To be issued on 25 March 2011
Club News
From our Readers….
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2011 Year of Forests
: Ashwani Dubey, Gorakhpur
A hospital for Birds
Private First Day cover
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Jain Bird Hospital
The Jain Bird Hospital in Delhi's Chandni Chowk was founded in 1956 and today has a capacity of 10,000 birds. 60-70 new patients are brought into the hospital each day by Jains and non-Jains alike and each bird is assessed by the hospital's doctor before being given a designated cage. There are separate ‘wards' for different types of birds and different illnesses, with separate areas for birds awaiting or recovering from surgery. The commonest patients are pigeons, doves, parrots and budgies but the hospital also cares for some peacocks and crows. The occasional golden eagle is even to be seen on the wards though due to their tendency to eat other patients they must be kept in solitary confinement.
75% recovery rate
Patients at the bird hospital can be divided into three categories: those suffering from diseases (notably cancer, paralysis or blindness), accidents (in particular collisions with cars, ceiling fans and glass window panes) or malnutrition. Depending on their condition the birds can be given surgery, have broken wings and bones set and bandaged, or be administered antibiotics and other drugs. All of the patients are given a high-nutrient diet during their hospital stay and each Saturday birds that have sufficiently recovered are released from the hospital roof. The hospital boasts an admirable 75% recovery rate and also ensures that those birds that are not so fortunate are respectively cremated on the banks of the nearby Jamuna River.
- Sanjiv Jain, Dehradun
email : jainsanjiv@live.com
