August 2024

Hello dear and loyal readers.
I, Nadine, from the Animal Police Team, am delighted to welcome you again today and take you on a journey into the animal world with my words and the latest news from Finca Noah.

Fly little bird fly...

We received a distress call, a cry for help from tourists. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that throws us off balance, because we are contacted daily by various people — animal welfare advocates, locals, and especially tourists with different types of emergency calls. And ultimately, we are Animal Police; we help every animal, stand up for every animal, and we always find a solution so that every animal in need receives help.
A tourist named Nadine, along with her husband and daughter, found a bird lying on the ground. They couldn't and wouldn't simply look away like so many other people do without a second thought.
They didn't know much about the animal; they found it alone, starving, and in a very exhausted state. Neither Nadine nor her family could tell us over the phone what kind of bird it was. We offered our help, and Nadine and her family brought the bird to Finca Noah, where the big puzzle began. Even we weren't 100% certain at first what kind of bird was sitting in front of us. A raven, an eagle, a vulture, a buzzard, or a mix of everything — we didn't know. We consulted Dr. Google. Eventually, we figured it out. The little bird, which had presumably fallen out of the nest and was then lying there helplessly without its mother, without water, without food, and without protection from danger, is a young ring-necked dove.
My son Juan looked at the dove sitting in his hand and said to it, "Well little one, let's make sure you grow up big."
Hello Carlo/Carla (we still haven't figured out if the dove is male or female), I'm your father now!
With a porridge-like food, specially formulated bird chick food, Juan fed the dove every 2 hours. Using a syringe, he gave the food to its beak until the crop was full and the dove was satisfied. Day after day, we watched the dove develop. From a tiny, ugly little thing, it slowly became a dove with feathers. The dove wanted to gradually, just as in nature, leave the nest and learn to fly. In our large aviary of about 200 square meters, Juan patiently taught it, step by step, how to fly. The two doves that were already living in the aviary after coming to us injured accepted the dove chick, and I'm sure both served as role models for the chick, because learning to fly was smooth and quick. Now it's all about learning to eat independently. Then Carlo/Carla can leave its nest at night too, because for now it's still under the care of its surrogate father Juan at night. It's so beautiful to see how a small, helpless creature becomes an independent dove that shows its surrogate father Juan so much gratitude and will certainly never leave his side again. A bond, a friendship for life.
And just when we've caught our breath because Juan actually managed to raise the dove with so much love, the next emergency call comes in — another dove chick is lying alone in a garden.
We'll tell you about the dove-rearing station soon. For now, let's just say Juan is absolutely thrilled to be able to give another dove a chance at life and later to see it flying around with a big smile on his face.
Juan, you are the best. Thank you for your loving support.

Where are the eggs?

They say that even a blind hen finds a grain now and then. Right now, the Animal Police Team is blind and can't find the chicken eggs on the farm anymore. There are a couple of spots we know about, where a breakfast egg regularly — almost daily — appears, but the big nests are so well hidden that we really struggle to find them. Our chickens and roosters are free-range birds. They are free to roam all over the Finca Noah grounds. All our animals at Finca Noah respect and tolerate each other. Peaceful coexistence. The chickens even occasionally share breakfast with the free-roaming cats, sleep with the horses, and occupy the soft horse stall. They run around with the sheep and play with the little sheep droppings they find, chatting away excitedly, and have decided among themselves that they must crow at 2:00 a.m. With our pig Magritt, they race to see who gets the fresh fruit and vegetables first. This month, we got to observe two proud mamas with their chicks in tow — twice! We feed our chickens fresh fruit and vegetables, and they love it. Right in the morning when I start working on the farm and preparing breakfast for the animals, all the little chicks come running toward me. They know exactly that the buffet is now opening.
Little chicks are really as sweet as sugar, but they grow big, and if we still can't find those nests, soon we won't be Finca Noah anymore — we'll be Chicken Farm. It's like Easter: if you can't find the hidden egg, there's a surprise coming soon enough.

Luna is visiting

Some of you may remember Farah from the early days, about 4.5 years ago. When Farah started with animal welfare. When Farah began, with her thoughts, plans, and wishes, building secure enclosures for the poor souls of Mallorca's streets. No sooner was the first dog kennel ready than the first emergency call came in. A large black Pastor Mallorquin female dog with her small puppies. The puppies were quickly placed in homes, but mama stayed with us.
We welcomed great visitors to Finca Noah: Patricia Kelly, with her sons, Eske, and her husband. Patricia fell in love with the female dog. Love, affinity, and trust at first sight — on both sides. From the very first moment, it was decided. Patricia wanted this dog. After a brief conversation with her family, her husband Dennis was also convinced that the two simply belonged together.
After so long, Luna visited us here at Finca Noah. It was a very emotional moment for Farah to see her again. Luna also felt very comfortable, and I'm certain that Luna hasn't forgotten who gave her a second chance at life. Who rescued her from the clutches of those animal abusers. Luna was in the care of people who used her as a breeding machine to sell her puppies. That animal trafficking is bad in itself is beyond question, but much worse are the conditions under which these poor dogs are kept. Now Luna has the best home anyone could wish for her. We don't give up; we'll find forever homes for many more dogs, and believe us, we will succeed.

You can be a big part of this. Through a sponsorship for our rescued animals and dogs, with a donation for veterinary costs, or by visiting Finca Noah to spend time with the animals and cuddle with them.
We would be delighted to welcome you to us soon.
Thank you for taking the time each month to let us take you on a thought journey into our animal welfare world.
Nadine