Santino

On 8/30, a well-intentioned person bought eleven king pigeons from a live food market at Grant & Pacific in order to save the birds from being killed and served as somebody's dinner. When set free, because they are king pigeons, they just stood around not knowing what to do or where to go. They wound up at SF ACC and, after being there a week, Santino showed signs of being sick. I was notified by ACC and have brought her (?) home for supportive care (if she lives) or hospice care. Judging from her coloring, she's probably the baby of a red check feral and a white king pigeon. She's a very sweet bird and nibbles on my fingers wishing I'd feed her like any decent Mommy Bird would. Despite having to eat on her own, she's gained 17 grams in 24 hours and isn't getting worse (that I can tell) and may be a little better. She's coughing less and flies a good bit - wouldn't you if you had wings and were just getting old enough to use them?

9/12 Update:

Santino's made a great recovery and is now out in the loft with the flock. She received only Baytril and supportive care but for her and what ever was ailing her, it worked. Her cough is gone, her eyes are resolved and she's eating and making her own way. She's very sweet with me, savvy with the big pigeons and a bit of a bully with a (younger, smaller) feral squeaker I thought she might keep company. Guess she's too grown for the baby basket now. They grow up so fast.