My Love Story and Friendship with Dove birds

Introduction: There's a saying that Birds of a feather flock together, which means people of the same tastes and interests will always be found together. But in my case, I didn't really find any real lover like that; those who I thought would be of my kind eventually ended up being traitors, little did I know that I would find peace in birds more than humans 😓. I remember playing a game with my friends where someone asked, "Which animal resembles you the most?" and every time I would speak about birds. The reason was simple, they are signs of beauty & freedom, could show you a different overall perspective of life, be loyal with proper care, ask very little in return (little food, water, maintenance and care) and be truthful to your love and  friendship. 

Therefore, instead of looking for love in life, I started to look for friendship and Alhamdulillah I've been blessed with some genuine friends for life including some friendly birds! This title is all about my pure friendship with Birds, how I took care of them, gained trust, became their friends in small time with a bitter twist and climax at the end, stay tuned!

How it all started: It all started almost a year ago, when my brother caught the sight of a strangely beautiful bird, unable to fly, stuck right in front of our veranda. We tried to save this pigeon-looking creature together while it was trying to fly with failed attempts. So, we took it inside home, fed it some food and water and put inside a cage so that it couldn't get hurt. My father is knowledgeable in this field and he instantly said it's a Male Australian Dove (also known as ring-necked dove). I'll write about the identification of their types, gender, food and other things some other day. 

Fertility: I've done my research and found out that they are few of the most productive species which can lay a pair of eggs in every month. They have some distinct rings at the back of their head and can make very lovely repeated sounds. So, after a week, when it got comfortable with us, we thought of pairing it with a female, from a nearby bird-shop. Quite surprisingly, just within 3 weeks, my eyes filled with joy like babies, looking at their first two eggs! Every member of my family got excited and started taking care of the mother bird individually. There are some pro-tips that I'll be sharing below.

At the same time, I consulted with the birds' salesman again regarding the extra healthcare needed for them, additional food for regaining their energy. I'm sharing the image of the medicine that I provided and you can look at the labelled directions for usage. Birds need some Grit (brick powder and egg shells for calcium) which bring back their old forms and excitement and playful attitude. So days went on and we waited for few days for them to hatch (usually it takes 14-21 days). Quite unfortunately, nothing happened and the same incident continued for another 3 times when my heart broke and I lost hope of seeing any babies soon.

A new day: Months went by and I was travelling here and there, moving on with my life when suddenly, just after returning from a trip, my eyes got stuck at two pinkish structures on the pot, moving subtly while the mother bird was trying to feed them through mouth. It was the most heavenly and eye-soothing view for me in ages! 😍 I started counting days when I'd see them as grown ups, flying just like their parents. It takes at least 20 days for the babies to learn to eat by themselves. I just kept on staring at them everyday as a growing habit and just like the blink of eyes, they grew bigger and brighter! It was high time I bought another cage for them so that their parent could have some privacy 👀

Birth of my friend: Days passed by and they kept on laying more eggs but nothing happened again. I wasn't really expecting anything more as I was already happy and satisfied. Suddenly, I heard another familiar soft screeches coming out of the cage and it wasn't surprising this time, it's another baby bird! Unfortunately, the other egg didn't hatch this time and the new-born baby didn't look much healthy and bright. I was a little concerned but thought the mother would take care of it anyways. Some more days went on again and almost after a month, I didn't see any improvement on the health of that baby bird and it wasn't even trying to eat itself as well. I was worried and started to bring it out regularly, keep it to myself for a certain time and inject food and water through a syringe. Just within a week, it learnt how to have food and I was tension-free once again. I thought of taming it and bringing it to me every alternate day and take care of it accordingly.

Those simply were the best days of my life with birds as I could see it grow right in front of my eyes and learn to fly step by step. It was unsure for most of the time but with me, I could see its confidence rising through anything while it tried to flip its wings once in a while and sit on my shoulders. I kept it with me every afternoon, while taking online classes and most of my students would enjoy its company. It happened for straight 4 months and I kept on looking after it and traveling to different places. Every time I got back, I saw all other birds moving away from me except this one. It was really close to my heart, one single piece.

Climax: The reason why I'm using 'was' is that, while writing and thinking about this article even yesterday (22nd February, 2023), I was playing with the dove and for the first time, I saw it completely calm and wasn't moving much. I noticed a tiny wound on its wings, washed it through a sanitizer and thought it might be from the steel cage. I took in in my hand, gave some water, it drank that quite peacefully after which, it tilted its head sidewise looking at me for the last time. Yes, I was predicting that something was not right but trying heart and soul not to believe what was happening in front of my eyes in the blink of an eye. I tired my best to put air and water through the injection, the CPC method but nothing worked. The article which was supposed to be a friendly gesture towards birds turned out to be a sad reality I've always wanted to avoid. I tried taking the picture of it for the last time while my hands were shivering, to convey my unconditional love that I realized for the first time yesterday. I didn't want to end this article this way, but maybe that's what fate has written anyway.

Conclusion: It's a new day and I'm moving on with my life. Just 4-5 days ago, I made an introduction video for Native Camp, my online teaching platform with my bird, Dovey before which it didn't have any name. Most of my students would ask for it after joining classes and I enjoyed every bit of it. Life sometimes throws sweet surprises like this as friends in life and we often forget how blessed we are time to time. You might have heard of cuddle therapy that we can't execute with birds (the hormones that release by cuddling anyone) but sometimes eye therapy might work too, where you just sit and relax to see them growing and enjoying with you. So, if you have/ had a friend like this in your life, know that someday, everyone has to leave. But before that someday comes in your life, make sure you enjoy every moment with them to the fullest so that the good memories stay with you. Don't be sad because it's over but be happy because it happened. 🐦

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Right now, we have 2 pigeons, 3 Doves. We used to pet some Baazigars too before. Will share about those some other day with hopefully a happier and productive story, till then, don't lose anyone rather KEEP LOVING!