Highlights from Thursday

Yesterday was a very busy day - you just never know what the day is going to bring. Macy, the canary-winged parakeet, and Gracie, the parrotlet, both went home. Two lovebirds were surrendered. Unfortunately, we surpassed the 400 mark in surrenders this year. Last year we had 321 birds surrendered, so that's a whole lot more than last year. We still have lots of really nice birds available for adoption. We will be open on Saturday from 12-5 - feel free to stop in and say hi.

Christmas Eve Hours

Just a reminder that CARE will be open from 1-3 today for any last minute gifts.  We will not be doing adoptions today but the retail area will be open.  Hoping everyone has a safe and wonderful Christmas Eve.

Saturday at CARE

Snoopers, the severe macaw, was adopted today but will spend the holidays with us as there will be too much commotion at home - not fair to bring a new bird in during this busy time.  Two female budgies were also adopted today.  We will be open on Monday from 1-3 for any last minute gifting for your birdie friends.  I'm leaving early so I can go spend Christmas Eve with my family.  I hope everyone has a great Christmas.  We'll be open again with regular hours on Thursday.

Saturday's Events

I had to leave early today to attend a Christmas party, but this is what I know - Sprite the tiel went home; Buddy the Quaker went home; the two diamond doves went home; Teka, the red-lored amazon went home; and Pickles the Senegal went into foster care. We had two really nice tiels surrendered and they will go up for adoption soon. Sprite and Buddy were super nice birds who have been here too long so it is really nice that they got to go home for the holidays. Yesterday, Audrey the Maxi Pionus went into foster care as well. I have a feeling we will not be seeing Audrey back here - I think her foster parents will adopt her. We'll see if I'm right about that :) Have a great weekend and Go Pack!!

T-Shirts on Sale!!

For today and Saturday only - all of our in stock T-shirts are on sale for $15 each. We have about 20 T-shirts in house, from kids sizes to XXL - we need to move them out so the new stock can come in. So ANY T-shirt is only $15 - maybe you can find a stocking stuffer or two! We also have one sweatshirt left and that price has been lowered from $40 to $30. Come in and see what we've got available. All proceeds go directly to the birds.

2 Adoptions and 1 Surrender Today

Two great adoptions today! Birdie, a little male Parrotlet, went to his forever home. One of our English parakeet hybrids also went home. Malakai, an Umbrella Cockatoo who has been with us for almost two years, has an adoption pending too. The Malakai app was a really nice surprise - we've talked about this before, but sometimes you just have to be patient and wait for the right home to come along. The final decision on Kai will be made early in the week. We had an 18 year old cockatiel surrendered - owner is going off to college and can't take him with. His name is Ed and he'll be up for adoption soon. Have a great Sunday everyone. Go Pack!!!

3 Surrenders Today - 1 Adoption

Picked up two birds from HAPPE Parrots today - a young Quaker and a 36 year old Red-Lored Amazon in bad shape - we've already had him/her to the vet. Her nails were double corkscrewed and her feet are so bad she can't bend her toes. We've seen this before and hopefully can give her some relief. Her mom was 93 and just couldn't take care of her anymore. Then BRATS transported another Quaker to

us - just 1.5 years old - from a humane society on the west side of the state. One of our volunteers adopted a bronze-winged pionus that was just surrendered on Thursday. So considering we are closed on Fridays, it was a very busy day today. Hopefully the adoptions will continue tomorrow :) Have a good evening everyone.

Another Good Saturday

Pretty slow day until about 3 and then all hell broke loose. We were prepared though :) Florinda, our 29 year old DYH Amazon went home today and Baby Lola, our 4 year old Goffin Cockatoo, was adopted and will go home next Saturday. We had several bags of donations come in - thank you soooo much - we really appreciate it. We also had a large Midwest cage donated in good condition, the size that can hold a larger amazon or mid-size cockatoo. We had one untame budgie surrendered. Thursday we had two untame female cockatiels and one female ringneck dove go home. All in all, a very good week for the birds at CARE.

Sunshine and Lunar Go Home!

