J-Birds - the first parrot blog

2008-06-07T14:50:00.001-05:00

Eclectus Babies Available

We now have some of Debra's special baby Vosmaeri Eclectus. They come in Cherry/Blueberry and Apple flavors.

2007-04-15T12:55:00.000-05:00

It's Festival Time In New Orleans

I think we all crossed a mental barrier in New Orleans last winter. The storm damage to trees and homes is starting to fade although the immediate city is still in very bad shape. The rest of us are allowing ourselves the luxury of resuming a normal life.

This month features the French Quarter Festival this weekend with Jazzfest coming in a couple of weeks. Here's one of my favorite local artists, Jon Cleary, to get you in the mood. Jon is Bonnie Raitt's band leader and piano player when he's not entertaining us in New Orleans. Enjoy the spring.

2007-04-08T08:58:00.000-05:00

Save A Baby Parrot For Easter

Email: Hello and Thank you for your feeding tutorial. I was contemplating in getting some fertile eggs and hatching my own macaws, but FOUR feedings a day... I believe that would be impractical, having to work an 8 hour day away from their care. It sounds as if they would not last during my absence. Am I correct in assuming this?

I would like to ask what macaws you have available that are in the 2 feedings a day stage? To include the price you require for the available birds.

Response: We have been praised and criticized for publishing a hand feeding tutorial. Some people like it because it may help a baby that has been purchased by a novice bird owner thinking that there is nothing to feeding a young baby parrot. Once they have made this mistake we try to give them enough information to help the baby survive until it is weaned. This usually ends with an underweight bird but at least it survives.

Critics say the article might encourage potential bird owners such as yourself to try to handfeed a baby with little or no other training. We do not encourage this.

You mentioned buying fertile eggs. We would never do this. It would require at least $1,500 - 2000 of incubators and brooders to insure a reasonable rate of success. Once the chicks hatch they must be fed every two hours, around the clock, for the first week and then 5-6 feedings a day for the next two weeks. Temperature and humidity control for babies are critical at this stage. We have, out of necessity, fed babies from the time they hatch. Our survival rate is only 70% (and we're pretty good at this stuff).

I suggest you focus more on being a good parrot owner and less on taking chances with a young parrots life. We have occassionally let parrots go home with their new owners on one feeding a day. At that point the risks of hand feeding are greatly reduced and most owners enjoy the experience if they are properly trained.

If you want to discuss the pros and cons of handfeeding and anything else about raising or owning parrots please feel free to call us at 985/892-3527.

Happy Easter

2007-02-03T14:12:00.000-06:00

And The Winner Was...

Kiwi! Gabriel gave it the old college try for three takes but he was so interested in preening the pirates and trying to stick his head in the pirate's collar that we had to call in a more seasoned veteran. Kiwi stuck it on the first try and was called back for an encore.

This commercial was for the new Louisiana Lottery game called Emerald Green. It will air on all Louisiana TV stations starting February 19. We'll try to get an MPEG copy of the commercial and put it on the site.

2007-01-31T21:23:00.000-06:00

Hollywood South

Got a call yesterday from a producer for a new Louisiana Lottery commercial. They are filming near our home and need a parrot for a pirate in the commercial. So...Friday we are packing up Kiwi, Gabriel and one of our Vosmaeri babies to go and be stars. They even get paid for the effort. Debra and I are now official "wranglers" in TV commercial parlance. We'll let you know how it turns out.

2006-12-09T10:30:00.000-06:00

Vacation Report

What a great time in the western Caribbean on the Norwegian Sun. We've always considered ourselves "back pack" vacationers. In fact, we've been on every dirt road in three states in the Yucatan peninsula and been to Belize several times.

I guess that fatigue (or age) made a cruise the ideal getaway. And so we did, to Guatemala, Belize and and Mexico. It was great to revisit places we had been on foot. If any of you have any questions regarding NCL please contact us.

Next time we vacation down south we plan to spend a week inland in Belize. It's a great country with very nice people.

2006-11-20T09:37:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

What a wonderful year we've had. Our property has gone from disastrous to ugly to almost looks good if you don't leave the driveway. Our bird family has grown by three including Sugar, Gabriel and Porquita. We got to meet 30 wonderful sets of new bird owners from all around the country. We are also taking our first vacation in three years.

Wishing you well this Thanksgiving.

Craig & Debra

2006-10-16T20:47:00.000-05:00

Pre-Owned Birds

Debra and I have taken in four pre-owned parrots in the last few months. All of them are wonderful, pet-quality birds that we would keep forever if we had the room. We realize that we can't and they would be better off in individual homes where they can each be the center of attention to the right owners.

Sugar is a two year-old female Congo. She was weaned by us and sold 30 months ago. She was displaced when her owner accepted a job off-shore and realized that it would be best if she went to a home where she could be loved daily instead of monthly. She is the center of our attention and lives in our living area. She is very loving and talks up a storm. She acts like a newly weaned baby.

Calypso is a five year old female Quaker. We can't give her the attention she deserves. We never met a Quaker that talks as much as her. Quakers are small birds with big personalities. She gives bunches of kisses and loves to hang out on our shoulders.

Gabriel is a 12 year-old male Mollucan Cockatoo. He is new to our flock and is extremely shy but very gentle. Loves to be petted and talks all day long. He comes with his pet, Porquita, a Sun Conure. "Porky" sleeps under Gabes wing at night and preens him all day long. This is an unusual couple but it's a great relationship. Porky will march up to you and give you kisses and bob her head like she wants to feed you but you can't touch her. She will nip you but not hard.

It will sadden us to give up any of these birds but we realize that we can't keep all of the birds who arrive at our home. We are caretakers whose job is to see that they go to loving homes.

We will not ship these birds. We have a responsibility and commitment to their previous owners to see that they go to the perfect home. If you think you may qualify please email or call us at 985/892-3527 or 504/415-3493 for more information. We'll try to publish photos of each bird in the coming weeks.

2006-09-24T09:29:00.000-05:00

The Wall

Sorry for the lack of posts during the last few months. We have just about hit the wall - emotionally, physically and mentally. Post-Katrina New Orleans is not a place for the weak of heart. It is still wonderful and terrible in a unique dichotomy of conditions that can never be explained adequately in the press.

When you only have a limited amount of energy, you focus on the most important aspects of your life...family, income, keeping the flock healthy and happy...unfortunately, blogging is lower on the list.

We do have some good news. A contractor friend of ours started helping us to rebuild some of our damage on the anniversary of the storm. We should have the place back together in the next 12 months.

We are still raising a lot of beautiful babies. Although we have not been advertising their availability we have Solomon Island, Vosmaeri and Red Sided Eclectus babies available.

We'll try to do a better job of keeping you informed in the future. Thanks for all of your good wishes.

2006-07-25T21:07:00.000-05:00

Word To The Wise

The cute baby parrot you saw today and plan to buy next week is the same parrot that somebody saw last week and plans on buying today.

2006-07-23T21:40:00.001-05:00

'Tis The Season

We've gotten several emails lately from people looking for Congo Greys after they have done a lot of research. Unfortunately, their research didn't tell them that Congos have have a breeding season that runs around here from February through April. Once they're gone, they're gone. Our 8 are all sold.

We do have SI, RS and Vosmaeri Eclectus available.

2006-07-23T21:40:00.000-05:00

Hops Like A Rabbit

We found this out today when we tried to approach a baby armadillo on the property. Really cute but impossible to get close to.

2006-07-15T19:08:00.000-05:00

Little Stinkies

In addition to the baby rabbits and possums and raccoons and armadillos we now have three baby skunks living under our deck. They are fearless and will play within inches of a person. Of course that person best remain perfectly still.

2006-07-15T18:47:00.000-05:00

Pet Boarding

We have a friend who has the best pet boarding facility in south Louisiana. All Creatures Country Club is located a few miles north of Mandeville, LA. Sharri mainly boards cats and dogs but she has wonderful facilities for birds as well.

In fact, she owns a Congo, a Sun Conure and a Moluccan Cockatoo who stay at the club. If you are in need of a loving place to keep your pet while away on vacation call All Creatures Country Club at 985.626.9664.

Tell her that Craig & Debra sent you.

2006-07-13T22:04:00.000-05:00

A New Type Of Eclectus

We ran into a guy last week who told us his male Eclectus was a "Tahitian". Of course there's no such thing but the thought occurred that with all of the mis-matched Eclectus out there we should come up with a name for them....

