Meet Piotr, the pigeon.

 

Piotr has some good things going for him, for not being too scared of me. He takes food out of a container, as well as water, for example. 

Piotr is the latest addition to the iPigeon.institute family. I rescued him, last night, when I spotted him pecking around at some food and looking listless. He gave off some hints that he wasn’t following flock behavioral signals, so I took it as a sign that he wasn’t adapting well to outdoor life, and that he could be putting himself at risk, for leaving himself vulnerable. Despite this, he also immediately gave off signs of being tame. He took food out of my hand, when I offered it to him, for example. He also let me pick him up, without any trouble. I figured that it would be better that I took him home than someone else, particularly because of his friendly traits, but also because I have a lot of spare time to give him attention. 

I took him home and sat him down on my bed, and I went out to do some remote work at the library, which is where I was initially headed when I initially happened upon Piotr. When I came home, he was in the same spot, and I went to bed. I woke up a few times, during the night, and I checked on him, and this morning, I offered him some food and water, and he took both, which is a reassuring sign that he’s generally healthy and in good spirits. I think he’ll make a great pet! He’s a black-feathered pigeon, with some slight luminescence to his neck feathers.

Update: I noticed that Piotr was limping, so I took a look at him, and apparently, he’s got a wounded leg, of some sort. I guess I’ll be taking care of him for a little while, at least, while his leg repairs itself.

Piotr walks with a limp, I noticed - after I brought him home. He’ll be staying with me for a while during his recovery. He’s been eating heartily and he likes mineral water.

Update: I was considering veterinary care for Piotr, but I felt that it could be much more costly than trying to splint his leg myself. Since he’s pretty calm, I feel like I can do it on my own, so I ordered a pigeon leg splint from Foy’s Pigeon Supplies.

A pigeon leg splint, from Foy’s, a renowned pigeon and pet supply store.

Piotr awaits his recovery, and he passes the days mostly by sitting on my bed, or a pillow. He goes “home” to a cozy little nook, located behind my pillow.

Piotr, in his nook. I clean his spot once or twice a day, that’s all it takes!

Update: Sunday, May 11th

Piotr’s leg splint came in, yesterday, from Foy’s Pet Supplies, so I spent some time splinting his leg. The instructions said to wrap the wounded leg with cotton wool, then clamp the splint around the leg (it has plastic fasteners on it). Piotr was fairly calm through the stressful process, and I got his leg splinted successfully. Hopefully he heals up soon!

I was able to successfully splint Piotr’s broken leg (or foot).

Update: 05/19/2025

Piotr the pigeon is starting to show some affections for me, as well as pigeon intelligence. He flew down from his roost, last night, when it started getting dark, and he landed himself on my pillow, where he settled down, for the night, next to my head. I mostly left him alone, since he’s probably feeling things out, with me, as far as his personal security, as well as his place in life, with me. 

Piotr’s lofty roost, up at the top of the photo, where he likes to situate himself when he wants time to himself, or when he wants to get away. He’s found that this spot is mostly secure for him, as far as being left alone. 

Piotr has been eating well, despite having his leg splinted. He’s definitely adapting well, and he doesn’t hold the splinting against me, in terms of friendliness. He’s demonstrated that he knows when it’s meal time (when I’m having meal time), and he also takes well to demonstrating that he wants to eat, at times, by pecking around, or by showing up at his food and water dishes. 

Piotr is having a drink of water, here. He’s a picky eater, and he only likes some of the seeds in the seed mixes I give him. Here, he tossed aside his seed bowl, entirely, after having some shrimp with me. He’s got a bit of an attitude!

This morning is when Piotr started dining interactively with me, after we spent the night as pillow buddies. I sat down for breakfast, and he noticed that there were eggs in my meal, which he likes. He headed on over to my plate and helped himself to some eggs. Piotr really has some personality to him. 

Piotr, having some scrambled eggs, along with me, as I begin my breakfast, this morning. 

I think it’s fascinating to observe how Piotr defines his boundaries and affections, upon adapting, over time, to domesticated life. I’ve still yet to discern whether or not I’ll keep him, but I really do like having him as a companion. It’s an adventure unlike other bird experiences I’ve had, since he has free rein over the room we stay in, perhaps. 

Update: 05/21/2025

Some video content demonstrating Piotr having his customary lunch (seeds), then having a drink of water, and then, he returns to his roost.

Update on Piotr: 05/28/2025:

Mysteries abound in my head about this, even though my physical illness that beset me since the beginning of this past weekend took the foray, for the most of the day. After I had returned from getting breakfast, I seemed to offhandedly suppose that Piotr was not in any of his several spots in my room, where he likes to hang out. I had, at first, been concerned that he had been one trapped against the wall space, with my furniture’s placement, but I checked the possible spots where he “may” have been, and, being that I couldn’t find him there, I eventually checked his lofty high roost, where he may have been, in a second stacked box, but that wasn’t until much later in the day, due to going to the store having been so grueling for me, due to my body aches and feverish chills. Aside from that I rested, but when I checked the high up box, he wasn’t there, either. So I gave the room another full once over, and I cleaned up some mess that he’d been accumulating on the floor. In any case, I’ve affirmed that he’e possibly been removed from the room, during the times in which I’d gone out, possibly by management or my caseworkers, since I also noted that my moon lamp had been turned off, possibly as a suggestion, since I was sick for so long. The tales that were weaved in my head were pretty lighthearted and reaffirming, so that was nice, that that was the case. I think that my nurse possibly got concerned about me contracting bird flu, from exposure, and since I had gotten so sick; I felt that it would last throughout the rest of the weekend, and in a bad way, throughout, if I didn’t continue taking proactive measures for healing myself (medications). My nurse offered to buy me NyQuil and DayQuil, which had been a relatively quick and notable relief, from the pain. 

My bedside moon lamp, in addition to the pigeon being gone, was turned off.

I suppose that his transition in to living somewhere else came at a reasonable time, since he was starting to land on me, a lot, and I was getting slightly worsening bedsores from accommodating his perching on me, not to mention that it had become difficult to keep up with the poop and spilled bird seeds on the floor. His time with the splint is generally done, now, although I hadn’t confirmed it, myself, although 3 weeks was the proscribed time period for a pigeon to wear a splint. Good luck, Piotr, and maybe I’ll see you out there, again, some day.