David Letterman Show

Snowball and Irena will appear on the David Letterman Show on Thursday, November 1st. We are thrilled to have such exposure for our rescue and our efforts. If you enjoy the show, please send a thank you to Mr. Letterman.

A Message From Snowball's Mom

My name is Irena. I am the founder and president of Bird Lovers Only Rescue and, more recently, the new mom to Snowball. Snowball was relinquished to us in August of 2007 along with a CD of the Back Street Boys. His previous owner stood at the foot of the stairs and watched the reaction on our faces as we watched Snowball lift his legs in rhythm to "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" and then proceed to slam those little parrot feet down on my arm with enthusiasm to the beat of the music. Snowball's previous owner told us he danced well, but we had no idea we were going to see this type of show. It's too bad we didn't have a video of him dancing on my arm that first day he was here because I know my jaw was dragging on the ground and my eyes were bulging out of my head in awe. It was a good thing I was sitting down.

We decided to place this video on our blog which we had just created. We wanted to provide educational material, interesting articles, and some fun to break up the monotony. Someone had taken the video from our blog and placed it on uTube and from there it spread like a virus to thousands of web sites and reached every internet connected continent on earth. TV and radio media from around the globe emailed and called us. Snowball had become the most popular rescue/sanctuary bird on earth. He was now the spokesbird for parrots around the world.

But there was more to Snowball's story than the natural gift to dance. He was a rescue bird, and not many had heard of a rescue bird before. I know he had at least two owners prior to coming here and he was only 11 years old. He used to belong to his previous owner's daughter, but she moved out for some time and then when she returned he bit her out of resentment for having left him. He had turned on her. In Snowball's eyes, she had been his mate. And his mate left and did not return for quite some time. Imagine your spouse leaving you without warning and then returning a year or two later. Wouldn't you want to swing a frying pan in your spouse's direction as a welcome home? Birds seem to exhibit many of the same emotions that we do...happiness, sadness, fear, resentment, anger, love, and so on. But instead of telling us that they're upset because we ignored them for five minutes, they'll bite to show us their disdain.

Ultimately, humans should never have taken such beautiful, intelligent, and sensitive creatures out of their natural habitat to live out their long lives in captivity. But as my dear friend has so eloquently put it, "You can't put the genie back in the bottle." There are over 400 known rescues and sanctuaries in the United States and they are all either filled to capacity or quickly nearing it.

Idealistically, these birds should be out in their native lands to forage and fly freely. Realistically, they're not. They're here in my home and yours. So then what are we to do with not only the parrots that are in rescues, but those that need to be relinquished due to their outliving the owner or that need to be relinquished due to health issues? We educate those who wish to continue to care for these displaced birds through adoption.

There are some who are strongly opposed to parrot ownership and feel that no one should purchase a parrot. Again, this is idealism versus realism. If someone loves birds and wants one to cherish, what is going to stop them? If your friend who has three children tells you not to have any children because they don't clean their rooms but still expect the keys to the car, are you going to be convinced to not have any if you would love nothing more than to have a child of your own? Human children go through the terrible twos. So do parrots. Human children go through adolescence and their personalities change. So do parrots. Children don't come with instruction manuals and neither do parrots. But that doesn't stop anyone from having either. So, again, education guides those that are less experienced. And for some issues where there aren't any black or white solutions, we offer support much like a group session at a therapist's office full of parents who have thrown their hands up in the air not knowing what to do. Sometimes it helps to know that you're not alone.

Parrots are the most difficult pet to have because they demand so much attention. They are needy and clingy. They are not going to be quiet when you are having a conversation on the phone. They want to join in. They are not going to be quiet while the baby is sleeping, they want to rejoice in being alive through loud and sometimes piercing vocalizations. The larger birds such as cockatoos and macaws are not going to be satisfied with your petting and playing with them after only one short hour. They want you to pet them and play with them from sunrise to sunset.

Yet as demanding, needy, temperamental, and sassy as they can be at times, I couldn't imagine life without them. I have had birds all my 47 years of life and my love and devotion to them only grows stronger.

I thank God for Snowball. Snowball opened the world's eyes to rescues, the plight of the parrot, and the increased need for more education. But most of all, Snowball has brought sunshine and laughter to a world clouded with negative news. Snowball, a dear rescue bird, has danced his way into my heart.

Irena

Snowball and Huey

Snowball doesn't dance unless he's inspired. Huey Lewis and the News came on the radio a few days ago and we noticed him doing a slightly different dance. So we found the CD for this song and decided to let the video roll. Towards the end of the clip, Snowball twirls his head repeatedly to the instrumental part of the song. It looks as even Snowball can get dizzy if he keeps that up for too long! Shake it off, Snowball.

Team Work

Team Work

We have decided to randomly select some informative e-mails which we receive from the public. We thank each and every one of you who write to us with your input and ideas!

