News and Updates From Iowa Parrot Rescue
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This page was last updated on April 4, 2009
DECEMBER 1 2008
I continue to work on arranging and organizing the shelter. New play areas for some of the birds have been installed, new feeders and toys are up, and shelves are in place for all the toy-making stuff.
Bubba has decided to make pals with "old" Louie, a sanctuary macaw....we'll see how that goes. We have an adoption pending on Shrek and Pepper...they'll go home next week. Pirate, and Orange-wing Amazon, has joined us...he's an older bird, reported to be a wild-caught, and not socialized...he used to have a bird friend in his old home, who passed away...he's lonely and confused right now. Junior, an untamed cockatiel, has also joined us...he needs someone who wants to work with a tiel and try to bring him around. Pics of these guys will go up on the AVAILABLE page soon.
DECEMBER 8 2008
Shrek and Peeper went to their new home today...they'll be joining a quaker and another 'tiel in Cedar Rapids.
Since we moved the macaws, Willy has made huge progress. He is never caged now....lives in a big tree/playstand. He'll take treats from fingers and let me pet him with the end of a toy, or play tug of war with me. He's also started talking to me a lot, though I don't understand him. "Old Louie" and Bubba are definitely a team now....and during playtime, Sammi the scarlet likes to hang out with them. "New Louie" the harlequin has his cage near Willy's tree, and has started coming out to sit on top now...he had been fearful about being outside his cage. Leo and Lacy, the sanctuary pair (Greenwing and BG) are now out of cage most of the day, and have decided they like that a lot.
Matching donations are up to $1375.
DECEMBER 16 2008
As winter has set in for real here, we've found that the new aviary is everything we wanted and hoped for. It is tight and weather-proof, warm and cozy...when the sun shines, the solar wall will kick the inside temp up by 20 degrees by itself. The CFLs keep it bright and happy inside even when the sun doesn't shine, and the food prep and workshop spaces are just what I needed to care for the birds day to day...it's just so much easier to take better care of them with everything I need right at hand.
The macaws are out of cage all day, with plenty of room to stretch their wings, and the ones that care to fly do so. We've been able to let most of them self-select which other birds they want to be around, and it's been good for them. Bubba and "Old" Louie, both older male BGs, have definitely paired up, and now are inseparable. Sammi the "baby" scarlet, a 4 year old little girl, likes to hang out with them, but also flies around to visit most of the other play areas. She goes home at night to share a cage with her older lady friend Gracie BG. Willy Shamrock and "New" Louie Harlequin no longer live in cages at all...both of them are now living full time on big play structures. We're finding that both of these birds are much calmer and more approachable now that they have no cages to defend and/or feel confined in. Leo and Lacy, the "basement birds", are out all day every day now, and go in only to eat and to sleep at night. Miss Ralph the crazy lady has a fine big place to run wild on where she can scream at toys and throw food and just have a wild time, and everyone else can join in and help her yell when they feel like it.
The medium and small birds have their own areas, although there are no dividing walls yet. 2500 square feet gives a lot of space for a little quaker or grey to fly in, and some of them take advantage of it. The five male amazons in residence have a wonderful time with their morning and evening yells. You can imagine the sound of 5 big zons and 11 major macaws sounding off.
That reminds me, some of you have asked if we no longer have any birds in the house with us. Fear not: we are just down to a sensible number of birds for a human habitation now. Cosmo Patagonian and her cagemate Lucy Bluecrown, plus Timot the Obligatory Cherryhead make up the conure list. Ziggy, our Hurricane Katrina survivor, is the voice of reason and calm in the room. The major snuggle duties are handled by Charli, a supersweet Lilac Crowned Amazon. Possum The Dog keeps the floor clean for us all.
A new pair of macaws joined us this week, and boy are they pretty! Jake is a lady greenwing, and her pal Buddy is a male BG...they are pretty good birds, and will make a great pair for the right home. We also received a wonderful shipment of homemade toys for the birds today from the Midamerican Cage Bird Society in Des Moines....all the birds got early Xmas gifts.
Speaking of gifts, our donations to the matching fund are now up to $1665....we're appreciating this deeply, folks; we need another $5,000 in the next 45 days to pull in the full grant and pay off the building debt...I know what the economy is doing, but I hope those of you who have a little extra and can use a tax deduction will think of the birds along with your other charitable gifts at year's end.
