My visit to the parrot rescue

[smallonion]

Hi everyone,

I had the best day ever yesterday. i visited New Life Parrot Rescue for the afternoon, and was so inspired.

Julie, the parrot rescuer, has 27 rescued parrots, including many greys, macaws, amazons, etc. They are all wonderfully cared for and all live outside of cages, and all have the opportunity to go outside into aviaries whenever they want.

I am humbled and inspired by what I saw there. Julie is a wonderful woman and one who I want to emulate.

I have some pics from my day at the rescue, linked below. I am very tired now, but later I will write all about my experience.

the pics are at: http://www.fatsquirrel.org/veghead/p...5-03-12+birds/

The first few pics are of my own dear Humphrey, on my husband's foot. The next few are of my husband's friends. Finally, the rest are of the wonderful rescue parrots at NLPR with and without me.

I'll write more later.

Michele and Humph

[CKD]

Great pics. It looked like one of the fids used your husbands head as a chew toy. LOL
Very funny but bet it hurt.

[huz]

looking forward to ur story,
in also in england so itl b nice to now where u went,
me might giv it a visit

[Peregrine Harlequin]

Hey, that scarlet macaw is fake! It's really another bird wearing a macaw costume (wings & mask). Just out of curiosity, is that how your husband tricked you into falling in love with him? If so, then maybe I should give a bird costume a try. I'd be the best darn 200-lb. parrot in the world!

But the pics are great, and it's always good to hear about rescues that the birds don't have to be rescued from!


DO NOT WRITE BELOW THIS LINE

[smallonion]

Thanks everyone. the poor baldie is actually a Scarlet/Greenwing Hybrid named Sally. She is a real sweetie. Poor thing was neglected in her home, so plucked herself naked. Unfortunately she has really damaged those feather follicles so it's unlikely she'll re-feather. The good news is that she has totally bonded with the rescue woman's husband, and he cuddles and plays with her a lot!

By the way, all of the African greys are different birds! She has 10 greys in the Grey room and they live as a flock. They are such funny, silly birds. Their cages are around the perimeter of the room, and the center of the room has play stands, toys, swings ropes, ladders, all kinds of stuff for them to do. They are never locked in cages. Attached to their room is their own aviary and they can go outside as they please. \

Some of the pics are of Julie giving some of the birds a spray bath, which they loved.

As for that man's head - it's my husband's friend - he keeps hitting his head on the SAME shelf. I wish my husband would have put all the rescue pics on one page...

The sweetest, saddest bird I met was Fred. Fred was chained to a stand for 19 years. Now he lives with other macaws, has toys, play gyms, and their own flight aviary! He also gets lots of snuggles and playtime with Julie.

This rescue is in Julie's house, and she has no living room. It's a bird room. She has no back yard- it's all aviaries. She only has a kitchen and her bedroom. The other bedrooms are bird rooms. It is totally amazing and she is such an amazing, giving woman. The birds are wonderful and so well looked after. I'm so inspired - it's what I want to do some day.

Michele and Humph

[Tracey]

Michele-
What a great lady. I am always amazed at how big hearted people are. Sometimes, I watch too much news and lose sight of the goodness. I have a dear friend, Sabra, and she owns a small parrot supply store. She does not sell birds of any type in her business. But she does do rescue and adoption, by necessity. She gets 5-6 calls a week from a small local area(Northern suburbs of the Twin Cities in Minnesota), looking to place their parrot. Sabra will go out of her way to bring a happier life to the parrots that she works with. Sabra usually has an adoptee in mind when she brings in new rescues. But, so many people want Sabra to take their bird and care for it(at Sabra's expense) and once the bird is "fixed" they want the bird back. Or they want Sabra to give them money. It is a very disheartening situation. :eusa_wall Sabra has finally started to charge people the price of the vet check, but she will still take a bird, at her expense, if she feels the situation is desperate. Also, Sabra has brought birds in (vet checked, of course) and held them until their Mommy or Daddy was better able to care for them. Most memorably, a small conure whose Mommy is serving in Iraq. When I get sad at this particular situation, I remember what Sabra says, it's better to do something than to do nothing. I always support Sabra's store and ALWAYS put a few dollars in the adoptee fund. I wish I could do more, but I understand my limitations. Too bad more people don't. If they did, they may be more willing to give their parrots the life that I read about on this site and others and we wouldn't need so many rescues.

[smallonion]

Thanks Tracey...

And the worst part is that with all the sales of pet parrots, this is going to get worse - there will be so many more people who have parrots they want to get rid of. I
I'm so glad to hear of your dear friend's good work
Michele and Humphy

[smallonion]

Jodi, Fred is a BG macaw and he hated me! Well, he hates all new people - you really have to gain his trust. He snuggled and kissed Julie, but hissed at me and lunged at me. I quickly got out of his space. I feel he deserved that respect. Poor dear one.

[greyburd]

Great pics Michele. I would love to sit in the Grey room and just watch them do their thing. I bet it was really something special. Thanks for sharing.