I have a Severe Macaw who was neglected by his previous owner. Luckily we got him when he was about a year old and the neglect didn't last too long for him. Chilie is now 13 years old and he is just a delight. He also used to have a lunge and serious bite problem. We discovered that my Severe, Chilie, had two crop infections. One was bacterial and the other was yeast. Both nearly killed him. They changed his personality to a cranky, bitey, regurgitative, noisey bird and I got the brunt of his misery.
I had to wean him from the water container and use the bottle dispenser because he dipped his food in the water which caused bacteria even though I changed his water twice daily. I also had to wean him from a seed mixture to pellets (Roudybush). Apparently, the seed/fruit mixtures can develop mold (microscopic so human eye doesn't see it). To get Chilie to take his medicine, I mixed it with some yogurt, gave it to him in a spoon while I held it, and he licked it up completely! It not only was a good way for him to take his medication, it gave him a treat for trusting me.

Sent in by Betty Holland

Footnote: Please be careful about leaving fresh foods in your bird's bowl for longer than 4 hours. This can develop mold spores and cause Aspergillosis. For those of you who use water bowls, you can add a couple of drops of Grape Seed Extract to minimize bacterial growth.

Normal Droppings

It is important to become familiar with the appearance of your bird's normal droppings. Within any given period of time, the droppings will vary slightly. Factors such as diet and stress can quickly change their appearance. Learn to recognize these normal variations.

Unlike mammals, birds urinate and defecate at the same time. In fact, the digestive, urinary, and reproductive tracts all empty into the same receptacle, the cloaca.

The droppings consist of three distinct portions:

1. Feces are the solid waste material from food. The feces should be tubular in shape and formed into a coil. Their color and consistency is affected by diet. A diet consisting mostly of seeds produces a dark green to near black-colored feces. Formulated diets (pellets) produce a more brownish stool.
2. Urine is the liquid portion. It is normally clear. Diets high in fruits and vegetables will produce more urine.
3. Urates, also called uric acid, is the creamy-white or chalk-like substance on top of and around the feces.

Reference: "Manual of Avian Medicine" by Glenn H. Olson and Susan E. Orosz

Abnormal Droppings: Interpretation

Once the appearance of the normal droppings are known, recognizing abnormal ones will be much easier.

Feces: Abnormal changes in appearance

DIARRHEA (soft or liquid feces): Diarrhea is uncommon. An increase in urine, which produces wet droppings, is frequently mistaken for diarrhea. Increased urine can cause the feces to become wet and slightly loose. Diarrhea is not a disease. It is only an indication that a problem is involving the digestive tract.

Causes of Diarrhea

• Diet (sudden change in diet, addition of new food, spoiled food), intestinal infection, ingestion of foreign object or poison.
• Diseases of other organs
• Egg ready to be laid or egg binding
• Abdominal hernia
• Overtreatment with antibiotics
• Stress
• Parasites
• Cancer

BLOODY (red, reddish-black, or tar-like):Bleeding in digestive tract, severe intestinal infections, bleeding disorders, some poisons, cloaca papillomas, tumors, ingestion of foreign objects, parasites, egg laying.

UNDIGESTED FOOD (whole seeds or pieces of pellets in feces): Poor digestion, parasites, intestinal infection (e.g., proventricular dilatation disease), pancreatic disease, oil ingestion.

INCREASED VOLUME (bulky feces): Egg laying, poor digestion.

DECREASED VOLUME (small, scant and dark feces): Appetite loss or shortage of food, intestinal obstruction. Urine: changes in volume.

INCREASED URINE OUTPUT (wet droppings, polyuria): Normal with increased stress, diets high in fruits and vegetables; abnormal with infections, diseases (i.e., diabetes, kidney disease), poisons, drug reactions.

DECREASED URINE OUTPUT: Dehydration. Urates have a change in color. Remember, urates should always be white or whitish-beige in color. Color changes indicate a serious problem.

YELLOW OR YELLOW/GREEN DISCOLORATION: Liver disease.

RED OR REDDISH/BROWN DISCOLORATION (bloody): Poisoning, liver disease.

Color changes can also indicate an overindulgence in a favorite food, such as beets, pomegranates, or blueberries. Don't be fooled by the red dye in some newspaper ads wehn they are used as cage tray lining. When a wet dropping comes in contact with this red dye, the color can "bleed through, and it has been mistaken for blood in the droppings.

Reference: "Manual of Avian Medicine" by Glenn H. Olsen and Susan E. Orosz

Snowball the dancing cockatoo

We wanted to re-post Snowball under our October blog so viewers would not have to search through the archives in order to find his video. We at Bird Lovers Only Rescue have felt that Snowball dances better than many 'humans'...and it seems as though that sentiment has been shared by many all around the globe. We knew Snowball could dance great, but we had no idea just how many days he would brighten.

You can also see a longer version of his dance at http://youtube.com/watch?v=N7IZmRnAo6s