In case I don't manage to post here before the holidays, Abi and I hope that all of you (and your birds) have a wonderful Christmas, and can look forward to an even finer New Year.
It's with sadness that we announce the sudden death of our friend Duane Miner of Grand Ridge, Illinois. Duane and his wife Rachel were constant supporters of Iowa Parrot Rescue, and had adopted two macaws, Charro and Stevie, from us.
Duane will be missed deeply by everyone who knew him, as well as his birds. Rachel will continue to care for Charro and Stevie, and we'll be here to help as needed.
The Rainbow Bridge serves both ways
DECEMBER 28 2008
The winter visitor birds are back! PJ and Verdi, both male Senegals, spend a few months here every year while their people are down south...they are sweeties whom we enjoy thoroughly.
The macaws continue to reshuffle their relationships. Lacey BG has moved out on Leo GW, and is best pals with Gracie BG now...both are plucked and about the same age, so they have things in common. Poor Sammi scarlet finds herself with no cage-mate...and it may serve her right!...she's been so jealous of me lately that I have to lock her up to handle another bird, or have another person in the shelter. She'll try to attack any person or bird that gets near me...wants to snuggle full time. Leo is also alone for now, since Lacey moved out on him...maybe now he can grow some feathers back in without Lacey to pluck him. Old Louie and Bubba are still a fine pair of bachelor boys...rowdy and raucous, and having fun. Ralph BG is the incurable misanthrope...she hates all other birds, but loves to show off for people and snuggle with me. The big change is in New Louie...he's now stepping up, not only on a perch stick, but most of the time on an arm...and he likes to be petted when I hold him. He's unpredictable, and I won't really trust him on anyone else yet...but he's making huge strides. Willy is back to paranoia, poor guy.
We really need some people to adopt the ringnecks who can just give them big cages and watch them be birds. There'll be 13 of them needing homes, in groups of 2, 2, 3, and 4, plus two singles. We also need homes for the budgie pair, and our tough-guy cockatiel Junior. We hope that Beaker the quaker will be going to a new home this week...he has a human coming for him to interview on Tuesday.
Amazons are in full nesting mode now, and each cage has to be kept apart from the others. Five big adult males in one room is not the best deal....we need good homes that like noise and color, and don't need to handle the birds much. Kiwi CAG and Lucy TAG, our boarders, are enjoying the new building...Lucy likes to zoom around the whole space... amazing how fast greys fly!
Nice news on the money front...almost $4000 in donations to the building fund this month. The total is almost $5300 now, with a month left to reach our matching fund target of $6500. Our supporters are the best!
JANUARY 6 2009
Happy New Year! Nice stuff continues to go on here. We have adoptions pending now for Junior cockatiel, Beaker Quaker, and for Nate and Eddie, the old bachelor amazons. We hope to have all four of them in new homes soon. New Louie continues to make progress, and is now letting me pet and scritch him most of the time.
We are just loving the new shelter building! It's warm, windproof, and bright inside, and uses little energy to stay that way. The birds can have a lot more free time and can be cared for much better and more efficiently. As we move toward spring, I could really use input from people who have experience with non-paved driveway and parking design and construction....I want to avoid a muddy mess out front of the building.
On the finance front, I can report that one of our two debt loads is now paid off completely, thanks to a bunch of nice donations. We hope to have the other gone by the end of this year.
JANUARY 18 2009
A busy week around here. We sent Junior and Beaker on their ways to new homes, and confirmed a home for Nate and Eddie. The male ringnecks now have an adoption pending. We had visits to interview with Jake and Buddy, and with Louie and Bubba. There was a visitor to interview with Pirate as well. Those three adoptions are still undecided. New Louie continues to progress....he let a visitor pet him yesterday! PJ and Verdi Senegals are here for their winter vacation...they'll be here about three months, then go back to their home in Illinois. PJ's gout appears to be much better this year...he's on Allopurinol and Metacam.
Cosmo and Lucy conures have moved into the shelter building...more room to play and Cosmo can yell to her little heart's content there. Sammi Scarlet has decided to hang out with New Louie, and they make quite a spectacular couple on the tree. Sammi is such a flibbertigibbet...never know from week to week who she'll want to sit with...typical 4 year old.
