Our Birds

<PeppyBoy our Mitred Conure

We raised Canaries, Bourkes, Redrumps, and tried to raise Green Cheeks conures.  We sold our pair of scarlet chested parakeets, and donated our Mitred Conure and a pair of Jenday Conures to our bird club. All we kept was a male Mealy's or Pale-Headed Rosella Parakeet, a talking female Pennent's Rosella, and a male Peach-faced Lovebird. The Love Bird since died of natural causes and after we developed allergies, we gave the Rosellas to a woman in Alturas who keeps them in her shop "Nana's Quilts". They are happy as can be. I go visit them now and again.

Our Jenday Conures >

We usually attended at least two bird marts or bird fairs a year.  We attended two in Anderson, CA, sponsored by our bird club, Tri-Counties Bird Club and one in Bend, OR, sponsored by the Feathered Friends Bird Club.  We sold all of our baby and breeder Bourkes and Red Rump Parakeets.  We looked for a breeder aged female Mitred Conure for our male, Peppy Boy, without success.  We also acquired a beautifully feathered Pennent's Rosella, "Rosie".  We were amazed to find out that she could talk.  She didn't talk as well as a conure or parrot, but one could certainly understand what she said.  Her repertoire included "What ya doin' Rosie?, Pretty girl, Pretty bird, Rosie girl, and Rosie bird", and a few other phrases we couldn't quite get a handle on.  She also whistled a variety of tunes, which we believed she made up as she wnt along.

^ Some of our Canaries ^

We sold all of our canaries in favor of a life.  It had been three years since we had been away from the place together.  One or the other could leave, but never both, since someone always had to be here to tend to the birds.  We took our first holiday together at Thanksgiving, 2001.

We have had birds both for profit and for pleasure.  In the past, we raised zebra finches, canaries, budgies, cockatiels, and lovebirds and for pleasure, we had brazilian cardinals, a half-moon conure and a spectacled amazon parrot.   We had the Australian parakeets, the jendays  and the mitred conure named "Peppy Boy". We tried to teach him to talk.  He tried real hard, but no success.  He laughed though and usually at the strangest times.  We loved the sounds of birds chattering in the house.  It always brought a little of the outdoors in.  It was very relaxing after a long, hard day at the office.

Our Mealys and Pennents Rosellas

The Bird Club  has an Annual Bird Mart in April.  It was a chance for us to visit and exchange information and ideas with other breeders.  We always had a wonderful time when we attended these events!

Common Plants Toxic to Birds: Avacados - Coffee tree/plants - Ivies -Dieffenbachias - Mistletoe - Poinsettas - Bulb Flowers (Amaryllis, daffodils, narcissus, hyacinths, crocus) - Philodendrons - Arum Lillies -  Clematis Boxwoods - Azaleas - Beans - Jasmines - Trumpet Vines - Autumn Crocus Bracken Ferns - Delphiniums - Larkspur - Cherry Trees - Rhododendrons - Yews Heliotropes - Honeysuckles - Wisterias - Sweetpeas - Lillies of the Valley Morning Glories - Snowdrops - Mushrooms - Virginia Creepers

<Our Scarlet Chested Parakeets

Airborn Toxins: Birds have highly developed and sensitive respiratory systems.  Owners should keep birds away from airborn toxins such as aerosols, cooking fumes, cigarette smoke, heated Teflon and solvents like oven and glass cleaners.  Do not use non-stick cookware when cooking and always use pump sprays well away from your birds.

Our female Lovebird who died of a grand mal seizure.

Things to Remember about Cage Birds: Exercise - Pet birds rely on owners for plenty of room for exercise and interesting toys to provide stimulation.  Provide them with the largest affordable  cage because they need room to play, climb, and flap their wings in order to get proper exercise.  Always place the cage in a spot free of drafts and out of direct sunlight and keep the cage and play area clean.  Change paper liners and clean perches and toys well, weekly.  Wash water dishes daily and wash and disinfect food and water dishes weekly.  Birds mental and physical well-being depends on the proper amount of activity and stimulation, so provide accessories and toys that will encourage activity.  Some toys promote gymnastic feats and some satisfy chewing needs - especially to hookbills.  Some toys stimulate through color or texture, so please provide a variety.  Stress - Probably the greatest factor contributing to illness and injury in newly acquired birds.  However, it can be alleviated by  establishing a relationship with an experienced Avian Veterinarian before an emergency arises.  Take newly purchased birds to your Avian Vet so they can be examined and tested for avian diseases before you take them home and keep newly acquired birds in low traffic areas away from other established birds for about 30 days.  This allows the new bird to gradually acclimate to its new surroundings and protects long-timers from any disesases the newcomer might be carrying.

Our canary loving friends should visit the Canary Lover's Webring on our Web Ring's Page!

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