Pigeons My Pet and Me

-Hi, I'm Ferne.

-I'm Rory.

-And we love animals.

Some animals can make brilliant pets and pets are great.

We really like meeting you and your pets.

That reminds me. I'm off to meet some friends,

but I'll be back later to tell you all about it.

-Would you like to come with me? See ya.

-See ya.

-Come on.

# My pets, my pets and me

# My pets, my pets and me

# Down every street

# Are pets to meet

# Some big, some small Some scaly, some furry

# Some keep very still some are always in a hurry

# Some have four paws

# Some have sharp claws

-# Some quack

-Some bark

-Some purr, some moo

-# Some grunt

-Some squawk Some cock-a-doodle-doo

# My pets, my pets and me

# My pets, my pets and me

# My pets, my pets and me

# Have you met my pets and me? #

Today, we're in Aberdare to meet Daisy and her pets.

Shall we go find out what they are? Come on.

-Hello.

-Hi, Ferne.

-You must be Daisy.

And you must be Daisy's dad.

-Hi, Ferne.

-Who is this?

-Fluffy.

-Fluffy, the pigeon. She is beautiful.

Hello, Fluffy, nice to meet you.

I've never met anyone with a pet pigeon before. She's amazing.

I really like Fluffy. But what type of pigeon is she?

-She's a racing pigeon.

-Wow!

-I've heard that racing pigeons are really clever.

-Yes.

Do you know why?

They can remember where they are going.

You take them somewhere and they have a look at things

-around them and then they work out how to get home.

-Yes.

They are so clever.

-So what's the furthest your pigeons have been?

-France.

France? That is amazing. It's a very long way.

And they didn't get lost. So what age is Fluffy?

-21 days old.

-That's really young, isn't it?

You can tell, can't you, by the little feathers?

They're down feathers and that is what young birds have.

-Can I hold her for a little bit?

-Yes.

Hello.

Wow! I love all these colours on her neck.

Every pigeon has these colours.

What is this on her foot?

It's a ring for if they get lost, the person who has got it,

they can bring it back here.

That's a very clever ring, isn't it?

Pigeons can't talk to people, they can't tell people where they live.

-No.

-Pigeons are interesting for all different types of reasons.

Rory, can you give us some more pigeon facts about our new friend?

Of course, Ferne.

One - girl pigeons are called hens and boys are called cocks.

Two - pigeons may be slow on land

but some racing pigeons can fly faster than a cheetah can run.

That's super speedy.

Three - pigeons come in different shapes, sizes and colours.

Some even have a feathery crown.

This is where our family's pigeons live.

This here? What's it called?

-A loft.

-Loft? It looks like a house.

And why is it so big?

Because we keep lots of pigeons.

-How many pigeons do you have?

-100.

That's so many.

How do you look after so many pigeons?

Me, my dad and my grandad, we all help each other to look after them.

What do you do to look after them?

Clean them out and give them food.

-I hear your grandad gets to do the best job.

-Yeah.

-What is it?

-Clean them out.

He cleans out the pigeons? Whoa!

And how many times does he have to do that?

-Twice a day.

-Twice a day? That's a lot, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-What does he have to do to clean them out?

He has to clean all the cages and scrape all the poo

and then he has to clean up all the feathers.

He scrapes the poo?

Wow, that's a lot of work.

So, grandad that has to clean out their trays,

scrape out the poo and pick up all the feathers off the floor.

Grandad has to wear rubber gloves and a mask to

protect his nose and mouth, just in case of dust and germs.

It's very good.

-Your pigeons are well looked after.

-Yeah.

This loft is brilliant.

All done, Daisy, finished cleaning.

That's great. What do we do next?

-Give the pigeons some fresh water.

-That sounds fun.

-Shall we go?

-Yeah.

-Let's go.

-Come on.

-Wow. Is this where we give them their water?

-Yes.

Would you like to pour some?

Good job. And how often do you give them fresh water?

Twice a day.

That's very good. Racing pigeons need lots of fresh water. Good job.

Now that we gave them water, what do we have to do next?

-We have to feed them.

-Feed them? Is that what this is?

-Yeah.

-What is in this lovely food?

-Maize, seeds...

-Maize and seeds and peanuts?

-Yes.

It looks yummy, doesn't it? What lucky pigeons.

All right, come on pigeons.

-Come on, birds.

-They're hungry, aren't they?

Daisy, how many times a day do you feed the pigeons?

-Twice.

-Twice a day.

Peck, peck, peck, peck.

-They eat out of your hand?

-Yes. Come on, boys.

Wow! Now that we've fed the pigeons, what do we have to do?

-Wash our hands.

-That sounds good. Shall we go?

-Yes.

-Let's go.

It's playtime and Lila, Daisy's little sister is joining us.

-Daisy, can you even play with pigeons?

-Yes.

-How?

-You can fly them.

That sounds amazing, because caged birds need lots of exercise.

-Shall we get them out and fly them?

-Yes. Let them out, Da.

OK, Daisy, ready to go. They're coming out now. OK?

Daisy's grandad is helping us let them out. Here they come.

That it?

-Daisy, what's that stick for?

-It's to help them keep together.

-Wow! So you wave it around and they follow it?

