Meet Hubert

Meet Hubert, a young catalina macaw. A catalina macaw is a cross between a blue-and-gold macaw and a scarlet macaw. He's a hybrid that would not exist in the wild. He's still a baby -- only three years old.

Hubert was very loved in his previous home; however they were afraid of him. He's got a pretty big beak!As such, he did not have rules or parameters in his previous home. We have been working with him on acceptable behavior -- for example, teaching him that biting is not the way to get what he wants!

Hubert needs a home experienced with macaws. He is very intelligent and needs to have owners who will work with him to use his intelligence for good -- like learning tricks and destroying toys -- rather than for bad -- like intimidating people until they are terrified of him.

Hubert is lucky that his previous owners recognized that they were not up to the task of large macaw ownership, and that they surrendered him before any significant behavioral problems surfaced. He's pretty much a clean slate and is looking for the family that will allow him to grow.

If you think that might be you, stop by and meet him. He's a charmer!

Michael Update

Our last update on Michael was here; he's been up to his old tricks since then!

Earlier this month, several of our volunteers were congregating around the cash register; everyone had a parrot and was working to socialize the bird. One of the volunteers was eating a special treat that had been dropped off for her. She had to leave for a few minutes, but told everyone not to eat her dessert.

While all of the humans listened and obeyed, the same cannot be said of the parrots, specifically Michael!

He stretched and stretched until the volunteer holding him listened to his body language and acquiesced; allowing him to wander on the counter. He immediately made his way to the dessert:He was only allowed a quick, small bite before being removed from this food that really isn't all that healthy for a parrot to eat. He actually had more on the outside of his beak (see below) than he ate.

Michael is still available for adoption. The volunteers fall more in love with him every day as he has such a charming personality. As always, though, he is extremely loud and will insert himself into any conversation by making interesting noises.

Meet Gracie

Sorry for the long delay since the last message -- the volunteer who updates the blog has been busy at work and was unable to update. Now that things have calmed down, she hopes to keep up again. Everything has been fine at the Center, though busy, as usual!

Here's Gracie, a 10 year old African grey parrot that was recently surrendered to CARE.Gracie is a DNA-sexed male, but we sometimes call her "she" due to his name! He was very loved at his previous home, and surrendered due to an illness in the family. Greys produce a lot of dust and shouldn't live with people who have lung issues.

Gracie is extremely tame and a pleasure to be around. He frequently says the word "Cool!" though his previous owner doesn't know where he picked that up. He steps up on your hand and says "Cool!" Someone sneezes and he says "Cool!" The phone rings and he says "Cool!" It's kind of fun to be around such wonder!
Although we currently have a family interested in adopting Gracie, we're not sure that everything will work out. Stop by if you've been thinking about adding a grey to your family and would like to meet him. He's a real treasure!

We will be closed this Saturday, December 25, for Christmas, and next Saturday, January 1, for New Year's Day.

Meet Oscar

Meet Oscar, an approximately 9 year old blue fronted amazon. Isn't he gorgeous?Sadly, Oscar is the product of divorce. When his owners split up, neither one was able to take him with them. So now, after 9 years, he's looking for a new home.

He's still a bit scared as he settles in at the Center. We feel confident that he will settle in to a home and provide his new owners with years of amazon love. Please stop by if you'd like to meet Oscar!

Meet Emmett

Meet Emmett, a quaker parakeet who is approximately 1 1/2 years old.He is one of the sweetest quakers we have ever seen at the Center, though that could have something to do with his young age! He's currently not even cage aggressive -- he runs to the front of the cage for attention and then happily jumps on your hand to step up.

Of course, as he hits maturiy, his personality may change, so he's looking for a home that understands that and has the patience to work with him and teach him proper behavior.

Meet Freda

What kind of bird could be hiding in our volunteer's shirt? You can barely see a bump!It's Freda, a young pacific parrotlet:Freda can be a bit nippy and flighty, but we suspect that's just because she hasn't been handled a lot recently. With frequent, daily hands-on attention, she will tame down and be a delight.

Stop by if you'd like to meet her! She's got a fantastic personality and is hoping to find someone willing to be a human playgym for her antics!

Meet Pearl

Pearl is a gorgeous white cockatiel who's only about 1 year old. She was a transfer to us from a local humane society.She is very tame and has a stunning personality. She was purchased as a pet for her former owner's children. When the kids lost interest, Pearl lost her home. Now she's looking for a second chance at happiness!

