Meet Cinnamon

Meet Cinnamon, an approximately 3 year old pyrrhura conure. She was very lucky to have spent the first three years of her life in a wonderful family where she was loved and well cared for.Unfortunately, her owner developed a fatal disease and was no longer able to care for Cinnamon properly, so she was surrendered to us.
She is a very curious bird. She loves to explore new things and to be around people. We hope that she quickly finds a home where she can continue to be cared for and treated as she deserves!

Many people think that all birds in rescue are there due to behavior problems. That is simply not the case. Many are here due to changes in their owners' lives. Because of parrots' long life spans, they frequently outlive their owners. As parrots are so resilient, they can adapt relatively easily to life with a new family!

Attention, crafters!

We need your help! We're running low on one of the components used in making toys. We use them in toys that we sell (all proceeds directly benefit the Center) as well as in toys for the parrots at the Center.

An example of a finished toy:
This is what we need:It's 100% cotton fabric, pinked to a size of approximately 11 1/2" X 1 1/2". We prefer that the fabric be brightly colored, as that is what attracts the parrots! Also, that the back of the fabric is also colored as much as possible, instead of being white on the back. Parrots love color and excitement!

If you have any questions about this, please stop by the Center or call. We can give you an example or answer any questions you may have.

The parrots thank you for helping to alleviate their boredom by helping to provide exciting toys!

Daisy Update

Daisy is doing really well at the Center! she is such a joy to be around. Is it possible to be in a bad mood around one of these bubbly creatures?As she settles in, she's allowing us to see more and more of her personality. She frequently serenades her favorite people.
She loves meeting new people and all of the attention she receives at the Center.

Alumni story: Bobber (MoJo)

A few months ago, we introduced you to Bobber, a gorgeous male cockatiel. He had such a wonderful personality, we knew whoever adopted him would be very lucky as he is a joy to be around. It took a few months, but he's found that perfect home!

Here he is, giving a kiss to his owner:He thinks it was worth the wait!

That dirt on his face is leftover fresh food. Cockatiels can be messy eaters!

His family renamed him MoJo, and he's looking at this name change as a new start in life. We love to hear these success stories! As we've written many times here, cockatiels are often overlooked because of their small size. This is a shame, as they often have fantastic personalities and just need someone to help them develop their potential.

MoJo really lucked out. Thanks so much to his new family for making him so happy!

Cockatiels

Here's a recent picture of some of the cockatiels in their flight cage.We really want to start finding these guys homes! Now is the perfect time to bring home a cockatiel or two (same gender). Stop by if you have room in your home and heart!

Katie Update

Katie is an approximately 15 year old Moluccan Cockatoo. She's been with us for 8 years; even before we moved into our current location, so if you've visited the Center, there's a good chance you've seen her.

When Katie was surrendered to us, she was 7 years old and had already been in 7 different homes. Her last owner had taken her to a vet clinic to be euthanized. The vet was able to talk to her owner and convince them to surrender her to us instead.When we first met Katie, she was a mess. She hadn't experienced stability in her life. Large cockatoos are very difficult (if not impossible) to keep properly in captivity. Their needs are so complex that they need to be in the wild.However, we do our best with the cockatoos who are in captivity, and try to provide them with the best captive environment that we can. With a lot of patience, love, and care, Katie began to trust humans again. It took years, but she ultimately began to find joy again in life.

We thought she'd be a resident forever, given her beginning with us. However, sometimes life throws us curveballs, and one just arrived for Katie!One of our former volunteers, who had a fantastic relationship with Katie, recently lost her Moluccan Cockatoo, freeing up a space for Katie in her home. We couldn't hope for a better home for her -- a flock environment with owners who really give their all for these amazing creatures.
We are, of course, sad that Katie will be leaving us. She has been a constant presence at the Center for almost 8 years! She was used extensively in our education programs, and did a lot of PR with us as she loved it.

However, with this new beginning, Katie has such an opportunity. We hope to keep you updated on her progress!

