Sheboygan Meet & Greet

This Saturday (September 26) and Sunday (September 27), from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., CARE is having a Meet and Greet in Sheboygan at 1513 N. Fifth St.

There will be a brat fry both days, sales of used cages and accessories, and we will also be showing our line of toys. The toys will be discounted 10% both days.

On Sunday, Lori will be there with Joey and some parrots who are up for adoption. She will also be available for grooming. Prices will be $5.00 for small birds, $7.50 for medium birds and $10 for large birds. All proceeds for the weekend will benefit CARE and the birds.

If you have any questions, please call 920-452-8057 and ask for Mary.

Hope to see you there!

Budgies

Ten budgies, some of whom are pictured here, were recently surrendered to us. They were owned by a single mother and her disabled adult son -- his pride and joy. They are absolutely gorgeous and obviously well-cared for.

Unfortunately, they are losing their home to foreclosure and were unable to keep these little jewels.

Though often overlooked, budgies can make great family pets! If you'd like to adopt one, please stop by to see if one may be a match for you!

Waiting List

CARE currently has a waiting list with 40 birds on it. 23 of those are budgies and tiels, which don't require much space, but the rest are cockatoos, amazons, and greys.

We have some really wonderful adoptable birds available right now. If you've been thinking about adding a new friend to your house, now might just be the time! When we adopt out some of the birds currently at our facility, that will open up space for the ones waiting to be surrendered.

For smaller birds, we have very nice cockatiels and lovebirds available, and a blue parrotlet.

For medium birds, we have very nice quakers and conures.

For large birds, we have very nice macaws, cockatoos, and amazons.

Many of the birds surrendered to us do not have severe behavioral problems. They were just unlucky enough to land with a family that either didn't understand what having a parrot was all about, or a family whose changing circumstances left them unable to care for their parrot. When given another chance in an understanding family, they can become fantastic companions!

Sasha & Kellie's new home

Sasha and Kellie, two of our resident aratinga conures that we've written about before, have a new cage. They were very happy to be moved into a new home with slightly larger floor space since that means room for more boxes! You can see them hanging out on the floor in this picture.

When the Center is closed, they like to hang out on the play gym on the left side of their cage. These guys are little clowns with a zest for life. Some of their favorite things to do include chewing up egg cartons, chewing up soda boxes, and playing peek-a-boo with volunteers.

Sasha actually has quite the vocabulary, though he usually talks only when no people are in the aviary. When people are around, he prefers to squawk!

As we've written before, when Sasha was surrendered to us, about 7 years ago now, he was in such bad shape that we didn't think he'd survive to see the end of the year. But he's surprised us all with his spirit! Vet care, proper diet, and perhaps most importantly, a friend, have improved his life immensely. He shows no signs of slowing down and brings joy to many visitors and volunteers.

CARE will be closed Saturday, July 4

CARE will be closed to the public on Saturday, July 4. Don't worry, though, volunteers will still be coming in to make sure the birds' needs are taken care of and they'll get some special treats to celebrate the holiday.

For your enjoyment, here are a few of the more patriotically-colored birds that have passed through our facility:

Daphne

Meet Daphne, an incredibly sweet senegal parrot. Daphne was found flying outside, a stray bird. Luckily she was brought to animal control -- a move that likely saved her life since parrots like Daphne can't survive long outside in our climate.

We don't know why Daphne was outside. Perhaps she escaped; perhaps she was let go when her caretakers tired of her (you'd be surprised how frequently that happens, which often means a terrifying death for these tropical birds).


Extensive work was done to try to reunite her with her family, to no avail. If someone was looking for her, she would have been found. Given her gentle personality, it seems likely that she was loved and treated with kindness at some point in her life. We're hoping to bring that to her again by finding her a home where she will be safe.

Daphne is suffering from a mouth infection, so she won't be up for adoption until she gets a clean bill of health -- probably in about a month.

2008 in review

2008 was another busy year for CARE. 366 animals (mostly birds) were surrendered to us. That's exactly one for every day of the year (it was a leap year!)The breakdown is as follows:

8 African greys
14 Amazons
83 Budgies
10 Canaries
49 Cockatiels
18 Cockatoos
23 Conures
15 Doves
3 Eclectus
73 Finches
2 Lories
12 Lovebirds
13 Macaws
23 Parakeets
1 Parrotlet
11 Pionus
2 Poicephalus
1 Rosella
1 Polish Chicken
2 Bearded Dragons
1 Iguana
1 Leopard Gecko

So far this year, we've seen no signs of things slowing down. We have many wonderful birds currently up for adoption.As always, if you're thinking of adding a bird to your home, consider adoption. Many of the birds surrendered to us do not have major behavioral issues. They were just unlucky enough to land in a home that didn't understand all that having a parrot entails.
Thanks again to all of our volunteers, donors, and customers for helping us to remain open. These birds are getting second, third, or more, chances because of you.