We’re not sure whether to attribute the transformation to patient hand feeding, a course of antibiotics or even a generous dose of poultry tonic but the old Dave is back.

She spent the weekend strutting round the kitchen telling the disgruntled cat who’s boss.

It just goes to show how easy it is to write off a bird too quickly. It’s easy to assume the worse but some loving care can make quite miraculous transformations.

It’s certainly the best Christmas present we could have wished for.