I was going  to sit down at the computer and tell you all about a pair of cockatiels, one of whom is special needs, that needed a home.  Well, a couple came in who have visited before.  Previously they were looking at bigger birds but decided that they should start with a smaller bird.  Long  story short, Sunshine and Lunar went to their new home today.  They came in from a shelter on the other side of the state about a month ago and Sunshine had swollen and bruised eyes.  We did disease testing and put her on antibiotics and eye drops several times a day.  The disease testing came back negative and last week she was released from any further medication.  She is, however, blind.  Well today was her lucky day.  We are very happy campers here.  It's always nice when a special needs bird goes home. 

Record Day at CARE!

Hi Folks.  We had our best day ever today.  The following birds went home:  Bailey the eclectus; Rizzo the parrotlet; Wrigley the senegal; Tucker the quaker parakeet; Tiki the lory; Max the blue-headed pionus; Frankie the sun conure; Crystal the Eastern Rosella; Wesley the lilac-crowned amazon; and Bob the button quail.  These birds had all been pre-approved on paper as we call it (applications approved) and everyone came on the same day!!!  It was crazy but the day went quickly and everyone left happy.  We've never had this many birds go home on the same day.  It was really quite special.  Teka, the red-lored amazon was the only surrender today.  We still have about 30 birds on a waiting list so we will start calling some of them in next week. Everyone have a great weekend - GO PACK!

Happy Thanksgiving

Good Morning! Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for so many things, but what I'm most thankful for today are my awesome volunteers who are coming to help me feed. I am covering for Carrie, who is out of town, and asked if anyone wanted to help out this morning. FIVE PEOPLE are coming in to help. CARE is blessed to have the BEST volunteers. They are not here for anything else but to help the birds. I couldn't be more grateful. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Stay safe.

8 Surrenders on Tuesday

OK, I'm up again for a bit.  Tuesday we had 8 birds surrendered to us from the same family:  Shadow a CAG, Lola a G2, Crystal an Eastern Rosella, Trixie a Peach-Faced Lovebird, Wesley a Lilac-Crowned Amazon, Max a Blue-Headed Pionus, Cooper a Bronze-Winged Pionus and Wrigley, a Senegal.  They are all set to be vetted within the next two weeks.  They have all been taken good care of and should all be in good health.  Their owner is moving and decided not to take them with her.  We have them listed on petfinder already but they will not go home until after their vet checks.

Bye Bye Marley

So much to tell you, but I've been under the weather so we'll do small spurts while I'm out of bed. Yesterday morning, we found Marley passed away at the bottom of her cage. Marley came to us 4 years ago as an owner surrender, and we knew right away she was different. Her one foot was balled up and she was hunched over. Vetted her and found she has Metabolic Bone Disease, like you hear about i

n reptiles all the time. Apparently, something was missing from her environment or nutrition when she was a baby. Because we were noticing the second foot starting to ball up, our vet gave her about six months due to the quick degeneration we were seeing. Boy, did she surprise us! Good lighting, decent size cage and toys, excellent nutrition and lots of love, and we dramatically slowed down the progression. Unfortunately, the disease took its toll on Marley and she is now flying over the Rainbow Bridge. We'll all meet again sometime Marley. Until then, take care....

Need a Dryer

Well, it finally happened today. Our 1982 SpeedQueen dryer finally took its last breath. Luckily the towels in the dryer were dry :) I think 30 years of service, first in a home and then the last 7 years here at CARE, was a good run for the dryer. So, if anyone has a dryer they're not using or is planning to get a new one in the near future and wants to donate their old one, please let me know. I'll be keeping an eye on CL also.

We had one female budgie go to her new home today. Yay!!!

Bye-Bye Flicker!

Our little Flicker went to his new home yesterday. He was the only handlable lovebird we had here at CARE and I was surprised how long it took for find him a home. Something I learned a long time ago is that sometimes it takes awhile for the right home to come along, and I think that's what happened with Flicker. It's obvious he will be very loved. Congratulations!