Budgies

We have about 12 young budgies up for adoption. These are the offspring from someone with a pair. She never intended to breed, but did nothing to stop her pair from breeding, contributing to the parrot overpopulation problem.These young budgies vary in age, including some that are quite young. They have not had a lot of human interaction and are thus not hand-tame, but they have very sweet personalities and it wouldn't take much to show them that humans can be trusted companions.

If you've been thinking about adding a budgie to your house, there's never been a better time! We can help find one whose personality will fit with yours.

Meet Calvin

Calvin is an approximately 30 year old orange-winged amazon. He is obese, and quite scared at the moment. As he gets used to the routine at the Center, and especially once he gets a home, he will settle down and his true personality will emerge.He was surrendered because his previous owner found him to be too boring. We think he just wasn't given the chance to show who he really is!

If you're interested in meeting Calvin, please stop by. We're working on improving his diet and getting him some exercise. He needs a chance to show how wonderful he really is!

Meet Pickle

Meet Pickle, a lovebird. She was found outside; a stray. She was taken to a veterinarian and it was discovered that she had a broken leg! The vet bandaged her up, and she eventually made her way to CARE.
We, of course, immediately took her to see our vet. The top part of her leg was healing well, but the bottom part wasn't, partly due to the way her leg had been bandaged. We rebandaged her leg with a different type of cast, and our vet feels confident that she will make a full recovery! She goes in for another check-up next week.

Pickle is currently on medical hold, so not yet up for adoption. However, she is one of the sweetest, friendliest lovebirds we have ever seen. Once she's up for adoption, she should find a home quickly.

She's currently living in a plexiglass enclosure, in order to provide her with flat surfaces which will help with her healing. Once she's healed, she will move into a regular cage.

Hop on

One of our volunteers was moving a cage around the Center, and one of our residents, Daisy, decided to hop on for a ride!

A trip to the vet school

Last week, Lori went with Dr. Bloss to the University of Wisconsin - Madison School of Veterinary Medicine to discuss with vet students how vets and rescues can work together, and also to go over some interesting cases that Dr. Bloss has worked on.

CARE is very lucky to have an amazing resource in Dr. Bloss. She is very competent and efficient when dealing with the many well-bird exams she does for us, as well as cutting-edge and inventive when dealing with some of the more challenging medical cases we bring her.

Along for this talk were three case studies: Rocky and Tammy:And Chip:These pictures were taken as they returned to the Center.

Everyone had a great time! The parrots enjoyed getting out and meeting new people, Lori and Dr. Bloss enjoyed talking about some of what they've been able to accomplish with some of our sickest surrendered birds, and hopefully the vet students gained some insight into working with these amazing creatures!

We hope to work more with the vet students in the future!

Durante Update

Speaking of Durante in yesterday's post, here's a recent picture:She's really settling into life at the Center, and every day surprises us with more of her wit and intelligence.

She definitely requires a home experienced in dealing with large birds! She frequently decides immediately upon meeting someone if she likes them or not, though we're not saying she's a good judge of character!

Bo Update

Bo, who we introduced you to here, has been adopted and is acclimating to his new life.

Before he left, we got one of his tricks on video. His former flockmate, Durante, knows how to shake hands. We figured this out when she would extend her foot and ask "shake?" Since they knew many of the same tricks, one of our volunteers wanted to see if Bo knew how to shake.

With his characteristic charm and intelligence, he had his own idea of what that meant:

We really miss him, but are very happy he's enjoying the good life!

Michael Update

Our last Michael update was a couple of months ago; he still here at the Center and still looking for a home.

One enjoyable thing about Michael is how expressive he is. There is no questioning what kind of mood he's in -- he wears his emotions in his feather displays, eye pins, and vocalizations!Michael is extremely loud -- one of the loudest birds we've had at the Center. He loves to be the center of attention and will nip your hand to bring your attention back to him if he's perched on you and your attention wanders.

He brightens every room with his infectious noises.

Michael needs a fun-loving home that will join in on his boisterous moments. He's really quite incredible!

Meet Joyce

Joyce is an adult female green cheek conure. She is very sweet and lovable, as well as curious. Here she is, exploring the retail shelves:

And snuggling on the shoulder of one of her favorite volunteers:

Joyce has really thrived with additional one-on-one interaction. We're looking for a home that will continue that, and strive to make her a part of the family. She will bring joy to whoever is lucky enough to adopt her! Please stop by if you'd like to meet her.

