I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I am "the crazy bird lady".
Before I started my rescue I bred one pair of Fischer's lovebirds and I had 3 clutches of babies (9 babies total). I am listed as a breeder on Birds N Way and Avian Biotech and they will not remove my status dispite many emails to remove it. I didn't even know there were bird rescues let alone, people abused birds. How could you abuse a bird?
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 14 years old I decided to start my own bird rescue. I did a lot of research and 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.
I have done an extensive amount of research and attended many seminars on the different needs relevant to the many different species of birds including: behavioral issues, nutritional needs, illnesses and diseases, physical and psychological trauma and techniques to rehabilitate them. I specialize in plucking and aggressive behaviors. I believe in positive reinforcement and I have explored many different methods of training, including one technique known as target training. I worked 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 600 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". The Bird Nerds Rescue is completely funded our of pocket and through donations. We are not 501c3 registered by choice. We do not feel that we are large enough to register. We feel that the money can better spend towards the birds rather than paperwork.
My rescue is made up of wonderful volunteers and fosters an without them we would not be able to help as many birds in need. 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 as well as an indoor aviary in our new facilty, for them to play as well as numerous playgyms for them. 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 a bird until you show me that you have done your research.
Lastly, I would like to show off my birds a little bit.
My Female Eclectus was one of my first rescues. Her name is Reba, she is my baby. She is one of few 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. (She is a diva!)
Bungie is my male Ekkie, he is not a rescue, I bought him. I love the males and Eclectus do well in colony settings so after months of socializing them they now share a cage and love each other. They are both handle-able. I planned it very wisely, Reba is older and by the time Bungie reaches sexual maturity she will be too old to breed! No babies!!
Sammy is my 29 year old Timneh African Grey. She is an absolute dream! She loves to come to our presentations and loves to be handled by everyone.
Scarlet Macaws have always been my favorite species! Not for their color, I loved their somewhat sassy personality. I have rescued many birds; the only Scarlet rescue I had loved men and hated women and he thankfully found a wonderful home. Well I ended up finding Apollo. His previous owner had a genetic lung disease and she needed to find a home for him before it was too late. Due to her being in and out of the hospital, Apollo had to be put in the back room where he started to pluck out his feathers. He was lunging at me at the home but I was in HIS environment near HIS cage talking to HIS person. I completely understood. When I brought him home I put him in a double macaw cage I already had. He LOVES it! He has been just a joy in my life, I could not have asked for a better Scarlet. She did a wonderful job raising him, he is very cuddly and has not been aggressive or even nippy like a typical Scarlet. He cuddles like a cockatoo! His former name was Diablo but I decided that he was much too sweet to be named after the devil so instead I changed it to Apollo, god of the sun. He is 10 years old and just the love of my life, and I have not seen him pluck another feather!