Pinch Me Because I Must Be Dreaming!
I received this offer, out of the clear blue sky, in early December of 2009 when Suzanne Flusche (hereto before unknown to me and MickaCoo) wrote,
My husband and I have always wanted an outdoor aviary large enough to sit in or near. We have a very large yard with a space where our children's play yard was - partly shaded by a big tree, about 16' by 32'. It would be great to have a flight cage/pigeon coop there. Something about 16' x 16' x 7 or 8' high. We would prefer to not have to run electrical. Our obstacles are unfamiliarity with how to go about building a proper structure that would be fairly nice-looking as well as sound, give the birds appropriate coop space, be fairly easy to clean, keep out the yard critters (two poodles, feral and tame cats, the occasional raccoon family, skunk, wild rats) and keep the birds warm enough in winter and cool enough in summer so that heaters or fans are not required. We've got two or three thousand dollars to spend on such a project. We are not interested in breeding; in fact, fostering MickaCoo birds were be ideal. We could afford to feed the birds and have the time to provide care but don't want to take on veterinary responsibility. If you're interested in helping us design a project like this, and would like to check out the situation, give a call or email back.
Hello, Suzanne!
Would I? Yes, I would be very interested in helping you make that wonderful pigeon aviary dream come true! And it wouldn't be that difficult.
I highly recommend an aviary big enough to spend time in, as you suggest. It is such a nice way to enjoy your birds and I think easier and better for all involved. 16' by 16' by 8' would be a great size.
Most important is that it be built sturdily and predator/rodent proof which is very easy to do when you're aware of that fact and start from scratch as you are.
No need for electrical. Pigeons are hardy and thrive year-round in Northern CA climate. They need a sheltered section that is protected from wind/rain and shade of course but mine live outdoors year-round without electricity. If/when you do have an injured or sick bird that needs warmth, they'd be best indoors on a heating pad in a dog crate.
There is a WONDERFUL web group called Pigeon Talk at www.pigeons.biz/forums that I highly recommend as a resource for all kinds of info and support. You can see pictures of other's aviaries and get all kinds of encouragement, answers to questions, etc. I also have an aviary consultant that I can hook you up with.
My direct email is AdoptKings@gmail.com. MickaCoo desperately needs a foster aviary like you're offering! I can come meet you and look over your site. I'm eager to support you any way I can and you're also welcome to come meet my pij if you'd like (I'm in SF).
And that's how I met MickaCoo volunteers and fosters-to-be Suzanne and Barney Flusche.
On January 4, 2010, they came and saw my coop and pigeons and spent some quality time with Squeak.
And I got this tantalizing image of their plan on March 16th.
And these pictures of the Flusche Cooop under construction on May 4th.
And then, on May 16th, I had the surreal and incredible pleasure of going to the Flusche's home and seeing this INCREDIBLE aviary, custom built to provide shelter for rescued king pigeons.
Their first residents were rescued king pigeons Mirabell, Butters, Ariel, Soho and Spirit & Little Jazzy (who have since been adopted and now live in New York).
It was amazing to see these "thrown away meat birds" stretch their gorgeous wings and begin to enjoy their big, safe and wonderful new foster home.
I think they were thinking, "Pinch me because I must be dreaming" too.
Since then, new birds have been added as well as moved out including Genie the lost roller who has been adopted and now lives in San Jose and the Duke, Dawn and Pip trio (found as stray, helpless fledglings "set free" -in truth left to die- in Golden Gate Park on Fathers' Day) and Slim & Penny, unreturnable racing pigeons that met in foster care and have become a mated couple and Saffron and Disco...
The Flusche Family is learning about Wing Fu and pigeon birth control and brood patches.
And they are providing a wonderful interim home for MickaCoo fosters who would have to euthanized in overfull shelters otherwise.
I'm still a little in shock about how this miracle came to be. Sometimes I think to myself, "I must be a genius or maybe I'm magic!" to have this incredible aviary (and several others!) built in response to MickaCoo's pleas.
