The chicken experience

This is with reference to my story “The chicken experience” (YW, January 8). After I shared my experience, I received different responses from people I knew. Some of my friends and family members liked my concept, but some of them, especially those living abroad, didn’t like the incident I narrated. They said I did wrong by depriving the pigeons of their babies.

Here I would like to share a few points which I think will support my experiment of replacing pigeon’s eggs with chickens.

These pigeons are called blue rock pigeons. In Urdu we call them jangli kabotar. The natural habitat of these pigeons is stone facing cliffs and even buildings. These pigeons are natural scavengers.

Overpopulation of these pigeons in cities is actually harmful to city life. Unlike other pigeons, they belong to the family of pigeons who survive on small insects and flies, but we feed them with millet and other seeds which is absolutely wrong.

If we keep feeding millet to these blue rock pigeons, their population will drastically increase and then the population of other species of birds, such as mynah and sparrow, will come under pressure.

Secondly, if there is a population explosion of blue rock pigeons, which is already happening, there is a big danger associated with this, and that due to their droppings (excreta) which are highly acidic. The chemicals in excreta can cause asthma and other respiratory diseases.

So if people in your home are getting asthma and bronchitis, it could be because of pigeon’s droppings on your balcony or terrace. When the droppings dry out, the air passing over them carries harmful chemicals with it. When we breathe in this air, we get diseases.

In the cities, where there is abundant food for them and people also feed them millet and other seeds, their population increases very fast. For instance, after I did this experiment the same pair of pigeons laid eggs twice and each time I replaced these eggs with chicken. I have four healthy chicks now in a very short time and two still to come.

So friends I didn’t do anything wrong with pigeons, in fact I tried to make them productive in another way. The over population of any species in cities and disrupt the natural balance and cause problems for other species and even us.

Shamoun Ghori,
Karachi

The mystery of the haunted house

This is regarding the story “The mystery of the haunted house” by Zara Naz (YW, January 15). It was not only a nice story to take lessons from, but also a story that was true in itself. It filled my heart with enthusiasm to help the elderly and those who need our attention. We should be humble in our conduct towards one another.

Sahibzada Awais Ameen,
Quetta