Kitchen Garden Forum

Bizarre question to ask but we have an injured wood pigeon we,ve been feeding for several years, putting small piles of seeds out for her on our patio. She comes up to the patio window and begs when hungry and despite her injured leg, determined sees off any other birds who dare to come and try to steal from her food pile.

Just recently she's taken to coming and sitting for ages in a flower tub based right up against our patio window. She,s often just been fed so is no longer hungry but will be just nestle down and settle there for half an hour at a time. She seems to like jus seeing us moving around nearby inside the room. She must be getting rather elderly now in bird terms.I just wonder if she feels safer there. I'd just like to know what's going through her little brain when she's staring through the window at us!

Dear Primrose, I would think she is doing that, knowing it is safer than being out in the open...

I often wonder what Robin's are thinking when they come right up to you...Probably just food related.

We have just one chicken left from our flock of eight. She's almost eight and has been on her own for two years now and we try and spend at least an hour a day sitting in our summerhouse next to her run. She comes out, scratches around the garden, but is often content just to sit at our feet, chattering away to us if we talk to her. More recently she's decided that not content with messing up the summerhouse floor, this is her new des res and she's started perching in there too!

When we work in the garden, she lends a claw to help turn over the soil when I'm weeding, she just loves the company.

The winter is a challenge, but any time we get at home during daylight hours we go down there to sit with her for a while, often wrapped up in a fleece throw to try and keep warm. But she's worth it

That's lovely that you look after her emotional wellbeing so well. We obviously don't have the capacity to read the emotions of our animals but I'm sure they must relate to us as humans in some way and feel a level of contentment, or at least safety in being in our company. Chickens are obviously flock animals so I expect she misses her fellows and enjoys your company when she has it.

Any pet bird can be lonely, especially ones that are neglected or simply not given enough attention. Some birds need the companionship of others, but birds such as the parrots do fine as the only bird, as long as their humans pay enough attention to them. Parrots are flock animals, and their humans are their flock. Many bird owners considering getting another bird to do so because they are concerned that their pets are lonely or bored. Some birds, especially small species such as finches and budgerigars (commonly known as parakeets), do enjoy the company of other birds.

I had a magpie visitor on my old house. He started being curious about me digging in the garden and after about a month started to come into the kitchen if the door was open and watch me cooking etc. We used to get 6 different visiting cats too and he was not bothered by them at all!

As much as I would like to have this experience my cats have all turned into monsters! Even had to stop feeding the birds as the monsters just lurk! Love my cats but they are hunters by instinct!

Well, most birds have a flocking instinct, so I expect the pigeon would be happy if there was anyone that could be a flock for her. Maybe she thinks you're birds!

I was looking through some of these old posts and saw Chantal's post of September 2019 about her last solitary chicken. I'm not sure how long chickens live for but I'm sure she must be in Chicken Heaven by now.

It seems ages since we last heard from Chantal too.

There are so many missing from the forum which is particularly noticeable when you do look at the older posts. It really makes you think why they are no longer posting as some are not old at all?

I use a lot of forums, I like the format, but they are all being killed off by the likes of facebook, I have never had an account and have no desire to have one, forums are a mine of information with a wealth of stored knowledge in them.

Quick visit to the towns duck pond, most of which is frozen
Duck Pond by tigerburnie, on Flickr

Beautiful…..

While birds may not display emotions in the same way humans do, there are certain behaviors that could indicate a bird is experiencing loneliness or seeking companionship. This is my own subjective opinion when I observe them many times and learn some info about their behavior. If a typically quiet bird suddenly becomes more vocal or constantly calls out, it could be a sign of loneliness and an attempt to seek attention or contact with other birds. A bird that becomes unusually inactive, spends extended periods sitting still or shows a lack of interest in its surroundings may be experiencing loneliness. Birds are generally active creatures, so a notable change in behavior might indicate a sense of isolation. Or if a bird constantly seeks interaction with humans, whether by approaching them, attempting to engage in play, or seeking physical contact, it could be a sign that the bird is seeking social interaction and companionship.