Yesterday late morning the power went out. Luckily, we had received a grant from petfinder to purchase a generator earlier this year, so the birds were not affected by this. (Yes, I did link petfinder to CARE's adoptable animals page; however, you can use this amazing website to find pretty much any kind of animal that needs a new home!)
However, with temps (including windchill) expected to get to around negative 20, we did not want to chance having the birds depending on a generator for heat overnight. Time to put our disaster preparedness plan into action!
Lori called about 10 of our volunteers, and every single one stepped up and agreed to take in some birds in temporary cages until power was restored. Sher and Lori spent the day making sure that each bird had a temporary cage or carrier set up with toys, so that if it became necessary to get birds to volunteers, they could quickly be placed in their temporary home, since light would be waning.
We had been told that if power wasn't restored by 3 pm Wednesday, it likely wouldn't be restored until noon on Thursday. A little after 3, Lori called the volunteers and asked them to come up to get their temporary houseguests. What a nice surprise when the power went back on around 3:15 pm! The volunteers were called and told they were not needed, but thanked profusely.
As always, Lori and Sher were so thankful for the amazing volunteers CARE has. As an all-volunteer organization, we depend on people giving their time to help the parrots, and we're lucky to have great, dedicated people willing to help with little notice.
Though we didn't end up having to displace any of the parrots, even temporarily, it was a great exercise showing the effectiveness of our disaster preparedness. Should there be a next time, things will go even more smoothly.
One thing we did realize is that we do not have enough carriers to transport all of the parrots in our care. This wouldn't have been an issue yesterday since volunteers were willing to use their carriers; however, if we needed to do a large-scale evacuation, those carriers would be in use with the volunteers' birds.
Lori will be adding this to our wish list, but we need more carriers, in all sizes, preferable collapsible so that they're not taking up too much room when not in use.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Power outage
CARE has suffered a power outage today. We have a back-up generator running so the birds will be fine. We have been told that the power will go back on either by 3 pm this afternoon or by noon tomorrow.
We'll keep you updated!
We'll keep you updated!
Friday, December 04, 2009
Oscar
Oscar is an approximately 30 year old gold capped conure. While it appears as though he was loved and well taken care of during the first part of his life, the past few years were not as kind to him.
From the story we were told, Oscar's owner developed health problems that prevented him from being allowed out of his cage for about 6 years. Then, after his owner died, he was left alone in the house for several months with someone coming by to feed him several times a week. For a social, flock animal, this kind of isolation is terrifying! (In the wild, a lone bird is usually soon a dead bird.)
Oscar has a very sweet personality, and when he was surrendered to CARE, we placed him on a perch. Curious and exploring his new surroundings, he walked right off the end of the perch! Over the past few years, Oscar had gone blind and no one knew.
He received a thorough vet examination, and our wonderful vet said he is completely blind in one eye and can see only vague shadows out of the bottom of his other eye. His bloodwork showed nutritional deficiencies.
He didn't enjoy his time at the Center -- things were too chaotic for him. We found him a wonderful hospice home where things are much quieter. 30 is near the upper age limit for this kind of bird, so he probably doesn't have too much longer to live. But the last months or years of his life will be spent with people who love him, just like we think those first years were.
From the story we were told, Oscar's owner developed health problems that prevented him from being allowed out of his cage for about 6 years. Then, after his owner died, he was left alone in the house for several months with someone coming by to feed him several times a week. For a social, flock animal, this kind of isolation is terrifying! (In the wild, a lone bird is usually soon a dead bird.)
Oscar has a very sweet personality, and when he was surrendered to CARE, we placed him on a perch. Curious and exploring his new surroundings, he walked right off the end of the perch! Over the past few years, Oscar had gone blind and no one knew.He received a thorough vet examination, and our wonderful vet said he is completely blind in one eye and can see only vague shadows out of the bottom of his other eye. His bloodwork showed nutritional deficiencies.
He didn't enjoy his time at the Center -- things were too chaotic for him. We found him a wonderful hospice home where things are much quieter. 30 is near the upper age limit for this kind of bird, so he probably doesn't have too much longer to live. But the last months or years of his life will be spent with people who love him, just like we think those first years were.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Maddie
Maddie is a greenwing macaw who stayed with us several months last winter and this spring. She has since found a home, but I just found this video again and realized I never posted it!
A few days prior to this video, one of our volunteers started banging a pen against the cash register in an unthinking gesture. Imagine everyone's surprise when Maddie joined in!
We're recreating that moment, here.
One of the joys of working with these intelligent animals is discovering keys to their past. Did someone teach Maddie this in her past? Or did she come up with it on her own? In any case, it was absolutely adorable!
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Freckles
Meet Freckles, a cockatiel. Freckles was dropped off at the Domes as a "donation." After her former owner was information that the Domes can't take animal surrenders, her former owner argued with the employees at the Domes, set the paper bag in which Freckles was placed on the counter, and ran out of the Domes!
And with that interaction, Freckles's luck began to change! She lived for a few weeks with a wonderful Domes employee, until arrangements were made for her to come to CARE. During her short stint in her foster home, Freckles calmed down and showed her gentle personality.
Now we're looking for a permanent home for Freckles! Cockatiels can make wonderful companions, and whoever adopts Freckles will have a friend for years to come.
And with that interaction, Freckles's luck began to change! She lived for a few weeks with a wonderful Domes employee, until arrangements were made for her to come to CARE. During her short stint in her foster home, Freckles calmed down and showed her gentle personality.
