Cage sale

We've had a lot of donations of bird, reptile and small animal cages lately; too many for us to keep. As we really need cash to help pay down our balance at the vet's (we're up to $1,600 again), we've put many of them up for sale on craigslist. If you're looking for new/used/outdoor/reptile/small​ animal cages, check out CL Milwaukee Pets - we've got lots available.

Here are just a few pictures of cages, so you can see what we're talking about:Thanks for helping us to help the birds!

Meet Kodak

I was going to post an update on Kodak, questioning how one of the most amazing birds we've ever met is still here, looking for a home, when I realized that I'd never introduced her on the blog! She did make an appearance almost a year ago, but with little detail about her.

So it's long overdue, but here's Kodak (and I'll be going through to see what other long-timers have been accidentally overlooked here, so watch for that over the upcoming weeks!):

She's a female blue-and-gold macaw in her early 20s. She's been living at the Center for over a year, and during that time, we've just fallen in love with her. We can't understand why she's still here, and we'd love to get her in to a home where she can bond with a family and have the stability she craves.

Kodak has a very gentle soul. She gets very excited when she sees her favorite people and wants to come out to spend time with them. She loves making kissing sounds. Kodak is extremely intelligent and will make a great companion.

She would be the perfect bird for someone who's always wanted a macaw and has educated themselves about macaws but hasn't had much experience with them as she is gentle and expressive. She's helped several of our volunteers get over their fears of large macaws and just has such a fantastic personality.

If she sounds like she's what you've been looking for, please stop by to meet her!

Meet Bob and Lucy

We'd like to introduce you to a pair of parrotlets looking for homes. Yes, that's "homes" -- plural -- as these two cannot live together.

They were surrendered because of incompatibility. They lived in a large flight with many different birds. These two troublemakers picked on the other birds and each other. In order to restore peace, their owner thought it best that they find new homes.

Being from an aviary environment, they did not have names; we've named them Bob and Lucy, but they certainly don't know their names; as such, their new owner can easily rename them.

Here's Lucy:
If you look closely, you can see a little bit of dried blood on her feet. You can thank Bob for that. When their previous owner was bringing them to us to surrender, they were placed in the same small box as a carrier. Even birds that get along do not do well in such a tiny environment, so you can imagine what it was like for these two that were incompatible anyway!

Luckily, no permanent damage was done, and we're making sure that Bob can never harm her again.

Here's Bob:
Despite what it may sound like from above, he is not a monster! He is a very charming fellow; he just needs to be an only parrotlet.

These two lived in an aviary environment, which means they were not let out and handled. We are working on that. Right now, they are a bit flighty, but that will improve as they get used to coming out more. You can see Bob perched nicely in this volunteer's hand.

In the right home, with loving and patient owners, they will blossom.

Please stop by or e-mail if you're interested in Bob or Lucy. They are looking forward to completing their separation into new homes!

Mark your calendars - Saturday August 20

Please mark you calendars and join us for a very fun and exciting fund raising event for CARE!
As you can see from the sign, we'll be at the Woodshed Bar & Grill in Neenah, WI for a corn roast. But this is not just any corn roast -- it's for the birds as all proceeds go directly to CARE!

You will not find fresher corn anywhere as it will be continually trucked over to Woodshed Bar & Grill directly from the fields! We'll also have some non-roasted, fresh from the fields corn available for purchase if you'd like to bring home a treat for your feathered friends left at home.

This is a family-friendly event; there will be plenty of activities to keep you occupied. As it gets closer to the day, we'll let you know about some (but not all!) of the surprises in store.

This will be an annual event, so please come out and help support the first one! CARE would like to thank the volunteers instrumental in planning this -- you know who you are! We're really looking forward to seeing you in Neenah next month!

Meet Frank

Meet Frank, an approximately 20 year old Patagonian Conure. After several years of not having any Patagonian Conures surrendered to us, we currently have three up for adoption! You've already met Mork and Quincy. Here's Frank:
Frank had previously been adopted out by a fellow rescue. At that time, he was tame and handleable. However, that family did not care for him as they should have and he did not get as much attention as he needs; as a result, he needs some work to regain his former friendliness.

He seems to want to be part of a flock, and the right home will find joy in showing him love again.

There has literally never been a better time to add a Patagonian Conure to your house, as we currently have three to meet. If you think Frank sounds like a fit for your family, please stop by!

Meet Chessie

Meet Chessie, an approximately 8 year old green cheek conure. What a handsome fellow!
Chessie was owned by an elderly man who is no longer able to take care of him, so Chessie made his way to us en route to finding his new home.

Chessie has a deformed foot, as you can see in this picture:
However, this does not stop him at all! He is an incredibly sweet bird and does not require any adaptation due to his disability.

Please stop by and meet Chessie if you've been looking for a special someone at home. He is such a delight and will be a great addition for the right home.

Meet Oswald

Meet Oswald, a gerbil. He was transfered to us by animal control. He was one of many small animals that was removed from a home due to hoarding.
For a gerbil, he is quite tame and friendly. He is very active and it is fun to watch him play in his cage. We'd love to adopt him out soon as there are other small animals at animal control they would like us to take, but we only have the resources to do one at a time.
Please e-mail or stop by if you'd like to take this adorable furry guy home!

Meet Quincy

Meet Quincy, a Patagonian Conure. We don't know anything about Quincy's history, because she is yet another stray! She appears to be fairly young. She does not know how to step up (we're working with her on that), so we have to scoop her up. She loves being with people once she's out.Patagonian Conures can be loud; though we haven't heard that from Quincy yet, we imagine it's only a matter of time!
As you can see, she has quite a goofball personality (can you see that mischievous look on her face?) If you're looking for a loving companion, please stop by to meet Quincy!