Surrenders

Yesterday we had two budgies and a guinea pig surrendered. Today I met Kathy from HAPPE Parrots and took in a beautiful pied parrotlet named Rizzo and a sun conure named Frankie. Kathy also brought along a nice donation for us. Both birds will be up for adoption soon. If anyone is interested in an older male guinea pig who has been raised with children, let me know. He will be living in our retail area until we can find a good home for him.

New Umbrella Cockatoo at CARE

Today is supposed to be my day off, but I got a call from one of our shelter partners that a cockatoo was being surrendered to them.  We are not taking cockatoos at this time, due to having too many in-house.  However, when they told me the story of how this bird is plucked and bleeding, I knew we had to take him in.  So I went and picked him up.  OMG, supposedly he's only 5 years old.  He's an Umbrella, fuzzy (has very few feathers) and the insides of his wings are all dried blood.  He's scared and kind of catatonic, so we're trying to leave him alone in a quieter environment.  Obviously we will get him in to the vet early next week.  This is going to be a difficult case for sure.  His name is Zeus, and we'll try to get pics tomorrow.

Feeder for Tuesday Mornings

Two of the members of our volunteer family, Phil and Cathy, are leaving us to move to Las Vegas in the very near future. They have been extraordinary volunteers and we are all very sad to see them go. They have been with us for years and it's hard to think about them not being here anymore. Phil and Cathy have been our feeders on Tuesday morning all this time - so we are now in need of a new Tuesday morning feeder(s). The responsibilities of this volunteer position would be to make sure all the flock are fed and watered appropriately and the leftover food put away in a sanitary fashion. It takes approximately 2 hours to feed in the morning. If anyone is interested, please let us know. There is no experience needed - we will train you. We just ask that you be responsible and dedicated. Thanks.

Globe University East Campus Madison

Every quarter, I teach a class at Globe University East Campus in Madison. Today was the day. The class is on handling birds for physical examination, grooming (nails and wings) and positioning for radiographs. I love doing it. We had seven women and one man in class today and it was the best class ever. No one was afraid and everyone jumped right in to learn. I didn't even have to gown up for radiology - the students did it all. I took Joey, my U2, Daisy our resident Yellow-Fronted Amazon, Ivy our resident Lineolated Parakeet and Jessica, our naked little Congo African Grey who is up for adoption (hint hint). They were all on their best behavior and even let us show the students things like blood feathers. Love the education part of CARE and love seeing the enthusiasm of the students, who will be our next generation of Veterinary Technicians and Technologists.

Brogan Goes Home

Brogan, one of our delightful little tiels, went to his new home today - a very early Christmas present. He is one lucky bird. I forgot to mention that we had two female canaries returned to us yesterday - woman was moving and couldn't keep. Back to today, a couple who adopted a bird from us came in for grooming and left us with an awesome donation - something that is very much needed at this time. We can't express in words how grateful we are. Lots of times we only see the bad, but there really are wonderful people out there, and we need to recognize that more often.

No More Homeless Pets Conference

Just got back from the 2012 No More Homeless Pets Conference today. 2-1/2 days packed with seminars and exhibits. I did not take a computer with me, as this conference is also my annual "vacation". I learned alot and am hoping to be able to use things I learned for both the birds and the dogs. Am especially excited about the photo/video class I took. I actually understood it! So, anyway, yesterday here at CARE four birds went home and two came in. Jabber and China, two cockatiels that came to us from another shelter, went home to two different homes. Elvis the U2 and Millie the Maximilian's Pionus also went to their new homes. We took in two cockatiels from another shelter in the western part of the state. I missed saying goodbye to Elvis, whom I had grown to love, but I wish him well and hopefully he'll come back to visit us sometime in the future. Have a great night everyone!

Saturday's Events

Saturday morning Mary and I drove down to Whitewater for M.E. & My Pet's Annual Open House.  Eric and  Mary are good friends of mine, foster for Wis. Chihuahua Rescue, which is my second favorite rescue group, and have donated for years to CARE.  We spend the day talking with customers and helping them find what they need.  The proceeds from the donation table are then split between CARE and Lakeland Animal Shelter.  It's always a good time.  We were there til 2:30 then headed back to CARE.  Got back, took my dogs out and headed down to Bay View Bark for their halloween party.  Was there til 9 - by this time I'm getting a little tired - but still had a blast.  So many animal people together at once - it was really a fun time.  Got the word out about CARE to many, many new people on Saturday.

