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The bird had a character far greater than the beaky fluffy ball on wobbly legs suggested. I hesitated, thinking about appropriative relationships between people and wild animals, and the way domestication replaces an understanding and respect for wildness. Then I found a rasher of bacon and pinched off little bits, which the magpie ate ravenously. I suspect this post will probably capture the attention of GPs, T&O, diabetology/endo and maybe rheumatology types… but if you’ve got a story (good or bad) let’s hear it?! I was an HCA years ago and flirting with chatting to one of F2s and the podiatrist came by, said a load of big words and the F2 looked at me when they left and said "dunno what any of that meant" ... knowing what podiatrists are like now, I suspect the podiatrist didn't either! The magpie began to wipe its beak on the table. I'd heard this was a displacement action made when two conflicting drives – perhaps escape or beg food – inhibit each other. It remained silent, presenting itself as a foundling: a life abandoned to be brought into our family. At one stage the path runs through grasses taller than us, and the excitement mounts as we can hear what sounds like the roar of a tiger in the distance. I turn to ask the guide about it. Where is he? And the porter carrying our lunch? The armed ranger is missing too. If you live in a town or city with a large feral pigeon population then you’ve probably noticed that a relatively high proportion of them have deformed or missing legs and feet.
When the birds try to remove the hair or string with their beaks, they are unable to but in the process of trying pull it tighter around their toes or legs, restricting the blood flow, which causes the toe or the leg to fall off. It grabbed a larger piece, hopped down from the table and stashed it under a plant. We took this forward thinking as a good sign, and the young magpie flapped up into a lilac tree to roost. The next morning I found it dead. What if I'd brought it in overnight, taken it to the refuge, fed it proper stuff? I felt responsible for losing the foundling. One for sorrow. What horrifies me is that everything under the sun is being labelled and medicalised. To whose benefit?Another idea also blamed pigeon poo. As well as their corrosive effects, pigeon droppings are full of bacteria which can cause disease. Standing in their own poo means pigeons are susceptible to catching these diseases and if an infected foot or leg develops gangrene, then part of it may fall off. But most diseases of the feet such as bumblefoot or avian pox cause deformities or tumours rather than amputation. So even if pigeons do catch diseases from standing in their own poo then it’s probably not the cause of their missing limbs.
I have this! I try to keep on top of it by taking off the hard skin myself with a scraper, and moisturising, but it happens so frequently I can't keep up with it. Just in case anyone finds themselves in a similar situation to me and would benefit from a bit of additional information.. My feet have gone crazy in the last couple of years and yet I wear cushioned well fitting leather shoes and never wear heels so have been very puzzled what could be causing it. We've been staying in bamboo huts floating on Rajjaprabha Lake - a flooded dam created to generate electricity, provide irrigation, flood control, and fishing - and today we are off on a jungle hike with a guide, a couple of porters, a translator and a single Dutch guy.Having now bought a 2nd (all-road) bike I swapped the A600s over but needed another set of pedals, and having got more used to the A600s with more off-road clipping in and out decided on a 2nd pair since they're a known quantity and I guess having the same pedals on both bikes should further aid familiarity. If anyone's interested it seems that these pedals have been offered in maybe four different finishes over the years:
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