Vet Updates

We introduced you to Molly last month. We recently got the test results back from his biopsy, and it is not cancer! Therefore, Molly is now up for adoption.

And, in even more good news, we also got the pathology results back on Chip, whose latest update is here. Chip also does not have cancer! He will soon be cleared to go to his new home.

What a week of good news we've had!

Meet Sammy

Sammy is an unsexed Jenday conure of unknown age. He lived in his previous home for a year, and before that lived in at least one other home. Based on his appearance, we suspect he's quite young; probably around 2-3 years old.

Sammy was quite nervous and scared when he first came to us and bit several of our volunteers on the first day. As he's calmed down and learned the routine, his sweet personality has come through!
Sammy is a bit cage aggressive, but will step up on a towel to come out of his cage. Once out, he's a delight! He loves perching on people and getting his head scratched.

Jenday conures have a loud call, and therefore we cannot adopt him to anyone living in an apartment. If you'd like to meet Sammy, please stop by!

Edited to add: in the hours since this was posted, Sammy has probably found a home! While his adoption hasn't been finalized, things are looking up for him!

Meet Sawyer

Meet Sawyer, a male umbrella cockatoo. His former owners smuggled him into the Lincoln Park Zoo and abandoned him there to fend for himself. Luckily, he was found and captured by some zookeepers. They did the best they could for him, but due to zoo regulations, had to be very careful with him, in case he might spread disease to their collection.

They contacted us, and two of their amazing, caring keepers brought him to the Center.

He's received a clean bill of health from our vet. His feathers are a little ragged, but we believe that once he goes through a molt, that will improve. We suspect that someone who would dump him at a zoo probably wasn't feeding him the best diet.

He is wildcaught, and we suspect that he is around 30 years old, given his condition. He's got at least 20 years of good life ahead of him!

He is very sweet and craves human attention. He'll do anything he can to get you to pet his head! He is still a little leery coming out of his cage, but we suspect that will disappear as he gets used to the routine.

If you'd like to meet Sawyer, please stop by. After the turmoil he's been through, we want to find him a stable, permanent, forever home.

Meet Silkie

Meet Silkie, a female congo african grey parrot. I really thought we'd written about her before, but couldn't find the entry. She is an incredibly sweet parrot. For the last few years before she was surrendered to us, she was not let out of her cage. After hearing this, we expected that she would be fearful, but her innate personality shines through!

She love to step up and spend time with her favorite volunteers. She also loves to dance and "sing" (noises, not words!) to music. She is one of the most amazing wood chewers we have ever seen, chipping up incredible amounts of wood on a daily basis.Since coming to CARE, Silkie's improved conditions have had the result of her producing three eggs over a 15 day period, so we're taking her in to the vet for a health check-up. Our thinking right now is that she might do better in a home with no male birds.

Perhaps the reason we hadn't written about her before is that it's incredibly difficult to get a picture of her. Why? Because she's a natural ham! As soon as the camera is pointed at her, she starts dancing and showing off!

Like most greys, Silkie is incredibly intelligent. She needs a caretaker that will find new ways of challenging her. This might include foraging, teaching her tricks, a steady rotation of new and exciting toys, exercise, etc.

She will not be able to go home until after we get the results back from her latest vet visit, but if you'd like to meet her, please stop by!

Baby lovebirds

We currently have three baby lovebirds up for adoption. Someone had two lovebirds at home. They assumed that they were the same gender and therefore could not reproduce. Imagine their surprise when they realized some chicks had hatched!They surrendered the babies to CARE and are taking steps to make sure that their lovebirds do not reproduce again, contributing to the parrot overpopulation problem.

These babies are all very sweet, as most babies are. They will grow up and develop adult personalities, so it's important for their new families to develop a loving relationship now so they can overcome any issues that arise later.

Please stop by if you'd like to meet them!

Polly Update

Our last Polly update was a few months ago; she is still here, and looking for a home.As previously reported, Polly has very strong preferences about who she likes and who she doesn't! We are looking for someone who makes an instant connection with her -- someone she likes immediately. She is very happy at CARE as she loves one of the volunteers who is at the Center on a daily basis, but she will be even happier once she has a home she can call her own.