I asked Suzanne (who goes by Zann) to write something for the Rescue Report about their "Cooop" as it is called:
Our decision to build the Cooop came out of a dream we’d had for years to have an outdoor aviary to enjoy and the need to complete a landscape plan. We thought about how much time and emotional commitment we had to give, what our resources were and how much yard space there was to work with. The major reason we didn't act sooner to make the aviary-dream happen was that until we read about MickaCoo, keeping actual birds didn't seem practical. How to manage the breeding population was a concern with parakeets and finches. Smaller birds in general might have required that we run electricity for supplemental heat in the winter. Hook bills would need specialized materials for safe cage construction. Parrots and Macaws want more interaction than we had time to give. And an emu is just too big. Building for pigeons was a pragmatic decision. We love that the birds are pretty and graceful and hardy; that they have distinct personalities but are uniformly gentle and calm; that they don’t have emotional issues that need attending to, and their cooing is a lovely sound any time of day. It’s been more rewarding than I’d have guessed to see these unique Kings, survivors of peril and wild adventure, beat the odds of becoming entrees and come to my home to live in simple beauty. In the design of the coop, we wanted a structure that was attractive, easy to clean and could be adapted for storage or as a playhouse by future owners. It needed to be a show-case to display the birds, yet also give them safety from predators, be escape-proof, have good air-flow, and shelter from rain and strong winds. Having built from scratch, we got the design that looks most in harmony and proportion to the other structures in our tract house suburb. In another place, a Victorian or Japanese pagoda would be terrific. We could keep a single pair of birds in an attractive unit that would fit in almost anyone’s yard, or a large screened room with a water feature and a green-house atmosphere would be especially nice in the summers…. We encourage other folks to consider creating safe homes for rescue birds: even if a first consideration is a landscape feature.
MickaCoo has many (too many) lovely rescued pigeons and doves in need of homes.
Please consider making your (and my and the birds') dreams come true. We will all be glad you did.
My husband and I have always wanted an outdoor aviary large enough to sit in or near. We have a very large yard with a space where our children's play yard was - partly shaded by a big tree, about 16' by 32'. It would be great to have a flight cage/pigeon coop there. Something about 16' x 16' x 7 or 8' high. We would prefer to not have to run electrical. Our obstacles are unfamiliarity with how to go about building a proper structure that would be fairly nice-looking as well as sound, give the birds appropriate coop space, be fairly easy to clean, keep out the yard critters (two poodles, feral and tame cats, the occasional raccoon family, skunk, wild rats) and keep the birds warm enough in winter and cool enough in summer so that heaters or fans are not required. We've got two or three thousand dollars to spend on such a project. We are not interested in breeding; in fact, fostering MickaCoo birds were be ideal. We could afford to feed the birds and have the time to provide care but don't want to take on veterinary responsibility. If you're interested in helping us design a project like this, and would like to check out the situation, give a call or email back.
And I wrote back,
Pinch me because I must be dreaming!Hello, Suzanne!
Would I? Yes, I would be very interested in helping you make that wonderful pigeon aviary dream come true! And it wouldn't be that difficult.
I highly recommend an aviary big enough to spend time in, as you suggest. It is such a nice way to enjoy your birds and I think easier and better for all involved. 16' by 16' by 8' would be a great size.
Most important is that it be built sturdily and predator/rodent proof which is very easy to do when you're aware of that fact and start from scratch as you are.
No need for electrical. Pigeons are hardy and thrive year-round in Northern CA climate. They need a sheltered section that is protected from wind/rain and shade of course but mine live outdoors year-round without electricity. If/when you do have an injured or sick bird that needs warmth, they'd be best indoors on a heating pad in a dog crate.
There is a WONDERFUL web group called Pigeon Talk at www.pigeons.biz/forums that I highly recommend as a resource for all kinds of info and support. You can see pictures of other's aviaries and get all kinds of encouragement, answers to questions, etc. I also have an aviary consultant that I can hook you up with.
