Posted on 07/23/2016 6:36:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The now thriving pigeon is ready for a home along with 100 other birds
The baby pigeon with a broken beak was found in April, barely 3 weeks old and about to be euthanized.
Instead the vet technician got in touch with Elizabeth Young at Palomacy, a rescue organization for pigeons and doves in San Francisco. It had somehow survived after being attacked by an animal, though its wounds were infected and its beak was split. It had been living on the ground at a gas station, fed by its parents despite its injuries.
Today the pigeon is thriving though with its crooked beak it can never be released into the wild and is available for adoption. It has taught itself to eat pigeon feed, but needs a deep dish and extra time. Its beak is as fixed as it can or needs to be, Young said.
And though named Prince after the musician who had just died, the pigeon is now thought to be female.
"She does great," Young said. "She's completely self-sufficient."
Palomacy had lots of interest from people interested in the birds on Saturday, during NBC's Clear the Shelters pet adoption drive, but the birds need large cages or outdoor aviaries so their adoptions take more time.
"We're planting seeds and starting the process," Young said.
More than 650 shelters across the country took part in Clear the Shelters, and in all more than 44,000 animals were adopted. Most were dogs and cats, but iguanas, guinea pigs, ferrets, rabbits and toads also found homes.
Palomacy -- shorthand for pigeon diplomacy -- has more than 100 pigeons and doves in foster care. They are domestic birds, survivors of pigeon racing, raised for sport or show, or like Prince, wild birds that for whatever reason cannot be released.
"We always have a waiting list of new birds that need our rescue help," she said. "We can never keep up."
Young founded Palomacy nine years because no one in the area was helping the birds and they were routinely killed in the shelters. They are meticulously clean and do no transmit diseases easily to people, she said. "They make amazing pets," she said. "They've very smart, they're very emotional, they're very loyal, they're easy to care for."
NBC 7's Dagmar Midcap speaks with a San Diego family who went to the San Diego Humane Society during Clear The Shelters on July 23, 2016 with the intentions of adopting one dog, but happily left with two new pets. (Published 4 hours ago)Hundreds of animal shelters across the country will come together July 23 for Clear the Shelters, a nationwide push to place deserving animals in forever homes. Use #ClearTheShelters to join the conversation on social media!
My chimney has purple martens nesting in it.
I’ll be making Paloma’s for our barbecue!
Well, why don’t you go volunteer at the government nursing home for the poorest or teach kids to read at Head Start?
Yes, Mike Tyson does raise pigeons, or at least he did. I’ve always seen that side of him amongst the craziness of his life and admired it about him.
Learned a lot from your post, thanks!
I love animals. All of ours are rescues or showed up & were adopted, including our cat Moshe who showed up w/ one eye hanging out. We got her fixed up & 15 years later she’s still a sweetie.
Good on you for caring for the creatures who are so vulnerable & need us. Nobody needs to justify where they expand their energy in society. Human, animal, plant..........all life & all need their supporters.
You have no idea what I have done to help others, so I would suggest you get a grip before you throw out snarky replies. The amount of money spent on pets and such situations as this wounded pigeon could do an enormous amount of good for HUMAN BEINGS.
The WOOD PIGEON, by the way, is a delicious meal when roasted with chestnuts. City dwelling pigeons spread filth and disease and in many cases need to be eradicated for the good of people’s health.
It’s time to grow up and face facts.
I had a friend that was a radio operator in WWII.
They had pigeons as backup messengers.
It took the birds about 3 weeks to acclimate to a location and consider it 'home'.
He said they would exercise the birds, turn them out, they would fly around circling the location.
Keying the radio would mess up their homing nature, scattering them . Hmmm
One good thing you could do for humankind would be to stop posting buzzkill posts on an animal thread!!!!! We get it......you’re Betty Buzzkill. Now go open a lemonade stand w/ a sign that says, “This money will only go to humans!”
There used to be something called common sense. Unfortunately it has gone out of style! I’ll post wherever I wish. Maybe someone will stop and think...for a change!
Nah, they’ll just say, Betty Buzzkill & move on.
Hey, what makes you an authority on how others spend their money? If I want to open a rescue for banana slugs, why do I need your “approval” to do so?
I don’t like pigeons. I think they are “flying rats,” as another poster remarked. But they are God’s gift to us and if somebody wants to help them, then I will defend that someone against all the Debbie Downers of the world.
lol
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