April, a month full of emotions...
Nebraska is doing badly
Nebraska our 26 year old mare has been worrying us for days.....
In December 2022, she was not feeling well at all. After a thorough examination by our equine vet, Nebraska was diagnosed with a large tumour in her abdomen. A short time later, it had to be done really quickly, the tumour was surgically removed. As this could not be done on the Finca Noah farm, a horse transport to the clinic had to be organised. Nebraska survived the operation well and recovered quickly.
Nebraska has been worrying us again for a week now. She was lying in her box in the morning and didn't want to get up. This was an unusual sight for us and a sign that we needed to act quickly. We immediately had to get Nebraska to get up. We were afraid that Nebraska had colic. This could be fatal, so every minute counted. Nebraska was not allowed to lie down under any circumstances, on the contrary, she had to walk. We led her carefully through the sand riding arena on a rope and halter. Round after round. Until, after what felt like half an eternity, the vet arrived. Fortunately, it wasn't colic, the vet was able to rule that out. But what it was exactly had to be determined with the help of a blood test. So we had to wait again until we knew how Nebraska was doing.
Claudia, our equine vet, is at the farm every day to provide Nebraska with medication. The antibiotic she is injected with daily is for the inflammation she has in her body, as the results of the blood test showed. She also needs a daily vitamin supplement to rebuild her immune system.
Many people think that such a large animal doesn't notice a small injection. Horses are more sensitive than you think. When Nebraska gets her injection, I, Nadine, stand next to her to calm her down. If you look into her big eyes, you can see her fear. Fear because she doesn't know what's happening. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that Nebraska recovers quickly and doesn't need any more medical treatment.
Theo the farmyard cock
I'm sure you all know Theo, Farah her favourite hand-tamed cock. Everyone who visits us at Finca Noah wants to see Theo, wants to stroke him, or wants Theo to sit in their arms.
Theo was discovered by volunteers at Finca Noah in September 2021. A very special egg was found during the daily chicken egg collection. It was knocking in the egg. At first everyone laughed about it, but then everyone realised that someone wanted to get out of their egg house. Little Theo had hatched....
Theo was lovingly raised by Farah. Fed, kept warm and loved. The day came when Theo wanted to discover the big wide world, for him the big wide world was the farm of Finca Noah. He was given his own house on the farm. A wooden house with a window, door and small terrace/veranda. He loved this little house. Every evening after his voyage of discovery on the farm, he ran to his little house to sleep there so that he would be fit for the next day, when he could experience and do lots of things.
A shock moment for everyone in January 2023. Theo was lying injured on the pitch. He had a bleeding wound on his stomach. We didn't hesitate for a minute to take him to the vet. At the weekend, in the afternoon, it was a real challenge to find a vet who was open or who knew chickens and could treat them. Once across the island, hours on the road, what felt like a hundred phone calls later, we found a vet who stitched Theo up with a few stitches and thus stopped the bleeding. Theo needed all-round care for a week after this shock, and he really enjoyed this attention. He found it very difficult to crow like a mature rooster. He tried again and again, but all that came out of his beak was a chirp. After 5 days of wellness in the living room, Theo woke me up at 4.30 in the morning with a really loud crowing. I was so happy that I immediately ran to him.
Theo was back to his old self!
Then, on 1 April 2024, the second shock moment.
Theo was lying lifeless on the floor. Without any signs of illness or injury. We don't know why he had to go. We wish dearest Theo a safe journey. You will always remain in our hearts. We all miss you very much.
Big cat rescue in Son Reus
We met Antonio, a Mallorcan with a big heart for animals. He is a private animal rights activist who occasionally supports an animal welfare organisation and takes great pleasure in helping the animals. Antonio asked us for help this time.
In Son Reus, the second largest killing centre, several cats sit in small cages and scream from fear, hunger and cold. The cages are no bigger than half a square metre in size/small. Cold concrete or metal floor. They get no love and no attention.
The reasons why the cats end up in such cages are very different.
Often it is cats that have become ill and the owners prefer to hand over the sick animal instead of taking care of it and taking it to the vet. Sick animals cause costs and make work. Both of which the comfortable people don't want, and make it quite easy for themselves by simply giving up the responsibility they once took on.
We were able to free 6 cats from their cages and let them move to our cat paradise. You also have to pay a release fee for these cats, even though you are rescuing the animal, in our case the cats, so to speak. Sometimes we don't understand the world any more. Each of these cats handles their new freedom very differently. One enjoys being inside and outside. One likes to be cuddled 24 hours a day. The other is still sceptical and observes everything from a safe distance. The 6 kittens are now allowed to settle in with us.
We are aware that new cats will certainly be locked up in the empty boxes in Son Reus. And we would not hesitate to get them out of there too. Our cat paradise is about 80 square metres in size, and unfortunately we can't take in an endless number of cats. We have room for emergencies and caged cats again if we manage to place the cats that have already been rescued and are now ready for their new loving homes. So we are urgently looking for loving people who are ready to fall in love with one of our kittens and give them a loving home. Animals from animal welfare are soooo grateful when you give them time and love. The gratitude we receive from the animals every day is indescribable. Help us to save even more animals....
Freedom for the birds
We had to go out to buy new beds for our dogs. Our destination was a large shop in the town of Manacor called Kiwoko, where we wanted to buy comfortable sleeping pillows, after all, the dogs should be just as soft and comfortable as we are, as we don't sleep on the floor either.
Once we had found the beds, we noticed birdsong. We were horrified and speechless. Tears welled up in our eyes at the sight of so many little budgerigars and Argaponis fluttering around disorientated in the glass boxes. You can't say flying. It was really much, much, much too small for that. It seemed to us as if they were on display, and there are actually people standing in front of them who find it cute how the little birds flutter around. Our hearts were broken. I, Nadine, was able to persuade Farah to save the Argaponis and buy their freedom.
We bought several wooden nesting boxes, food and treats for birds. And gave 9 Argaponis a new life in our aviary of almost 200 square metres. Back at Finca Noah, we had a quick craft session for the 9 little ones and prepared everything for them.
Then we were finally able to free her from her transport cage and let her fly. Free as a bird!!!
We were so happy, goosebumps moment. It's so nice to see them flying all day and hear them chirping happily.
We are currently looking to sponsor two birds. This will at least cover the food costs, which makes us very happy.