Meet Gizmo

Gizmo is a 10-12 year old female iguana. Birds are 99% of what we do here, but we occasionally will help with another animal in need, as long as it doesn't hinder what we can do for the birds. Iguanas are herbivores, and the birds instinctively know that she is not a threat. They look upon her with interest -- no fear at all!Gizmo was well-loved, but surrendered because her owners realized that she had some major health problems. They couldn't afford her vet work. She is emaciated, extremely constipated, and her tail is broken in two pieces.

The first two issues are likely due to insufficient light and heat. Her owners had placed the proper lighting in her cage, but it was too high, so she was unable to reach it to get the benefit. Getting the environment right for reptiles is so important, yet it can be tricky and is frequently not attained.

Because she was fed a great diet, her bones look fantastic. She's just dealing with a bit of mouth rot, which should clear up shortly. Right now, we are feeding her a good diet and soaking her frequently in hopes that she will eliminate.

Here she is, being carried on her way to her soaking:
In the tub:Eating green beans:


Once she is no longer constipated (which should be any day now!), our vet will splint her tail. We're hoping that it can be fixed that way; if not, we will end up having to amputate her tail.

We'll keep you updated on her progress. She is one of the sweetest iguanas around! Once she's healthy again, we'll be looking for a retirement home for her to live out her days.

Meet Daisy

Daisy is the beautiful tri-color budgie in the foreground of this picture.She was surrendered to a local humane society, who transferred her to us because of her special needs. She is a chronic egg-layer, and currently requires lupron injections.

We're hoping that with an improved diet and change in environment (plenty of toys to keep her busy, no male budgie companions, etc.) we may be able to control her egg laying and discontinue lupron.

Chronic egg-laying can be dangerous and/or fatal to birds. Creating eggs is a very stressful process on a bird's body. It can deplete the body of important nutrients, especially if the bird is not on a good diet. Some birds can even become egg bound, which is frequently fatal, especially without vet intervention, and especially on the little birds.

Daisy is not yet up for adoption as we work through her health issues, but we hope that she will someday be able to find a loving home!

Meet Chuck

Meet Chuck, a beautiful lutino cockatiel. We don't know much about his history since he was transferred to us from animal control.Unfortunately, Chuck suffers from night frights. This is when a parrot flails uncontrollably around its cage, usually at night. It almost seems like they're having a seizure. This type of behavior seems to be particularly prevalent in cockatiels.

No one is entirely sure what causes night frights, and there are probably a multitude of triggers. Some potential explanations are minor earthquakes, headlights coming in their room, strange shadows, unstable perches, or even just bad dreams.

Sometimes plugging a night light in near the bird can help, or moving his cage at night to a room without windows. A lot of experimenting may be needed to see what works best for each individual bird.

Chuck is up for adoption, though his new owners must understand about the possibility of night frights and be willing to do some hard work to try to reduce their occurrence!

Residents Sasha and Kellie: up to their old tricks!

Over the years, we've provided updates on Sasha and Kellie, our adorable resident aratinga conures.



They are still doing incredibly well. They were both in bad shape when they were surrendered to us that we didn't think they'd live long. But these guys might be the definition of resiliency. They not only have survived, but they have thrived!

Sasha has been with us for 8 years now, and Kellie has been here almost as long. They show no signs of slowing down as they prepare to enter their 20s.

For them, happiness is each other and a new soda box or egg carton!

More Lineolated Parakeets

Some cute pictures taken of one of our resident lineolated parakeets, Heather.She knows just how to pose:
Playing in the hair of one of our volunteers:

Meet Denzel

Meet Denzel, a Nanday Conure. Last fall, Denzel was found outside, a stray. Winter was coming and there is no way he could have survived outside, alone, over winter. He's a tropical bird!The people who found him went above and beyond to try to locate his owner. Surely someone must have been looking for him!

Sadly, we suspect that Denzel might have been released outside once his owners tired of him. Otherwise, his owners would have been found.Given that, we don't have any history on Denzel. We don't know how old he is, if he had any favorite food, toys, ways of bathing, etc. It's very sad, as having some of those comfort items can help make the transition to a new home easier for parrots.

