#mickacoo

Join us for The Hatoful Holiday Stream! That's right! Myself, my birds, and a couple human friends will be playing Hatoful Boyfriend for another charity stream. This time proceeds will go to Palomacy (formerly MickaCoo) Pigeon and Dove rescue. Our goal is at least $300.

We will be playing December 19th at 8PM EST. 

The Twitch Stream can be found here. And the GoFundMe can be found here. Don't want to watch, but want to doante? That's ok! The GoFundMe is already live! Don't want to use GoFundMe? Donate to my PayPal here to have your money still go to Palomacy but not touch GoFundMe (I'll eventually be making the donation through PayPal anyway once funds transfer after the stream.) All money will be donated to Palomacy as one lump sum under "Birblr."

Want to get a holiday card from me and my birds? Anyone that donates $10 or more will get a card sent them them signed by myself and some of my birds (meaning they will bite the card). If you donate $10 or more, just leave me your address in a message on either GoFundMe or Tumblr and I'll get one sent out to you! 

The art featured here done by sadface-art!

"I am a professor at UC San Diego in the psychology dept - I teach a course in Behavior and Learning, in which we have a pigeon lab course. These lucky students get to work with their own pigeon for an entire semester, after which the school will no longer use these birds (approx 6 weeks from now). We are trying desperately to find a suitable home for them - some students will be adopting their birds but we will most likely have between 20-25 white carneax 1-year olds that need a home. Can you help?"

Many, MANY pigeons (and other animals) are used in labs all the time and the vast majority are routinely killed when their usefulness is considered over. These pigeons are in a very tiny minority- their people are striving to help them get adopted rather than killed. Here's a story about some lab pigeons that MickaCoo rescued: ("Lab Pigeons Can Count"http://www.rescuereport.org/.../lab-pigeons-can-count.html)

Regarding "Breeding stock" and "pumpers"- we are a rescue. We work non-stop to save the lives of birds that would otherwise be killed for lack of a home while others breed and sell and buy... and we cannot keep up. We can barely make time to care for our own birds we are so busy caring for all the throw-aways of others. Please- if you love birds, stop breeding and instead help the unwanted and homeless birds that are already here to get homes and live.

Meet real pigeons and get vegan treats this Sunday with MickaCoo! Here are the details:

By Melissa McKenzie

Elizabeth Young had no intention of working in animal rescue and she definitely never thought she’d specialize in pigeons and doves, but a change in a long-standing belief turned everything upside down and suddenly Young found herself immersed in the rescue world.

Having been an avid animal lover her entire life, Young avoided entering the rescue world because she didn’t want to open herself up to the suffering and heartbreak. But, five years ago she broke her long-held rule and started volunteering at the San Francisco Animal Shelter where she quickly noticed that each of the animals except King Pigeons had rescues.

"I felt like there was this humane, amazing web," said Young. "Everybody was covered except for these King Pigeons."

King Pigeons aren’t typically thought of as pets and were routinely euthanized at the shelter. The snow-white birds are most commonly sold as squab, a delicacy similar to veal served at many high-end restaurants.

Young’s decision to help these birds began when she met Gurumina, a pigeon who was surrendered to the shelter by her owner.

"Gurumina was so big and she was in her cage bouncing up and down and she sounded like a bowling ball in a dryer," said Young. "At the end of my shift, I opened the door and she stepped out onto my hand and she was just so happy. I couldn’t allow her to be euthanized so I brought her home. The first thing I did was reach out to MickaBoo Companion Bird Rescue and asked if they could help me get the word out and they were very welcoming. Nancy Powell, at the time she was the chief operating officer, did whatever she could for me. And the adopter saw [Gurumina] on the website. I had her for only a month and found a great home for her where she still is." Soon, the woman who avoided the role of an animal rescuer was thrust into a life of saving pigeons and doves. Young’s compassion took over and she started MickaCoo Pigeon and Dove Rescue.

Young and MickaCoo do not rescue King Pigeons from their deathly squab fate, but instead save birds who have been set free by others trying to do them a favor – only those who release them don’t realize that King Pigeons are domestic birds and rarely survive on their own.

While typically adopted in pairs, as pigeons and doves are social creatures and like to have a mate, occasionally Young comes across an unhitched bird and sends it to its new solo home.

"Pigeons are very social and when they connect with you, they really connect," said Young. "They’re very much about having a partner."

All MickaCoo adopters are given information on how to create a proper bird space. All pigeons and doves need is enough space to freely move around, some sunlight, and food. They’re also trainable and function well in “pigeon pants” (a device, like a diaper, that collects droppings). However, pigeons are very particular about their feathers and tend to get a little fussy when they’ve been ruffled up so the pants shouldn’t be worn constantly.

Last year, MickaCoo saved 333 pigeons and doves from euthanization or the dinner table, but the rescue is currently at capacity and will soon have difficulty rescuing more of these sweet, gentle creatures unless they can find people willing to adopt or foster them.

"Pigeons are very smart, very loyal and very gentle creatures," said Young. "This is a hidden problem and we need people to help."