Lupita

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San Jose residents Jaclyn & Rod went to great lengths to help the more than 20 king pigeons that were dumped at Our Lady of Peace Church in October and, after many hours and much effort, were able to catch 15 of them. Lupita was the youngest of the bunch (about 8 weeks old when dumped) and had a misaligned beak, a respiratory infection and, within days, a bad case of pigeon pox.

After a course of antibiotics and a long quarantine with supportive care, she is finally improved. She's put on weight, molted in her young adult feathers and her pox lesions (on beak and flight wing follicles) are just about gone.

Along the way, she made friends with an even younger king pigeon- Elvis. Lupita is trying to teach him proper pigeon manners but Elvis is irrepressible and unapologetic about it. He'll squeeze right in between her and her own food dish squeaking all the way and then eat all the safflower seeds leaving Lupita no choice but to go eat his picked over leftovers. Lupita doesn't have the hard heart it would require to scold the silly baby and send him back to his own dish.

Now they are both recovered and fostered in the outside coop full time. If you rely on clipped wings to keep your birds safe, please note the picture below. Despite her severely clipped wings (not to mention the fact that she's a big-bodied, poor flying king pigeon), she was able to gain the 5 feet of altitude needed to join her friend Elvis on this high perch in the loft.

Lupita (and her friend Elvis if they become mates) is available for adoption through MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue and will be posted on the website soon.

12/24/10 UPDATE:

The above pictures are the "before" and those below are "after. Lupita is healed and lovely. I'm still thinking she's probably a hen but she's still single and so that theory is unconfirmed.

Lupita is a pigeon who's been through a great deal and is very lucky to be alive and safe and well cared for. She is being fostered in the Flusche Family Cooop and is in need of adoption and a forever home. Please contact me at AdoptKings@gmail.com for more information.