After all, Catalina's, Ruby's, Mili-Golds and Camelot's are names for mis-matched Macaws. Maybe we should call cross bred Eclectus Emeralds or Diamonds.

Your thoughts and suggestions are most welcome. Let's give these birds a dignified classification and quit calling them Solomons or Red Sided or Vosmaeri.

2006-07-13T22:00:00.000-05:00

Female Ducorp's Cockatoo

We are in need of a female Ducorp's Cockatoo breeder. During the winter we lost our female and Honey is lonesome. If you have a female that is ready to breed but still wants to be treated as a pet, please contact us at 985/892-3527.

2006-07-03T07:52:00.000-05:00

Peanut

One of the birds we rescued from a farm in Mississippi after the storm is in a very large cage with two other pairs. The two bonded pairs are resentful of this single male and pick on him constantly. Since there are only two feeding stations he has to wait each day for the other birds to eat and is very frustrated.

I go out of my way each morning to hand feed him some large nuts away from the other birds. All of them love almonds but this bird won't have anything to do with them. All he wants is peanuts. So we named him "Peanut" last November. In the following months Peanut has lived the life of a second class citizen.

Today, Peanut is getting a special present...a 10 year old female companion. We are moving him to his own private cage next to his new girlfriend so they can get aquainted. Next month we will put them together to start a life together. Finally, Peanut will be the master of his cage...he deserves it.

2006-06-21T21:40:00.000-05:00

Eclectus...Eclectus...Eclectus...Eclectus...Eclectus...Eclectus...Eclectus...Eclectus...Eclectus...Eclectus...Eclectus

We figure that in the next three weeks we will have 11 Eclectus babies in the house. 4 Vosmaeri, 3 Red Sided and 4 Solomon Island. Most are very young. Two are sold. If you have a friend that wants an Eclectus of their very own have them call or email us soon.

2006-06-04T22:07:00.000-05:00

Busy Weekend

The baby greys are adorable. They're 10 weeks old and very cute and inquisitive. We had four groups of new parents stop by to play with their babies. Instead of letting them play with only their bird we bring 3-4 babies out at a time and let them play with all of them. This is a big hit with the parents and the babies.

Debra and I realize that this period from 7-12 weeks old is why we especially enjoy raising babies.

2006-05-24T22:05:00.000-05:00

Hawkhead Available

We have found a six month old Hawkhead parrot baby that is a real beauty. She is a perfect pet and is available now. This is a special bird for a special person. Hawkheads are rare in aviculture in the United States and are hard to come by. If you are interested, call us at 985/892-3527 or email us at parrotsforsale@hotmail.com.

2006-05-22T21:32:00.000-05:00

Being Cautious

We have a customer named Tom who is awaiting his baby female Vosmaeri, Ruby. She is gorgeous and is now on two-a-day feedings. Meanwhile, Tom is reading and researching non-stop. He is also actively participitating in several bird discussion groups and being told everything that can go wrong when buying a parrot on the internet.

It is a tough proposition buying from someone you have only met by phone. Many of you have done the same thing. Other of you have met us in person. All of you have your babies and are "experts" when it comes to J-Birds.

Please do Tom a favor and take a few minutes to write him an email and tell him what to expect when he finally gets his baby. We're sure it will put his mind at ease. You can email him at tbuchinsky@earthlink.net.

Thanks, Craig & Debra

2006-05-16T20:04:00.000-05:00

Pet Sitters for Parrots, Dog and Cats in New Orleans

A friend of ours called today requesting that we assist in finding a boarding operation or a pet sitter for his pet parrot in New Orleans. Most of the numbers of people and veterinarians that used to provide this service are no longer active or are unanswered.

Fortunately we have a son, Evan, and his girlfriend, Ashley, who are very comfortable around parrots, cats and dogs and live in the university area of uptown and attend Tulane University. As "starving students" that love animals this is a good fit for them. If you are interested in pet feeding or sitting services for your pets and don't have a vet available, you can contact them at 985/778-8885.

2006-05-09T17:19:00.000-05:00

Parrot Festival

Last weekend we set a new record for visitors with some 22 people visiting in six family groups. Four groups were coming to play with their new babies while they are being handfed. Two families came to pick up their birds.

We still have one Congo Grey and two tiny Eclectus available. The other 13 are spoken for.

2006-05-04T21:29:00.000-05:00

Zazu

A couple years ago we published a photo of a resued Congo Grey, Zazu. To this day this photo averages 5 hits a day on Google. Zazu doesn't even know he's famous.

2006-05-01T21:03:00.000-05:00

Charlie

Meet Charlie who will one day rival Irene Pepperburg's Alex. Thanks to Janis Gore for sharing a wonderful video of Charlie in action. He wasn't even mumbling when we sold him.

2006-04-29T14:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Ending

Nina is now one of the prettiest and nicest Eclectus we have raised. We've been looking for the ideal person to walk in and fall in love with her. It happened yesterday. So, in the near future, Nina will be going home to Pontchatoula, Louisiana with her new mom, the nurse.

Not that Nina needs any special care. She has accommodated her handicap by being resourceful. She perches well on most perches and uses her wings to help if she gets in trouble. She's flying all over the house and has learned to hover and land anywhere at will. And this is the bird that some people suggested we put to sleep.

2006-04-29T08:43:00.000-05:00

Eight Month Anniversary

Eight months after Katrina the USPS announced today that magazines will be included in delivered mail to the New Orleans area for the first time since the storm. See Article.

2006-04-22T17:51:00.000-05:00

Sunday Comics

Congo Update: We got five Congo babies inside on Thursday. Today, all five are committed to buyers. The last three babies will be inside next weekend. They may be sold before they get here.

2006-04-19T19:16:00.000-05:00

Congos Are Here

After a long wait, we finally have five of the eight Congo babies in the house. They are now three weeks old and doing very well. The seven breeder pairs usually produce between 16 and 20 babies each spring. This is an unusually light year...not just for us but for most breeders in the area. Must be something to do with the hurricane or the mild winter that followed.

This weekend we have three customers coming over to pick out their baby. They have waited as much as six months to get one and these won't be going home for three more months when they are weaned. It all goes back to the post below. We also had requests from several handfeeders to buy the babies at three weeks but don't have enough to go around.

We do have five babies left that are available for sale (adoption) if you are interested. Contact us within 3-4 weeks or they may be gone.

2006-04-15T06:14:00.000-05:00

Its Like A Dance

The process of buying a parrot is like a dance between the buyer and breeder. It tends to be a long process and involves a lot of contact, weeks or months of waiting, thorough preparation, trust and luck.

Breeders have a limited number of birds each year. We have about 15 Eclectus, 15 Congo African Greys and 5-10 other Macaws and Cockatoos. We are contacted by hundreds of people around the country annually. The odds of us having a weaned baby that they want to buy immediately are very, very slim.

Most of our babies are under deposit by the time they are 6-8 weeks old - about two months before they are weaned. Many are sold before they hatch.

The delay between initial contact and the delivery of a new parrot is important. It allows the breeder to screen the potential buyer to make sure that the bird is going into an environment where it will thrive. It insures that the buyer is not purchasing a bird on impulse. It also allows the buyer to continue to educate themselves in the care and feeding of their new pet and to prepare the new baby's environment before arrival.

As it is, only one in ten emails result in a phone contact. Only one it ten phone calls result in a purchase. But, we meet a lot of nice people along the way and those who get to buy one of our birds are well prepared to care for their new pet and fully understanding of the responsibilities associated with owning a large parrot.

2006-04-04T21:58:00.000-05:00

Thanks

We have always tried to raise babies that are loved and well-adjusted. We do it because we love birds and want to sell them to people who will treat them with kindness and respect. Actually, we'd keep them all if we could but that is not possible.

We're addicted to the growth and development of our babies and to the joy and excitement of their new owners. We also like the lifestyle of having a working aviary. It's kind of like living in an exotic jungle.

This year our lives have been disrupted by the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. As a result we are raising our babies while dealing with the recovery of our home and property. But buyers keep on coming. We have a waiting list for Congo Grey and Eclectus babies. People are being referred to us by two bird specialty stores in New Orleans...one which is open, one has closed forever. Other customers are being referred by our family of bird owners who are taking care of our former babies.

