Parrot Garden

Cats helping Birds? Of course!

AmyM — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:07:45 GMT

When most people think of cats relating to birds, it's not a pretty picture. Well C.C. and Niles are not usual cats. They've done something very sweet for a bird. Horatio had a need, and they fulfilled it. Read more about it here: Helping Paws

National Bird Day

brianm — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:16:34 GMT

Mark it off on your calendars, reschedule your appointments and get ready to kick the new year off the only way it should be – with National Bird Day!

What is National Bird Day?

Taken from http://www.nationalbirdday.com/index.php

“Born Free USA in coordination with the Avian Welfare Coalition (AWC) is calling on activists around the U.S. to take action on behalf of captive birds by drawing attention to the exploitation of other countries' native birds by the U.S. pet industry on January 5 — National Bird Day.

"National Bird Day" is not only a good day to take time to appreciate the native wild birds flying free outside our windows, it is also a perfect time to reflect on how we treat the native birds of other countries. While we have enacted laws to protect our native birds — such as blue jays, cardinals, and crows — from commercial exploitation, we fail to recognize the inconsistency in allowing the pet industry to exploit the birds of other countries.”

When is National Bird Day?

January 5th, 2010.

What can I do to support and promote National Bird Day?

At the very least, take a moment to acknowledge and realize that every bird you see for sale in a pet store has involuntarily joined the ranks of the 20-40 million captive birds already living in this country. Reflect upon the average lifespan of most of the larger birds that can live to be the same age as a human or longer and realize that the vast majority will outlive their current owners and end up among the homeless population of pets already living in this country as well.

If you would like more information on other ways to get involved, visit http://www.nationalbirdday.com/b_get_involved.php for tips, advice and suggestions.

Happy Halloween From the Parrot Garden

AmyM — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:45:33 GMT

Halloween is all about having fun, fun, and more fun! Who likes to have fun more than a parrot? No one I can think of that's for sure! One mystery bird even likes to dress up...this year the costume of choice: the Pumkin King! Can you guess who's hiding behind the costume??? (We'll post the answer next week!)

Don't forget to keep your pets safe this Halloween. Treats for us can be toxic for them, and things that are fun to us can be scary for them. Have a safe Holiday!

Happy Halloween from the Parrot Garden!

Parrots First - Always!

AmyM — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:36:04 GMT

Parrots First is a parrot rescue group that has worked with Best Friends in the past, helping to place birds in homes. Best Friends now got the chance to help Parrots First out with a pair of birds that aren't going to be so easy to place. Goldie & Big Bird are friends, and Goldie needs a lot of major medical attention. Big Bird isn't the easiest bird to handle either, so they've come here. Read the full story here.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

brianm — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:55:24 GMT

Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.

~Henry David Thoreau

Before I start, let me toss some numbers and statistics out to all of you:

The approximate distance from the center of Kanab to the sanctuary is 15 miles.
According to the US Department of Transportation, the average vacationer travels just under 40 miles per trip.
Approximate distance from us to Germany – 5,500 miles.

So you ask, what’s the significance of all of this? Ask Heike. This is her second year visiting us at Best Friends and we couldn’t be more delighted!

Having already traveled for many years, she’s spent the past two years traveling from Germany across the United States to come to the sanctuary and for two years she’s been more than impressed with her experience here.

This means she’s made a round trip of over 11,000 miles, not counting the countless miles she travels across this country when she’s here and the 30 miles to and from Kanab, just to come up to see us at Best Friends!

Her reason for coming up to the Parrot Garden is rather simple – she loves birds. Here, she has taken a particular interest in Ruby, one of our resident African Greys and Pippin, a little bald Cockatiel in the aviary. Being an avid bird enthusiast, however, she’s always on the lookout for local wildlife and has also spent some time at Wild Friends, visiting with their assortment of native wildlife.

The aspect about Best Friends that appeal most to her is that we are one of the country’s largest no-kill sanctuaries. In Germany, being a no-kill shelter is a given. In the United States, however, no-kill shelters are not mandatory and many that claim to be still end up euthanizing due to overcrowding and budgeting issues. Our no-kill policy is one that she can relate to and agree whole-heartedly with, which is part of the appeal.