Kiwi Update

It was only recently that we introduced you to Kiwi, but this one-legged parrot has been such a joy we had to write about her again!She is quite vocal; though she does talk a little bit, she is more likely to make noises. Here, she's imitating some clicking sounds:

We'd love for you to stop by and meet her if you're looking for a new companion. She is such a treasure!

Rocky & Tammy Update

Rocky and Tammy have had an eventful last couple of weeks. Rocky (on the left) started laying eggs! We've noticed that some birds who had been living in bad conditions start producing eggs after they come to us and get on a good diet. Unfortunately, Rocky was one of those birds.
She unfortunately got egg-bound after successfully passing several other eggs. We recognized the signs of this and rushed her to our vet, who was able to remove the egg. Rocky quickly rebounded back to health. We are closely watching her condition, but she appears to be doing extremely well!

It is very fun to watch these two girls play and be happy together. They're enjoying their conure companionship and playing with toys as if their lives depended on it.

Chip Update

Chip, who we introduced you to here, had his surgery, and in now in recovery. You can see the wound where the tumor used to be:

We are still waiting for the results of the pathology/culture from his tumor.

We have a potential adopter for Chip! He'll be able to go home as soon as we get the all-clear from his vet.

Blue Update

We introduced you to Blue a few months ago. She's still here, and still looking for a home. Yet another case where we can't understand how such a sweet being is still here! She is such a joy!

Last week, she was hamming it up for the camera, so here are a couple of short videos taken of Blue vocalizing:

Meet Lily

Meet Lily, a beautiful lutino cockatiel. Lily was found as a stray. She must have been found quickly as she is blind, so could not have survived long on her own.As she was a stray, we do not have any history on her. She is tame and friendly, and willingly steps up, with a bit of guidance. She loves to sit on shoulders and feel safe next to a human.

We do not know what her name is, but we've been calling her Lily. If her new home wants to give her a new name, she'd be fine with that!

We're looking for a special home for Lily. Being blind, she requires a bit of extra care and attention. For example, making sure to announce your presence to her so she doesn't get scared, or holding her close to your chest so she doesn't get scared and drop to the ground.

If you'd like to meet her, please stop by the Center!

Meet Kiwi

Meet Kiwi, a quaker who's approximately 5-7 years old. If you look closely, you can see that Kiwi only has one leg!Like many quakers, she is cage-aggressive, though she is very tame once she's out of her cage. She does not appear to need any special treatment for her missing leg, other than being a bit more careful when you're holding her as her balance isn't always the greatest.

Meet Chip

Meet Chip, one of the most loving, adorable lovebirds we have ever seen. He really lives up to the name "lovebird"! When you approach his cage, he is so excited to see you, and he instantly puts his foot up to step up. He will be a great companion for some lucky person! Chip is approximately 13 years old.As you can see, Chip has a tumor. His previous owners told us they took him to the vet and were told the vet couldn't figure out what was causing the tumor. It apparently will sometimes fall off and then grow back! Chip is not yet up for adoption, as we want to have him in to our vet for a second opinion.

No need for a second opinion on his personality, though. Chip is such a delight!

Meet Chimacco

Meet Chimacco, an approximately 40 year old greenwing macaw. He lived in the same home all of his life, but was recently surrendered to us.He went through a period of mourning at the Center -- after all, losing all you've known for your entire life -- 40 years -- has got to be difficult and confusing for these intelligent creatures. He didn't eat much, and we were worried about him; however, recently his appetite has picked back up and he is extremely curious about his surroundings.

He did get out of his cage every day, but was not handled a lot. We still haven't gotten to know Chimacco's true personality yet, but we look forward to getting to know him!

Meet Topaz

Meet Topaz, a beautiful blue-fronted amazon. Topaz is currently very scared, but he is not aggressive. Topaz has spent the past 7 years being shuttled between various pet stores until he found his way to us.We don't have any other reliable information about him. Given his sad beginning, we hope to find him a forever home where he can be part of a flock and find stability and love.

Despite the fact that Topaz is scared, he is very interested in people and other birds, especially other amazons. In the right home, we suspect it won't be long until he comes out of his shell and starts to display the characteristic love of life that amazons possess!

Molly Update

Last week, we introduced you to Molly. We got his vet results back, so wanted to share them here.

It was determined after the biopsy that he had a traumatic infection. If it heals, he'll be up for adoption. If it doesn't heal, he'll have to go back to the vet for a deeper biopsy. Hopefully this would give our vet more information in order to develop a better plan for him to heal.

