Thursday, December 30, 2010

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!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

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.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

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.

Thursday, December 02, 2010

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!

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

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.