We'd like to thank you all. We never wanted to be the biggest aviary in the area. We just wanted to raise beautiful babies, instruct their owners in proper care, and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing a healthy baby going to a knowlegable owner who will love them for the rest of their lives.

2006-03-26T07:23:00.000-06:00

'Tis The Season

Spring cures many maladies. All of the hard work to clear debris from Hurricane Katrina is being rewarded by blooms from Camelias and Azaleas. The trees are covered with new green leaves, many for the first time since September. The place is showing "potential" with so many months of hard work ahead to get it back to its new normal. It will never be like it was but in a year or two it will be very nice.

Baby birds are hatching all over the area after a late Spring. We have three Solomon Island Eclectus babies and one Vosmaeri in the house. The first of many Congo Grey babies will be here in a week or so. The Macaws are all laying infertile eggs but hopefully will get with the program later in the Spring. The Cockatoos are still thinking about it.

Katrina Note: Don't forget New Orleans or beleive it is getting back to normal. The city is mortally wounded and needs much continuing help. We admire the spirit of its people every day as they swarm over devastated neighborhoods like ants repairing the damaged homes. Not enough materials, contractors, insurance money or federal aid at this time. Talking about the amount of aid, debating bills in congress, and planning does not put money on the street in the hands of the people who need it.

2006-03-15T09:50:00.000-06:00

Another Nina

The popular German entertainer Nina Hagen was in New Orleans for a visit and a concert this month. She mentioned J-Birds several times in her blog and we are being visited by several of her fans each day. We would like to thank Nina for her kind words and for visiting our city.

Nina, if you are still in the area call us at 985-892-3527. We'd like to invite you to visit our aviary and play with birds.

2006-03-09T20:45:00.000-06:00

Nina

Two days ago we got a baby S.I.Eclectus from a friend to hand raise. Our friend was overwhelmed by the aftermath of the storm and didn't have the time to devote to a baby. Debra picked her up and brought her home without checking her closely. She was over 4 weeks old and already starting to feather out.

The next morning, Debra asked me to check her feet. Deb didn't have her glasses on during the first feeding the night before but sensed that something was wrong. When I checked, I found a 4-5 week old baby with one front toe on one foot and two front toes on the other and no rear toes on either foot. This condition is caused by low humidity while the toes are developing and can be corrected if caught early. In this case it was too late.

To add to her problems, the mother of this baby had plucked off all of her down so she was pink from the neck down. She was also left in the nest too long and had become a little wild, striking at anything that came within sight. Of course, at 5 weeks, she couldn't hurt anything if she tried.

So here we sit with a baby that is physically challenged, mean and ugly. What to do?

Well, we have a plan. Her feathers will take care of themselves and she will be beautiful without any intervention. We are treating her with a lot of TLC. Every night we wrap her in a hand towel and rock her for an hour to try and calm her down. With her physical disability she can't afford to have a bad personality. This extra attention is the only gift we can give her to help her live a happy life.

We can't fix her feet so she will have to go to a good home with a very nurturing owner. We will only place her locally so the future parent can participate in her early development. She will be given away but not to a person who can't afford a normal bird. We will never clip her wings and at this time we aren't going to place her with an owner who will. All birds are graceful and beautiful when they fly and we want her to have this special ability for the rest of her life.

Nina? We were listening to Nina Simone the night she arrived and decided it was a great name. Stay tuned. We will share photos with you as she grows up. We are already planning modified perches and food stations. We hope she will adapt and thrive. Most handicapped birds find a way. We'll be there to help and encourage. Hopefully, her next owner will build upon the foundation we build.

2006-03-05T10:54:00.000-06:00

Baby Vosmaeri Eclectus

Could it be another Lucy? Thirty-six hours old and doing fine. We'll keep you posted.

2006-02-28T20:29:00.000-06:00

Mardi Gras (it's a good thing)

Thanks to everyone who came to town to help New Orleans celebrate Mardi Gras. We've been through so much grief that this reunion has had a very healing effect. Debra and I booked a room in the Monteleone Hotel on Royal Street in the French Quarter for five nights. We arrived on Friday night and gave the room to our kids for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Since we most probably won't get to take a vacation for a while, this holiday served as a getaway as well as allowed us to give something back to a city we love dearly. Brunch at Court of Two Sisters on Saturday and a day of shopping. Brunch at the Marigny Brasserie on Sunday with the Pfister Sisters for 4 hours was a great treat.

Come when you can and spend some money to help bring this beautiful city back.

2006-02-06T03:52:00.000-06:00

Insurance

Everyone in the New Orleans area is becoming an expert in homeowner's insurance. We're still in the "supplemental claim" cycle. Most of our outdoor lighting is on the ground, the front gate was smashed, the tractor shed was crushed, the aviary destroyed, the guest cottage is unlivable and our main roof is sitting there unattached to its decking for 1200 sf.

The original adjuster came out after sunset and offered us $11,000 for repairs. A contractor just completed an estimate for $80,000. We have filed for a supplemental payment and a "supplemental adjuster" has been assigned and will be here Wednesday...so will the contractor.

We'll see what happens. People everywhere around here are going through this.

2006-02-02T01:56:00.000-06:00

Parrot Bleeding

We continue to get hits each day about bleeding parrots. For a more comprehensive article please refer to "HELP! MY BIRD IS BLEEDING" by Tina B. Merritt DVM. It appears in Winged Wisdom, November 1997.

Good luck.

2006-01-25T22:22:00.000-06:00

Aftermath

Not exactly a bird-related post.... Today I was inspecting what I thought were unoccupied apartments in New Orleans to check on the air conditioning. I had keys to all of them. I knocked on the door of the third apartment and opened the door about six inches when I came face to face with a .45 caliber pistol.

The resident was still paranoid about looters and was armed and ready to use it. It happened so fast I couldn't be nervous. I just said, "air conditioning man...please don't shoot me." It must have worked because he didn't.

We talked for about 10 minutes and I thanked him for not shooting me about 10 times. New Orleans, can't live with it, can't live without it.

2006-01-21T11:12:00.000-06:00

Full Moon

Last Friday night we arrived home after a family visit around midnight. We wanted to check on the outside aviary so we armed ourselves with headlights and flashlights and walked over. Everything was fine until we heard "What cha doin" coming from the woods about 100 feet away. Shining our lights in that direction we were panicked to see TJ, our Umbrella Cockatoo, perched on a limb about fifteen feet off of the ground amidst the fallen trees on our property.

There he was shining like the full moon and talking non-stop. We tried to climb up a fallen trunk but just as we got within reach he flew back toward the aviary and landed on a wooden play gym. With Debra shining a light on me so TJ could see who was approaching we were able to climb up and offer a hand. He stepped up and buried his face in my neck. Seems he didn't like his adventure once he managed to dislodge the nestbox from his temporary cage.

We had moved him to a new cage and put Tanya, our new female, in the Cockatoo cage to establish her nest and allow them to get to know each other before we put them together. With the temporary cage out of commission, I opened the door to Tanya's cage, pronounced them "man and wife", and tossed TJ inside.

The next morning we walked up to the cage to see two heads, side by side, peeking out of the nest box door.

2006-01-08T09:07:00.000-06:00

Tis The Season

Our new Vos baby was sold at 5 wks old. This time of year most parrots are dormant except for Eclectus. The number of people looking for parrots increases with unspent Christmas money and IRS refunds. We had three people excited about buying the new baby. Two wanted to think about it, one made up her mind and did it.

We are getting two SI babies from a friend. One is 10 wks old, the other is 2 wks. They won't last long either. Meanwhile, we are waiting for more Vos eggs soon.

2006-01-02T18:18:00.000-06:00

It's A Boy

We've had varying success in handfeeding babies from day 1. We brought in a little baby Vosmaeri Eclectus about five weeks ago after its mother didn't feed it. We lost its clutchmate before we noticed there was a problem.

This baby is perfect. The right weight, bright eyed, inquisitive and very active. Today we saw a colored feather for the first time...it's a boy. It's so nice to have a baby in the house.

2006-01-01T08:19:00.000-06:00

Emergency Care - Broken Beaks

Our post about parrot bleeding is getting a number of hits a day from bird owners whose parrots have broken beaks. Beak damage in parrots can vary from small chips to entire beaks being removed.

If there is bleeding it should be stopped immediately by using styptic powder or flour and pressure. If the bleeding doesn't stop after an hour, take the bird to a vererinarian or emergency clinic as soon as possible.

