Blood & Guts. That’ll teach me to help the limping gazelle….
You know how when you watch telly documentaries about wildlife, and you see the ubiquitous limping gazelle. You just know what’s going to happen next. You wish you could be there on the savannah, distracting the lion pride whilst the gazelle slips away unnoticed, to be lunch again another day.
Well, there’s a been a “limping gazelle” in my front yard each day now for about 2 weeks. It’s actually a cockatoo that can’t fly, with a massively overgrown top beak. You can almost walk right up to him before he tries to climb something, or flapping wildy, getting almost airborne before he hits a fence, tree etc. It looks like both wings have had their flight feathers clipped, so I assume he was maybe someone’s pet. I’ve fed and watered him every day, but thought I should do more (cats, dogs, pythons & lions would have no trouble nabbing him).
So with the best of intentionss, I grabbed him with a crab net, wrapped him in a towel and brought him into the bathroom to detangle him. After about 5 minutes of detangling, he got me. I’m sure you all heard me yowl. He wouldn’t let go, and with that overgrown scalpel sharp beak he went in DEEP on top and below my finger. I was thinking ”Thank god it’s not my Painting Hand, thank god it’s not my Painting Hand” as blood oozed over the towel, the cockie, the tiles. He wasn’t letting go. I grabbed the bottom beak with the Painting Hand. I was sure the tip of my finger was going down the gullet of that bird. By this time both me & the cockie were screeching at each other, so the Man came in to see what murder was being committed.
My finger was released and yes, it was painful.Very. I was trembling. I cannot stand to see blood, let alone pouring out of a wound. The Man was all calmness and serenity. “You’ll need a tetnus for that” he said.
With a towel over the slasher cockie, we went down to the local vet to have him checked over. They heard us coming about 3 kms away - what a set of lungs that bird has! Had to cut away the crab net to avoid further damaged fingers.
Sorry the shot is out of focus, my hand was still shaking. He looks all sweetness and light, doesn’t he?
The vet has yet to have a good look at him, but the nurse said he was severely underweight (overgrown beak impedes eating as well). All his tail feathers have worn away as he’s been dragging his sorry behind everywhere, unable to fly. I suppose I’ll ring later to find out how he is.
When we got home, the others were still keeping a safe distance.
They must be thinking I’m the lion in “Free Food” human clothing.
Meanwhile, I am typing with 9 fingers. Even a Corona hasn’t taken the sting out of it.
And yay, now my nail is turning purple. Noice.
Similar Posts:
- Catching cockies. Again.
- Frustrating Feathers
- Dr B’s Secret Passion
- A bird in the paper is worth 2 pooping on the car,
- ArtEscape Exhibition Evening
13 comments:
Write a comment:
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I appreciate each and every one of them. If this is the first comment you have left, your comment will be held in moderation for approval so you may not see it immediately. Once your first comment is approved, all future comments should appear immediately. You can choose to receive any further comments by email. Simply tick Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.
a belated happy new year to you, my friend! e.
The finger looks sore alright, hope it starts to feel better soon and yes also hope the cockie is ok. He was just trying to defend himself the only way he knew how but does make you wonder why you bother to try and help.
I’ve got one word for you Kimmy, “welding gloves”…………. Honestly, works well on booby birds with a hook in their mouth, so should do ok with a homicidal cocky. Nasty bite.
They never thank us for our intervention. My payback for breeding 6573 green frogs in my pond last Wet Season? The odd green frog getting caught in my sliding door as I rush out of the house, letting loose with such a tragic frog scream it makes me feel physically sick. I didn’t shut my door for days after the last one. In Darwin that is an invitation for robbery.
Doug will never go anywhere else, I have given up on reading/commenting on his stuff, an intermittantly angry man.
Hi Jo-Anne & Tazar, thanks for stopping by girls.
My finger is throbbing. Bandaids are even too tight. BUT, it’s great for the sympathy cuppa & mint slices brought to me on the couch.
Bit of bad news, I rang the vet and they said he’ll have to be put down as he’s got the start of Beak & feather disease. If I had left him, his death would have been slow and cruel.
Squishy frogs are always sad. My Man always used to find them crushed inside the huge sprinkler boxes at work. They get in there where it’s nice and damp (sprinkler off), and then WHAM, sprinkler turns on and it’s frog soup.
Cheers,
Cindy
Ouch! That looks nasty. Hope you had a tetnus shot. Well done for saving him from a slow death.
Hi Diane,
I still feel sad for him having to be put down at all. My finger is till throbbing, had a shower with a glove finger on. (I’m a wuss!)
Don’t forget to send me your blog address.
Cheers
Cindy
Hey Cindy……..thats what you get trying to do a good deed……I bet the pain is taking up your every thought at the moment…..
It looks deep too……
OUCHY!!!!!!!!!!!
I bet ones the vet has finished you have a new pet, thats how it works, my mums house was like an orphange for disadvantaged animals.
Caring can be a bitch, nothing worth doing is ever easy!!!
Steve Irwin would be proud of Cindy the wildlife warrior
http://diane-adventurebeforedementia.blogspot.com/
Here is my blogspot address. Hope you enjoy it. It is mostly about places I have been on an “adventure” to.
Sandgate is further north than Cleveland.
Hi Kim, Gav & Diane (again),
It only hurts when I whack it now. pulled off the bandaid to show some kids today and they all went eeewwwwhh!
Gav, so the Man keeps telling me. He said “We could be sitting on the deck having a corona now, instead we’re mopping up blood and going to the vet.”
Diane, will pop by and have a squizzy later.
Cheers
Cindy
Evening,
yes, the long beak and the few stragly sulpher head feathers are also a way to recognise that disease. I fed the sick ones at first, still do and tried to catch them. The bloke at the pet shop told me not to catch them as there are not enough carers to look after them.
I recall being about 7, my great grand father’s index finger was latched onto by their pet cocky. I can not forget that sight. He was such a tall man, maybe I was little and way - way up there was cocky not letting go as if he were a flag on a flag pole.
Byeeee
Grotty, there are so many cockies with this disease - it is such a sad sight. The vet said it takes a cocky 3 days to die from when it can no longer eat. A tragedy.
Hi Cindy ouch they hurt , I’ve had many a finger bitten until I got a pair of welding gloves, we some times find cockies or gallahs that have broken wings and of course you go to help them and wham they have you.LOL
[…] husband calmy remined me of the carnage last Cocky Rescue Mission inflicted on my finger. ( You an relive the blood and guts here) After all this time I have almost got full feeling back in my […]