Friday's Adoption Event

Sorry I haven't been updating but we had a whirlwind weekend. Spent 9 hours at the Washington County Humane Society's Grand Reopening last Friday. We had a blast. Thank you, Bobbi, for staying with us the whole day. I had an infected foot and had to run to Urgent Care so Bobbi came by to sit with Mary and ended up staying the whole time. We adopted out two cockatiels and a tame English budgie. Thanks to Washington County H.S. for inviting us and taking care of our needs for the day.

No Grooming Saturday

There will be no grooming available this Saturday, October 20th.  The shelter will be shorthanded as Mary and I will be in Whitewater for the day.  We will resume grooming on Tuesday, October 23rd.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

Saturday M.E. & My Pets Open House

Mary and I will be in Whitewater on Saturday for M.E. & My Pets 11th Anniversary Open House from 10-2.  They have all sorts of great deals for all pets.  They donate a portion of the proceeds off their donation tables to us every year besides helping us with donations of bird food and miscellaneous.  If you're in the area, please stop by, say hi and find some great deals for all your pets.  Tell them CARE sent you.

Tomorrow at WCHS...

Tomorrow is Washington County Humane Society's big adoption event from 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.  They invited us to bring adoptable birds to show and, of course, we agreed.  We love working with the gals up there.  So tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., come visit us at WCHS.  We will accept applications starting right now.  We will have a few toys and a little bit of food for sale, but mostly we will just be showing birds.  If you get a chance, please stop by and say hi.

Surrenders Today

Picked up 5 birds today:  2 lovebirds from separate homes, a blue-headed pionus, a maximilian's pionus and a male ekkie.  Vet appts already set up for the bhp and the ekkie.  They should all be up for adoption within the week.  All look in good shape, we'll just wait to see what the vet check/bloodwork shows.  With these five surrenders, our total to date is 349, up from 321 last year and we have 2.5 months to go.  Sad :(

Happy Travels to Big Fred and Buck

Wanted to say thank you again to all of you who donated to help us get the five birds to sanctuary.  The last birds to go, Big Fred and Buck, the two M2's, left for sanctuary this morning.  It was hard to say goodbye, I have such an affinity for the M2's, but it's best for them to not ever have to live in a cage again.  They are both going to Cockatoo Rescue & Sanctuary in Washington state.  Thanks Laurie Rutledge for taking them in.  Can't wait to hear how they do once they get to meet the other Moluccans in the big flight. Again, thanks for your help, we couldn't do what we do without your support.

Little Jabber

I picked up a cute little 14 year old lutino cockatiel from Wisconsin Humane Society on Saturday. His name is Jabber. He's a little sweetheart and will probably do well in a home with older kids. His chest is slightly plucked, but otherwise he's a happy and handsome fella. Anyone interested? Let us know - his adoption fee is $50.

Lori and Joey to be on Fox 6 News Tomorrow Morning

If you are around a TV tomorrow morning and in Southeastern Wisconsin, Joey, my U2, and I are going to be on Fox 6 Wake-up News at 8:10. We will be talking about Rainforest Night at the Domes Friday night. CARE has been doing this event for years and Joey has a blast here. We walk around greeting people and he's done it for so many years that as we walk around he looks at people and says "hi, how are you", "hi there", "what you doing", "hi, hello". He is a scream. We really enjoy being invited to Rainforest Night every year. It's at the Mitchell Park Domes Friday night from 6-9 p.m. It's a chance to see the Domes and their ecosystem at night.  Hope you can join us there.

Icarus Goes Home!

Icarus, the plucked Eclectus who came in on 8/28, was adopted today by a very experienced ekkie owner. He actually is growing many new feathers in already (his back in completely covered) but I'm guessing after about three months in his new home that he will be completely feathered in. We changed his diet and showered him often and that seemed to really help. Congrats Terry on your new fid.