The recent cold weather was a great try-out for the shelter. We had temps down to -24 here, with wind chills down to -46. The shelter stayed cozy and warm all through it, and I doubt if the birds even knew the wind was blowing. The radiant heat in the floor performed perfectly, as did the solar wall on sunny days.
Our year-end financial report shows that we finished the year with a $10,000 loan outstanding, and everything else paid off. Total expenditures this past year were right on $105,000, with by far the majority of that going to the building. I expect that this coming year will be quieter for us. We hope to finish the interior walls in the shelter, add the outdoor flights, and start planting foraging areas. We also hope to add water features in the shelter.
FEBRUARY 9 2009
Been another busy couple of weeks. A large group pf new birds came in last week....8 from the same house. There are three Greys, a sun conure, a ringneck, and three little finches. The best that can be said is that they had a decent diet. The cages were tiny, and only the ringneck has been handled in the last 5 years. I think the conure will be ready to place soon, and the female CAG is coming around, but she may have to stay with the other two greys, and they are very scared.
Sammi wore out her welcome on New Louie's perch...she's just too rowdy, and most of the rest of the macaws chase her off...poor girl is lonely, but she hasn't learned how to play nicely yet.
The major breakthrough news deal with Leo and Lacy. Many of you have followed them since they arrived three years ago in terrible condition. As I noted in an earlier post, Lacy moved out to live with Gracie (I call them my "bare-naked ladies" because they're both so plucked). Well, since the separation, both are making some major changes in behaviour. In the last week, BOTH of them have stepped up on my hand! OK, in each case, they were on the floor and didn't want to be there, but still....having these guys willing to step up for a ride home is a huge step. My young friend Ridge was here yesterday and witnessed Lacy stepping up. He also got to see Leo approach my hand and taste it ever so gently...that old bald-headed buzzard may become a pet yet! I'm really pumped about it.
The boy ringnecks and the budgies are expected to leave for their new home in about 10 days, and Eddie and Nate should go home in two or three weeks. Still waiting to do the visit for Old Louie and Bubba....had to postpone it this week due to family stuff. The people who wanted to adopt Jake and Buddy decided not to take them because they didn't want me to do a home visit.
In techy news, we had satellite Internet installed yesterday, and with a higher speed connection, we hope to soon begin to post videos of interesting behaviours. We did get one up yesterday, showing Ziggy TAG playing under his papers, then coming out to visit my son Sam. Here's the link Ziggy That's it for today....go pet a parrot!
FEBRUARY 11 2009
Here are a couple more videos...these are introductions to a few of the macaws....more to come...watch this space!
FEBRUARY 13
FEBRUARY 16 2009
I went to visit the prospective home for Old Louie and Bubba, and it's a nice place...they'll move when everything is ready there. Doing a visit tomorrow to a home for Pete the Sun Conure. Boy ringnecks and budgies go home this Saturday. Nate and Eddy's new dad came to see them...he's waiting on a new cage for them to come home. I hope to have the little finches placed soon...we're talking to a local finch-keeper about that.
We still need a nice home for Jake and Buddy...they are good healthy macaws who are used to lots of room and freedom....also need homes for all the female ringnecks. The three new greys are still in evaluation....Oscar will approach a little; the males are still scared. New Louie continues to make huge progress. He'll step up almost always now, and seldom bites....he's nearly ready for an experienced new home. Still no friend for Pirate zon so far, but we have hopes.
Gracie and Lacy are still a huge item...they preen each other, feed each other, and will not be separated. Lacy is getting lots of new feathers on her tummy. Leo is calming pretty quickly now that he has no lady to defend. He stepped up for me again today....what a big boy he is! Cosmo Patagonian and Lucy BC conures are still living the good life in the sunniest corner of the shelter. Cosmo keeps acting like she wants to nest, but hasn't laid her annual egg yet. Lucy is very protective. Basil and Chester amazons are being their usual winter selves...they want to kill me and the world....Chester mealy is super-loud even for a big zon....makes the macaws all yell at him to shut up.
Wednesday the 18th, I'll be speaking to the Student Chapter of the AAV at Iowa State Univ in Ames at noon. ISU has one of the finest vet schools in the world, and I'm always happy to be invited to talk to them.