Now we're looking for a permanent home for Freckles! Cockatiels can make wonderful companions, and whoever adopts Freckles will have a friend for years to come.Monday, November 30, 2009
Scooter
Scooter is a lesser sulfur crested cockatoo. He's about 7 years old. As far as we know, Scooter spent the first 5 years of his life in an 18" X 18" cage -- much too small for a cockatoo, even a small too like Scooter!
A woman purchased him at a flea market. She already owned a cockatiel and thought it would be cool to also own a cockatoo. After all, how much extra work could a too be than a tiel? (If you're thinking about getting a too, you must visit MyToos to see exactly how a too is different! Beware -- cockatoo screams start up when you go to that website, so be careful if you're at work!)
Less than a week later, she surrendered Scooter to us, after he bit her, and she realized that perhaps she'd bitten off more than she could chew. Cockatoos are wild animals and are not suitable companions for most homes.
We placed Scooter in a home, but his new owner started showing allergies and couldn't keep him. They tried selling him on craigslist. However, our adoption contract clearly states that any bird adopted from us must be returned if he can't be kept. We try very hard to place birds in homes where they can stay for the rest of their life; however, we know that isn't always possible due to changing circumstances. For that reason, we insist that all birds be returned to us so that we can do screening of homes and try to find the best home possible -- to try to stop the cycle of these parrots being sold from home to home.
To make a long story short, Scooter is back at the Center and once again looking for a new home. He hopes that this time, he'll be lucky and find someone who will take good care of him for the rest of his life!
A woman purchased him at a flea market. She already owned a cockatiel and thought it would be cool to also own a cockatoo. After all, how much extra work could a too be than a tiel? (If you're thinking about getting a too, you must visit MyToos to see exactly how a too is different! Beware -- cockatoo screams start up when you go to that website, so be careful if you're at work!)
Less than a week later, she surrendered Scooter to us, after he bit her, and she realized that perhaps she'd bitten off more than she could chew. Cockatoos are wild animals and are not suitable companions for most homes.
We placed Scooter in a home, but his new owner started showing allergies and couldn't keep him. They tried selling him on craigslist. However, our adoption contract clearly states that any bird adopted from us must be returned if he can't be kept. We try very hard to place birds in homes where they can stay for the rest of their life; however, we know that isn't always possible due to changing circumstances. For that reason, we insist that all birds be returned to us so that we can do screening of homes and try to find the best home possible -- to try to stop the cycle of these parrots being sold from home to home.
To make a long story short, Scooter is back at the Center and once again looking for a new home. He hopes that this time, he'll be lucky and find someone who will take good care of him for the rest of his life!Friday, November 27, 2009
Peaches
Meet Peaches -- due to her name, you probably thought we'd be introducing you to a Moluccan Cockatoo, but Peaches is a Blue and Gold Macaw!
Isn't she gorgeous?
Peaches has a very sad story, and we don't even know most of it. She's wildcaught. We have no idea how old she is, but our best guess is that she's in her 40s. 
Peaches is not yet up for adoption, as we need to get her on a better diet and stabilize her health. However, we are already looking for the perfect home for her, once she gets to that point.
In the past, our volunteers would often take home birds like Peaches -- the birds who needed hospice care. However, as we've had more birds in these circumstances released to us, it is no longer possible as the volunteers' homes are filling up. Also, once they receive care, these resilient birds amaze us with their ability to live years longer than originally thought, which is great, but requires more homes able to care for these special-needs birds!
It's more difficult for us to place larger special needs birds, like macaws and cockatoos. It's not that difficult to find a home that has room for one more special-needs budgie or conure, but the space requirements of large macaws and cockatoos make it more challenging.
If you are interested in meeting Peaches and perhaps providing her a wonderful last few years to her life, she'd love to meet you!
Isn't she gorgeous?
Peaches has a very sad story, and we don't even know most of it. She's wildcaught. We have no idea how old she is, but our best guess is that she's in her 40s.She is arthritic, wobbly, and not in the best of health. She had a severe scissor beak that we fixed so that she can once again eat normally. She also had not been unsheathing and preening her tail feathers, so we helped her with that as well. In just a week with us, her health has improved considerably. We're working on converting to her to great diet and teaching her to play with toys.
The person who surrendered her told us that a child poked her left eye out with a stick. As you can see, she is missing her eye, though we have no way to verify that story. Her right eye is not much better, and we suspect she is mostly blind. She appears to be able to see some light/dark shadows, but her remaining eye does not pin as a macaw's eye should.Peaches is not yet up for adoption, as we need to get her on a better diet and stabilize her health. However, we are already looking for the perfect home for her, once she gets to that point.In the past, our volunteers would often take home birds like Peaches -- the birds who needed hospice care. However, as we've had more birds in these circumstances released to us, it is no longer possible as the volunteers' homes are filling up. Also, once they receive care, these resilient birds amaze us with their ability to live years longer than originally thought, which is great, but requires more homes able to care for these special-needs birds!
It's more difficult for us to place larger special needs birds, like macaws and cockatoos. It's not that difficult to find a home that has room for one more special-needs budgie or conure, but the space requirements of large macaws and cockatoos make it more challenging.If you are interested in meeting Peaches and perhaps providing her a wonderful last few years to her life, she'd love to meet you!
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