State Fair: Saturday 8/2/08

Today was Alumni Day at our booth at the Fair.

We had several volunteers who brought their second-hand parrots along. These birds included:

• Sydney -- Moluccan Cockatoo -- adopted three years ago
• Marco -- Congo African Grey -- 4 years old -- adopted one year ago
• Charmin -- Eclectus -- 4 years old -- adopted three years ago
• Boca -- Bronze-winged Pionus -- 4 years old -- adopted three years ago
• Addison -- Moluccan Cockatoo -- 3 years old -- adopted one year ago
  

Peaches, an 8 year old Moluccan Cockatoo currently up for adoption also came along.

We had a good time greeting lots of people - the weather was perfect and the crowd was huge. As usual, the birds were fantastic and let lots of people handle them. If a bird ever does not enjoy going to events like these, he or she is taken back home as we don't want to stress them out. Luckily, most birds love the new experiences and attention.

Our presentations were about the alumni, plus info about Moluccans and, of course, the fact that Peaches was available for adoption.

As we've mentioned here before, parrots are amazingly resilient, and it's wonderful to see how quickly they can adapt to new and improved living environments once they find the right home.

If anyone is interested in adopting Peaches, or in adding a cockatoo to their home, please first visit MyToos. (Please note that loud cockatoo screams are in the background of the first page of this site, so be careful if you're at work!) Cockatoos are wild animals requiring conditions that the average pet owner cannot provide and, as such, often face terrible neglect in captivity.

Marco:Addison:Peaches (up for adoption):
All in all, it was a very pleasant day and the birds (and volunteers) had a great time. Hope the weather holds for Sunday!

State Fair: Friday 8/1/08

Today we took Ellie, 4 year old female Iliger's Macaw, Lupe, 9-12 month old Quaker Parakeet, Lola, female U2 age unknown, and Buckie, 23 year old Mexican Red-Headed Amazon. Buckie is a resident as she has severe health problems due to previous neglect, needs frequent vet care due to this, and probably does not have a long life in front of her. The other three birds are up for adoption.

Ellie:

Lupe:

It was very warm today - we ended up misting the birds several times. Our talks today were about neglect with Buckie and Lola, birds coming from different animal welfare/control agencies with Lupe and Lola, and the trials and tribulations of owning a mini macaw. Again, we had good crowds in the stands.

We were able to help several people with behavioral problems they were having with their birds - it is very gratifying when we can help keep birds in their homes instead of having them be rehomed due to one or two disruptive behaviors. We would love nothing more than to be put out of business because there was no longer a need for parrot rescues. Unfortunately, the need keeps getting greater as more and more birds are being bred every year and sold to people who have no concept of how challenging it is to live with one of these wild animals.

It was a great day and these social creatures loved getting out and meeting so many new people!

State Fair: Thursday 7/31/08

Yesterday was the first day of Wisconsin's State Fair, and, as in past years, we will be set up throughout the entire run.


We are located in the Animal Care Barn (so stop and say hi if you're visiting the Fair!) -- the only non-dog group at this location.


Every day, we take a few different birds. They help to illustrate the talks we do on how parrots make difficult pets and the special needs they have (topics change daily). We also sell toys and food at the Fair, the proceeds from which support the birds at the Center.

Yesterday, our presentations were on neglect cases, so we brought the following birds:

• Mango -- Ducorps Cockatoo
• Scooter -- Lesser Sulfur Crested Cockatoo
• Carmen -- Umbrella Cockatoo
• Joey -- Umbrella Cockatoo

All of these birds have gone through significant neglect/abuse during their lives. The incredible resiliency of parrots gives us hope that they will be able to overcome their past and live happy lives with people who understand the special requirements of these majestic creatures!

Mango's story is posted here, for anyone who wants to see. We enlarged a picture of her taken on the day she was surrendered to us (just over a year ago). Visitors to the Fair got to then see her in person and were amazed at the transformation! This is the second time that Mango has been to public relations events, and she loves the attention!

This was the first time that Scooter was in public, but he did incredibly well! Scooter is about 6 years old, and lived the first part of his life in a tiny cage that would MAYBE be appropriate for a cockatiel. Since coming to stay with us, he has decreased the frequency of his neurotic behaviors, and we're hoping to find him a loving home to spend the rest of his life!
Joey, often referred to as CARE's mascot, is 22 years old. He suffered through beatings with a fly swatter and still can be nervous with hand motions above his head. Apart from that, he seems to have fully recovered from his ordeal and is a good example of a happy cockatoo.


We hope to see many of you out at the Fair and will update the blog with happenings!

Niko's ready for his new home!

We wrote earlier this year about Niko, a scared senegal who came to us from less-than-ideal conditions. He has been living in a foster home for the past several months, and is now ready for adoption!

Here's a picture of Niko shortly after he was surrendered to us:

His foster home writes:

It's been awhile since I've updated you on Niko -- it seems like he is
always doing something new.

I know some of the last pictures I
sent to you were somewhat blurry, but, he has completely grown all of his
chest feathers back. No more white, fuzzy patches, it's all green and orange.
His wings are completely feathered as well...he is still growing his primaries
in, and seems to be leaving them alone. He chewed off the ones that grew in
about a month ago, but seems to be leaving the current ones alone...the same
holds true for his tail feathers. He looks like a completely different bird!!!
(Editor's note: Parrots are so resilient! It's
amazing what a smoke-free
environment and proper diet can do!)

He still doesn't care to be
handled...when I do handle him, he gets stressed, and
crawls back into his
shell for awhile (sometimes a day or two).