Update on Dexter, the Splay Legged Senegal Baby

Update on little Dexter, the splay legged Senegal, who is now 4 weeks old! We saw Dr. Nicki and she rewrapped his little legs with vet wrap. We now have to rewrap them every day. Dexter sees Dr. Nicki again on Thursday for a recheck. Dr

. Nicki feels that we may be able to at least get him to the point where he can perch - I really, really hope so. He is strong. This morning while I'm working on the computer I'm watching him flap his wings and try to push himself out of the little container we have him in. I've got my fingers crossed for him. I have attached a pic of him with his legs splayed out.

Saturday's Update

Yesterday was crazy!  We had four surrenders come in and of course they all arrived at the same time! The surrenders were Elvis, an umbrella cockatoo, Mikey and Macy, two canary-winged parakeets, and Beaker, a nanday conure.  Jackson and  Andrew came in and cleaned cages and put together a couple that we needed to use yesterday.  Wilbur the harlequin macaw went to his new home.  Too cold to pressure wash cages yesterday - hopefully we'll have one nice Saturday yet this year to get the last of the big cages done.  Then we have to get the steam cleaner out for the winter.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Go Pack!

Rainforest Night

Got a call from Paula at the Domes today. Rainforest Night is Friday, October 12th from 6-9:30 p.m. CARE volunteers always bring birds along, either CARE birds or pets from home. It's fun for the people and most of the birds just have a ball. Anyway, Paula called to ask if Joey (my U2) and I would like to be on Fox 6 at 8 a.m. on Thursday to talk about Rainforest Night. Of course we said yes. Joey loves to be on TV. So if you get a chance, tune in. If you can make it to Rainforest Night, it's always a lot of fun and one of our favorite PR events.

Update on the Baby Senegal

Update on "Dexter" the baby Senegal.  If it's a girl, we'll rename her Dixie I guess :)  Anyway, we have a vet appt at our vet tomorrow at 3 for them to check and see how the legs are doing and to resplint them.  Just finished his second feeding (he eats every 4 hours) and he took 12 cc's of food.  I gave him 10 and he screamed for more.  Kind of cool having a baby around.  It's been a long time....

3 Week Old Senegal Parrot

Last week Thursday got a frantic call from a breeder acquaintance. She looked in her senegal nestbox (she's not breeding anymore but they still have a nestbox???) and there were two baby senegals. One died and the one she saved has severe splay legs. Kathy from HAPPE Parrots went and picked her up on Sunday and took her to the vet right away. She is on some meds for infection and had her legs 

taped up so hopefully we can get them to where they should be. Picked her up today. Pix tomorrow. Just fed her 10 cc's of formula and she's happily sleeping in her little container. I hope we can fix the legs. Normally you need to do that way before the three week timeframe, but cross your fingers she'll be okay. Mary loves to handfeed babies, so this will be her new project starting tomorrow. We'll keep you updated on her progress (don't know sex yet - just calling her she for now).

Had a two year old Congo African Grey surrendered yesterday.  He's a super bird but is really scared.  We'll give him a few days to adjust.  He should be up for adoption soon - his name is Einstein.  We also had four English Budgies surrendered and they will also be available for adoption soon.  We're expecting 10-15 zebra finches from a shelter partner to be delivered tomorrow as well.  Driving up to Appleton today to pick up some supplies.  Have a good one.

Great day today.  One of our favorite customers who moved away (sad face) donated the $100 we needed to get the two moluccan cockatoos to sanctuary.  Thank you very much, Tim, we really appreciate it.  On another good note, Bonnie the Mexican Redheaded Amazon, went to her new home today.  She just came in on Saturday - we never even got her up on Petfinder.  Thanks, Janeen, for giving her a good home. It's been a long emotional day - can't wait to get home to my fur and feather babies!

