Flamingo the pigeon.
A “sweet” king pigeon named Flamingo died only a week after he was rescued from a New York City park, the animal rescue Wild Bird Fundintroduced on Twitter earlier this week.
The domesticated chicken, which was “likely raised for food” and “had no survival skills,” had been dyed pink earlier than being launched into the wild, the organization mentioned.
“We believe his death was caused by inhaling the toxins,” Wild Bird Fund wrote.
The rescue group instructed HuffPost by way of electronic mail that it doesn’t know who dyed and launched the chicken or why they did it.
“Many of our followers guessed gender reveal, but it could have been another kind of ceremony, an art stunt, we don’t know,” the group mentioned.
Flamingo “died in the night” on Monday, in response to the rescue group.
Flamingo, who was “a baby, barely older than fledging,” was discovered “malnourished” within the metropolis’s Madison Square Park by Carlos Rodrigues, a canine walker who repeatedly works with the organization, Wild Bird Fund instructed HuffPost.
The rescue famous that it believes Flamingo was bought from a poultry market versus being a pet attributable to “stress bars on his feathers” — or lines that run across the width of a feather, which may point out that the chicken was careworn, sick or not receiving ample vitamin throughout feather growth.
The group mentioned that when Flamingo was beneath its care, it did all the pieces it might to take away the dye.
“We tried a variety of methods … including mayo, Dawn, baking soda and lemon juice,” Wild Bird Fund instructed HuffPost. “We had to do this very sparingly because handling and bathing is stressful for a bird, especially one in a weakened state.”
Wild Bird Fund instructed HuffPost it was sharing Flamingo’s story “in the interest of discouraging the release of domestic birds and dyeing of birds generally.”
Wild Bird Fund mentioned that it’s best to by no means launch a domesticated chicken into the wild.
“Even without the added complication of the toxic dye, he would not have survived in a city park as a white, helpless bird,” it famous on Twitter.
The fund instructed HuffPost that releasing any domesticated chicken into the wild is all the time a nasty thought.
“Many supposedly trained homing birds will still get lost, starve or be preyed on,” the rescue group instructed HuffPost.
It additionally famous on Twitter that releasing “doves” or white pigeons for weddings can be placing the animals in danger.
“‘Dove releases’ sound romantic, but take away the decorations and Instagram photos, and they are the equivalent of dumping your helpless pets on the side of the road,” the organization wrote. “This is no way to celebrate anything.”