If the chip or break has a ragged edge it will normally wear down after a couple of weeks. A veterinarian will sometimes use a Dremel tool to grind down the chip.

Veterinarians are now using an epoxy in severe cases to fill in or reform a temporary beak until the beak can grow out. Dr. Tom Tulley and his associates at LSU school of veterinary medicine are using this same approach to straighten deviated beaks using an epoxy appliance on the lower beak to apply pressure on the upper beak.

2005-12-29T10:02:00.000-06:00

Random Acts Of Kindness

Our Lady of the Gulf church in Bay St. Louis, Ms. sits high on a bluff overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Not high enough, apparently. Katrina put 4-6 feet of water in the church. I visited on September 9 and found all of the pews skewed in front of the alter and the wood floor fallen apart. The roof was blown away and all of the frescos on the ceiling were in danger of being destroyed.

Through the help of volunteers and a church in Alabama, the roof has been sealed and the floor removed. They had their first service in the church on Christmas Eve. A path of plywood led worshipers to a platform where folding chairs were arranged. You can still look through most of the flooring at the ground.

Father Tracy, the pastor, is living in a small camper next to the church. Another camper houses church records.

If you are looking for a way to assist a victim of the storm without donating to a black hole such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army or Catholic Charities, consider sending a donation or show up and help Father Tracy and his parishioners. Follow this link for Our Lady of the Gulf.

2005-12-23T18:03:00.000-06:00

A Christmas Story

Yesterday, our air conditioning company began work on an installation for Dr. and Mrs. D. In their late-seventies and very much in love, they were victims of Katrina and had 7' of water in their beautiful home for over three weeks. Our installer called in to say that the home had no power. When I suggested that he run an extension cord to a neighbor's home he just said,"you don't understand".

I arrived in the neighborhood about ten minutes later, driving through blocks and blocks of flooded and destroyed homes and flooded cars, to find a home that was totally gutted on the first floor. A water line was 6' up on their front door. The carpet on the spiral staircase began on the step at 8' off the floor.

Dr. and Mrs. D arrived a few minutes later from their temporary quarters in Franklin, LA and apologized for not having power. He said that he had been promised for three days that the utility company would be there to activate power to the newly rewired home. We decided to bring in a generator so we could continue our effort to restore their home.

An hour later, an Entergy truck pulled up and got power to their house but told them that they couldn't use it until their electrician came in to make sure that everything inside was safe. We continued to work by generator.

This morning we decided that we would focus on getting heat to the second floor and we would take responsibility for turning on the power. Four of our guys worked tirelessly for two days to make it happen.

I walked in this afternoon to see lights on upstairs. Dr. D was sitting at his desk upstairs reviewing paperwork. His wife was in another room sorting belongings and watching soaps. They both came out and hugged me and said that they now had lights, heat and hot water...the house was finally becoming a home.

I asked them where they were spending Christmas and they said, "here, of course". They were home. And tonight the light in their upstairs bedroom will be the only light visible for twenty square blocks.

2005-12-22T16:02:00.000-06:00

Handfeeding

When we first started handfeeding baby parrots we were lucky to have two very knowledgable breeders to teach us. After a couple of years we put together a Handfeeding Handbook on our website to show the most rudimentary techniques. Our thought was not to encourage inexperienced people to try it. Some people get babies thinking it's easy and get in over their heads. We felt we could save some babies by providing this information.

In general the document has been well received. Since we wrote it we have moved on to more expensive equipment and supplies but the basic principles haven't changed. We received the following email this week:

Your website has been a blessing of information for me. My baby will be here Friday and as a vet tech I know how to hand feed but I wasn't sure on when
to start introducing foods and what to introduce...

The only question I have is at 6-8 wks when you start offering crushed
pellets and cooked soft veggies... do you also introduces a bowl of water?

Thanks so much for your help! Abbey

2005-12-20T16:50:00.000-06:00

Tanya

We've been looking for two years for a proper mate for TJ our male Umbrella Cockatoo. TJ, as you may know, is the "alpha male" of our aviary, a wonderful pet and a beautiful breeder. He greets everyone who visits our aviary with a "what cha doin".

Last week we brought Tanya home. She is presently in quarantine pending medical results we get on all new birds. After the tests are in she will spend a couple of weeks in a cage next to TJ's...kind of a get to know you time. See, male cockatoos are notoriously aggressive. TJ hasn't been that kind of bird in the past but we are taking no chances.

With a little luck, we'll have some baby TJ's around here this summer.

2005-12-18T23:18:00.000-06:00

Early Christmas

We got a wonderful Christmas present last week...a bucket of "Farm and Logging Chain" from Northern Tools. With the 100' of chain came several grab hooks and slip hooks. This new addition to our arsenal of tree cleanup tools and utensils should have the foliage around here quaking with fear.

2005-12-17T07:15:00.000-06:00

Emergency Care - Bleeding

Parrots have a very low blood clotting factor. As a result, even a relatively small cut can cause major, prolonged blood loss. Such things as broken blood feathers, a lost toenail or a broken beak can turn into major problems.

A few things you should know...

Treat a bleeding bird as you would a bleeding human. Wash the wound if necessary. Always have a container of styptic powder available (we use Quickstop, available at all major pharmacies). If you don't have styptic powder try flour or baby powder. If the powder doesn't immediately stop the bleeding, apply pressure to the wound. If a blood feather breaks, squeeze the tip of the feather until bleeding stops or pull the remaining feather shaft out. It may be painful but it will stop the bleeding.

If bleeding persists, take your bird to a vet or an emergency veterinary clinic. Don't leave the bird unattended thinking the bleeding will stop. It may but it could also cause the death of your pet.

Thanks to Janis Gore for prompting us to write this post.

2005-12-16T08:58:00.000-06:00

A Happy Note

Hi Deb & Craig,

Maxx sends Seasons Greetings to you and yours. We thought a lot about you during the storms and hope and pray that you made it through okay.

Maxx is doing GREAT! You may remember that his move to Pa. was a bit traumatic. He took his sweet time getting used to us but all is well now. He is sitting behind me having his breakfast. His cage is connected to my desk with a perch and he comes down every morning to have coffee with me (he has apple juice). He taught me to share bill paying duties with him. Each week I spread every thing out on the desk and take care of the finances. One day he came down and started shredding the bills. As much as I appreciated his help we had to work something out so now I fold up bits of paper and he sits on the edge of the desk making confetti while I pay the bills.

He is talking though he prefers whistling tunes. He likes singing along with the radio but isn’t very good. We don’t have the heart to tell him. He also taught me that we need to take showers together since he basically trashes the kitchen every time we use the sink. He goes crazy, screeching and flapping around…loves it. Then he settles in under the heat lamp and quietly coos away. I picked up a suction cup perch and put it on the car window. We go for rides together. He gets a kick out that. He crouches down and leans into the turns…kind of like a downhill skier. He yells at the trucks.

He is a wonderful addition to our family. Thank you again for all you did to help bring us together.

Merry Christmas,

Pat, Theresa & Maxx

2005-12-12T21:13:00.000-06:00

Dear France

Greetings from Louisiana! We are shopping for new owners, and we immediately thought of you! Our present rulers haven't been taking very good care of us and we are looking for a better deal. They are spending all our money in a place called Iraq (somewhere in the Middle East). We thought that perhaps you might want to revisit an old land deal you made long ago.
If you've been reading the papers lately, you may have noticed that we have had a few problems with "water". No, we're not offering you a deal on a damaged water park. (Althouugh that's what it looks like from the air) Seriously, we need help, and fast.

Some things you might like here:

1. We named the state after your King Louis
2. We named the city after your city, Orleans
3. We have lots of French names on the streets
4. We still have Napoleonic law (maybe you can explain it to us!)
5. A lot of our citizens speak French (the accent will grow on you)
6. We like French food and wine
What we can offer you:
1. a toehold (rather wet!) on the continent
2. an incredible port
3. Lots of oil and gas
4. Lots of restaurants
5. Jazz
6. Mardi Gras (you won't believe what we do with this!)
7. Some of the most beautifu houses in the world (very, very wet)

What we need from you is simple:

1. Wetland redevelopment
2. New levees
3. Lots of new houses (but we want them to look old like the ones we lost)
4. We need schools and hospitals rebuilt
5. If you insist, we wouldn't mind some more outdoor cafes like you folks are famous for.

