ADVENTURES OF ZOEY PEARL

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They are called the 'ghost dog' and my Zoey Pearl aka Sunshines Silver Lining is living a dog's life on the farm. She is a rescued Weimaraner who came to live with me in 2008. She was born in Michigan in 2001. She had a few foster homes before the crinkle eared dog found her permanent home at Trillium.

Zoey Pearl immediately found her niche on the farm. Her main job was chasing pigeons away from the barn. She was very good stocking and running the birds off. She learned to swim in lakes and finally this summer managed to skim the water with only her head slicing the surface. No more climbing up to try and reach the bottom. She became a strong swimmer.

There are so many little tales I could relay about her, but I will begin this post with her most recent life changes.

Back in June a roughly two week old baby pigeon fell from its nest in the implement shed. Trying to put the baby back in its nest was impossible as the height was too great to reach. So began the bonding process of foster mom (me) and the chick. Because of its rather brutish looking features, I named the bird Bruiser. It turned out to be very handsome or beautiful. Since I still don't know its sex, I still referred to Bruiser as "it."

To make a long story short, Bruiser has attached itself to both dogs; Zoey Pearl and Coconut. For Zoey Pearl this is a totally confusing situation. First Zoey Pearl had to leave the ducks alone and now her job on the farm is in jeopardy because of Bruiser. The bird's other sibling is hanging around the barn and Zoey has been found starring down the lone young pigeon. As she approaches closer to the bird, she softens her stance and turns away. I think she believes it is Bruiser as they look so much alike.

To add insult to injury, Bruiser lands on Zoey Pearl's head and rides on her back. Now that is really a bad image for a Weim!  Bruiser even picks at her toes and she begrudgingly allows this unwanted attention. Zoey Pearl shows great tolerance when it comes to Bruiser and my parrots. For a bird dog this makes no sense. Still my faithful and loyal dog obeys my wishes to leave certain birds alone.

I was finally able to get a picture of Bruiser on Zoey.

It seems like Bruiser has taken a fancy to Zoey Pearl. It is her constant shadow. As she hunts her prey of head poking pigeons, she has a decoy riding along her back. Bruiser decides to hitch a ride and watch Zoey Pearl stock and hold the freeze point from its vantage point on Zoey's back. It looks so insane that a pigeon is riding the predator that is in pursuit of its prey.

A few pics of Zoey and her buddy Bruiser.

LOFTY TENANTS

August 13, 2012

We've been watching a pigeon nest for several weeks, spying on the two small white eggs that rested comfortably in the straw filled hollowed out bed. The parents picked a perfect spot to make a home for their family. At the edge of our indoor hay loft, the pigeons fly through the big sliding barn door and land on the edge of the floor of the loft a few feet inside of the barn. It was here they decided to build a nest. Today the eggs cracked open and out popped two little chicks. I placed a penny beside one of the chicks as a reference point in size. This is the beginning of the miracle of life as we watch these naked babies find their clothes of feathers and rapidly grow right before our eyes.

August 14, 2012

I took a peek at the little ones today and was amazed to see these little fluff balls. Now that they are dried off, they look a whole lot cuter than when they were first hatched. Bob informs me that our second cut hay needs to go into that loft. That means I will have to temporarily move them out of the nest when the time comes. I just hope mom and dad don't "fly the coop" and abandon them. I don't want to have to raise two more pigeons. Bruiser is sweet, but it is a lot of work. Tomorrow I'll take another picture and you will see such a difference two days makes.

August 15, 2012

Here are some pictures from today. Note the soft yellow fluff of down these babies have now. Mom lets me get within reach of her to see the babies. She's very accommodating to show me her brood.

August 17, 2012

It has been a couple of days since my last post so I decided to take some new pictures of the growing siblings. The transformation is quite outstanding. I placed a penny in the nest again for size reference. If you compare the photos from day 1, you will immediately notice how much these fledglings have grown. The are pecking now when they feel the vibrations of movement. Their eyes are still closed for now.

August 21, 2012

It was picture day today and now the little babes in the nest can see. Their eyes are open and they are aware of their surroundings. The penny gets lost in the nest with the size of the chicks so I put it in my hand and took the picture in close proximity to the pigeons. Wow! Now they are nine days old.

August 24, 2012

I'm pleased to report that the baby pigeons survived all the activity of hay being unloaded into the loft. We decided not to move them being careful to protect them from any falling bales. The banging and grinding of the elevator most have placed them in some discomfort with the noise. By evening all was quiet and I longed to see the parents return. They hadn't.

By morning I was delighted to see mom and dad land in the loft and take over responsibility for raising their young. I was afraid they might have abandoned them and I wasn't looking forward to devoting so much time to bringing up two more pigeons. Besides, their real parents would do a much better job teaching them how to be pigeons an survive.

August 26, 2012

The kids are on the move... They have outgrown their nest are are hanging out in the loft staying close by to their former home of rough built straw nest.

August 30, 2012

There are a lot of squeaks lately coming from the hayloft. They are growing like weeds. Tomorrow I will try and flush them out of their hiding spot to get some new pictures.

September 1, 2012

I went to the loft today to take some new pictures of the brood. My, the have grown. It won't be long before they start their infancy flights. Compare their size to the penny when I first checked the nest when the eggs hatched.

September 14, 2012

I returned home from Atlanta and couldn't believe my eyes. The little pigeons are all grown up and flying about the loft. They have matured into handsome birds. This will be the last entry on this post as I believe the pigeons will soon venture into the unknown and join other wild feathered angels of the sky.