Love Birds and Loved Birds!

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Guest king pigeon Dovee (who is fostered by his rescuer and MickaCoo volunteer Cheryl) succeeded in his quest to get a mate. He's staying with me for a couple weeks and he has been diligent and courted all the hens vigorously including June Bug and the widow Country but, in the end, it was the little homing pigeon with the twisted foot, Zoe, that answered his call. They've been inseparable ever since. They're defending their space from all the other pigeons, collecting feathers and hay to build their nest and having quite a honeymoon. Dovee won't let Zoe get more than a couple inches away from him and follows her around the loft like white on rice.







Peppermint, an abused and sick baby king pigeon that MickaCoo took in from the San Jose Animal Care is doing great! He came in with infections in both legs (among other problems) and his right knee joint was so destroyed that he couldn't put any weight on it and the vet didn't think it would ever be viable. Now he can not only stand on it but can walk and has even stood with all his weight on it when he wanted to give himself a scratch with his left foot. He's really bonded to his MickaCoo foster mom, Sherri, and draws a lot of comfort and confidence from her. I was surprised, when I went to visit them on 8/15, to see how babyish his behavior is. When I had him for 24 hours about 3 weeks ago, he was very reserved and stoic. Now that he's safe and comfortable and getting healthy and feeling loved, he's much more expressive. He loves to kiss his reflection in the mirror, gives little baby squeaks and plays nibble games with Sherri's shirt edge.



And, he's the Bay Area Birds Yahoo Group Bird of the Month!



You can make a tax-deductible donation to help pay the vet bills for Winter by going here and clicking on the DONATE button. Please select "add a message for Mickaboo" and include the word "Winter" or "pigeon".

Winter is an incredibly richly colored fancy fantail/archangel cross that MickaCoo also took in when contacted by San Jose Animal Care. He was terribly wounded and so emaciated and weak that vets recommended euthanasia. Mickaboo founder Tammy Azzaro insisted that he be given a chance and now, a couple weeks later, he's doing much better. His wound has healed, he's eating nonstop, his weight has gone from 256g to 340g and his strength is returning, slowly but surely. Winter is being lovingly fostered by SFACC Small Animal volunteers Barna & Kathleen.





You can make a tax-deductible donation to help pay the vet bills for Winter by going here and clicking on the DONATE button. Please select "add a message for Mickaboo" and include the word "Winter" or "pigeon".




And Frances has a mate! I was THRILLED on Sunday night to find that Frances, who has been SO lonesome and has been trying so hard to get a mate has succeeded. The lucky lady is Country, a hen that was widowed in January when her incredibly sweet mate, Tank, had to be euthanized to end his suffering from cancer. Country is a very serious, no nonsense kind of hen who sat on her and Tank's eggs by herself for over a week around the clock when Tank was at the vet and she didn't know if he'd ever come back. That time he did and she welcomed him warmly. I am so happy for both Country and Frances. Frances has been trying to win a mate for months and, based on how sweet he is with me, I think will be a really loving and generous pigeon husband for Country.




People are asking about what this means for Frances' time spent pitter-pattering around the house and our relationship. Over the past few weeks, I've let Frances spend almost all his time outdoors. I LOVED bringing him in and really enjoyed the time that he spent indoors with me but I felt like it made it harder for him to 'be a regular bird' and get a mate. It's like all the other birds got to hang out all night and Frances had to come indoors with me. So mostly I had been visiting with him out in the loft but, since he got a mate, I've been leaving him alone.

He's so giddy and excited plus a little nervous when I'm around and I don't want to give him anything to worry about (like me picking him up and bringing him in the house and another bird getting his girl). Today Country came out of the nest box to get breakfast and Frances was frantic, running back and forth right past her but unable to recognize her in his haste. He was SO relieved when she was back in the nest. Frances is really not in the exact right shape just yet to be a pigeon husband (or God forbid) a father right now. He's still pretty impaired and recovering from the PMV so it's extra nice that Country sees his potential through the handicaps.