Please think this over carefully. Our current owners are so busy in other countries, they might not even notice if you come down here and take a look around. We'll put you up in grand style in a place we call "The French Quarter" (yeah, really!) and you can have lunch at a place we built for your very own Napoleon, which we call (you guessed it!)Napoleons". You'll be right at home.
Oh, just remember, we would like the levees and the wetlands taken care of ASAP, sometime just after lunch if not sooner.

Yours sincerely,
A homeowner in New Olreans
Joan Fox

(Reprinted from the Times Picayune, 12-12-05)

2005-12-11T07:50:00.000-06:00

Don't Think So

We've been wrong before but our macaw eggs don't seem to be fertile. There were too many stressful events immediately prior to laying. Also, the macaw breeding season around here begins in April or May.

2005-12-07T19:18:00.000-06:00

Amazing

We were delighted to check on our Blue and Gold rescue birds and find one mom sitting on two eggs. They might not be fertile but it's a great sign. Through all of the BS we (and they) have been through, life perseveres. Stay tuned, we're going to candle them this weekend.

2005-11-30T22:00:00.000-06:00

Christmas Parrots

We presently have the following weaned babies available for Christmas

One Congo African Grey - 3 1/2 months old and very sweet and gentle. Its clutch-mate was sold yesterday and is already adjusting to its new home in Slidell, LA. This will be the last weaned Congo available until April or May.

One Female S.I. Eclectus - 4 months old and just as sweet as our Congo. This is a special baby.

In addition, we have one Female Red Sided Eclectus female (12 months old) that would make a great second bird for a family.

We rescued 12 parrots from the wrath of Hurricane Katrina including an Indian Ringneck and a Nanday Conure that are pet quality. Call us if you can provide these birds with a loving home.

We also have rescued breeders in need of a stable, caring homes including two male Blue Crowned Conures and one Mitred Conure.

Sorry, we are keeping the seven Blue and Golds. They already have names and are settling in to their new spacious accommodations.

2005-11-27T07:27:00.000-06:00

Sunday Comics

2005-11-26T16:43:00.000-06:00

Life And The Death Of New Orleans

Today we discovered two new Vosmaeri Eclectus babies in the aviary. These are our first babies since the storm and their birth is a happy moment surrounded by all of the work, sadness and uncertainty in the area.

Ask anyone from South Louisiana where they are from and you'll always get the same response, "New Orleans". At this point New Orleans barely has a pulse. There's no electricity in 75% of the city and there's great confusion about how to rebuild. Insurance companies are slowing down rebuilding and the government, local and national, is not sending clear signals.

So everyone down here is going through the motions. Clean-up (most places have running water), gut-out your home, pretend to find a contractor to assist in the rebuilding, check with FEMA about how high you newly remodeled home has to be, call the insurance company. Mostly, they wait.

Most outsiders don't realize that over 60% of New Orleans was rental property. Most of these carried no flood insurance. So, you have renters that have better accommodations elsewhere and landlords with no means and desire to reconstruct their properties. If the federal and state governments don't create a corporation to assume the task of rebuilding, the city, as everyone once knew it, will likely die.

Oh, it will remain a tourist attraction and a business center with most of the workers living in the suburbs but the heart and soul of the city will be gone. Let's hope it hasn't happened already.

2005-11-24T09:20:00.000-06:00

2005-11-22T20:16:00.000-06:00

The Folsom Yacht Club
.........a bed and breakfast.........

With so many wonderful boats available in the New Orleans area we thought we'd buy a few nice ones and plant them in the woods on our property. We could run permanent power, water and sewage lines to them and rent them out as bed and breakfast accommodations.

Imagine walking along your own private dock and stepping onto your own yacht for a weekend retreat.

Debra was un-nerved by this idea at first but it has received so many positive comments that she may allow "one" as an experiment.

2005-11-20T18:52:00.000-06:00

Welcome To Our World
(Actually, these photos were taken immediately post-Katrina. Things are a lot better now.)

Our House

The Guest House

The Aviary

Our Front Gate

2005-11-13T19:57:00.000-06:00

Random Update

New Orleans' population is now over 20% of what it used to be. This is good.

We ran out of cash after the cleaning crew filled our ditch with a stack of debris 20' wide, 8' tall and 700' long. Our property is now 25% cleared and ready for grooming.

All of the outside birds are ready for winter with tarps on the north and east sides of their cages and lamps for each cage. This is very good.

We have become experts in the operation of chainsaws. We can maintain them, change blades and cut more timber than we can haul off.

In addition to the debris stacked along the highway, our two burn piles contain enough timber to be seen from Vidalia, LA.

We've sold the three Hahn's Macaws. The last one left today. We still have two Congo babies and one Female S.I.Eclectus. We also have a year old female Eclectus that would be a wonderful second bird for someone.

The seven Blue and Gold rescue birds are in permanent cages. One is 6' X 16' and 8' tall. It houses five birds and three nest boxes. The other cage is 6' X 8' and 8' tall. It houses a pair. They are all getting very friendly. Whenever we are around the cages they hang on the side to be near us.

One of the rescue birds, a Nanday Conure, has turned out to be a wonderful pet quality bird. He is entertaining us and our visitors on a daily basis. He should be in a new home before Christmas. We also have an Indian Ringneck that is georgous. Ringnecks are not friendly like parrots. They are beautiful cage birds like beautiful large Canaries.

2005-11-13T05:46:00.000-06:00

Sunday Comics...an editorial.

It is shocking to us to read comments on the internet from people around the country who feel that New Orleans does not warrant the investment for proper flood control. Many cities are located in areas that could experience a catastrophic event. San Francisco and Los Angeles come to mind.

We can spend $200 billion a year to save the Iraqi's from themselves, we can slash taxes by the same amount...greed comes to mind, but we can't spend 20 billion on proper levies for one of the oldest and most unique cities in the country?

New Orleans survived Hurricane Katrina in fairly good shape. The problems began the next day when poorly designed and built levees failed. We only hope that more sensible voices will prevail.

2005-11-06T05:52:00.000-06:00

Caterpillars

This thing is prowling our property. We've decided that the yard would look better with track marks everywhere instead of grass. Tree trunks, root balls and limbs are being stacked in the drainage ditch along the highway that runs next to our property. Our frontage is 575' and the workers say it won't be enough room to hold all of the debris.

2005-11-02T21:07:00.000-06:00

Blue and Gold

We got a package from Kevin McKinley today that contained a copy of a National Geographic that featured Blue and Gold Macaws on the cover. Kevin is Debra's doctor and a friend. Little did he know that we had quite an adventure involving Blue and Golds during Hurricane Katrina....

About 10 days after the storm when we were still in heavy survival mode we got a call from a friend. Her dad was the caretaker for a 125 acre farm outside of Picayune, MS. She and her family had evacuated to Savannah, GA and she came back to check on her dad's home and belongings. Her dad stayed in Georgia.

The owner of the farm had 12 breeder parrots including seven Blue and Gold Macaws. The birds were housed in tiny cages that prevented them from even spreading their wings. They had not been given food and water for two weeks and she was afraid that they would die before her dad or the owner returned. She asked us to "do something".

We decided to go over and rescue the birds the next day. So, we packed up the truck with 12 pet carriers and a pair of bolt cutters and drove 70 miles into Mississippi. We climbed over fallen trees and got to the bird barn to find the birds in poor condition. Our friend had left them with food and water so they weren't in immediate danger but it was clear that they were significantly undernourished and poorly housed.

Thirty minutes later we were on the road with seven Blue and Golds, two Blue Crown Conures, one Indian Ringneck, one Nanday Conure, and one Mitred Conure. One of our friends had given us several large cages but housing all of these birds, in quarantine, was a real challenge. Two days later we had Dr. Maxwell stop by to give them all physicals and run tests. They all had E-Coli infections from unsanitary conditions but none had any of the major bird diseases. All were treated with a two week course of Vetasulid and have recovered.

We still have them two months later. The owner has agreed to sell them to us and we have had two cages made to properly house them. The story of how this all came to pass is the subject of future blogs but it involves the police, the SPCA, and a lot of threats and sabre rattling. If you come to the Chateau (and you know you are all welcome at any time) we'll crack a bottle of wine and tell you all about it.

