Many folk have commented over the years about Bulgarian folk having no real feeling or empathy about their animals or native wildlife...I have seen this and am probably guilty of making the same observations.

It would seem that we may have all been a bit wrong....

...it all started with a very young Magpie, rescued off the street, cared for and raised to maturity.

Next came a couple of wild pheasant eggs...these were hatched in the incubator, raised and released..

Followed by 12 wild duck eggs...same process (11 survived) and all were released onto the river...and live happily there..

Next was a pigeon chick...raised with two day old chickens, which we just happened to have at the time...

Today we received a young Jackdaw...unable to fly and rescued from a mob of hungry cats!

Somehow, the locals have realised that we will care for these helpless creatures and they seem to take great delight in our results.

They don't seem to have the inclination to save them, but applaud those who do.


In every case, it was a local person who brought these birds to us.

Good on you guys! And a real eye opener where animals are concerned we are all learning. I must admit I am not an animal lover but if one needs help than I will do what I can. Therefore, I would not say Bulgarians do not care for animals on the contrary, they look after their animals the best way they know how, admittedly they do not have them in the house or as pets but they do feed them and actually keeping them as pets is acceptable now too. The village animals will not cross a doorway even Nipper will not set a paw inside the front door and since we built the netting round the balcony he will not come in unless it is thundering.

Our neighbours feed the stray dogs in the village. We see the dogs on a chain and feel this is not right as this is the way we have been taught completely opposite to the Bulgarians. If the dog is loose then the livestock will be eaten. But they do care for their animals and if they don't want or need them they will give them or take an animal to someone else they know who will care for it.

I can't entirely agree with you Berni...unless my village is an isolated case. We have around 25 stray dogs, in and around the place...probably another 100 which are chained up all the time. The old fellow next door had a dog which he kept on a chain for all of its life...it was fed on stale bread and water with the odd left over table scraps every now and then...it died of tick infestation at around 4 years of age. He noticed us feeding our Ridgeback with quality dog food (she also stays inside at night) and walked away, shaking his head! According to him, a dog is a doorbell unless it's used for hunting or herding...seems that the rest of the village thinks the same way.

Anyway, the Jackdaw has settled in well...eating and drinking normally and loves company. He takes my keyring from my fingers and spends hours tossing it around.

Yes, agree the dogs are certainly doorbells and nothing else the people here see what we feed  Nipper and also shake their heads but two of them has asked me to bring them a big bag next time from Silistra and they paid me too so maybe we are all making a little progress. What really turned my stomock was after we had eaten at one of the neighbours the piled the leftover on a plate one of us ate from and then gave that to two cats. Then washing up in cold water  So won't be eating there again....

Glad little Jack is doing well. I have two snakes in the garden now and they are quite big no no no they are not going to be pets

I don't think the Bulgarians have any respect for their animals at all not matter what type; it’s a pity since a lot of their animals in their livelihood

bigsavak wrote:

I don't think the Bulgarians have any respect for their animals at all not matter what type; it’s a pity since a lot of their animals in their livelihood

You are probably right Bigsavak the animals are kept for food, the dogs for security and cats to keep the mice, rats etc away. Well at least this is in the villagers not sure about the towns

We have a new bit of road going up the hill from the village, it's great to see the road but unfortunately the goates pass there every day and the geese are allowed to wonder free so you really do have to watch where you walk. Nobody every goes out to clean the area

Don't hold your breath waiting for someone to clean up the road....I've been told by more than a few BG people over the years...there are three things that Bulgarian folk are fascinated with...


Watching fire burn...

Watching water run...

And watching other people work!


In my experience, I'd say...

Exactly right!!!!

justbazz wrote:

Don't hold your breath waiting for someone to clean up the road....I've been told by more than a few BG people over the years...there are three things that Bulgarian folk are fascinated with...


Watching fire burn...

Watching water run...

And watching other people work!


In my experience, I'd say...

Exactly right!!!!

Let me tell you a little story....

...during the warmer months, we move from the city apartment and take up residence in:Headbang: our village property....it's situated on a U shaped street, about 300 metres long and we are at the bottom of the U....can you picture that?

It is a regulated street...appears as such on local and Google maps and is acknowledged by the local council as a village street...it hasn't been maintained, graded or otherwise looked after for more than 25 years...totally impassable, unless you drive a tractor!

I spend many hours, clearing, mowing and leveling this street, every year, just so we can get our cars into the garage.

So many times have I had an audience of locals...more than a few times have I been asked...how much do they pay you to do this?

I rest my case.

Well done you

Well you know our dirt track down to our place - We too have to keep that clear so we can get out jeep down and we clear it to the end of our property. I was amazed when one of the villagers son's visited and asked why we do not cut down to the end as his mum has to walk that way. I won't tell you what Mr Oddy said

Just to refresh the thread...apart from the honey exercises of yesterday, I have spent the last week converting our entrance (cleverly disguised as a goat track) into some semblance of an actual street. Many hours have been spent with my chainsaws, strimmer and lawnmower...not to mention the pick, shovel and rakes to give it a basic and useable shape. It is now almost 3 metres wide, with no low overhanging thorny trees and is reasonably level and drained properly. Once again I had an audience and the usual questions, but I've learned to laugh those off. The little old lady next door is really chuffed because she doesn't have to fight her way through the brambles, just to get her bread every morning.

The little jackdaw is now quite the young man...full of cheek, but very much attached to us. He has a free and easy lifestyle, comes and goes whenever he feels like it...sometimes for days at a time, but he always comes back for his human fix!! We leave food and water out for him and he avails himself from time to time, but doesn't seem to be dependant on either.

The magpie we raised some time back now visits with his wife and young ones...not too keen on the human contact, but they are the only ones of the species to land on my lawn and spend an hour or two within a few metres of us. They happily feed on the minced meat which we put out as soon as they appear.

All seems well in the kingdom.


...except for the weasel which I found in the rafters of my workshop today...he is NOT wellcome!!!

Ah how lovely, you are such a lovely chap The little old lady will be racing to the shop every morning now.

Good to hear the birds are doing well and he brought his family to see you too fab.

Today I sprayed the weed killer on the garden again it is called Nasco and it is just brilliant stuff but it does kill everything so have to be careful if you have grass or flowers. We are keeping the garden in good clear shape and the weeds are turning to grass or something that looks like grass. I keep putting weedkiller on the others side of the garden and all along the fenced areas once a month so no weeds at all now. Dougie cuts the grass every two weeks or so. Things are looking much better. I filled the bottle up twice and sprayed the roadway track and all down way past our garden to the crossing so in a few days people will be walking by again. I did not tell anyone I did it but I bet we will see people go by.