I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I am "the crazy bird lady". When I was 14 years old I started my bird rescue. I did a lot of research and I became a member of PEAC (Parrot Education Adoption Center). I went to all of their meetings and seminars and learned a lot about behavior and training. When I was 15 years old I took classes at a local college. I took a 12 week course and I had to spend 8 hours in a Veterinary Clinic for hands on training. I then got my Certification as a Veterinary Assistant.
In the Spring I will be attending an Avian Ambassadors Conference in New Mexico with Sid Price to understand the handling and Rehabilitation of Birds of Prey. I am also working on my Avian Specialist Certification.
I have done an extensive amount of research on the needs relevant to the species, including: behavioral issues, nutritional needs, illnesses and diseases, physical and psychological trauma. I specialize in plucking and aggressive behaviors. I believe in positive reinforcement and I have just taken on a new training technique known as target training. I work seasonally at the local zoo and the zoo trainers use this method as well. Here is a great video demonstrating this training technique.
I have rescued, rehabilitated and re-homed over 300 birds. I am currently in school with the goal of studying avian medicine. My rescue is strictly a no kill shelter and I think it is ridiculous that I must mention that, however, I do know of rescues (which I will leave unnamed) who do use euthanasia when they get a bird who is "un-trainable and un-adoptable". I completely fund my rescue myself and I am not 501c3 registered by choice. I do not feel that I am large enough and it is expensive to apply for it. I feel that I can better spend the money towards the birds rather than paperwork. I also run my rescue myself. I do not have volunteers as I only take in as many birds as I can handle myself; I don't want to get overloaded as it is unfair to the birds. Each bird needs individual care and one on one attention. They all get a TON of out of cage time and I have two outdoor aviaries for them to play. We do NOT breed birds! Breeding and Rescues are extreme opposites and they should remain that way.
My ultimate goal is not to take people's birds. In a perfect world, rescues would not be necessary as everybody would be able to keep their pets, but sadly, that is not the case. I will try to work with you, and give you training advice to correct the behavior or reason for surrendering. I strongly promote education, a large majority of the birds that are surrendered are because the owners did no research before getting a bird. They had no idea how large the cage should be, what type of food is healthy, or how LOUD parrots can be. I will not adopt out until you show me that you have done your research.
Lastly, I would like to brag about my birds a little bit. I officially am owned by five birds including: an Umbrella Cockatoo, a Female Eclectus, a Rose Breasted Cockatoo, a Severe Macaw and a Quaker Parrot. All of my birds aside from my Quaker, were rescues that I couldn't part with.
My Quaker I hand fed since she was 4 weeks and she decided she hates me. She went into sexual maturity around 2 years old like she was supposed to and bonded to my parents. She can be sweet when she wants to be but that is another thing you must be aware of when getting a bird. You may go get a bird for you, but it could end up attaching itself to your spouse or someone else in the house. People do not understand that birds can bond and prefer one person over another and show severe aggression trying to protect "their mate".
My Female Eclectus was one of my first rescues. Her name is Reba, she is my baby. She is approximately 12 years old and she talks up a storm. She is the only Eclectus I have seen that doesn't pluck at all, not even seasonally. I have seen many Ekkie's who pluck during breeding season which is normal, but not Reba.
Next, I rescued Dino. Dino is my Rose Breasted Cockatoo, he is about 6 years old. He is aggressive towards strangers and he was a plucker. I tried everything to stop his plucking from diet, to the anti picking spray. Finally in a last attempt, I remembered the techniques of enrichment I use at the zoo. Phone books; I strung one up in his cage and he went to town! He shredded it. Now he is never with out a phone book or a cardboard box, or some thing to chew. As long as his beak is busy shredding some sort of material, it is not busy ripping out feathers.
This is Malachi, a Severe Macaw. I tracked his leg band and found out his history. He was born July 2, 2000 by a breeder in Florida who is no longer in business. He only had one pair of Severes that produced babies for them. They sold them to a popular parrot food company who then distributed the babies to Petsmart. Malachi was passed from store to store where they shook the cage and he became very cage aggressive. A woman who worked there bought him and Malachi fell in love with her. Due to pregnancy she gave him to a friend who had birds, his latest owner. Malachi did not settle in there and was unhappy. They had him for 5-6 years and he was never really able to be handled. I am now able to get him out of the cage and handle him with out problem.
Finally, I rescued Marie Antoinette. She came from a very abusive situation. She was housed in a cage that was so small she couldn't even open her wings. I took her in and took her to the vet as I was afraid she had a bacterial infection resulting from the filth, that was her cage. She came back with a nearly clean bill of health, just some yeast in her stool. I was given some vinegar to put in her water to make her GI track more acidic to rid her of the yeast. It is not a serious condition and can be caused by anything. I bought her a very large cage and she developed a little bit of cage aggression resulting from being in such a small cage all of her life, which is to be expected. Due to her previous abuse she was very fearful and hesitant to trust. I was able to stick train her in the cage, so I can get her out an handle her. Once I got her out, I was able to turn her into the loviest bird; exactly what you think when you think of an Umbrella Cockatoo.