Marty is recovering so quickly. He is perky, eating well and grooming himself. He has been flapping his wings a lot today, either to stretch or prepare for take off, not sure what it is.
We had a very warm day today with the humidex reaching 40 degrees Celcius. I kept Marty inside our home, near a shaded doorway with a nice breeze to keep him cool. At one point, he was lying down on his stomach around the warmest part of the day.
My daughter Ava felt that it would be appropriate to give Marty a bath - just to cool him off. I complied with her request by putting a large and shallow bowl in his cage containing water. Well, it was interesting to say the least. The first thing Marty did was step into that bowl. Then, he tried to step out of it. The edges of the bowl had a slight curve, so he slid and wiped out. If that wasn't enough, he then perched himself on the edge of the bowl and tried to fly, only to end up in his cage. He kept getting in and out of the bowl.
It was apparent that his feet were adequately washed off, so I then removed the bowl.
Marty is very pleased to have the bedding changed. I find that he eliminates quite frequently during the day, so we change the bedding (newspaper) twice a day. I am thinking I might step it up to three times a day to ensure that he is comfortable. He never tries to peck at me while I change his bedding, refresh his water and food dishes - he seems to have a little smile on his beak once I am finished.
The most interesting part is that when I approach Marty or speak to him, he cocks his head to one side, watching and listening to me. It's wonderful to see him responding to me. He also does the same with Ava. Whenever our Golden Retriever comes near the cage, Marty watches him with curious interest.
Early in the evening, after Marty's "bath", we put him outside on the back deck so that he could enjoy the fresh air and listen to the neighbouring birds. Ava and I went to have a shower after a hot and humid day, so we put Bentley outside on the deck with Marty for protection against any feral felines looking for a snack. See how we have adapted? It feels like Marty has been with us forever!
My daughter coloured a page of a pigeon today. I had meant to mention that Marty is a "Blue Bar". He does not have blue colouring, it is simply the black bars or stripes on his feathers. He does have pretty green and purple iridescent colouring around his neck area. I was so moved by Ava's colouring and how she included the green and purple colours around Marty's neck that I wanted to share it with you below:
A Three Year Old's Rendition of Marty the Blue Bar Racing Pigeon
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