Mr Furlong arrived in the hide (my bedroom) the morning after the terrible gales holding a pigeon – a nice fat pigeon.
It was quite fun – we thought it had been grounded by the wind which was still moaning around our building in gusts. But when he let it go, it didn’t go. It sat around the whole day looking miserable.
Late in the evening we found it huddled in a corner. I brought it inside to see what could be wrong. No broken bones, food in the crop, shiny feathers but there was something wrong with it’s nares (that is the pigeon word for nostrils). They were covered over with dirt. I think they were blocked. Pigeons breathe through their nares.
You can see the nostrils covered by crusts in the photo.
Mr Furlong and I carefully took the dirt off and did what we could for our patient. But I thought it was doomed because underneath the dirt, the nares were swollen and closed. We popped the pigeon in a cardboard box with a door cut through and placed it in a sheltered corner with food, water and patient.
This morning it was all neatly folded lying peacefully on it’s stomach, feet and wings tucked under, quite dead.
Oh, I forgot to add, most birds (except boobies and gannets) can not breathe through their mouths (beaks).
The Last Furlong 
Jun 16, 2018 at 09:08
Very sad. But why didn’t you eat it?
Once, on the way home from Boarding School we found an injured Rabbit on the road, and because I can’t cope with suffering Rabbits, I instructed my children to bludgeon it to death. This took longer than I hoped. But in the end we took it home and ate it.
You can’t beat Wild Rabbit, for taste, that is.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jun 16, 2018 at 10:16
I don’t know. Could not kill it.. Anyway I think you have to know what the creature is dying of. Could have been something nasty. Once, in Africa, a Mongoose killed all our ducks. They kill indiscriminately . I asked if we could eat them. The vet said not to because mongees carry rabies.
LikeLike
Jun 16, 2018 at 10:27
It sounds to me as though it died from a restricted air passage, deeper than the external nostrils, and inhaled into it’s throat.
It appeared to be fit and healthy with food in it’s crop. I would probably have risked it.
But it’s always better to shoot them, of course.
I don’t think I am particularly blood thirsty, and much prefer Road Kill, which I would never kill myself. But if it’s dead then you might as well eat it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jun 16, 2018 at 10:52
Pheasants! delicious and often seem here – but how long have they been dead for? I’m too timid, I think.
LikeLike
Jun 16, 2018 at 12:08
Pheasant is always best left dead for a few days before you eat it. Some say wait for the maggots. I go along with that. On the very rare occasion that I get access to Pheasant.
But I have never run one over, and never would, despite it being quite easy
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jun 16, 2018 at 15:12
Yeuch!
LikeLike
Jun 16, 2018 at 16:39
Not really. Pheasant is a Game Bird. Best left to rot a bit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jun 16, 2018 at 16:46
“Rot” is the yeuch idea….but I know what you mean.
LikeLike
Jun 16, 2018 at 18:35
I don’t think that you do, Liz. But then nor do I. It’s dead, so eat it. But it is never that simple.
I eat Road Kill, but I would never kill it. I have chased a few Bunnies up the road in my time, in the middle of the night, but never had any desire to kill any of them. I hang back and leave them to escape, so I don’t really understand why some people kill them.
But we do have to be practical about this. Some people do, and mostly people who have no desire to eat. They do it for fun.
That afore mentioned injured Bunny was going to die anyway, and at least it was fresh meat.
Personally, I doubt that my children will ever recovered from having to beat the rabbit to death. But what else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t just leave it there. And that was my first thought.
Oh, and I couldn’t kill it myself. But I would have done if my children had refused. Fortunately they didn’t.
Is this Child Abuse? Probably. Mummy made me kill a Rabbit. But then sending them all off to Boarding School will no doubt be Child Abuse in a minute.
En Y Var.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jun 16, 2018 at 18:44
What does En Y Var mean?
LikeLike
Jun 16, 2018 at 20:05
I think that it might be more often used in Breton French. Although who the fuck knows.
The “Y” is personal to all people rather than to just one person,. It means that we should all go, or not, as we please.
En Y Var basically means “Let’s all go”. Or, “Let us all get on with it.”
Unless you seriously want to speak exceptional French.
I am certain sure that The Y is important way beyond my understanding. But I don’t actually need it.
I might try one day. But since I am still battling with English then I might be better occupied.
LikeLiked by 1 person