2005-10-30T06:04:00.000-06:00

2005-10-29T21:52:00.000-05:00

Nobody's Home

If you want to do something nice for the people of New Orleans you have to find them. Most of them are in Houston, or Atlanta or Little Rock. Janis Gore is collecting coats for winter and delivering them to Slidell. Ask around your town. Call the Red Cross and find out if there are evacuees in your city. Plan a Thanksgiving dinner for them or organize a toy drive for Christmas. Most of them won't be home for six months to a year. They may not need money or material things but they all need to feel that somebody cares. Find an evacuee and let them tell you their story...then give them a hug. It will be something they remember forever.

2005-10-28T21:16:00.000-05:00

Acts Of Kindness

Ever wonder where those cans of food go after you donate them to food drives? During Katrina we often opened donated supplies to find combs, shampoo, canned peas and carrots and other foodstuff. It brought closure to these questions. And it was most appreciated.

Zupreme sent tons of pellets to be distributed to affected pet owners in the region.

We had a friend whose family evacuated to Denver and checked into a Motel 8. When the desk clerk saw his New Orleans address he said, "your money's no good here" and gave them a free room for two weeks. Same is true for another family that evacuated to Orlando and stayed a month.

One of our friends is hosting my sister and her family at a condo in Gulf Shores for a four day weekend of R&R. I get three calls a day from the family telling me how wonderful it is to get out of bed and not feel cold cement...or to look at the soles of their feet and not see gray powder.

I know that people in general are kind and giving. We've made donations to worthy cauuses for decades. But, when you are on the receiving end of kindnesses it makes you know that when you donated in the past, someone had very fond thoughts about you and you were unaware.

2005-10-25T19:35:00.000-05:00

Trickle Down Effect

We had limited access to the internet starting about a month ago. Last Friday we finally got cable TV and internet back, some 54 days after Katrina. We didn't post for awhile because we didn't have a desire to talk about all of the experiences we've had.

You know more about the effects of Katrina than we did during the first month. We had no power for over three weeks and all of the local TV channels were off the air. Our sole source of news was a radio station out of Baton Rouge called the United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans. They are still the most listened to station in the area. Nothing but talk about storm related items.

At home, we housed 15 people for 8 days. The last one left after 11 days. Our lives were filled with the constant droning of generators, heat, MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat), foraging trips for ice and foodstuffs, heat, hard work in the house and yard, rum and coke, and heat. Did I mention it was unbearably hot?

We divided our housemates into work groups to help keep the disorder and dirt in check and to give them something meaningful to do. We had a housekeeping team, a cooking team, a clothes washing team and a yard crew. We weren't real regimented but every day we did something.

The day after the storm our daughter Rachael and Evan's girlfriend, Ashley, cleaned out a foot of limbs and leaves from the pool. We used pool water to wash clothes, flush toilets and personal hygiene. Keeping it clean was good for morale and provided a cool place to sit in the early evenings after a hard day's work.

We parked the dozen cars in a clearing in the center of our 25 acres. None of them were damaged by falling trees. It took a full day to chainsaw an emergency driveway through a neighbor's property so we could leave the property (There was no place to go since all roads were impassable for three days). We didn't clear the 30 trees blocking our driveway for another 7 days.

Food was good. The generator we had kept the refrigerator working and we hardly got into hurricane food before we had access to groceries in Baton Rouge. We got the well to work on the generator on day two but we couldn't run the fridge and the pump at the same time. We turned on the pump for three hours a night for (very) cold showers.

Hurricanes bring out the best and worst of people. We saw both sides but our lingering feelings about the group are all very positive. We plan on having a hurricane reunion next year.

2005-10-24T22:51:00.000-05:00

How To Handfeed Baby Birds In A Hurricane

We fed 5 baby birds four or five times a day for almost four weeks without power by placing a grate over a candle and heating water in a stainless steel food bowl. Debra was a real "soldier"...never missing a feeding. These are the only hurricane-proven babies in the US today. Four of the five are sold. One ships to Massachusetts tomorrow.

2005-10-23T19:40:00.000-05:00

Katrina Movies

The movies here were taken by my niece, Amy Gemelli, during Katrina. The home is in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, two miles from the Gulf. The home was considered a "safe house" since it is 25 feet above sea level. In 1969, Hurricane Camille flooding didn't touch it.

Inside the house are my brother, Keith, who lives there. Lori, Mike, Amy and Michael Gemelli whose home was destroyed. Cousins Charlene and Horace whose home was destroyed. Cousin Jetton whose home was destroyed. My Sister-in-law, Debbie Johnson whose home got 10' of water. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Elsie whose home got 8 feet of water inside.

The downloads are long but they will take you inside the eye of a hurricane. I suggest you download them to your hard drive so you won't have to download them again to show them to someone else.

Rising Water (16mb)
Inside The Eye (10 mb)

2005-10-22T21:03:00.000-05:00

Sunday Comics

We're back. More later...Craig

2005-09-16T16:30:00.000-05:00

Not Enough Words...

We should be able to post on a more regular basis starting next week. There are not enough words to describe what we've been through in the last three weeks. We'll try to describe what's happened around here in many future posts. Meanwhile, our birds are safe, we have electricity and water and 300 trees down on the property. The aviary is destroyed, one of the guest houses has three trees on it.

Much of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast is destroyed. We'll try to catch you up in future posts. Thanks for the many emails and phone calls. God bless. - Craig

2005-09-07T12:14:00.000-05:00

Craig Johnson asked me to post here to tell you that everyone at his home is fine but hurting.

Pray for Louisiana.

Numbers:

Home 985-892-3527
Cell 504-415-3493

Janis Gore

2005-08-29T04:38:00.000-05:00

Getting Bad...

and the storm is still 140 miles away. We've had power on and off for a while. This might be our last post for a while. All of the New Orleans TV stations are off the air. We still have cable and are following the storm on CNN and the internet. We'll most probably lose power and cable later this morning.

Winds here are sustained around 30 and gusting to 40. Everyone is sleeping. I'm making coffee. Might be the last pot until we can get the generator working after the worst of the storm is past.

TJ the Umbrella Cockatoo is one of two breeders that we brought inside into our bird room. He has been loving on everyone all night. Still a lovable pet.

Good luck to everyone.

2005-08-28T20:14:00.000-05:00

Jerk Chicken

The kids are experimenting in the kitchen. So far we've had hot spiced rum and the house if full of the wonderful smell of Jerk Chicken with some caribbean rice dish. They're having a great time and we are eating well. You can tell that they have no idea of what they're in for and cooking and laughing helps to keep it out of mind.

2005-08-28T17:09:00.000-05:00

Fear And Entertainment

You can see our local radar here. We are about to experience the first band of thunderstorms associated with the storm. The mouth of the Mississippi River is experiencing 50 mph sustained winds with gusts of 68.

As it turns out, we have three guitar players, a drummer and several singers. We're settling down for a hurricane concert.

2005-08-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

Works Over, Waiting Begins

Thanks to our children and their friends, our 40 item to do list has dwindled to two or three. We are all exhausted. We now have 12 people in the house with two more to arrive either tonight or tommorrow morning. We also have 5 dogs, 7 cats, 4 snakes, 6 mice and 12 parrots. There are 10 breeder birds safely tucked inside one of our out-buildings. Our house is a monument to hurricane preparedness.

Provisions include enough sandwich material to feed 100 people for a week and enough beer and liquor to stay high for a month.

Meanwhile, the eye of Katrina is now visible on radar as it approaches the coast from 140 miles out. Speed is 11 mph so the eye should hit the coast in 10 hours and be here in 15.

2005-08-28T09:29:00.000-05:00

Category 5

New Orleans has been preparing for the "big one" since 1965 when Hurricane Betsy came in as a category 3 hurricane and reeked havoc, all but destroying the eastern half of the city. This morning, Hurricane Katrina was upgraded to a category 5 storm with sustained winds of 165 and gusts to 190 mph.

The most powerful hurricane in recorded history hit the Florida Keys in 1935 with a central pressure of 892, the second most powerful was Camille at 909. Hurricane Katrina is 30 hours away and has a pressure of 908 and is expected to intensify as it hits warmer waters near the coast.

We wish all of our friends safe passage.

2005-08-27T20:53:00.000-05:00

Send Food

By the time we got moving today all of the service stations were out of gas. We sent Rachael out tonight to WalMart to stock up on food. All we managed to get today was beer.