Thank you Heike for all of your support! We’re hoping we’ll see you again sometime soon!

-- Please Stand By --

brianm — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:01:24 GMT

"I want a bird that is cuddly!"

( Oh God , Here we go again...)

~ www.mytoos.com ~

What new is happening at the Parrot Garden? Lots! Unfortunately, due to some technical issues on this end, we’re unable to actually give you one of our usual prepared updates. While searching for material to cover, however, I stumbled across a picture that teaches a lesson – a lesson about cockatoos.

The introductory quote to this blog entry is from the Web site MyToos.com. I can’t stress enough, how important it is that people looking to adopt or live with a cockatoo, read over the information they provide.

People tend to become enamored with these big, “cuddly” white birds when they first meet them. In all honesty, cockatoos are very handsome birds, so it’s easy to tell why people fall for their looks. There’s a whole lot more to them than just that however!

Cockatoos are very playful and curious, which are qualities matched only by their destructive habits and high volume vocalizations. This behavior is natural for cockatoos and, in the wild, does not pose a problem. Bring one into your house, however and prepare to soundproof your building and replace drywall and wood trim with stainless steel and concrete.

Furniture legs can turn to splinters in less than 30 minutes. If a cockatoo doesn’t like your architectural layout (none of them ever do) they’ll see fit to add a window at ground level or a door that’s only about 1 and a half feet high. Of course, they aren’t licensed or insured so if you don’t like their remodeling techniques, guess who’s left with the bill?

To be honest, the picture shown here is a fake. Although he was caught playing with the evidence after the fact, Mango was not the one to initiate the destruction – his pal Sydney was! Not only can they chew things to tiny shreds, they can also manipulate objects with nearly the same dexterity as us. This means cage doors and food doors are all viewed as challenges waiting to be overcome. Give a cockatoo enough time and they’ll figure out some of the most complex locks we can dream up. Sydney is no exception.

We here at the Parrot garden are rather humble and we can admit when we make a mistake… even if we didn’t realize we did! One evening Sydney had managed to figure out how to open his food door latches – a problem we’ve since, fixed. Although their house is pretty much “bird safe” (Well, not counting the wall trim or folding table that is!) there was one piece of equipment that he took an interest in; this radio.

Consider it another lesson learned. Sydney now gets a larger selection of foraging toys inside and outside of his cage, along with some more “cockatoo resistant” food doors and Mango… well, Mango just enjoys the attention!

And our newest "member"

brianm — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:04:54 GMT

Since January of 2009, Elisa has been a dedicated volunteer up here at the Parrot Garden. Her reason for choosing to work with the birds is, admittedly, a little more “sane” than we’re used to hearing. In her own words, Elisa chose to volunteer at the Parrot Garden because she was “not likely to adopt on an impulse.”

Allow me to sidetrack for a moment - her words bring home an important point…

Parrots require an entire lifetime of care. For some of the larger species, their average age can be equal to or greater than that of a human. Adopting a parrot should never be an impulsive action; many days, weeks, months or even years should go behind the decision. It should also be a decision made by the entire family.

Getting back to Elisa, her other reason for choosing to be with the birds is the constant interaction with them. Even while cleaning their cages, their natural curiosity gets the best of them and they want to be there, watching and learning who you are, what you’re doing and why you’re there.

Asking if there was a favorite bird was very much like pulling teeth. Afraid to hurt anyone’s feelings, she has several that include Cody (our resident “Door Greeter”), Sunshine, Victoria and Everett (Apparently a popular choice among our volunteers).

For those of us who have been around birds for any length of time, a bite is nothing new – in fact, many of us compare scars in our spare time. For people who are still new to being around parrots, the first bite can be a rather traumatic experience. We are proud to say that Elisa has passed the test and has come back for more, so she is unofficially an official member of the club!

Welcome Elisa, it’s great to have you on board!

Jack is a clown!

AmyM — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:10:10 GMT

Jack is a white bellied caique, just like our favorite Guardian Angel Bird, Sprite! White bellied caiques aren't very common in captivity (YAY!!!) but they've got BIG personalities. Jack is new to the Parrot Garden, and you can read about some of his antics by clicking here.

Family Ties

brianm — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:30:02 GMT

Sometimes moms need a break. In Violet’s case, this holds especially true.