Three Toos Left for Sanctuary Today

Just got back from taking the white cockatoos to Chris who will get them to the airport for their trip to Macaw Rescue & Sanctuary out in Carnation, WA.  Little Fred, Beauty and Casper will all have a great time living it up with their feathered friends.  No more unrealistic expectations from humankind.  I'm so happy for them. Thank you, Bob, for taking them in.  We still have the Moluccan Cockatoos to go out yet but we need another $100 to get them there.  If we can raise the $100 by next week, Big Fred and Buck will be on their way to Cockatoo Rescue & Sanctuary.  If you can help, we'd really appreciate it.

Toy Playing

On Sunday at the Open House that we attended at our Vet Clinic, we had three different people come and ask what we had for toys for doves. They didn't know they played with toys. I also had an email from a very good customer of ours thanking us for the rosy bourke she adopted and said that everything she read said that rosies were not good toy players, but that Poppy loved her toys. I told her that breeders often don't know that birds play with toys because they don't give them toys to play with. ALL birds will play with toys once they know what they are for. We were able to help these three individuals find appropriate toys for their doves and will continue to educate people the fact that birds need a job and toys, or enrichment as we call it, can be the difference between a healthy, happy bird and a feather plucked screamer.

Brook-Falls Vet Hospital Open House

Today we spent three hours at Brook-Falls Veterinary Hospital & Exotic Care for their Open House. Dr. Bloss and Dr. Waliszewski are the two veterinarians who take care of our shelter birds. We had a great time. The two other groups, Wanakia Wildlife and Schlitz Audubon were able to bring birds/wildlife but it was too cold for our exotic birds. We were in a tent outside. However, we took information and lots of toys and accessories to sell and had a really good day. Talked with several people with doves who didn't know they played with toys, so we set them up with some cool stuff. Can't wait to hear back from them. And it's still early enough to have some quality time with my pet birds and dogs. Have a great evening - stay warm!

Saturday at CARE

were adopted today. Lots of activity with the new ones coming in. We are now up to 308 birds surrendered this year. Still have 51 on the waiting list. Sherrie brought us boxes of material and miscellaneous items which we will go thru tomorrow. Thanks, Sherrie. She's always there to help us out. Have a great night. Tomorrow, Mary and I will be at the Brook-Falls Veterinary Hospital and Exotic Care Open House from 12-3. We will be there with lots of toys for sale as well as information about us. If you're in the Menomonee Falls, WI area, stop by and say hi.Wow - we were super busy today. BRATS dropped off three birds from DCHS - a male Mexican Redheaded Amazon, a Canary-Winged Parakeet and a very naked, but very sweet, Indian Ringneck Parakeet. We also had a 14 year old budgie and a 10 year old cockatiel surrendered, as well as one heck of a sweet Quaker Parakeet. Roxy, the Canary-Winged Parakeet, and Licorice, a beautiful dark factor Cockatiel,

Less Adoptable Pet of the Day: Pickles

Pickles has been here for about 6 months.  He is 6 years old and lived with an older man for the first part of his life.  The man had surgery and could no longer care for Pickles.  Pickles will be an awesome bird for a single owner.  He talks, makes all kinds of noises and is generally a nice bird for a single person.  Pickles wants ALL the attention and will do what he needs to get it.  If you are a single person, and plan to stay that way, and want an exceptionally cool little friend, Pickles could be the bird for you. 

Cockatoos to Sanctuary Part 2

Thanks to a very generous donor, we have reached the halfway point in getting these cockatoos to their new home.  We'd like to get them out there next week, so if anyone can even donate $5, it will be a help.  This is the link to where they are going. http://www.macawrescueandsanctuary.org/.  We have previously sent two senior wild caught Goffins out there, and they acclimated very well.  Casper, the Goffins we are sending out (pictured above), is also wild caught and not hand tame.  They tell us the wild caughts acclimate almost immediately.  Casper has lived in a cage all his life - it's time for him to be in a flight with his own kind.  Both male toos have aggression issues and are not adoptable - this will be a place where they can just be birds.  Please help us out if you can.  We appreciate it.

Today was a slow day - we need those every once in a while. However, DCHS contacted us about taking a plucked Indian Ringneck Parakeet, a Canary-Winged Parakeet and a 27 year old female Mexican Redheaded Amazon. Even though we have a long waiting list for surrenders, we never turn down a shelter partner, so I'm guessing these three birds will be arriving either tomorrow or Saturday. Will update you more when they arrive.