The big news this week....Willy (shamrock macaw)'s original keeper discovered us, and came to visit. Well, it was a tear-jerker, folks! Willy is usually terribly scared and defensive, fleeing or biting....and there he was taking scritches and giving kisses! Oh, my! Singing and dancing with his real person....he knows where he belongs. He'll stay here until she can find a place to live where she can keep him; but she's promised to come see him often until then.
And this just in....YOUR PARROT WANTS TO BE PETTED SOME MORE!
MARCH 1 2009
More movements in and out this past two weeks. Pete Sun Conure went to his new home., and the finches from that intake also were placed. Pow-Wow the blue Indian Ringneck from that group has settled in with a cagemate, the blue fem IRN from the previous gang. George and Clyde the male ringnecks went home, as did Houdini and Sing-Sing the budgies.
A new arrival is Frank, a yellow-nape amazon of unknown age and sex. Frank has been through at least three homes without being handled because of his attacks on people. I'll be working with him to see if he wants to tame down or just find a bird pal and live the wild life. Maybe he and Pirate will take to each other, who knows?
Old Louie and Bubba are awaiting the move to their new home, as are Eddie and Nate. New Louie continues to make huge progress and is now officially hand-tame, although he'll sometimes get flighty if I ask him to step up from his tree. The huge news is that Leo Greenwing will now step up, even from his cage! That's right....the poor old buzzard is now partly tame! He still is very shy, and will run away if he can...but the steps he's made are monster! Abi says that she thinks that he could well become someone's enormous snuggle-baby if he can find someone who'll work with him. I'd accept applications for him at this point from very highly qualified homes. Lacie is still living happily with Gracie, and will step up on a hand if she's away from her tree, or to a stick from anywhere.
The Bare-Naked Ladies are now cage-free...they live in one of my home-made trees now (see the front page for pictures of this kind of structure). Old Louie and Bubba have the same deal, as do Ralph, New Louie, and Willy. I'm happy to say that the only macaws who are ever locked up now are Leo and Sammi...and that's because Sammi will attack Leo if she gets the chance, so one or the other always has to be inside while the other is out. Aside from them, all macaws now live either in trees 24/7 or in cages that are never closed (Jake and Buddy). I hope to be able to extend this to the other birds when we have funds for partition walls. Here's a link to a video showing the play areas and giving some pointers on making them. Playstands
MARCH 8 2009
Some big news here.... we have our first ever cockatoo! Merlin is a male lesser sulphur crested, and I think he must be about 20. He hasn't had any toys or handling lately, and was left caged....needs some time and patience. He's in evaluation right now, and will be needing some time to get used to being around other birds. I'm excited to be learning about the white birds finally.
We've listed Gracie and Lacie, the Bare-Naked Ladies, as available for adoption. Gracie no longer needs to cling to Abi, and Lacie is becoming a bird that can be handled. They are very close to each other, and must stay together. They like to move a lot, and need a big space to live in. We'll want some really special applicants for these two nice girls.
We've also listed as available two of the three greys from last month's large intake...Art and Oscar are both showing readiness to be worked with by new keepers. In fact, we already have an adoption pending for Art, and I bet Oscar won't have to wait long.
MARCH 15 2009
Lots of happenings this week. Art, Oscar, and Merlin all went to new homes. We're really happy to see so many excellent homes ready to accept new birds. As it happens, all three went to members of the Quad Cities Parrot Society, a fine group that has been very supportive over the years.
Incoming during the next week are 6 more birds. There'll be a military macaw coming for foster care on Tuesday. Wednesday, I travel to pick up a yellow nape amazon with some socialization issues. Saturday a pair of untamed amazons will be coming in by air...they're slated for permanent sanctuary. Sunday we'll receive another amazon and a blue and gold macaw, returning from a placement that was disrupted by the current economic situation. We're feeling very lucky to have space and gear available for this kind of influx. A year ago it would have been a real strain..now we can handle it easily.
Speaking of gear...there are a few things we could use, if anybody has them going surplus. First, I could really use a laptop computer for doing AV displays at fairs and shows...doesn't need to be anything special, just something I could show a video on. Connected with that, it'd also be useful if someone has a little inkjet printer they're not using. That way I could store some of the rescue documents on the laptop and print them in the shelter, instead of running up to the house when I run out.