Violet is a Lilac Crowned Amazon who came to live at the Parrot Garden with her husband and two children. They came here a few months ago from a situation in which none of them were being handled that often or socialized regularly.

We often hear Violet (the mother) bickering with her children as well as her husband and like any family, they go through their ups and downs. There are days where she and her husband get into an argument and before long the children also join their dad’s side. Then there are other days where one of the kids takes a keen interest in whatever mom is doing and decides to join her in her explorations.

Violet is probably the most curious and open-minded of the group; always looking for new things to find, places to explore… and trouble to get in to. There are some days where she decides she’s had enough of her family and once the cage door is open, she’s out gallivanting around town.

Even though she is curious, she’s always been reluctant to trust anyone enough to place both feet and her bodyweight on a hand… until recently. About a week ago, she decided to take a leap of faith and release her grip from the side of her cage, placing herself entirely on an arm.

After doing it once she’s come to realize that arms aren’t all that bad anymore and just yesterday she went for her first official guided tour around the inside of the parrot building. Although a snack was included, she’d probably rate the service mediocre at best. After all, what kind of limo service makes you shell your own nut!?

For the birds!

brianm — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:57:05 GMT

With a flock of his own, Mike still finds time to come down and volunteer with us at the Parrot Garden every weekend, whenever he is needed. It has been an ongoing routine of his for three years now.

Since the rescue of 145 cats and 149 dogs that came to Best Friends in 2006 from Lebanon, Mike has been a faithful volunteer. Several weeks after the initial rescue, once things began to settle down, he then came up to the Parrot Garden and asked if we needed any volunteers; of course we said, “Yes”. Well, in all honesty, the response was closer to “YES!!!! Of course we do!!”

Mike is who we affectionately refer to as our “on call” volunteer. Every Saturday morning he places himself on the schedule if he is needed at the Parrot Garden. As if this wasn’t impressive enough on its own, he drives over an hour from Arizona to come out and help us with the birds!

Now make sure you’re sitting down for the rest…

Mike does all of this despite having a flock of his own small feathery “children” that he also cares for every day of the week, many of whom he adopted from right here at the Parrot Garden.

His favorite pastime, once all the work is done, is sitting with some of his friends and sharing a few moments. Today, Sugar and Clancy decided to pay him a little visit...

Thank you Mike, for all of your hard work!

- Your friends at the Parrot Garden

Would you like to volunteer at Best Friends? Contact our volunteer department at volunteers@bestfriends.org or call us at (435) 644-2001 Ext 4119 to let us know!

Volunteering with (Best) friends

brianm — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:18:32 GMT

For over a year Phyllis has been a regular volunteer for us at the Parrot Garden. Every week she comes here to volunteer with the staff and the birds, helping with the daily duties… and then some.

Her favorite part of the job goes well beyond cage cleaning. In her own words, the most rewarding part of the job is, “interacting with the birds”. Her favorite companion is Everett, a Severe Macaw who has a tendency to prefer the company of women over men. It seems he couldn’t have found a better companion if he tried!

The setting and atmosphere at the Parrot Garden are what attracts her here on a weekly basis. The calm, serene environment on the top of the canyon, surrounded by exotic birds of all shapes and sizes singing to each other (in some cases talking!) are all part of the appeal.

Phyllis admits that the Parrot Garden feels like one large family to her. The interactions with the staff, between the staff, around her, etc. all make her feel like part of the family.

On that note, from your “family”, Phyllis;

Thank you for all of your hard work!

Would you like to volunteer at Best Friends? Contact our volunteer department at volunteers@bestfriends.org or call us at (435) 644-2001 Ext 4119 to let us know!

True Friends!

AmyM — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:40:16 GMT

Fred & Gringo are two special needs Amazons. They both have issues with their legs and feet that cause difficulties in mobility. You can read the full story here.

Meet Scrabblebutt...I mean Keno!

AmyM — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:45:54 GMT

Meet one of our newest arrivals at the Parrot Garden...Keno the Congo African Grey! She refers to herself as Scrabblebutt sometimes as a term of endearment. She's one that may rival Cody (another resident Congo African Grey) for best talker! She is a bit nervous about the new living situation, but has great potential. Read more about Keno here.

