Hi, ka Hivers! Welcome to my 9th blog!
Have you ever tried taking care of a wounded pigeon? Have you tried to bathe them? Pooped by them?
Let's dive in this new adventure of mine as I accepted Flay the Pigeon as my pet.
Flay is pronounced as "Fley"
It was May 1 on a sunny morning, I was in my room when I heard the voice of our neighbor. I heard that he told my brother “imoha ri ang langgam dong oh” (our Tatay neighbor handing the pigeon to my baby brother). I ran towards the door when I heard it and I saw a pretty pigeon. Our neighbor turned to me and he handed me the pigeon.
He told me that he would give us the pigeon. I asked him what happened because there was blood on it. He said he found it near their faucet outside and it can’t hardly fly. So he kept it for 2 days in their house and the next day, that’s the day he gave it to us. It has a wound, but it’s healing. The wound is caused by a tirador (slingshot) loaded with a small stone.
My neighbor told me to feed the pigeon with feeds. So I nodded and hugged the pigeon. He told me I should tell my father to make a cage on it. He also suggested buying a male pigeon so it won’t be lonely and will have kids. I let Lola hold Flay while I prepared a temporary cage for Flay. I gave Flay water and food and also a stick where she could stay hanging. I let the rope that Tatay neighbor tied on Flay's feet because it’s way safer for her, so she can’t fly away yet.
I was so happy that Tatay neighbor gave it to us. I don’t know why he decided to give it to us. I mean maybe he knows that I love animals so much and whatever it is I will accept it wholeheartedly and will take care of it (oh just not a 🐍! I care for them but I don't know if I can pet them). I don’t know who owned Flay but for now, I want her to be completely healed and soon I will find her owner. Because even if I badly wanted to keep her she's not mine, to begin with. I have to ask some of our neighbors first if they have a white pigeon. If no one will say they have a white pigeon. Then, maybe that's the time I'll call her my pet, permanently (but in my heart she's already my pet permanently). If someone will say they have a white pigeon I have to know if it's truly legit.
I’m not fond of hunting animals as it breaks my heart. If I can only eat vegetables every day or if only we had plenty of variety of vegetables I’d be a vegan for REAL! I felt so pity towards Flay when I heard what happened to her, she’s such a pretty pigeon and those heartless guys just hurt her. She’s lucky she wasn’t hurt that bad and those guys didn’t find her.
I named her Flay because I find it cute and similar to fly which of course because she can indeed fly. After all, she will fly higher when she’s not tied up anymore.
Flay is so hard to feed because I don’t know if she’s shy or scared. So, I had to be patient on feeding her I would act as if I was not looking at her and the moment she decided to eat my arm was already numb, but I didn’t mind it as long as she could eat. It took two days that we were like that when she ate. After 2 days she would now eat without me feeding her, maybe she’s not shy anymore HAHAHA. But she still loves to be fed on like feeds, jackfruit, banana, etc.
I let Flay out of the cage with the rope on when it’s daytime. So, it was May 2 when I needed to wash our clothes so I told Flay, “After I go to our goats I will wash our clothes and you will accompany me”. I want her not to feel that she’s alone. Every daytime she will be in the laundry area with me, on the swing with me and my baby brother, or inside the house where there's this area that is easy to wash her pooped. Sometimes my Lola, Mama and Nanay would pet her too.
At night she will be in the temporary cage and I had to make sure she can’t get out and also make sure my cats can’t hurt Flay. Day and night I always make sure she never runs out of food and water.
I was done with my chores so I took Flay with me and we chill on the swing. The seconds I sit on the swing she instantly pooped on me (on days that she was with me, she loved to poop on me).
I noticed one of our roosters, Aly, was staring weirdly at Flay. He was like he wanted to fight with Flay and Flay was scared. I laughed so hard when I tried to lower Flay and he wanted to fight (what an innocent chicken, Aly). So, I shoo Aly away.