-Yeah.

-That's very clever. And don't they fly away?

-No.

-Do they come back home all the time?

-Yes.

Hi, pigeons.

I've never seen racing pigeons fly before.

It's beautiful, the way they stick together.

When do you fly them?

-In the morning and after dinner.

-That's good, isn't it?

Do want a turn on the stick, Lila?

Let's pretend to be pigeons, Ferne, come on.

OK, Lila, you have to get us to fly. Big circle, big circles.

Are we good pigeons?

Come on, pigeons, land now.

Come on, girls, I've got a surprise for you.

Let's see what the surprise is, Ferne, come on.

So, what's the surprise?

Daisy, I've got a very big surprise, close your eyes.

Open them.

-He's so cute.

-Is this a baby pigeon?

-Born today.

-Oh, wow!

It's so cute.

Oh, Daisy, look.

It's a baby sister of Fluffy, the one you had earlier.

-She's got all the yellow down feathers, doesn't she?

-Yes.

She's beautiful. Hello, little one.

How long do they take to hatch?

-About three weeks.

-About three weeks? That's about 18 days. Wow!

Her eyes are still closed, aren't they?

-In five days, now, it'll be open.

-Five days to open?

-Yes.

-They grow very fast, don't they?

-Yes.

-Do you know how fast they grow, Daisy?

-No.

They double their weight every day.

That is so fast, isn't it?

You're going to be even bigger tomorrow, aren't you?

-And do you know what baby pigeons are called?

-Squeakers.

That's a great name. Why do you call them squeakers?

-Because they squeak a lot.

-What noise do squeakers make?

-Squeak, squeak.

-Baby pigeons are also called squabs.

Do you know how long baby pigeons stay with their mummies and daddies?

-For about one month.

-That's right.

-30 days. Should we give this little squab a name?

-Yes.

-What is it?

-Ferne.

Oh, wow! Thank you very much.

-And will Ferne be a national champion?

-Hopefully.

-I hope so too.

I've never met a newly-hatched pigeon before.

-Thank you very much.

-Most welcome.

Let's put it back with her mummy and daddy.

-Pigeons are very interesting, clever creatures, aren't they, Daisy?

-Yes.

If your pigeons could do anything in the world, what would they do?

If my pigeons could do anything, they would be superheroes.

They would wear superhero masks and have capes with their names on.

They would have superpowers which they would use to fight baddies

and rescue people in danger.

They might make themselves invisible

and then tie a big giant up with string and put him in the bin.

Daisy's pigeons are racing pigeons and they love to race.

In fact, they've won lots of competitions. Who's that, Daisy?

-Daisy Rose.

-Daisy Rose, nice to meet you. What has she done?

-She is our national champion.

-National champion pigeon?

-That's brilliant. This is her daughter, isn't it?

-Yes.

What we're going to do now is a special treat.

We're going to see them race.

That sounds like such a good idea but they're very fast, aren't they?

-Yes.

-So how will we know who gets home first?

My grandad is going to stay here

and he's going to see who comes back first.

That sounds like a plan. Let's go.

We're here at the park and we're about to let the pigeons out.

Ready, steady, go! Go, pigeons. Whoa!

-What are they doing now, Daisy?

-They're looking around the park.

-Why do they do that?

-To remember the things that they've seen.

-So they can find their way home?

-Yes.

-That's very clever, isn't it?

-Yes.

-And they are so speedy.

Pigeons are so fast, they can fly up to 70mph.

That's as fast as a speedy car, isn't it?

-It's a good job we left your grandad at home to tell us who won.

-Yes.

-Shall we go back and see who won?

-Yes.

-Let's go.

Come on.

Who was the winner, Da?

This is the winner, Daisy and he's called Bryn.

Well done, Bryn.

-He was very speedy, wasn't he?

-Yes.

-Shall we give him a treat?

-Yes.

There you are. Give him some food.

Come on, babes, come on.

-Come on, come on.

-You have a little present for Bryn?

-Look, Bryn, I made you a trophy.

-It is brilliant.

He definitely deserves that.

Daisy, thank you so much for introducing me to your pigeons.

It's been so much fun.

My pet and me.

-Hi, Rory.

-Hello.

How are you doing? How was your day?

Oh, it was so much fun. Let me tell you all about it.

Today, we met Daisy and her racing pigeons.

We let them out for a fly.

We saw a new baby pigeon who wasn't even a day old.

Then, we had a pigeon race and awarded the winner a trophy.

Wow, that sounds amazing and you made some great new friends too.

I did. But it's really important to remember that before you pet

any animals, ask the owner's permission first.

One pet you definitely can play with, is ours.

Play the My Pet And Me game.

It is so much fun and we just love meeting you and your pets.

I've had such a wonderful day.

# Today we met

# A lovely pet

# We see how much you care for them

# Thank you so much for sharing them

# Time for us to just remind you

# After you played with your pets

# Wash your hands, don't forget

# It doesn't matter what pets you've got

# You might have one, you might not

# It's still fun finding out what having a pet is all about

# My pet, my pet and me

# My pet, my pet and me

# My pet, my pet and me

# Come back and see

# My pet and me. #

-Bye.

-Bye.

-ALL: Bye.