Wish List

It’s common for rescues and shelters to have an Amazon “Wish List” where people who can’t adopt an animal can still help out. I’m not expecting anyone to actually buy these items for Windrose Aviaries; that would be way too silly. But I do have a bunch of things I know I can’t afford right now. Let me know in the comments if you would like these items as well.

Another Look at Conservation Wins

With the United States’ recently passed bill that will improve our standing on the planet’s survival, it’s a good time to look at other forward steps that have been made in the conservation area. While I usually focus on birds that have been saved, I’ll look at all life in this overview. We have at least learned that all life, plants, insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, etc., are connected in their natural biomes.

The Cost of Aviculture

Many decades ago, I bought a simple yellow canary for $25 and spent another $10 on seed for a month. I had a cage, dishes, and everything I needed to keep that little bird alive and singing. I was not interested in breeding at the time, simply in having a pet bird. I think I lined the cage bottom with paper on which gravel was already attached.

Equipment Failure

Birds of any sort which live in aviaries or cages are reliant on their caretakers for all their needs. Likewise, caretakers are dependent on cages, water systems, food hoppers, and all manner of items related to the care of avians. When one or more of these items doesn’t do its job, the result is usually bad for the birds and stressful for the caretaker.

Imagine Maynard on Twitter

My crazy double yellow-headed Amazon parrot is loved by a lot of people who don’t have to live with him but like how beautiful he is, and how often he says something that seems to fit the conversation. He’s even the mascot for my Scribophile Romance writers’ group. So I was thinking how funny it would be if he could have his own Twitter account. I tried to make one for him, actually create an account for Maynard, but if there’s a way to do that, I haven’t found out yet.

The Lost Pets in Fiction

Lately I’ve been concerned about the Lacey Act Amendment that will be the first step in removing all exotic pets from American homes, and it makes me think of several works of fiction, usually science fiction, that deal with the loss of more common pets, usually due to a virus. These animals are sometimes replaced by even more exotic animals.

Quails, Expected and Unexpected

Often I am surprised at how much I like my quail: both the tiny button quail and the decent size coturnix quail are fun to be around, easy to care for, and have such cute personalities if you get to know them. There are two points that are not fun with these birds, however. One, they often do not like to incubate their eggs, and if the eggs hatch they are horrible parents; the dads especially will often kill the chicks. The other point is how violent their mating can be, especially if you are introducing new hens to the mix.

What Parrots Do to Their People

Unlike owning a dog or several dogs, living with a parrot or any avian companion is full of strange and different realities. I’ve been lucky, or unlucky, in experiencing these realities many times, from parrots to finches, canaries to quail, they all have the knack of doing exactly the worst thing now and then.

My Crows

While I am in favor of having some avian species as either companion animals or breeders, I don’t care very much for making pets out of wild species. Some of the YouTube channels I subscribe to feature folks who have made friends with wild animals without removing them from the wild. For example, Choo Choo’s Story features a woman and her husband who know a lot of the chipmunks around their Canadian home. They also have had blue jays stop by and deer wander through their property.

Matchmaking for My Birds

I don’t know how many years I have with my sweet avian family. There are some things I would like to accomplish before I need to re-home any of them. If I can provide proven pairs of any species, they will find good homes with no problem. But it’s not easy, especially now that everything is so expensive.