Holly Update

It's been a few months since our last Holly update. This charming, personable severe macaw is still looking for a home. She is incredibly sweet and we don't understand why she hadn't been snapped up yet!

As she's been with us, she has regained her strength and blossomed into quite a charmer. She wants nothing more than to hang out with her favorite people. Her feathering and demeanor have improved so much during these past few months; it's hard to believe she's the same bird!

At this point, Holly has improved enough so that she is no longer on pain medication! However, her new owner will need to work with an avian vet to determine when pain medication might be necessary due to her injury and the resulting arthritis.

We're hopeful that the perfect home will come along soon and Holly can live out the rest of her life as part of a loving family.

Vet bills -- a plea for help

We really hate to ask for money, and work hard on our retail store in the hopes that someday the profits from selling food, toys, and other supplies will be enough to cover the expenses of the Center. Unfortunately, that day has not yet arrived, and we still depend on your generosity to make ends meet. (Please think of us for your food and toy needs! All money goes directly back to helping birds at CARE!)

We've recently had another spate of birds requiring expensive medical care. We've talked about some of them on here, like Rocky, Sebastian, Molly, Puzzle, and Josh. Tomorrow, Durante is going in to have a growth removed.

The balance on our vet bill has reached $1,500. Although our vet gives us a tremendous discount, the costs quickly add up.

We're asking for help in paying this off. As we are a 501(c)(3) organization, all donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law, and we will send you a donation letter for your records.

You can write a check to CARE or make a paypal donation (see the button on our right sidebar) -- writing "vet costs" on the memo line or in the comments. Or, if you'd rather, you can make a payment directly to CARE's vet -- Brook-Falls Vet Hospital.

As always, if you have any questions, you can e-mail us or call at (262) 628-3719. We thank you for your past, current, and future support! It's because of you that we're able to help hundreds of birds every year.

Meet William

Meet William, a friendly dove:
He was found outside. We suspect that he was let loose during a wedding celebration. He is a bit skittish, but with frequent handling, is calming down.

Doves can make wonderful pets for informed owners. They make calming sounds and are gentle souls. Please e-mail or stop by if you'd like to meet William, or any of the other doves we have up for adoption!

Meet Jabba

Meet Jabba, an adult Pac-Man Frog. He came to us from animal control, so we don't have a lot of history on him. We do know that he was fed exclusively frozen/thawed mice, which led to nutritional deficiencies. As a result, he is quite obese and has corneal lipids on his eye. This latter condition means that he can see only out of a small part of his eye.
This doesn't hinder him much, as you just tap him gently on the nose, he opens his mouth, and eats an earthworm, as seen here:

Please e-mail or stop by if you'd like to meet him. Due to his past improper care, we need to make sure that he goes to a home where he will be housed and fed properly. We can help you with that, and answer any questions you may have.

Meet Pistachio

Meet Pistachio, an approximately 4 1/2 year old Nanday Conure. He was a loved member of the family, with good food, a huge cage, lots of toys -- he had it made. However, his human companions got pregnant and surrendered him to us before the baby was born.He's a bit confused, as he doesn't understand what happened to turn him from loved family member to discarded pet overnight. He is tame and handleable, though currently a bit cage-aggressive. Just throw a towel over your hand and he steps right up, though.

He'd love to be part of a loving home again. Stop by to meet him if you have a Nanday-sized hole in your life!

Meet Dinky

Dinky is an approximately 10 year old male Pacific Parrotlet. He came from the same house as Rocky, who was introduced yesterday. Like Rocky, Dinky has been on a terrible diet of wild finch seed. He also was dumped at a vet's office with the threat of home execution if the vet's office wouldn't take him. Also like Rocky, his fate turned around once he started making his way to us.We are still getting to know him, but so far, he has been incredibly sweet and a delight. As a social being, he craves attention and doesn't want to be left alone.
He will make a great companion for some lucky person. If you have room in your home and heart, stop by to meet him.

Meet Rocky

Meet Rocky, a white-spectacled amazon. Rocky is about 21 years old. He was fed a diet of wild finch seed; we are shocked he's still alive. Now that he's on a good diet, he will look like a completely different bird after he molts.Rocky was owned by an elderly couple. When the woman died, her husband took Rocky and Dinky (you'll meet him tomorrow) to a vet's office. He gave them an ultimatum: take the birds, or he'd take them home and kill them. The vet took the birds in, and they made their way to us.

Rocky has an incredibly sweet temperament, though he is still recovering from his ordeal, including years of malnutrition. We suspect he may show a more feisty personality once he's in good health.

As always, please stop by if you'd like to meet Rocky.

Meet Monkey

Meet Monkey, a blue-front amazon. We don't know anything about Monkey; not even his name -- that was given to him by one of CARE's volunteers.

Recently, a car drove up to a dog park. The person got out of the car, removed a cage, opened the door to the cage and shooed this amazon out, placed the cage back in their car, and then raced off -- abandoning him in a place full of predators!!!
Thoughts of what could have happened to him just break our hearts; luckily, a quick-thinking person became Monkey's savior. He was brought to animal control and ultimately made his way to us.

We're still getting to know his personality. So far, what we've seen has been very nice! He's tame, steps up nicely, is very interactive, and is even beginning to talk.
By looking at his coloring and condition of his feet and eye ring skin, we think that he's still quite a young bird; probably only around 2-3 years old. We're awaiting DNA sexing to see if he is male or female.

We are just heartbroken that someone could have just thrown him away.

Monkey needs a home that will commit to him, and we're going to find that for him! If you think that might be you, please stop by to meet him!