Less Adoptable Pet of the Day: Lucy

Less Adoptable Pet of the Day is Lucy, a 9 year old female Blue and Gold Macaw. She is not interested in being handled, although she steps up on a stick. She is plucked but some feathers are coming back, don't know if she'll ever be fully feathered again. She is hilarious though. She talks and sings and is very social in her cage or on a stand. We all love her here. She would be fine with an experienced large bird owner but she is definitely not a first-time bird. Contact us if you are interested in learning more about Lucy. She has been vet checked, including bloodwork.

Good morning.  We have really good news today.  We have a couple of cockatoos here that need to go to sanctuary - they are not adoptable for various reasons.  Yesterday Bob at Macaw Rescue & Sanctuary agreed to take all three of them.  We previously sent several Goffins out to Bob and they are thriving in his environment.  Seems like I am always asking for money, but we need to get them to Bob, along with a donation to Bob for their care.  We will need to purchase tickets for the three, plus purchase carriers for the flight.  You can't just use dog/cat kennels - they have very specific criteria for birds - no one wants to get bit.  So we are asking if you all can help us raise $600 in the next few days.  If we can raise this amount, we can order the carriers and get reservations for them to go next week. Not only is this great news for the birds but it will also open up three cages for us.  We now have 51 birds on our surrender list waiting to come in.  Thank you in advance for you help.  We couldn't do it without you.

Less Adoptable Pet of the Day: Darla

Less Adoptable Pet of the Day is Darla, the Lesser Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo. Darla is a male of unknown age. In February 2010, we got a call from MADACC asking us to help remove parrots from a home on the south side where the woman died and had no surviving relatives. There were 18 of them. Luckily, she had written their names on their cups so at least we had names on them, but that was all.

Darla is the last of those birds looking to find a new home. Darla is a man's bird and chooses his friends. He likes to play with toys and isn't the loudest cockatoo we've ever seen. He needs a nice man to take him in and love him. He's been vet checked and is in great feather. He is a fun little man. Hope his new family comes to get him soon....Sorry we don't have a current pic of him ... will get that up tomorrow.

Less Adoptable Pets of the Day today are Peeps and Squirt, two female lovebirds. They are not handlable but get along really well and it is a lot of fun just watching them play and interact. Untame lovebirds are usually here at lot longer than the handlable ones, but for someone who doesn't have a lot of time and wants a bird, these ladies would fit the bill perfectly. Let us know if you're interested in adopting Peeps and Squirt.  That's Peep looking out of her hut - Squirt is behind her.

Wisconsin Humane Society Workshop

Last night we did a workshop at Wisconsin Humane Society for staff and volunteers. It was great fun and I think everyone enjoyed it. We took Joey, our U2 mascot, and he was a riot as usual. It was an intensive 2-hour workshop on how to take care of birds properly, including nutrition and cage setup. I was so impressed with the amount of people that attended. And their questions were awesome. We all need to work together to help our animal friends and I am really glad WHS reached out to us for education. We enjoy working with other shelters. Joey is really crabby today, though, cuz he was up two hours past his bedtime :)

This week is Celebrate Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week and we will be featuring a "less adoptable pet" each day this week. Today we are featuring Macchu Picchu, our teenaged Sun Conure. His special need is that he only has one leg. He gets

around his cage just fine, though, and will step up nicely on a stick for you. He is also very friendly with like-sized birds. If you think he would fit nicely into your home, give us a shout.

Van help!

Sorry for the blog hiatus -- will try to get back to regular posting again soon.  In the meantime, you can keep up with us on Facebook.  Things are well at the Center; once again, it's just that the volunteer who writes the blog has been remiss!  (I really am trying to improve as I want to get out all of the wonderful things CARE has been doing!)

We have a 2000 Ford Econoline Van with only 42,000 miles on it, but we need to have a little more work done in order to make it driveable, as it's been in storage for 6 years.

It's so important that we have working van, as this allows us to help get birds and cages out of terrible situations, as well as truck our supplies (toys and food for sale) to bird fairs, the proceeds from which help support the Center.

