The Farleighs' Dr Dolittle

When a pigeon squab tumbled out of its nest three storeys up in Maidstone's Bank Street, life's odds were suddenly stacked against it. Naked but for a few downy tufts, and barely recognisable as the offspring of the Chaplinesque adults that strut their stuff pecking at morsels of discarded takeaways, it soon drew the attention of concerned passers-by. “Is it dead?” “Someone call the RSPCA!” were two of the more constructive responses.

As returning it to its nest was not an option, ‘Banksy’ was promptly scooped up, stowed in a handbag and transported to The Farleighs’ very own Dr Dolittle. AKA Gary.

Known not just for his patience and ingenuity, but also his fascination for doves, Gary set himself the onerous task of raising Banksy as any pigeon parent would - on pigeon milk.

Unlike other birds’ practice of carrying insect food, usually wriggling or regurgitated, to their young, pigeons secrete a nutritious liquid from special skin cells in their throat. The nestlings probe the parent’s gape to drink it. A packet of budgie seed was not an option.

Setting-to with a latex glove, elastic band and tiny jam pot, Gary quickly replicated the oral serving hatch Banksy craved, dispensing a liquified blend of a fifty percent fruit-based wild bird seed mix and fifty percent peanuts, water and a drop of cider vinegar. With regular feeding, day and night, our orphan started to thrive. Plumage grew steadily – starting with feathers ‘in pin’ as the quills emerged, hedgehog-like, from the skin, producing the soft, coloured vanes as they developed. The pathetic cries for food gradually became less frequent, eventually allowing Gary a full night’s sleep.

Four weeks later, Banksy not only looks like the town pigeon he is, he’s growing into a splendidly brown and white specimen and has even taken his first hesitant flight. Unlikely ever to return fully to the wild, he is steadily finding his feet as a human family member, while eyeing the local flock of white doves feeding outside the window. Perhaps, one day ….