# Pigeon adoption at the Water Fowl Rescue in Charlotte, NC



## Mr-Pidges-Mom (Jan 15, 2009)

*These are my two new babies at 5 weeks old.
Apollo is on the left and Venus is on the right.*








​This picture was taken the day I brought them home in the pet carrier. They were adopted from Water Fowl Rescue in Charlotte, NC. Their mother was a rescued "wedding dove." The rescue was called as someone had found 5 of them, starving to death. By the time they got them to the rescue, 4 had died, and these baby's mom is the only one who made it. She mated with a black pigeon and these babies are beautifully marked. They are now nearly 2 months old, their voices just changed, and are cute as little buttons.

If anyone is interested in adopting pigeons near Charlotte, NC, I highly recommend the Water Fowl Rescue. These people do really great work, but they will not ship birds, so you'd have to go there to see them. I drove 2 hours from Asheville, NC to see their available birds.

The Water Fowl Rescue is also an all volunteer 501(c)3 non profit charity. They rely on donations and adoption fees to provide the funds needed for veterinary care, housing and food for the birds they have. Here's more information on them:

http://www.carolinawaterfowlrescue.com/adopt.html

When I was there, I met a duck named Stevie that someone had severely beaten and needed surgery. The folks from the Water Fowl Rescue drove the bird to Raleigh, NC., a LONG distance, and they saved his life! It's a really great organization that can use all the help they can get, and any donations are tax deductible. 

For a partial listing of their birds that are up for adoption go here:

http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?shelter_id=NC377


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Beautiful babies! I have always wanted to adopt from there, or at least go visit. We are only a couple counties away, but it still kills us in gas to go all the way down there, especially when the Charlotte traffic kicks up. I don't really approve of them allowing their birds to breed while at the rescue though - seems to sort of defeat the purpose. They just end up with MORE birds to find homes for. Of course being able to breed the birds you adopt is great...however it just seems odd to allow it at the rescue itself, you know? Especially when I think of places like Mickacoo who are already overflowing with rescues, without letting them have babies. Although oops babies are always a possibility - we've all had those pop up!  So that could be the case with your two little guys.

Do they have a lot of homers/racers down there? I really do wish I could help some of them. I feel like all these abandoned/lost homers/racers deserve a second chance!


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## Mr-Pidges-Mom (Jan 15, 2009)

*These baby's parents were darned sneaky : )*

The folks at the Water Fowl Rescue really work hard on not allowing breeding to happen, but these baby's parents were darned sneaky. They built their nest under a playpen that wasn't being used, so the owner did not know they were even there until she heard the babies peeping! They now have a nice loft built just for the pigeons, so that they can see what's going on with them and hopefully keep any more breeding from happening.

As far as homers and racers, I'm not sure if they have any of those or not. I did not notice any bands on the pigeons. They had several that were imprinted to humans, and a few that could not fly. 

I do remember the owner saying that she is very careful about whom she allows to adopt the birds. I emailed back and forth with her for several weeks before I drove to Charlotte, and I also had a reference from one our members on this board before I went. My first pigeon that I raised from 1 week old was going to be 18 last January, but sadly he died in November, so these two babies are perfect for me. 

If you ever decide to visit the Water Fowl Rescue, make sure to email and set up a time to visit. They have all kinds of birds that have been rescued from all over the US. I met a goose that flew down as a regular passenger on a jet! They really do fantastic work, and need all the financial support that they can get.

Tracey






MaryOfExeter said:


> Beautiful babies! I have always wanted to adopt from there, or at least go visit. We are only a couple counties away, but it still kills us in gas to go all the way down there, especially when the Charlotte traffic kicks up. I don't really approve of them allowing their birds to breed while at the rescue though - seems to sort of defeat the purpose. They just end up with MORE birds to find homes for. Of course being able to breed the birds you adopt is great...however it just seems odd to allow it at the rescue itself, you know? Especially when I think of places like Mickacoo who are already overflowing with rescues, without letting them have babies. Although oops babies are always a possibility - we've all had those pop up!  So that could be the case with your two little guys.
> 
> Do they have a lot of homers/racers down there? I really do wish I could help some of them. I feel like all these abandoned/lost homers/racers deserve a second chance!


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Ah yes, now that sounds like a more typical rescue 

Well these guys a homers, or have homers anyway. I am friends with them on facebook so I've seen some pics of their birds - some of them do look like unbanded homers. Anyways, yes, I definitely do want to go visit eventually. If I could, I would adopt'em all!  We have ducks, chickens, guineas, quail, and a turkey, so just about anything would fit in here. We have a pond so one day I would like to get it set up where they could maybe release some birds here if they need to  

And of course I want to meet their infamous Marmalade!  He's a handsome little guy, and has been through so much!


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## Mr-Pidges-Mom (Jan 15, 2009)

That's a lot of birds you've got, and I'm sure they'd appreciate any you could foster : ) The folks at the rescue might even be able to meet you half way. They also have a turkey there. He followed us around all puffed up the whole time. Really funny. I'd never petted a turkey before, but I really liked him.


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