If you can help us with a donation toward van repairs, we would love to hear from you!  Once the van is fixed up, I'll post a picture so you can see how your money was put to work!

Meet Holly

Meet Holly, a quaker. We don't know much about Holly since she was a stray. She flew into someone's yard last year. They kept her fou about 9 months, but since she didn't like the father of the house, they surrendered her.

She is a very sweet parrot, though a bit cage-aggressive, as quakers are wont to be.

If you'd like to unravel the mystery of this lucky parrot who managed to survive on her own in the wilds of North America only to land with a family and eventually us, please stop be to see if you are a match!

Meet Logan

Meet Logan, an approximately 20 year old nanday conure. Although he is missing most of his feathers, he is yet proof again that you can't judge a book by its cover. He is an incredibly sweet parrot!

He's getting near the end of his natural life span, so we are looking for a home that can give him a fantastic few last good years.

He is still very spry and full of vim and vigor.  Here he is, making his way up from someone's arm to his favorite spot:

Her shoulder.  Once he gets there, he likes to rub his beak against her neck.

If you have room in your heart and home for this little gem, you surely won't regret adopting him! Please stop by the Center to meet him; we're sure you'll fall in love, just like we have!

Meet Kiwi

Meet Kiwi, a 3 year old sun conure. Sun conures are very loud, so they can't be owned by people who live in apartments.

Isn't he just gorgeous?  I never get tired at looking at how beautiful their feathers are!

Kiwi's owners suffered a great tragedy -- their house burned down.  They are in temporary housing that doesn't allow birds, so they surrendered Kiwi so that he can find a new home.

He was very much loved and is a very sweet bird.  He will make a terrific companion to the right person.  He is very gentle and loves to come out of his cage and hang with his people:

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

Meet Sinbad

As promised last week when we introduced you to Tucker, please meet Sinbad.  Sinbad is a 15-16 year old male african grey parrot.  He has cataracts, so has some trouble seeing, but that just means that we need to move a little more slowly around him.

He is very vocal and loves to mimic clicking and whistling sounds.  Here is a short video, but it in no way captures the true delight that he brings to all who meet him:

What a beautiful boy!

From this angle, he almost looks like a space alien:

But it's just the camera!  He's an adorable grey parrot who loves attention and is looking for that special person that will love him and include him in their activities.

Please stop by to visit Sinbad if you're thinking about adding a grey to your home.  He is sure to bring joy and happiness wherever he goes!

Meet Tucker

Meet Tucker, a 15-16 year old female african grey parrot. Tucker lived with Sinbad, a grey we'll introduce you to next week...so stay tuned!

Tucker is a very sweet bird with a fantastic personality.  She makes lots of noises and talks a bit.

Tucker is plucked, and there's so much damage to her feather follicles that she likely will not regrow her feathers.  But, like many of the birds surrendered to us, it's what's inside that counts!  And she has more than enough of a sparkling personality to make up for an entire chest's worth of missing feathers.

Please stop by if you'd like to meet Tucker!  Greys tend not to do as well at the Center as other parrots -- they really thrive in a quieter environment with less activity, so we'd like to find her a home quickly.  If you're someone who can look past appearances, you won't be disappointed with her!

Meet Buddy

Meet Buddy, an approximately 10-12 year old female blue front amazon. She was the much-loved companion of an elderly woman who surrendered her to us when she could no longer care for her.

Buddy is extremely vocal.  She is a very happy bird; as such, she is frequently making noises: talking, beeping, etc.  Her new owners might think there are trucks constantly backing up in their house!

As always, if you'd like to meet Buddy, please stop by the Center. She is such a personable bird so whoever adopts her has a world of fun ahead!

New entries coming soon

We sincerely apologize for the lack of recent blog entries.  The volunteer who writes them has been going through some tough personal issues, but she has promised to rededicte herself to tell these parrots' stories and hopefully help some of them to find new homes.

You can also find us on Facebook to follow the goings-on at the shelter, or stop by to meet the birds in person.

More updates coming soon!!!