If any of you nearby have used lumber, we could use a bunch for this year's projects. 2x4s in 8 and 10 foot lengths and treated 4x4s in 10 or 12 foot lengths would be really helpful for the outdoor flights and the interior partitions. Sometime in the early summer, I'll be organizing a working weekend to take apart the existing flight and rebuild it attached to the shelter building. We'd welcome participation by any of our friends.
Sunday the 22nd I'll be at the Mid-America Cage Bird Society show in Des Moines at the Botanical Center. I hope to see a bunch of you there.
MARCH 23 2009
What a week it has been, friends and kinfolk! Tuesday Simon Bolivar military macaw came to visit for a while...he's here to get some post-grad socialization. Wednesday I went to Illinois to bring home Pokey, a sweet young lady Amazon with the biggest prettiest yellow nape anyone ever saw. Friday, Tiki the Gold-cap conure came to visit while her mom goes on vacation. Saturday I met Angelica and Fergison at the airport. They're a pair of wild-caught Red-lored Amazons who'll be in permanent sanctuary here. Sunday, off to Des Moines, where I picked up Jose the Orange-wing Amazon, Paco the Red-Lored amazon, and Harvey Quaker. Jose is going to stay here...we sent him out twice and he keeps wanting to come home. Harvey and Paco will need new homes. There was also Nakita BG macaw, but she left for a new home on a fast turnaround...she's a lucky girl....she fell in love with one of our pre-certified adopters. Then I drove north through one of those nasty I-35 crosswinds to get Mango, a sweet BG macaw...she's going to stay here while her family hunts for a new home. They also sent a pair of pretty little finches, who are up for adoption. That's 12 birds arriving in 5 days...I feel like I've been taking a ride in a cement mixer, and am hoping for a quiet week to work with all the new arrivals.
Fortunately, we have the space and equipment to handle this kind of influx, and we still have several large cages open. We are getting pretty full, though; I hope some of you are thinking about whether you could give a good home to one of our birds. Speaking of equipment, our good buddy Bob Jacobs dropped by Friday night with a lovely laptop and a printer to go with it. That'll make life a lot simpler for me, and let me do some good new things when I go on the road. Thanks a ton, Bob!
As we move into spring, one of my projects will be a wooden sidewalk and stairway on the west side of the shelter building. If any of you have skills and experience building that sort of thing, I could sure use some tutoring.
I had the chance to see a lot of our friends at the MACBS Fair in Des Moines Sunday...what a great time, and what a great Fair the club puts on!
Bobby the phobic Timneh is slated for a trial placement in a home where they can work with him in an environment that's quieter and calmer than here at the shelter...we'll keep our fingers crossed for him. We put some papers in the bottom of his cage and hung over perches for him to tear and hide under and that got a response. We like simple (and inexpensive) solutions.
MARCH 29 2009
Great news for us! The person who took Bobby on trial reports that
he's coming along much better than we hoped....he can picked up,
will take some pets, and wants to be with his person...even flies
after him when he leaves the room....we're really happy about this.
Here's a picture. Sometimes the magic works.
More of that social shifting going on this week. New Louie the
harlequin has decided he wants to hang out with Buddy the BG,
who in turn has abandoned Jake, his partner of six years. I don't
know how long this will last, but the boys are inseparable right now.
MARCH 31 2009
Two of our "just visiting birds" are hanging out together. Simon Bolivar, a Military macaw, and Mango BG have decided that they like each other's company for daytimes...enough to share a food dish and a playstand.
My week of at-home vacation ended today with a nice series of visits; Simon's mom came to see him, and played with Mango as well. Harvey the Quaker went to a nice new adoptive home, and so did the finch pair that came in last week.
Jose Orange-wing amazon has moved up to the house to keep Charli Lilac-crown amazon company in her new big playtree. The other house birds are Timot cherryhead and Ziggy Timneh Grey.
Just a short commercial mention: I've just restocked on Tshirts and caps. Shoot me an email if you'd like one. You can see them at THIS page. The new caps are unstructured black ones in all cotton with a sandwich bill and velcro back adjustment...pretty comfy and cool.
