BeautyBird has an egg!
I discovered it this morning doing a quick scrape! That makes me some sort of unofficial Grandma, or something, doesn't it? Their little 'double dish' nesting box seems to have been adapted as: one side for nice clean fresh nest (and now egg!), and one side for toilet. Quite clever really. So far BB appears to be a tidier housekeeper than I am; her nest is still fresh as the day it was built. She's in for a big surprise when (if) her squabs arrive. I can picture her fussily flinging the little one's droppings out of her tidy little house. By the time they hatch, I think the parents are so tired of sitting on them they're beyond caring about cleanliness. (Have pigeons ever been associated with cleanliness before?!)"No names" seem to have gotten the idea...they are now nested - albeit clumsily - in the bowl intended for that purpose. It's - I'm sorry - the ugliest nest I've ever seen, but they seem slow on the uptake when it comes to collecting useful materials which are quickly hogged by everyone else. I put the 2nd pack of oak fibers out this weekend and they're already gone, so I may have to tuck something right in their cubicle with them. And actually, they have half a name. The two-color bird I call "Woo," for its frequent alarm vocalizations...it's the white bird who hasn't really been christened. I have two nearly identical white birds, numbered 2315 and 2316, whom I call, inexplicably, "15" & "16." I'm terrible at naming pets, all my dogs have arrived with names from their former owners or shelters which I never bothered to replace.
The grey (Tina) and white pair have 2 more eggs, I discovered Saturday morning..they didn't take long to produce some more after dropping their first two! It's amazing how instinct and hormones dictate such profound physiological processes as producing and laying an egg!
I went to the Michigan State Fair Saturday, and had a blissful time. I went by myself, had thoughts about asking others to go along but I was quite sure I wanted to spend at least a couple of hours looking a the pigeons in the show, and as Saturday was the judging day I knew there would be lots of owners and other fanciers available to talk to. Right on both counts, and in fact I arrived at the poultry building a few minutes past opening at 10 a.m., and didn't leave it until 1:30 p.m.! NO ONE would have endured that much torture. If I'd gone with friends I'd have separated from them at the entry gate, and joined up again with them to leave! I spent about an hour afterward walking around the midway dodging puddles and Carnies. We've had rain rain RAIN for over a week and Saturday was its scheduled departure date. It managed to downpour heavily at least twice while I was safe and dry ogling birdies, but everything outside was freshly soaked. Not that I would have enjoyed riding rides all by myself! THAT part was boring alone, so I didn't linger. It was a breezy and cool day along with the rain, which kept the crowds away - nicer for those of us who went! I ate something disgusting and delicious (cheesy fries) while wandering back to the bird exhibit but unfortunately I'd missed the roller pigeon demonstration which I'd been told would be 2:30-3:00. Bad info, darnit.
Last week I won 3 littles ones on eggbid.com, and had made arrangements to collect them on SAturday after 3:30, so about 3:00 or so I left with aching feet and drove the 20 minutes to pick them up. I was the high bidder at $2.50 (!) but when I arrived, the nice young man simply waved his hand at them in their box and said, "You can have them." (!!) His loft has grown very quickly and he wanted to make room for some other breeders. So after chatting a bit and looking at his loft (very attractively made and I wish I'd taken a picture!) I went off with 3 new beautiful birds, who I DON'T HAVE PICTURES OF YET. I appear to have become very slow-witted in that regard. :(
I am continually amazed by the very friendly and helpful people I'm meeting through this hobby. At the show I was approached repeatedly by people who introduced themselves and inquired enthusiastically about my interest, these were handlers and members/officers of the Michigan Pigeon Club, (who also invited me to partake of their FEAST lunch). One of the members did a live demonstration on vaccinating the birds, which was also taped to be made available via the internet. This morning an email arrived from him (he must have gotten my email off a yahoo group post) in which he apologized for not having introduced himself in person on Saturday, and offering to come by my loft and demonstrate vaccinating in person! There really seems to be a strong comraderie in this hobby and I am so happy these birds came my way, not only because they are so engaging and fun, but also for the gracious community of fanciers you find yourself in because of them.
I will amend this post with pictures tomorrow!
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