We're slowly learning his personality. He doesn't seem to have an aggressive bone in his body. He readily steps up when asked to, and then immediately scampers up to a shoulder. Signs point to the fact that he was loved at one time -- what could have happened?

Denzel is looking for a new home, one that will treat him as the valuable being that he is. He wants to be part of a new family, and will reward that lucky family with years of loving companionship.

Meet Skittles

Skittles is a 4 year old sun conure. He was surrendered to us because of his owner's poor health. Skittles was a much-loved companion for the first years of his life. He is a very sweet bird and hopes to become a much-loved companion in his next, and hopefully final, home.Sun conures have a loud call, so we cannot adopt Skittles into an apartment. These gorgeous parrots have caused more than one eviction threat, and when that happens, they usually lose their home. We want him to find a forever home!
Skittles steps up nicely, likes to play with toys, and is an energetic and adorable bird. If you're looking for laughter in your life, Skittles might be able to help out! If you'd like to meet him, stop by the Center.

Meet Asti

Asti is a 20+ male timneh african grey. His previous owners loved him very much, but were afraid of him, so he didn't come out of his cage very often.He has a very sweet personality, though he can understandably be a bit cage-aggressive at times. We are working on that!

He likes coming out of his cage, though it's still a little scary for him. In no time, we suspect he'll be begging to come out of his cage -- you can just see the inquisitiveness and intelligence in his eyes!
He is very interested in me. I may be fooling myself, but I think he might have made the kiss sound toward me at around 10 seconds in the video:


Asti is not yet up for adoption, as we want to make sure he's healthy and ready to go. African greys surrendered to us frequently have low calcium levels, for example.

Prince Albert Update

Here is Prince Albert, the orange-wing amazon who is in his 40s. We've talked about him before in this blog.

He is a very lucky bird (inasmuch as a captive bird can be considered lucky), having lived for over four decades with his beloved owner. Most parrots do not experience that kind of longevity with their humans.

Luck struck again for Prince Albert as he will soon be going home, to a place where he will live the rest of his life.

Here he is, perching on the hand of his soon-to-be-owner:
His new owner previously owned a wild-caught amazon. After that amazon's tragic death, she wasn't sure she was up to another bird -- the pain of losing her was too much.

But Prince Albert caught her eye, and she his. Love at first sight. A thunderbolt. Meant to be.

It's wonderful to see how happy Prince Albert gets perched on her hand. They allopreen and chatter back and forth. His eyes light up. Happiness after loss. A truly wonderful match.

Kahlua Update

It's been almost a month since we've had a Kahlua update.We don't understand how he hasn't been adopted yet. He brings such joy to the volunteers here! It will be a bittersweet day for us when he finally finds his home. We've become attached to this little fellow!That Avicake is as big as his head! He's a strong guy!

Cockatiels

Once again, we are overrun with cockatiels. Tiels are the parrot that are surrendered to us in the highest quantity. It is so very sad as they can make terrific companions, and most are not given the opportunity to reach their full potential.

They appear to be frequently impulse-purchased, as they are relatively inexpensive. Then, in a few weeks, months, or years, the newness wears off and they are discarded.We currently have 47 tiels up for adoption. That is not a typo. Almost 50 tiels are at the Center, hoping for a chance at a family and happy life! While 35 of those are not tame, we have some very sweet tiels, like the guy pictured above. He's ready to be a part of a loving family.

We'd really like to place these guys. Every day they spend with us is a day they're not with a loving family. Though we do our best, and they have all of their physical needs met with us, the truth is that they don't get the attention and bonding at the Center that they do in a home.

If you've been thinking about adding a tiel to your home, there has never been a better time to do so! Stop by the Center and we can help you find your match! Tiels also make a great choice for first-time bird owners, and if that describes you, we can work with you to set you on the road to success with one of these loving, too frequently overlooked, creatures.