My direct email is AdoptKings@gmail.com. MickaCoo desperately needs a foster aviary like you're offering! I can come meet you and look over your site. I'm eager to support you any way I can and you're also welcome to come meet my pij if you'd like (I'm in SF).
And that's how I met MickaCoo volunteers and fosters-to-be Suzanne and Barney Flusche.
On January 4, 2010, they came and saw my coop and pigeons and spent some quality time with Squeak.
And I got this tantalizing image of their plan on March 16th.
And these pictures of the Flusche Cooop under construction on May 4th.
And then, on May 16th, I had the surreal and incredible pleasure of going to the Flusche's home and seeing this INCREDIBLE aviary, custom built to provide shelter for rescued king pigeons.
Their first residents were rescued king pigeons Mirabell, Butters, Ariel, Soho and Spirit & Little Jazzy (who have since been adopted and now live in New York).
It was amazing to see these "thrown away meat birds" stretch their gorgeous wings and begin to enjoy their big, safe and wonderful new foster home.
I think they were thinking, "Pinch me because I must be dreaming" too.
Since then, new birds have been added as well as moved out including Genie the lost roller who has been adopted and now lives in San Jose and the Duke, Dawn and Pip trio (found as stray, helpless fledglings "set free" -in truth left to die- in Golden Gate Park on Fathers' Day) and Slim & Penny, unreturnable racing pigeons that met in foster care and have become a mated couple and Saffron and Disco...
The Flusche Family is learning about Wing Fu and pigeon birth control and brood patches.
And they are providing a wonderful interim home for MickaCoo fosters who would have to euthanized in overfull shelters otherwise.
I'm still a little in shock about how this miracle came to be. Sometimes I think to myself, "I must be a genius or maybe I'm magic!" to have this incredible aviary (and several others!) built in response to MickaCoo's pleas.
I asked Suzanne (who goes by Zann) to write something for the Rescue Report about their "Cooop" as it is called:
Our decision to build the Cooop came out of a dream we’d had for years to have an outdoor aviary to enjoy and the need to complete a landscape plan. We thought about how much time and emotional commitment we had to give, what our resources were and how much yard space there was to work with. The major reason we didn't act sooner to make the aviary-dream happen was that until we read about MickaCoo, keeping actual birds didn't seem practical. How to manage the breeding population was a concern with parakeets and finches. Smaller birds in general might have required that we run electricity for supplemental heat in the winter. Hook bills would need specialized materials for safe cage construction. Parrots and Macaws want more interaction than we had time to give. And an emu is just too big. Building for pigeons was a pragmatic decision. We love that the birds are pretty and graceful and hardy; that they have distinct personalities but are uniformly gentle and calm; that they don’t have emotional issues that need attending to, and their cooing is a lovely sound any time of day. It’s been more rewarding than I’d have guessed to see these unique Kings, survivors of peril and wild adventure, beat the odds of becoming entrees and come to my home to live in simple beauty. In the design of the coop, we wanted a structure that was attractive, easy to clean and could be adapted for storage or as a playhouse by future owners. It needed to be a show-case to display the birds, yet also give them safety from predators, be escape-proof, have good air-flow, and shelter from rain and strong winds. Having built from scratch, we got the design that looks most in harmony and proportion to the other structures in our tract house suburb. In another place, a Victorian or Japanese pagoda would be terrific. We could keep a single pair of birds in an attractive unit that would fit in almost anyone’s yard, or a large screened room with a water feature and a green-house atmosphere would be especially nice in the summers…. We encourage other folks to consider creating safe homes for rescue birds: even if a first consideration is a landscape feature.
MickaCoo has many (too many) lovely rescued pigeons and doves in need of homes.
Please consider making your (and my and the birds') dreams come true. We will all be glad you did.
posted by Elizabeth at
12:29 PM
1 Comments:
That's such an amazing story! It's nice to see some smart people with resources helping out. Their aviary is beautiful, the birds look content and the family seems to be enjoying their company. It's a win-win situation for everyone.
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