Everything in the yard that could be blown around has been picked up and we worked on preparations to hang plywood over windows in the living room and bird room to create two "safe rooms". Tommorrow we will finish boarding up, relocate our breeders to an indoor shelter in an unfinished guest house and cut down several dead pine trees that might fall in the wrong direction and cut our power lines.

Our "guests" will begin arriving around noon on Sunday, over a day before the eye of Katrina approaches.

We lived through the eye of Hurricane Camille in 1969. Camille is the second most intense storm in recorded history. Wind speeds were 195 mph with gusts to 215. This wind lasted for 6 hours. It gives you a special respect for these storms.

2005-08-27T13:39:00.000-05:00

Sunshine Panic

It's a beautiful day outside...but the southern most Parishes (Counties) of Louisiana are in mandatory evacuation mode. Our parish will most likely call for evacuation after the 5 pm National Hurricane Center update.

There are long lines at the gas stations as people prepare. The interstate highways in the area are already gridlocked. We are communicating with our kids about them coming here to weather the storm. So far, we will have Evan and Rachael, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a girlfriend's mother and brother, two dogs and three cats. We decided a long time ago that no one would be turned away.

2005-08-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Another Day, Another Natural Disaster

All of us in south Louisiana live with the knowledge that every couple of years we will be scared by a hurricane. Every 10-15 years we will experience a small one and every twenty-five years we will take a major hit. This year we were hit solidly by one storm with winds of 73 mph. It was a wake-up call.

Now we are preparing for Hurricane Katrina. All of the models this morning take the storm directly over our area by Monday. Katrina is projected to have sustained winds near 140 mph with gusts to 165. So, today we officially begin our hurricane preparedness plan; picking up lawn furniture and outdoor plants, getting lumber and non-perishable groceries and gasoline. If the storm track stays where it is Sunday will be a twenty hour work day preparing the house and the outdoor birds for the worse.

Winds of 35-50 mph are predicted for Monday morning getting progressively worse until the eye hits us around 10 pm. We've posted the occassional entry about hurricanes in the past. This time we'll try to give you frequent updates so you can share the experience with us.

2005-08-25T21:43:00.000-05:00

Nelson The Terrible

It must be love. Nelson (the singing cockatoo) is back to his normal self after three months of "therapy". His plucked chest is feathering in nicely and we are hoping that he will not have any disfigurements in a few months. His personality has blossomed now that he is back at his true home.

Unfortunately, he was rather unruly when he left and now, after three months, he is more roudy than ever. He manages to escape from his cage every day. Once out he either lets the other birds out or climbs into their trays and throws all of the paper and other nastier things on the floor. When we try to lock the cage he unscrews every nut he can find. One day Debra heard a crash and walked into the bird room to find the cage in pieces on the floor. Nelson sat in the middle of the pile smiling.

The point is we love it. Nelson's personality fills our house with laughter and happiness. It's hard to be mad at a bird that brings us so much joy.

2005-08-21T07:19:00.000-05:00

Sunday Comics

2005-08-20T02:54:00.000-05:00

Hahn's

Yesterday we got two baby Hahn's mini-Macaws from the nest. Three weeks old, they will wean out at three months. You may have seen a photo of "Buster" sitting on his owner's shoulder somewhere on our site.

Hahn's are one of the smallest of the Macaw family and are active little rascals with giant personalities. They remind us of Caiques and are very similar in size (around 8"). Debra's happy to have babies in the house again.

2005-08-15T20:40:00.000-05:00

Dance Fever

Odie used to be our uncontested dance king. Then Nelson arrived on the scene. We have different songs that we sing to each of them and they both love to dance to them. Now, when I get home, I stand between their two cages and announce that the contest is beginning. I sing Odie's song and he sways from side to side and raises one foot to snap his fingers (he makes the snapping sound with his voice). Then I sing Nelson's song. He head bobs and has taken to raising one wing and turning around. When he really gets into it he raises one foot and then the other. So far, Nelson's winning three out of five contests.

2005-08-13T06:39:00.000-05:00

Birds Are Back

After a summer of distractions (mainly negative) we are re-energizing with a new batch of baby parrots. This week we will bring in two Hahn's Macaw babies and several Congo Greys. In two weeks we will have a pair of Solomon Island Eclectus. Having 10-12 babies in the house will be wonderful for our attitudes.

All of these babies will be ready for their new homes between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you are interested we will be happy to send photos. Deposits are recommended. Christmas time is a period of very high demand and very limited supply.

2005-07-24T10:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry

We've been very delinquent with posts for the last several weeks. For this we apologize. The demands of the air conditioning business and family health issues have taken the wind out of our sails.

But...we're still here. Our stock of babies for sale is down to two. A beautiful Congo baby that is weaned and a year old Red Sided Eclectus female that is a year old and needs to find a patient home.

We will be getting six baby Congos out of the nest next weekend so we will have a new batch of weaned babies around early November. Expect more baby Eclectus available before Christmas. We strongly suggest deposits on the Congos. They have been in very short supply this year.

2005-07-11T20:06:00.000-05:00

Cindy...Dennis...Emily....

Last year we didn't have a hurricane until August 19.

This year everyone is in a panic, afraid of rainstorms. The coastal parishes (counties) and the state government have been working for a year to develop an organized plan of evacuation. The plan was for those citizens in gravest danger to evacuate first followed in stages by those in less danger. So, for our area it would be the coastal areas followed by people on the west bank of the Mississippi river, followed by New Orleans, Metairie and Kenner, followed by the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain south of I-12.

The plan lasted until Dennis struck Cuba. Then, Phil Capitano and the Kenner city council decided that Kenner residents were more important than the coastal folks and called for a voluntary evacuation. Three hours later, Jefferson Parish declared their own evacuation. If people had paid attention, all of the highways would have been gridlocked, preventing evacuation by the people along the coast who were in the most danger.

Fortunately, the general citizenry did what their government officials failed to do. They listened to the National Hurricane Center and stayed home. It seems that the politicians thought they could interpret the weather better than the experts.

Hopefully, the State of Louisiana will assume responsibility for all evacuation notices in the future. If they don't, a lot of people will be killed by the local politicians who seem to be in a rush to see who can get on TV first.

2005-07-06T11:19:00.000-05:00

Practice

Tropical storm Cindy blew through last night. We received sustained winds around 45 mph and gusts to 55. That and 3 inches of rain. It was an interesting wake-up call.

This week we will pay serious attention to hurricane Dennis which will be hitting the Gulf Coast on Sunday night. That means being prepared to board up windows, getting the generator and chain saw in working condition and setting up temporary breeder cages in the enclosed storage house.

Hurricanes make you feel very helpless. At least preparation gives you a false sense of security.

2005-06-26T08:56:00.000-05:00

Squirrel Control

Harris Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus)

Last week we were driving around the property when a half-eaten squirrel carcass dropped from the sky and landed in our path. Looking up we were surprised to see a Harris Hawk in the tree overhead. Since them we have identified three birds who have taken residence on our property.

These birds have a wingspan up to four feet and are magnificent. We hope to have babies soon. We just haven't found the nest yet.

Raptors consider parrots food. We're sure they aren't a hit with the outside parrots but so far they are keeping their distance from our aviary.

2005-06-20T06:02:00.000-05:00

Thrill Ride (Country Style)

Speeds up to 8 mph, heart-stopping dips, wheelies, damaged turf, tree hazards...we had it all at the first annual Father's Day Tractor Practice.

It seems that tractors are best suited for flat, open fields. The tree-lined hills of the Chateau require a special relationship between the driver and the machine. After three hours of diligent practice we managed to cut the pond levee without rolling over and went on to conquer the tree obstacle course.

The best news is that even with the learning curve we managed to do 12 hours of hand cutting in three.

2005-06-17T21:53:00.000-05:00

John Deere

Tomorrow is a big day at the Chateau. We take delivery of our new John Deere 790 tractor. With the grass about knee deep around here it was just a matter of time before a tractor became critical. Along with the tractor, the dealer is bringing a brand new John Deere gimmee cap. Another chapter in the continuing saga of Chateau Plumage.

2005-06-14T20:39:00.000-05:00

The Creative Side Of Nest Boxes

We must be doing something right. We keep getting re-orders from people who have purchased our nest boxes. Since each box is designed to their specific requirements they are getting rather creative with their requests.

Denise in Oregon called today with a unique box design for Patagonian Conures. This box would be a 10" x 10" box, 42" long. It will be mounted horizontally across the cage. Sort of like a Grandfather box mounted on its side. The theory is to mimic a nest created by a burrowing bird.