Meet Sophie

Meet Sophie, a blue-and-gold macaw. Sophie may get a name change after we receive her DNA test results, as we suspect she might be a male!

Sophie is at least 22 years old, but she may be older. We suspect she may be wild-caught.

Here is a picture of Sophie on the day she was surrendered to us.Her bottom beak is quite overgrown -- you can see that she is unable to close her beak because of this. Additionally, her nails are very long. It was very painful for this volunteer to have her on his hand!

A close-up of her beak:
We groomed her, and here she is with a proper-sized bottom beak:
Notice she's so used to keeping her beak open (because she couldn't close it) that even when she can, she doesn't. We suspect it won't take her long to acclimate to her new beak!

Sophie is not yet up for adoption, as we want to get her healthier, but she will be soon.

Meet Jasmine

Meet Jasmine, a blue crowned conure. She is a very sweet bird, but wasn't handled very much in her previous home, so she can be a bit shy at times. She's already made huge progress in coming out of her shell, and we know once she's in the right home, she will blossom even more.Jasmine suffered a beak injury in her previous home, as you can see below. It is healing, and our vet doesn't think there will be any permanent damage. It doesn't affect her ability to eat or to play at all.
Jasmine just recently went up for adoption after being released from a medical hold due to her beak. If you're interested in possibly adopting her, stop by the Center and meet her!

Meet Malaky

Meet Malaky, an Umbrella Cockatoo. He was purchased as a baby from a pet store about 5 1/2 years ago. Everything went well for the first few years, when he was a compliant baby. However, as he's now beginning to enter sexual maturity, his former owners realized they are in over their heads. Most people are when it comes to cockatoos, which is why there are so many surrendered to rescues. We currently have several on a waiting list -- we just don't have room to take any more in until we adopt some out. It's very sad.His former family wasn't interested in help to work through these issues -- they just wanted him gone. He turns 6 on June 15, 2010. He has decades yet to live.

Cockatoos are among the most difficult parrots to keep in captivity. They are wild animals not well suited to lives in our living rooms. Their natural calls are very loud, occasionally resulting in threats of eviction or complaints from neighbors. They are quite destructive, especially if not given enough toys to destroy. Their bites can be quite severe -- it is not unheard of for a cockatoo bite to send the victim to the emergency room for stitches.Given his behavior, we suspect Malaky didn't have many toys in his previous home, which likely contributed to the behavior issues he was exhibiting. He quickly got the hang of toys, as you can see from these pictures and is now a master of destruction.Malaky is up for adoption, though it will likely be a challenge to find a home up to the task of providing him with what he needs. We're sure that home is out there somewhere -- we just need to find it!

Meet Phillip and McGregor

Meet Phillip (top, on the food dish) and McGregor (bottom, on the perch); two juvenile male quaker parakeets.They were hanging out on the stand together, so we're writing about them in the same entry (how could we not, with those adorable pictures!); however, they came from separate homes and will be adopted into separate homes.

Phillip is 4 years old. He was handled quite a bit and loved for the first three years of his life. During the past year, he spent the vast majority of his time in his cage, coming out only about once a week, according to his previous owners. Why? Because they had a baby and no longer had time for him.
McGregor is 6 years old. He was very well loved, but was surrendered to us when his owner was diagnosed with a very serious illness and was no longer able to keep him.
Phillip and McGregor are both very sweet birds and will thrive in the right environment. They are some of the many examples of birds who are given up not for any behavior problems, but because of lifestyle changes their owners faced. We know they will bring joy to the family that's willing to give them the chance!

If you've been thinking about adding a quaker to your house, now may be the time! We currently have 4 up for adoption.

Stormy Update

We introduced you to Stormy last month, here. As we stated in that entry, we have been working with Stormy to get her to want to step up. She did exactly that on the day this picture was taken -- this was about 5 minutes after she stepped up for the first time!Can't you just see that look of satisfaction on her face? She was very curious and excited to be around people.

Here's a video of her, enjoying life:


She's been through so much; the fact that she's willing to begin to trust us so soon after arriving is a great sign. More updates to follow!