Meet (Some Of) Our Birds
Why do we Keep Birds as Sanctuary Residents?
Freckle’s Fellowship Pigeon Recue & Sanctuary is dedicated to providing care to birds with special needs or those who may be challenging to adopt out, so many of our resident flock have disabilities or other problems that require extra attention. Other times, they may be birds we have had for a while who have had no adoption interest, or ones that we just feel a special connection to. Many of our sanctuary residents are used as ambassadors “ambassabirds” to advocate for pigeons with disabilities and pet pigeons.
Turd
Turd is a fancy old German owl pigeon, left in our recycling bin without any notice. Turd stays here as an indoor companion bird because he has separation anxiety and didn’t tolerate another household well.
Rudy
In the peak of the 2020 COVID lockdown, Rudy invaded the vents of Melbourne’s Hotel Quarantine that lead to a massive search! It was only poor Rudy who had tried to find some shelter after breaking her wing after a race. Rudy has remained here ever since, and finally married to one of our other residents in 2024.
Poltergeist
Poltergeist is our oldest resident, aged an amazing 23 years old! We rescued him and his lady from a poultry sale where he was discarded due to not producing viable eggs anymore. Being geriatric, we decided to keep Poltergeist as a resident to ensure his last years are comfortable. He does not show any signs of age aside from his big old man wrinkles and continues to be a bossy boy in the aviary.
Macey
Macey was rescued after being attacked by a bird of prey after being released for a race, left injured and tired in the city. When Macey came into care, she had a severe hematoma, as well as several puncture marks, a few rupturing her air sacs which required monitoring. It only took a few weeks for Macey to bounce back and now she remains here where she is safe.
Ghost
Ghost is one of our original two pigeons who, after Freckle passed away, went on to marry another sanctuary pigeon named Erwin. She has never laid eggs again though, so we like to think Freckle was her true love.
Beefcake
Beefcake was rescued from a similar situation as her husbird Chunky and was welcomed at the same time as him in 2023. She is a king utility cross, and they fell in love very quickly. Even when Chunky was in isolation, she remained loyal to him for months and waited until he got the green light to meet him again and continue their romance.
Mowgley & Breadbasket
Mowgley and Breadbasket came as a pair after a fellow rescuer wanted a place for them where they could be permanently homed and safe. Mowgley and Breadbasket are a valuable breed known as Iraqi pigeons, and to provide them somewhere safe, we took them in. Breadbasket (Yellow) was found after being lost, and we are not too sure how Mowgley ended up in rescue, but he was hand-raised.
Ophelia & Chocolate Chip
Ophelia lost her wing after a car strike and bone infection, while Chip, an ex-racer, had his wing blown off by a falcon and was abandoned by his owner. Now, they’ve found love and happiness together!
Chunky
Chunky was purchased from a market where he was going to be sold for food! He is a big carneau pigeon and our heaviest pigeon weighing roughly 1kg. He is also a resident post-PMV pigeon, so sometimes he’ll be caught standing a bit funny. He is also one of our abassabirds!
Marco
Marco and his sibling were given to us by a breeder once they realised they were both blind and not compatible with life in a loft. Marco is a long-face english tumbler, a breed who historically has been overbred, which has manifested in blindness and neurological issues for Marco. Despite this, Marco lives a happy life indoors in an adapted enclosure where he coos all day and playfights with his stuffed toy friends.