Was leaving my apartment today when I walked past a pigeon stood in the middle of a pavement.
As I walked past it it tried scrabbling away and I noticed this really weird clacking noise coming from its movement. Looked down at it and it had these MASSIVE mud coloured balls on the end of its toes.
So anyway, I cornered the thing, took it back to my apartment, put it in the sink with some hot, shallow soapy water and let pigeon-friend soak his or her feet for about 30 minutes.
I wrapped him in a towel and got to work with some tweezers and nail scissors slowly and carefully removing them from his toes. These things were hard as rock so it took me about 90 minutes.
Turns out apparently its something that can happen to birds that spend a lot of time on the ground (pigeon looked like a fledgling). Poop and mud and dirt can begin building up on its feet and calcify.
I wanted to ask whether anybody else had seen this before and if I'd decide to ignore it instead whether they would have come off on there own eventually?
There isn't much information about this on the internet, but damn they were wrapped around its poor little toes pretty badly.
This board never ceases to amaze me.
>Imma save this disease ridden pest!
You should've licked the poop balls off.
>>2107142
I don't think pigeons are pests. They're very intelligent and make great pets when domesticated, and they mate for life. Humans carry more disease than pigeons do.
I doubt those would have come off on their own. Good on you, op.
>>2107146
Th-thanks.
>>2107140
It's so perfect, it honestly looks placed. I don't think they would come off on their own, at least not for a long time. That's the weirdest shit though, I've never seen anything like it.
You should keep it as a pet and call him Dung
>>2107148
Shit I'd have loved to but I live in university accommodation. Dung is an A+ name too.
Well I just thought it was pertinent to post here in case you guys ever come across similar. I actually figured after I sat there slowly cutting them away layer by layer, it might have been possible to pour something like baby oil or almond oil down the gaps at the top, leave it to sit and soften and then potentially have them slide off. Potentially.
Why are they perfectly round? How the fuck..
>>2107145
Pest aren't recognized by as pest or not just because you say so. Pest are considered pest when they fuck up areas, over populate, carry diseases and what not.
>>2107174
ur a pest
>>2107174
>pests are considered pest when they:
>fuck up areas
>over populate
>carry diseases
So, humans are pests then. Gotcha.
>>2107149
do you have a feral pigeon on your bed, srsly?
>>2107196
Yeah but I was due to wash my bedding tonight anyway.
>>2107186
Misanthropy: The Thread
Maybe you should stop posting on the evil human made internet and go build yourself a nest in a tree somewhere.
>>2107202
Why don't we just gather every animal on the planet and pour them into an enormous pot of boiling water and then we can have our human paradise free of annoyances of mammalian lifeforms and their nasty diseases.
I mean that's your idea of a solution isn't it? If a bird poops on your nice, new, clean pavement you just shoot it right, regardless of whether it was here first.
>>2107204
I'd be up for the hot pot.
Sounds delicious.
>>2107206
Maybe some garlic would bring out some flavor too. I could go for that.
>>2107204
I'm sensing a little angst in this post.
Ever hear of the word *Conservation*?
>>2107218
Actually my boyfriend is a forester and conservationist.
I don't have a problem with population control, in the case of deer it's sometimes necessary (only because of what humans have done to the environment though), but when it comes to pigeons it's a fact that culling them is frequently ineffective as they repopulate back to previous levels within a year or two.
Populations around town and cities typically remain stable anyway so killing them is just a waste of time and money.
>>2107186
Humans are the number one ecological problem on the planet by an insurmountable degree and by any measure we use to define species as a pest, are a pest. But pigeons happen to be riding pretty well on our pestilence and are a pest to local bird populations themselves.
>>2107132
Damn that's fucking weird. Nice job on that OP!
How is the pidgeon now?
>>2107233
He seemed a little distressed by the whole ordeal but I released him into one of the holes that line a massive stone bridge next to my accommodation so he could sit and recover, but I left him some bread with seeds in it and a little dish of water. When I came back later he was still sat in the hole but the bread was gone so I assume he's okay.
>>2107242
That's good to hear. You're based anon.
>>2107202
>the OP helped an animal that I personally dilike
>he must hate humans!
>>2107249
>a severe lack of reading comprehension.
>>2107132
The pigeon mafia tried to whack that bird with the old cement shoes trick. You interfered with pigeon mafia business. You should expect to see a flock of angry pigeons at your doorstep any minute. They will swarm and kill you like in the movie Birdemic.
>>2107267
>>2107267
Kek I didn't think of that.
Don't weep 4 me guise, I'm alredy ded.
>>2107202
To be honest I don't know how you could be an intelligent human being living in this era and not be even slightly misanthropic. As far as animals go we're pretty much the worst.
>>2107140
You are so awesome OP. Thank you for being a good person.
>>2107220
Your boyfriend is fucking around as we speak
>>2107279
My boyfriend is sat next to me playing Bloodborne.
>>2107293
Yeah he likes that kinky shit don't he
>>2107202
>Give definition of pest
>Humans literally fit it better than any other species
>Go full buttrage
Die.
>>2107145
Pigeons absolutely are pests, but they're also alive and capable of suffering so it's completely okay to help them if you want. Just don't expect everyone to do the same or even think you did the right thing.
>>2107145
Rats and mice make great pets too, they're pests
You probably want to wash anything that pigeon touched unless you want salmonella, meningitis or several, related parasites.
The fact that the bird was in squalorous conditions that caused the poo-toe buildup means it's probably in the same conditions that cause a LOT of bird-to-human parasites/diseases
>>2108734
>squalorous conditions
its not environmental its behavioral.
i have ~50 quail in the same enclosure. only ~5 have this happen and its the same birds every time.
>>2108758
>and its the same birds every time.
Don't let those retards breed
>>2107268
>not P.W.A. Pigeons With Attitude
>>2107140
Damn, those nails on that poor bird are seriously overgrown, they look like the claws of a carnivore!
I suppose that's all the proof I need that this is probably real.
And I have seen this happen before, but only in wildlife documentaries about flamingos. Something about the soil in the areas that they nest in makes their fledglings really prone to this. With flamingos, it's almost always a death sentence.