We can't wait to see if she's successful. We may try this design on our Hawkheads.

2005-06-14T08:25:00.000-05:00

Sick Day

For two years we have avoided colds. We had too much work to do to allow ourselves to be sick. Today we both have miserable summer colds and are vegetating at the Chateau. The birds can't figure out what's going on but they know something's different. Hopefully this won't last long and we can get on with our lives.

2005-06-12T08:02:00.000-05:00

Dangerous Toys

This toy may or may not be dangerous to a large parrot. See the little rings on top of the plexiglas? If they are solid wire they are safe and the Cockatoo in the photo can have a great time. If the rings are keyrings, the bird can force the ring open and get his beak trapped.

This danger is greater if you own a large parrot such as a Cockatoo or a Congo. One of our baby Congos, Phoenix, went home with his new parents a couple of weeks ago. They had placed some wonderful toys in his new cage to welcome him. A week later they came home to find blood near his beak and on his foot but they couldn't find a cut.

The next day they took him to Dr. Greg Rich in New Orleans for a checkup. Dr. Rich found that a keyring from a toy had pierced the soft skin under the beak and had entered his mouth. You could stick a q-tip through the hole. He closed the opening and kept Phoenix for a couple of days for observation.

Dr. Rich says that he sees 3-4 birds a year with injuries caused by this type of ring. They are especially dangerous for large birds. Do yourself and your bird a favor and discard this type of toy.

2005-06-10T20:59:00.000-05:00

Calypso

Katie gave up her baby for adoption yesterday. She got the baby Quaker four years ago and finished handfeeding her. The baby was the love of her life. That was when she was twelve. Now she is sixteen or so and her life is full of activities that keep her away from home and her friend Calypso.

Her parents bought the bird because they wanted to do something special for her. I'm sure they told her that she would be responsible for handfeeding and the care of the bird because their lives were already full of responsibilities. And for four years she did. But twelve year olds don't understand that some responsibilities are forever. Forever for them could be next week.

As her activities increased, she spent less time with Calypso and suffered more guilt. She always worried about what would be best for her little friend. She understands that her life during the next fifteen years will get more complicated and the odds are that Calypso will get less and less attention.

Her dad and I are friends. A few weeks ago we were talking about parrots and he mentioned that his daughter might want to find a good home for her parrot. I explained that we help place several birds a year and if she decided to let us try we would be happy to help. Debra and I both hoped that Calypso would be able to stay with them but it was not to be.

So yesterday I stopped by and picked her up. She was in perfect feather and health and had obviously received excellent care. She spent last night on my shoulder preening my cheek and trying to protect me from Debra whenever she approached. This morning she greeted us with every word she knows including "I love you" and "good morning".

I knew she was home free when she walked across the bed, climbed on Debra's shoulder and said I love you. She'll stay with us as long as she wants to and when she finds the perfect home and she decides to love someone else we'll miss her. Just as Katie misses her today.

2005-06-08T23:27:00.000-05:00

Nelson…the singin’ Cockatoo

Today we found Nelson, a Ducorps Cockatoo that we sold to a family about three years ago, in a local pet shop. When we first saw him yesterday it occurred to us that there were only eight known Ducorps in south Louisiana. We have two, one other breeder has four and another breeder has a single male. The remaining bird was Nelson.

We called the shop to see if the band number started with B2P CA. It did, which identified Mary Ellen Lepage, the breeder that we got Nelson from in San Francisco, CA. Debra got Nelson because she had read about Ducorps and wanted to experience one first-hand. We kept him for six months during which Debra fell in love.

A family contacted us about a Cockatoo and against Debra’s wishes I sold him. We had contact with them about a year and a half ago. It appears that the husband was allergic to feather dust but the family loved him. We suggested a plexiglass cage and they were happy to try.

Apparently, this solution didn’t work and they placed Nelson on consignment at Birds Unlimited in Metairie, LA. We don’t know why they didn’t call us for assistance in placing him in a good home.

Fortunately, the shop owner is a friend. I explained to him that we wanted “our” bird back and were willing to pay a reasonable price. He was kind enough to let us re-purchase Nelson for the price the former owner wanted with no profit or commission for the store.

So we have reunited Debra with Nelson. I doubt that they will ever be separated again and Chateau Plumage has another permanent resident. Life is good.

2005-06-05T08:05:00.000-05:00

Nest Box Update

We are learning the dynamics of the nest box marketplace and where our custom boxes fit. We have a clearly superior product enhanced by our ability to manufacture metal nest boxes to the buyers specifications.

The market consists of breeders that make their own boxes out of wood. These boxes don't cost much but don't last long. In addition to exposing birds to the glue between the layers of plywood, moisture can create mold problems and affect the health of the female breeder. Some breeders use bleach to clean wooden boxes and we have seen several problems from residual bleach absorbed by the box.

There are three companies that make metal boxes. One makes a box that is shipped in pieces that must be crimped together using a crimping tool that they will sell you for $45. Otherwise they recommend rivets. An average box would require 60+ rivets. A number of breeders who have bought their boxes complain of poor customer service and long lead times for delivery.

Another makes boxes that look like they were made with a chain saw and a hammer in their garage.

Our "Better Nest Boxes" have superior quality but are shipped completely assembled which runs up the delivered cost. We have had great success delivering custom boxes of a specific size or with special features requested by the breeder.

This week we are delivering two Macaw breeding boxes to Melissa at Hyacinth Haven in Pennsylvania. She had been using welded barrels but decided to try sheetmetal boxes. Her boxes are made with 24 gauge metal to withstand the size and strength of her Hyacinths.

She requested an entry door which can be blocked by a sliding door on tracks. Her inspection door will be 8" by 8" with hinges and a deadbolt lock. She said that the sliding door configuration of most nest boxes can sometimes jam with debris and having a stuck door when an angry Hyacinth is attacking is not pleasant. The hinges will guarantee a positive closure.

Our sheetmetal department was concerned about light seeping through the cracks around the door and designed a 10" x 10" door that is double walled and actually extends 1/4" inside the opening.

For Melissa's Hyacinths we have designed a double hook configuration with hanging hooks on the top and bottom of the cage. This will give additional support and prevent the box from pulling away at the bottom.

With breeders that cost $20,000 a pair and babies that sell for $7,500 - $8,500 it makes sense to invest a little more in quality box that will be safe and last a long time.

2005-06-04T07:07:00.000-05:00

A No-No

We don't talk about these.

2005-06-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

The Pond

No, this isn't our pond...but it's close. Our pond should cover a half an acre and be 18 feet deep. What we have is half that size and a depth of four feet. Obviously there is a leak so we called in a bulldozer guy with a reputation for being able to fix any leaking pond. He previewed the problem with Charles, a friend who works with us every Saturday. After a couple of days he called to say that for only $7,000 he could find and patch the leak.

We talked to other friends who assured us that for $3,000 we could dig the same sized pond from scratch. We don't know who to believe but Charles had an interesting suggestion. Everything he and I have attempted has been successful. So why don't we rent the trash pump that was so successful on the swimming pool and drain the pond? Then, for $300 we could rent a Bobcat (otherwise known as an adult toy) and scrape the bottom until we find where the bottom is breached. If we need clay we could order a truckload or two and spread it out to seal the bottom.

This would take three weekends and risk about $700 but if it's successful we would save over six thousand dollars. Given our track record and the fact that Charles has more guts than brains and Craig has more brains than ability we might just have the key to success. So...look forward to tales of which legends are made or utter silence during the next month as we proceed with the latest hairbrained scheme.

2005-05-31T21:35:00.000-05:00

Air Purification

A few years ago our air conditioning company began marketing Sanuvox Ultraviolet Air Purifiers to homeowners with allergies or those who have respiratory problems. These devices are added to the central air conditioning system and continually treat the air in a home with UV. This process kill germs and oxidized odors in the home.

Our staff decided that Craig's pipe smoke in the office could be treated by a portable room air purifier, the Sanuvox P800GX. This small device eliminated traces of smoke in the office. We were so impressed that we added an in-line system to our air conditioning systems at home. Visitors couldn't believe that the house could smell so fresh with up to 20 parrots inside.

We have recently started marketing the P800GX on Google to pet owners and others. If you want to create a healthy environment for you and your pets check out Sanuvox.