I leave his door open
whenever we are home, and he has taken to sitting in his doorway and looking
around. When he sees my other parrot walking around on the floor, Niko looks
like he might try and fly down, but he isn't sure of himself yet. If he does get
to the point that he can fly, we will be sure to trim his flight feathers. He
has crawled around the outside of his cage, but has gotten scared when he has
done so. I think he is still testing the waters (so to speak) of the outside of
his cage.

He gets excited to see me (and my husband) when we come home
for work, or in the morning when he knows he is getting fresh "nummies". Even though he
isn't a people bird, I think he still enjoys having humans around. He still hops
around the bottom of his cage when he feels like being silly, and he will either
hang on the side of the cage, or sit in his doorway and flap his wings. When he
hops, or flaps his wings, I say "wheeeeee", and it seems to encourage him to do it
more.

He loves my other parrot, but is sassy. I will hold my other
parrot up to Niko, and Niko will try to bite my other parrot (I always make sure
to keep distance between the two). Even though he tries to bite my other parrot,
he always watches what he is doing and tries to get as close as he can to him.
My other parrot still has no interest in Niko, which I suppose is good in that
it means he won't miss him too much when he does find a home.

He
certainly isn't the same bird that I brought home a couple of months ago.

That's it for now...I just wanted to update you on how Niko is doing.

If you can provide a home to Niko where he can be a bird and take things slowly, please stop by and we can make an arrangement for you to meet him. It's truly amazing to play a part in the transformation of a sad, terrified parrot into one with confidence and moxie!

Crackers: another testament to the resiliency of parrots

CARE recently had a blue-front amazon surrendered to us via another animal welfare organization. She was surrendered to them, but due to the special needs of parrots that they are unable to meet, dealing mostly with dogs and cats, she found her way to us.

The information provided on that organization's release form is heartbreaking. Crackers's family went on vacation, and they left her alone, tethered to a perch as she didn't have a cage. They left the food dish out of her reach. Survival instinct kicked in, and she amputated her own left leg in order to get to food.
Crackers has adapted extremely well to her disability. She is afraid of hands, but is stick trained, and willingly steps up on a stick when offered. She uses her stump to manipulate food in her dish so she can eat.
Crackers loves playing with toys, and makes many fun noises. She is very interested in other birds and displayed to a greenwing macaw we currently have for adoption.
Like many amazons, she loves bathing and water. Here she is after her soaking:
And a short video of her bath -- sorry for the poor picture quality. An amazon enjoying her bath is one of the most entertaining sights! Crackers has lifted the feathers on her head so that the water can penetrate down to her skin, and she uses her wings to rub the water in further.

Crackers is not currently up for adoption as we have to wait for her vet check, but she will be soon. We are looking for a home that will recognize her special needs and help her live a long, healthy, happy life -- after all, she's only 10, so she has decades of love left in her!

Because she has to put constant pressure on her one good leg, she will benefit from soft perches and platforms. She also will need a patient owner that will help her learn to trust and love humans again.

What a survivor!

Budgies desperately seeking homes!

As we've mentioned in previous posts, we have many budgies up for adoption. Through June 30, we had 73 budgies surrendered to us, and we had some still in residence that had been surrendered in 2007.

While they have been living happily in a cage we turned into an aviary that was donated by Cages By Design, we really need to find them homes. We are no longer able to accept any budgie surrenders as we are starting to see aggression in the aviary due to the large number of budgies.

We have temporarily reduced the adoption fee for untame budgies to $0. If you've been thinking about adding some happy budgie chatter to you life, the time has never been better! We have over 50 budgies that are looking for new homes.

Of course you'll need to fill out an adoption application, bring in an appropriately set up budgie cage (specs below), and purchase quality food! Two budgies can then be yours at no cost. These budgies will be same sex as there is already a budgie overpopulation problem. We can also help you set-up a proper cage if you stop by.

Specs:

cage at least 18"x18"x23"
at least 3 different types of perches or 2 types of perches plus a boing
at least 5 different toys (ex. bells, wood, leather, acrylic, including 2 destructibles)
quality food (ex. Goldenfeast seed, Zupreem pellets, Harrison's pellets, etc.)

This offer does not extend to tame budgies - only the cage pets.

Budgies can make a delightful addition to your home. They are full of personality and joie de vivre. Their happy chatter can brighten even the darkest day. These little guys are just looking for the right caring homes to come along and allow them to live their happy lives!

Surrenders for Jan-Jun 2008

During the first half of 2008, CARE has had a very busy year with surrendered birds. Like many rescue facilities around the country, we are stretched very thin and are unable to accept new surrenders at this time.

The 215 birds surrendered break down as follows:

4 Greys
6 Amazons
73 Budgies
3 Canaries
29 Cockatiels
12 Cockatoos
13 Conures
14 Doves
2 Eclectus
22 Finches
5 Lovebirds
9 Macaws
14 Parakeets (Quakers and Ringnecks)
2 Senegals
1 Parrotlet
5 Pionus
1 Rosella

We are gearing up for our appearance at State Fair, which is a great opportunity for us to educate the public about the difficulties involved in keeping parrots as pets. Unfortunately, many people see us at the Fair and decide to surrender their parrot. We try to work with people as much as possible with behavioral consulting to help make life better for the parrot in its current home, but not everyone is open to that.

We hope that everyone reading this will give their bird(s) some extra attention and love as they consider the parrots that aren't so lucky.

If you're looking to add to your flock, please consider a rescue bird. Many birds have no behavior problems other than the fact that they are wild animals trying to live in our living rooms. Intense bonds can be formed with an older parrot!