September 2009 Rescue Updates

Upcoming Events

Come meet king pigeons and support MickaCoo!

Harvest Fair & Exposition at Emma Prusch Farm Park, San Jose
Date: Saturday, October 3, 2009
Time: 10 am - 4 pm
Location: 647 South King Road, San Jose, near the intersections of Highways 280/680 and 101.
The event includes a large family-oriented pumpkin patch, exhibits of 4H projects, plant sales, pony rides, petting zoo, and tours of the Park. Admission and parking are free. Mickaboo's volunteers will be present with some of our foster birds - come by to learn about our foster birds, bird care, and how you can adopt one of these marvelous creatures!


Pet Pride Day, San Francisco
Date: Sunday, October 25, 2009
Time: noon - 3 pm
Location: Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Pet Pride Day is a fun-filled day of entertainment, education and information for everyone with two - or four - legs. All kinds of adoptable animals will be present - from Chickens to Chinchillas! Features raffles for fabulous prizes, animal rescue groups (including Mickaboo), pet product vendors, and MORE! Admission is free.
Come by and visit!


Garage Sale to Benefit MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue
(Donated items for resale needed!)
Date: Saturday, November 14, 2009
Time: 9 am - 3 pm
Location: In the SF Sunset District, near 28th & Ortega (contact AdoptKings@gmail.com for address)


Mickaboo's (and 'Coo!) Annual Holiday Party, Pleasanton
(Donated items for Silent Auction needed!)
Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009
Time: 5 pm - 9 pm
Location: Palm Pavilion, Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Avenue, Pleasanton, CA
Come celebrate the holiday season with your fellow Mickabooligans! Admission includes buffet. Several activities are planned. For more detail and to save your spot at the party, click here. (Tell them MickaCOO sent YOU!)


Mickaboo Adoption Fair in Woodland, CA (near Sacramento) held on 9/26

Pigeons and Mirrors!

I always put a mirror in the crate with any sick, young or long pigeon that I'm caring for and I noticed that they spend a lot of time with it. Putting it behind the food dish sometimes will inspire a sick bird to eat and most will nap next to it.



I've heard that scientists include pigeons on the very short list of animals that recognize themselves, along with elephants and chimps and dolphins.I don't know whether they do recognize themselves or not but I can tell you that when we put pigeon pants (www.birdwearonline.com) on Peppermint, he ran and looked at himself in his mirror first thing.



The other day I brought another foster pigeon, Dorsey, over to visit Peppermint who lives as a very pampered foster pigeon in a parrot-filled household, thinking that Peppermint would appreciate the company. He spends A LOT of time with his mirror friend. He definitely did like the company and followed Dorsey around like a puppy but they also spent a lot of time looking in the mirror together!

So that gave me an idea and yesterday when I found a cast off mirror, I carried it home and put it in my pigeon loft. Even though the loft is full of REAL pigeons, they are VERY interested in the pigeons in the mirror.

September 1, 2009

Frances and Country are still honeymooning. They haven't 100% committed to a nest box yet and have been looking a little bit at the big empty box (vacated by Dovee and Zoe who are now fostered at MickaCoo Pacifica) and a bit at Country's old spot (from which she had been evicted by Jazzy and Tum Tum, also now in Pacifica) but they keep coming back to Frances' little cubby.




Here's a video of them from this morning.


Things are so much calmer in the loft now that there are 17 rather than 23 pigeons in there. (Seven are mine and ten are fosters.)

The youngsters have been playing in the nest boxes ever since the three couples (Dovee & Zoe, Kizzie & Millie and Jazzy & Tum Tum) moved to their new foster home at MickaCoo Pacifica and everybody here is more relaxed, including me. (Don't get me wrong- I'm still stressing because I've got lots of pigeons to find good homes for but at least my home loft is a little less crowded.)






MickaCoo Pacifica Update
There's been a lot of drama at MickaCoo Pacifica. Formerly rock-solid couple Jazzy & Tum Tum have been spending a lot of time apart with Jazzy home alone and little Miss Tum Tum caught repeatedly canoodling with newlywed pigeon Dovee! Zoe's not giving up on her philandering man so easily though and is still in the running as Zoe's mate. Kizzie & Millie appear to be scandalized by the goings on and have refused to set foot in the nest box. We may reduce the number of fosters from six to four in the hopes of restoring marital bliss.

Cheryl and I finished installing the roof, she's added a back on the aviary to provide greater security and has added wheat grass and lettuce for nutritional snacking.