant colony like they did with the previous tree pot. The parents will want the flower box back soon for their next clutch of eggs, so we may have to look for some bricks or something this weekend. Or maybe Liz will be recovered by then. We can only hope.

1937

Tuesday morning and sadly, Johnny ain’t coming back. :frowning:

But it’s been almost 48 hours since the vet now, and Liz is doing well. The medicine seems to be helping. She’s seems more perky, stands around a lot now instead of always lounging, and the wife and I both think some of the pustules are visibly diminished to a significant degree. Still looks kind of gross but definitely on the mend, I’d say. She’s 37 days old today.

Have pics of Liz in the case and will post those soon.

1938

Too bad about Johnny, but at least Liz is responding to treatment.

I’m happy to know someone cares.

1939

Thursday morning and Liz is definitely on the mend. I think it’s safe to say we have saved her life. That’s our good deed or the month. In fact, she seems completely recovered now. The pustules are not gone completely, but they’ve started shrinking and turning greyish, they don’t look “angry” anymore. And she’s all perky now. Almost escaped the other day when I opened the lid. Clearly wants out. I’m tempted to let her go, but the doctor said at least one week, so we’re going to do one week. If we release her now and she starts relapsing, we may not be able to catch her again. Sunday will mark both a week of treatment and her six-week birthday, so if she still seems well that day, we hope to give her one last dose of medicine and then give her her freedom for her birthday.

Dad started closely inspecting the carrier the other day. We thought maybe he was concerned his daughter was trapped inside. But no. He started trying to push his bill through the slats by Liz’s food dish. He saw there was food and wanted some and to hell with the daughter. I set some down for him too, and that was the last of his concern about Liz.

I did manage to get the medicine down her throat myself alone yesterday morning, but it’s much easier with the wife here to hold the bird. Hopefully I won’t have to do it solo again. Very difficult to maneuver.

Meanwhile, new squabs Patrick and Penny are eight and seven days old. We’ve not had time to pay them much attention, what with caring for Liz. But their feather shafts are just starting to come out, and it looks like yet another white and dark combo – one white, the other dark.

The parents are getting frisky again, it’s time, but the flower box is occupied, what with the carrier sitting on top of it to keep ants out of it. But the wife’s sister found a new one exactly like it somewhere, so I’ll get some more dirt to fill it this weekend, and they’ll have a nice clean box for their next nest. The old flower box is looking all grotty. We still have some dirt but not enough to fill the box. I need what’s left to put down for Liz.

1940

Sunday morning and Liz, who turns six weeks old today, seems fully recovered. We’re going to dose her one more time, try to wash a little of the dirt from her carrier off of her – she’s starting to look like she flew through a chimney, poor girl – and release her. She’s tried a couple of times to escape since that last one I reported, she really wants out. I don’t think she’s actually flown anywhere else, but certainly at this age she has the ability. That’s why we couldn’t catch her brother to treat him, he flew away.

The carrier 's been sitting on the flower box to help keep ants away from the dirt – we’re six floors up, but like everywhere in Thailand there’s still an ant problem sometimes – and last night when we set it on the floor for a bit, The Bully immediately took the opportunity to hop into the flower box and call for his sweetie. Ladyboy obliged him, and they acted all sweet in there for a while. No sex, but lots of cuddling. They miss that flower box. (That’s the long rectangular one. The present squabs are in the big round tree pot.) Well, they’ll not only get it back today but also have a brand new flower box with fresh earth. And we expect to have a new tree pot hopefully this week.

Patrick and Penny, meanwhile, 11 and 10 days old today, respectively, act perky and healthy. But Patrick has already developed two big ones of those nodules on his throat, so we’re going to start dosing him with the medicine today. Penny seems perfectly fine, and we’re going to wait and see if anything develops with her before we do her. The nodules are on Patrick’s throat, not near his eyes, and the seem clear, so we’re not going to use the eye ointment on him. Just the antibacterial and vitamins down the throat. This will be easier than with Liz, because he’s still so small and can’t fly yet. The parents may not be very happy about us “abusing” him, particularly Mama.

1941

Well, looking up the medicine, Baytril, it mentions: “Baytril should not be used in rapidly growing animals… as it causes abnormalities in the development of articular cartilage.”

I think maybe we’ll wait a week or two before dosing Patrick. He won’t be flying for another three weeks or so, and we can always start early if he starts acting sick. For now, I think we’ll wait until he at least starts looking like a real miniature pigeon.

Looking now like Patrick and Penny will both be white.

1942

And it’s done. Dosed Liz again and set her free. She immediately did helicopters. That must have felt good. Then looked confused about what to do next. Hopped up onto the green concrete in the middle to look out. Still up there now. Dad does not seem happy to have her here.