Molly remains an incredibly sweet bird. When it is time to find him a new home, whoever adopts him will be getting a treasure!

Chico Update

Our last Chico update was a few months ago; he's still here and looking for a home. We don't understand how he hasn't found a family yet!Here he is, last week, perched on the arm of one of his favorite volunteers:Chico is a very sweet bird, and has an exuberant personality! It is impossible to be in a bad mood around him.

Meet Rama

Meet Rama, an african grey parrot. He is approximately 25-30 years old. Rama was owned by an elderly woman who wanted verbal companionship. He was never allowed out of his cage. When she died, no one in her family was able to make a commitment to him and provide him the kind of care he needed, so they made the decision to surrender him to us.Rama is looking for a patient home. One that will give him time to acclimate to his new surroundings and let him come out of his cage on his own terms. Someone that isn't going to push him or expect too much too soon. If you think that sounds like you, stop on over and meet Rama!

Edited to add: Rama recently went into a foster home experienced with greys. His foster home will work with him on becoming comfortable coming out of his cage and stepping up. Once he's back from his foster home and up for adoption, we'll let you know!

Meet Lulu

Lulu is a blue-and-gold macaw that was recently surrendered to us. Her previous owner thought she was 7-8 years old; however, we suspect that she is actually 17-18 years old. This is based on our experience with other blue-and-gold macaws; however, it's possible that Lulu's previous treatment causes her to appear older than she is.Lulu is a very smart, energetic, and loving girl -- to the people she likes. She liked the woman in her previous home, but did not like that woman's husband or son. So Lulu took to chasing and trying to attack them, which landed her in the family's garage.

As a result, Lulu is one of the loudest birds we've had at the Center. After all, she had to learn to scream really really loud in order to be heard from the garage!
Lulu is not quite up for adoption, as we need to make sure that she is healthy after living in an environment with exposure to chemicals and other unsafe airborne particles.

Reminder: Rainforest Night at the Domes

Just a reminder that CARE representatives will be at Rainforest Night at the Domes tonight from 6-9. The Domes are located at: 524 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53215.

Here is Joey, who will be there. He loves going out in public and meeting new people! When we reminded him yesterday that he'd be going today, he got very excited!Other birds scheduled to be in attendance include: Tango, Daisy, Tangy, and some alumni birds.

We hope to see you there!

Kahlua Update

The last we mentioned Kahlua was here. During the interim, he had been adopted, but was recently returned.
He remains incredibly sweet and tame. He needs a home that is willing to put forth extra effort. He is incredibly intelligent and gets bored easily. The perfect home for him will allow him plenty of opportunity to exercise his brain and body.

If you think that might be your home, stop by to meet him. It is very confusing to these intelligent creatures when they bounce around from home to home, so we want to ensure that his next home is permanent!

Meet Mocha

Meet Mocha, an approximately 6 year old white capped pionus that is up for adoption. We don't know if Mocha is male or female.She is tame and a very sweet bird.

If your flock has room for Mocha, we'd love for you to stop by and meet her and see if she is the right fit for your house.

Meet Molly

Meet Molly -- an approximately 16 year old Greater Sulfur Crested Cockatoo. He is a very sweet bird!

Unfortunately, Molly had a huge growth on his neck when he was surrendered to us:It was removed at our vet's office, and now we are waiting the pathology report to see if we can get a better idea of what caused the growth.

Molly is not quite up for adoption -- we need to get the results back and make sure he is healthy. We'll update on the blog when we hear back, and hopefully find him a home quickly!

Edited to add: we just got sexing results back on Molly, and he is a male, so all pronouns were changed in this entry

Meet Bo

Meet Bo, an amazing African grey parrot. Bo was a stray bird; found outside. Despite extensive searching, the organization who was contacted when he was found was unable to locate his previous owners. They realized they couldn't properly care for a parrot, so transferred him to us.

We don't know anything about him -- how old he is, what his favorite food/toys are, etc. This is all stuff that we're working on figuring out.

We do know that he is a very sweet bird. He steps up happily and loves to be around people. At this point, he tries to run up to your shoulder and regurgitate in your ear. We are working on retraining him to stay on hands/arms!

Bo is not yet up for adoption, but will be soon. If you're interested in meeting Bo, please stop by the Center!