So, I had called my brother (who is well armed) Friday night, to come out Saturday and kill the opossum, if it was still in my barn. (This was decided after talking to this guy, Josh, at PFI, who had a horse die from EPM. He recommended killing, if the opossum was still there. Sad, but I value Margo's life a lot more than an opossum's.) *sniff
Anyway, the opossum was gone. So, I had called out my brother for naught? Nothing to kill? (eyes-rolling) Well, I do have two pigeons in the barn that need to go... (Pigeons also carry diseases that can be transmitted to horses.) Lovely.
But, my pigeons! I like them! (Even though I know they need to go... I still like them...) They are a couple! Well, my neighbor (not one of the idiots!) said he contracted a disease they carry as a child, and he said, they need to go. *sniff
So, I told my Brother he could try for the pigeons... (me cringing, even right now as I write this!) BUT, he had to get both. So, out the pigeons fly from my barn. Brother clips one on the wing, we see both still flying around. One comes back to the barn later, the other doesn't return.
The one that came back is now flushed out of the barn again, and BAM!!! Brother got that one. (I, thankfully, was in the house, entertaining Brother's two boys and friend.)
Daniel fetched the bird, confirmed it to be dead, and chucked it somewhere. (Yuck)
So, Brother waits for other pigeon to return. It never does, I am wanting to go to town, so we call off the hunt.
Well, Saturday night, when I go down to feed, the other pigeon is back! *sniff!! It made me really upset! That was the worst day of that pigeon's life! It got shot at and it's mate is missing! Does it know it is dead? Sad!!!
So, I google pigeons this morning, to see if it is the girl or the boy who is still alive. (One had a greenish head, the other a more silver head.) Well, I couldn't find anything about that, but I did read this: "Once a pair has formed a "bond" they will stay together for life." OMG!! I am so sad! Poor pigeons! And, my brother had to go back to work this week, so who knows when he can come back. Poor pigeon who is left!!! We destroyed it's little pigeon family! : ( *extra sniff!
Sometimes, life on the farm is hard!
4 comments:
Hey! Tell me what disease they carry to horses? I did a bit of a search and only found 'Pigeon Fever', which SOUNDS like it's caused by pigeons, but is not:
http://www.completerider.com/ucolorado/PIGEONFEVERINEQUINES.html
So I am curious what diseases they actually transmit? (Always looking to learn new stuff.)
"Some birds can carry the potential for disease, and horse feed and water can be contaminated by their droppings." http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/farm-management/farm-management-03-08-08.aspx
Here is a pdf saying they can carry over 60 diseases... only mentions West Nile and EPM though...
http://www.bird-x.com/links/controlbirdsbarns.pdf
"Equine Encephalomyelitis. Equine encephalomyelitis (sleeping sickness) is a nervous system disease that can be caused by several different strains of virus. In Alabama, the eastern and western strains are the primary causes of equine encephalomyelitis. Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) and western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) are transmitted from infected animals, such as wild birds and rodents, to healthy horses primarily by mosquitoes. The horse is considered a terminal host for WEE and EEE—that is, the disease cannot be passed on from an infected horse to another animal."
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0589/
"Equine Encephalitis
Mosquito bites can infect horses with a viral disease known as encephalitis, which commonly comes in three forms. Eastern, Western and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis each will attack a horse's central nervous system. High fever that lasts for a span of two to three days is the initial sign of this horse disease. The brain of the animal becomes inflamed over time, with the horse losing coordination, muscle control and becoming terribly sluggish. The final phases of encephalitis bring seizures and paralysis. The eastern version of the disease is the most dangerous, with mortality rates as high as 90 percent. Treatments for encephalitis in a horse once they have the disease, which mosquitoes transmit from birds they have bitten, is limited. The best way to protect a horse is with a vaccination against this disease by a licensed veterinarian."
Forgot to copy link...
Okay, that is enough for me. The pigeons had to go. *sniff-sniff* I still liked them though... And one is still there... (me whining...) : (
Yup... mostly the poops... other birds have it too though, making me think twice about those nesting barn swallows... nahhh, can't remove them!
Sara---
Your Aunt Mary had part of her lung removed when she was senior in high school from a disease she got from birds...histoplasmosis I think it is called
Dad
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