On the Fifteenth Day of Christmas, look what came to Rikki’s,

fifteen peaceful pigeons,

Pigeons? And why do pigeons need a sanctuary.

Some people like to keep pigeons for racing. Racing? You’ve heard of Homing Pigeons, well they are driven far from their home, released, and then timed to see how long it takes them to get home. They’re experts at finding their home from far away locations, most of the time. But some get lost, or don’t want to go home. Having always been fed by a hooman, they don’t know how to care for themselves and they end up on decks begging for food or trying to roost in a shed, or walk into a house. They have bands with ID information to contact the owner, but most owners don’t want a bird back who gets lots, and so they end up at Rikki’s Refuge.

Hoomans do silly things. Some like to release fancy pigeons, often white ones, at weddings. There is no thought to what will happen to these birds who’d been raised in captivity. Some go home so they can do it again. Others are lost, just like the homing pigeons. Many aren’t banded, and if they are, it’s the same story, nope don’t want it back.

And then a few have been injured. Like Skully,

who came to us as a little baby with a very serious head wound. He was nursed and raised by a Rikki’s hooman. And to this day he loves to ride around on a hooman!

The rotunda has 42 pigeons today, and they’re all hungry !!! The best feed for them is a special pigeon chow that runs $35.49 for 50 pounds. Yikes .. so they get some and they get other cheaper bird feed too. One bag of pigeon feed will last them almost 3 weeks. Would YOU

consider making a tax deductible contribution by going to our website
https://RikkisRefuge.org/donate
or by mailing a check
Rikki’s Refuge, PO Box 1357, Orange VA 22960
or the site of your choice
Paypal https://paypal.me/RikkisRefuge
Paypal mail@RikkisRefuge.org
Square https://RR-square.shorturl.com
Venmo Rikki’s Refuge
Zelle mail@RikkisRefuge.org

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!!!

#RikkisRefuge
#RikkisRefugeAnimalSanctuary