Foraging for Fun!

AmyM — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:54:46 GMT

One of the many activities we ask volunteers to help us with is making foraging toys. The Scoonover-Nelson family was glad to oblige. While they show off their creations to the camera, Indigo decides to have a sneak peak at the toys!

Foraging is a great way to increase natural behaviors in a captive parrot. They tear through the toy trying to find that piece of food that's hidden away inside. Will it be a piece of food they usually have in their bowl? or will it be something exciting like a piece of popcorn or nut? The only way to find out is to tear it up!

Mission Possible

brianm — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:35:39 GMT

TOP SECRET

Vital statistics:

Play stand size – 48” tall

Table size – 36” tall

Distance to be scaled – 12”

Target – 1 almond of your choice

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to obtain one of three almonds located on this table. There is no direct route to the table. You will not be offered help along the way.

The distance to be traveled is great and the terrain is perilous. Once there you must eliminate the target, leaving to no trace.

Your secondary objective is to ensure that agent-in-training (A.I.T.) Paco witnesses each move you make so that he, one day, may do this himself, if he is so inclined.

Good luck agent Penn!

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c_hZgM-o9M:550:0]

A New Home, and a Party!!!

AmyM — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:44:58 GMT

Monroe, the budgie previously known as Cortez, is now living the life in California!
Read more about it here: L.A. Story

Merlynne has found her new home!

AmyM — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:41:51 GMT

Merlynne, a beautiful Blue & Gold Macaw, has gone home! Read all about it here: Change In Plans

Choices

brianm — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:01:15 GMT

“Life is a sum of all your choices.”

~Albert Camus~

The question this quote brings up is… what if you were never given any? If our choices consisted of eating the same meal we’ve had for the past 10 years now or 5 minutes from now, taking a nap or staying awake, or standing on the left side or the right side of the room what would our lives become? Before you answer, compare that with having the options to choose between what route you wanted to take to work, what meal you wanted for dinner, what or if you wanted to watch a movie or TV, or perhaps, check email or read a book.

We humans tend to forget these things which we take for granted when it comes to caring for an animal, especially one such as a bird. Whether they want to go outside or stay inside, play with their favorite string of blocks or keep us company while we work are choices we often don’t give them. Ask Victoria…

Just today she decided that she didn’t want to spend time in her usual cage, so she went for a stroll. She checked out some of the plants but then quickly became distracted by a squirrel running up the walkway. With her curiosity piqued, she started to follow the squirrel. Up the walkway, behind an aviary, past a deck, through a bush, over a rock, and up a couple stairs and then she looked up in amazement at an enormous play stand towering over her.

You can guess what she chose next, can’t you? The real question is, however, which toy on that play stand did she choose to play with first?

After a fun-filled afternoon, she’s now content to sit quietly at my side, editing this article as I write it. She did want me to add one thing though, but apparently she’s fallen asleep before she could tell me. Next time perhaps…

Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

brianm — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 20:22:16 GMT

Raise your hand if you ever ran under a sprinkler or a garden hose on a hot Summer’s day when you were a kid. Water balloon fights, Super Soakers, Slip n’Slides; all of them mark ways we enjoy cooling off during the hot summer months. It should come as little surprise then that the birds here at the Parrot Garden also enjoy some good old fashioned water soaked fun!

Not only does the mist help cool them off during these hot Summer months, but since birds have no ability to sweat, the evaporation also helps keep them cool long after the water stops spraying.

On top of being a refreshing break in their day, getting thoroughly soaked helps keep their feathers healthy and the birds happy. Being the chronic obsessive compulsive types they are, birds like to remain clean, spending much of their day preening theirs and their mates’ feathers. Many will welcome the chance to bathe under the hose any chance they can get.

Work in progress

brianm — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:57:21 GMT

Welcome everyone to the new and improved Parrot Garden blog! *waits for cheers to settle down*

We're pleased to welcome the changes to the new Best Friends Network, but one side effect was the disassociation of the previous blog. To view an archive of the old blog entries, visit http://network.bestfriends.org/blogs/brianm2629/default.aspx

We’ll be continuing future updates here, on this blog from now on.

Thank you all for your patience.