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August 2016 Mayor of the Avenue... Elaine (zoo mom)

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expressmailtome

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Our "Mayor of the Avenue" award is presented to a member who exhibits the qualities that distinguish them to be an upstanding credit to the Avenue, a loving, informed, conscientious and caring bird parront and an all around good neighbor.

I am happy to announce that Elaine is August's Mayor of the Month.
I enjoyed reading your interview, and am sure that everyone else will as well!

1. What kind of birds do you have (age, species and names)?


I have 6 birds
Jason (m) Senegal about 12 yrs old
Guiseppe (m) Hahns macaw about 10yrs
Andre (m) BH Pionus about 8yrs
Russell (m) RB2 about 6 yrs
Graham (f) cockatiel about 5 yrs
Eric (f) cockatiel about 3 yrs


2. What got you interested in birds?

In my early 20's I moved into an apartment. I was living alone for the first time in my life. Going from a house with 6 other people (my family) to living by myself was a shock. The silence was deafening. So I started looking for a pet I could keep in my apartment. I chose a parakeet I named Chester. Chester was a chatty character full of joy and energy (though he was only partially tamed). Chester died in my hands while I was holding him trimming his nails. He was only 1.5 yrs old. I assume that I held him too tightly. (To this day I have a hard time with toweling my birds.)

Fast forward about 20 years. (I thought about Chester frequently and how much fun he was.) I was in a local family owned pet shop and saw a beautiful bird. It was green with a yellow breast and a gray head. I immediately said to myself "this bird should be named Jason". I asked questions about him and was told he was a Senegal parrot. I asked to handle him and they said "Hey won't come out of his cage and dislikes everyone." I asked to try anyway. He jumped right out of his cage onto my arm and ran up to my shoulder. He stayed there for the next hour as I wandered around the small store. He bit anyone who tried to remove him from my shoulder. After that I put him back into his cage, walked to the bookstore 2 doors down, bought a couple books on bird care and sat in my car and skimmed through them. 2 hours later I walked back into the store and put a deposit on him and a cage. I took him home 2 weeks later. I loved having Jason in my life and over time others followed.


3. What have your birds brought to your life?


Love, joy, entertainment and so much more.

4. What have you learned from sharing your life with your birds?

Patience LOL and to appreciate the little things.

5. What's one birdie memory that will stay with you forever?


One December I was trying to teach Jason to whistle the chorus to Jingle Bells. He never quite caught on (so I thought). One day several months later long after I had given up, I was sitting in another room and I hear Jason whistle the first phrase of Jingle Bells followed by a pause. After a couple seconds he did a wolf whistle paused again then finished the chorus. I just about fell off my chair laughing. He never did it again.

6. Where is your birds main living area?

A spare upstairs bedroom was turned into to the birds room. I have multiple cats, currently 6 of them. For the birds safety they need a room that can be closed off when they are out of their cages.

7. Did you change things in your home to accommodate your birds and if so what kinds of things did you change?

I set up my computer in the bird room. I also put a very tall gate in the bird room doorway so the door can be opened when the birds are caged. It has vertical bars so the cats can't climb it and tall enough they don't jump it. I also put a small refrigerator in the bird room so their fresh raw fruits and veggies could be kept in the bird room.

8. Are you involved in any kind of bird related group or activities?

Just AA


9. What is the one luxury item you would love to have for your bird(s)?

There are actually several things I would like to have in the bird room. An attached bathroom with a shower large enough to wheel cages in to clean them. And a counter area with a sink and dishwasher. But unfortunately no room for either.

10. Is there any bird that you dream of owning and if so why?

I guess I really don't have a dream bird per se. Sometimes I think I would like to have an African Grey and other times and Amazon but it is not really a longing. The ones that really reach out to me are the mini macaws poi's and pionus that need homes. I want to take them all but know that I am at my limit.

11. Describe a typical day with you at home with your birds.

Well first let me say that I work nights shift and my husband is a night owl. Because of this we have manipulated night and day for our birds to increase the amount of attention and interaction they get.

My husband usually puts the birds to bed and cover them around 3am, and close the room darkening curtains. The birds are uncovered around 3 or 4pm, and the curtains opened. At this time their pellets and seeds are changed or replenished as needed, waters are also changed. On nights I have to work, I get ready for work then my husband and I eat dinner. After dinner I put a bathrobe over my uniform and let the birds out for interaction and flight time. Depending on what time I have to go to work this is anywhere from 1-3 hours. I then give them all nutriberries and put them back in their cages. My husband then spends some time with them between midnight and 3am. During this time they get their fruits and veggies. Then they get 1 or 2 nuts and back to their cages. On my nights off I do some work around the house and go into the bird room later and stay for 3-5 hours.
I have full spectrum lights on timers set to increase and decrease to mimic morning noon and evening. The first one comes on shortly after 3pm and the last one goes off shortly before 3am.


12. What have you learned about owning birds that you would like to share?

Accept the bird on his or her terms. Give them room and time. Don't push yourself on them. If they do the like hands try a forearm or perch for step ups.

13. If you knew then what you know now about birds, what would you do differently?


I don't know if bird vets were around when I had Chester. If so I would have taken him in to have nails trimmed and maybe he would have been with me longer.

14. What other hobbies do you have?


Reading and sewing

15. Anything else you would like to share?


Research, research, research before getting a bird. Then be prepared for nothing to be the way it is "supposed to be".
 

Tyrion

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:bounce7::congrats5::bounce7:
 

Clueless

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Congrats!
 

Newbie GCC

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Congrats!!
 

txdyna65

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Congrats
I really enjoyed reading about you and your birds.
Ive never heard of anyone changing them over from days to night, but I can certainly see why you did and glad it works for you :)
 

TWR

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:congratsbig:

Congrats
I really enjoyed reading about you and your birds.
Ive never heard of anyone changing them over from days to night, but I can certainly see why you did and glad it works for you :)
I manipulate night and day in the bird room too, to maximise the time I spend with the birds, using timers and 3 separate full spectrum lights & 1 moonlight. Dawn in the bird room happens at 11am and the sun sets at 11pm.
 
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Tiel Feathers

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:congrats5:
I really liked reading your interview, especially how you met Jason!
 

Nikomania

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Way to go!!!:congrats3:
 
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