I was laughing at that moment because she tried to fly as we were about to leave the swing but I didn’t know she just froze I think she wants to be a model HAHAHA I picked her up because she might hurt herself more.
Flay meets Pochy and Knight and both are scared especially when Flay flopped her wings HAHAHA. Knight was licking his tongue so I told him it’s not food, it’s his friend. My cats are chill when Flay is chill.
I had only 2 cats now because my Mingkay my very old cat went missing. It was morning when I didn’t see her, she was still in the house at night. So I was curious and started to call her and told my brother, my kiddo’s cousin, my mama, auntie, and Nanay to also look for Mingkay. I tried to go up the mountain. I can’t go further because I was having dysmenorrhea at that time. I stopped a bit on the mango tree just a bit near to my uncle’s house I saw a big monitor lizard. An idea just popped into my head that what if Mingkay was eaten by a monitor lizard. Perhaps it was true, because it is been I think 3 weeks already and we haven’t found her, no dead smell as in no sign of my Mingkay. I miss Mingkay so much and it feels different without her in our home.
I was planning on taking Flay a bath on her first day here but I’m not sure if it’s okay. I was out of an internet connection so I couldn't search for it (so stupid of me). I want to clean her wound by bathing because we are out of some medicine to cleanse a wound. But she can spread her wings and move without any problem, already. After 1 day, I decided to take Flay a bath. I don’t know how to do it, it’s my first time to bathe a pigeon! The blood-stained too much on her feathers. I first tried with only water to wash the stain off.
I have a dove shampoo here but I’m not sure if it’s okay to use it. I tried using only water first but, nothing happened. I put a small amount of shampoo on the basin with water but the effectivity rate was 2 out of 10.
I tried to use a net to rub slowly her feathers, it was effective but I was afraid I might hurt her. The stain can’t be washed off easily by water, so I let it be. Maybe if I wash her every day the stain will be gone.
I wash her with only water again because she’s shivering already. Then I wrapped her with a fabric, transferred her inside the house and used some tissue to help her dry fast.
This is her look when she dries up, the blood lightened a bit. I’m excited to see her all-white feathers, she’s so pretty! I will take good care of her and let her feel that she can stay at our house or she can come back when I let her go soon. Even if she popped a lot I already love her so much.
I’m the type of person who easily gets attached to animals more than people, like just a couple of seconds and I’m already attached. I can let people go and leave me without tears falling. But, I can’t take it when I lose my pet and seeing an animal getting hurt or died. I would cry my heart eyes out and it’s hard for me to move and I would cry again and again.
As May 2024 entered, I had additional responsibilities. But, it's not a burden, it's a blessing. Flay is such a pretty pigeon and I love her to be my pet, forever. She loves to stare at me, especially when I do laundry and she would spread her 1 wing when I carry her after doing laundry (it feels like she comforted me after a long day of chores, so that's how it feels to be hugged with wings). She always pooped on me and she want to sit on my shoulder or my hand. 3 days after I had her, I was able to hear her making a sound (a music to my ears!) I was genuinely waiting for it.
Flay's improvement:
- She can now eat and drink without me feeding her (she's not shy anymore).
- When she see that her food is little she will ask for more (like she will do something and I instantly understand that she wants more food).
- She eats a lot now, YEY!
- She's more playful now (she even dared to bite us using her beak). But she looks so cute doing it and it didn't hurt. When she do it we will just hand her a food that's in front of her and she will eat HAHAHA
- She's loud now compared to the past few days that she's not making any sound.
- She's more active now (she was like exercising her wings and stretching her legs after 2 days of being in our house).
- She pooped a lot every passing days HAHAHA
To anyone who does slingshot, can you not do it again, please? Birds are too innocent to be hurt and other animals too. Please be more kind to animals because it's not gonna be easy if we were on their shoes.
Yey! You're at the end of my blog! Though my blog ended my love for Flay will continue, and my love for the animals, for my pets has no ending!