April Newsletter

Breeding Season & Behavior

When Hormones Rule!

by Shauna Hill

For many who have lived with parrot companions for a while, the coming spring season is looked to with the knowledge that this can bring about changes in their beloved bird.

For those new to living with a feathered family member it can be a surprise for which they are not prepared - especially if they have had their bird since it was a young chick who has always been sweet and, after reaching sexual maturity, has started to change. It can leave the human who loves their bird with hurt feelings and wondering why this change is taking place. So what are those potential changes and what can a human caregiver do to help everyone in the household to peacefully co-exist during this potentially challenging time? Read More

Visions of Light

The Importance of Avian Lighting

by John Graziano

Birds may be the most visually-oriented animals in nature. They have one of the most sophisticated visual systems, the largest eyes of any animal (relative to body size) and the highest proportion of brain power devoted to vision. They have often been described as "a pair of eyes with wings".

Birds' ability to see color far surpasses that of humans, as does their visual acuity and the speed with which they process images. In almost all aspects of the visual experience, birds see a world that we can scarcely imagine.

Yet our companion birds often exist in an environment that is unable to support this spectacular visual machinery. Our human homes are lit for our comparatively unsophisticated eyes, and they often leave our feathered companions … if not "in the dark", then in something relatively close to it. Read More

Hemingway, Surrealist Budgie Poet

As told by Hemingway’s foster dad, adoptive mom, and secret admirer

Little Hemingway, Mickaboo’s blue and white budgie, is quite the poet. We don’t know for how long he has been a poet, or if his poetry was inspired by the emptiness of heartache. You see, Hemingway came to Mickaboo with his mate Shirley, who soon thereafter died of a fast-growing tumor. But, after grieving for several days over the loss of Shirley, Hemingway remained brave and friendly. Read More

MickaCoo Article

Pierre the 3am Dove

by Elizabeth Young

On Saturday March 6th, I received an email from someone who was moving and needed to find a new home for her splay-legged dove, Pierre. When I move, I take my pets and so I'm always unclear on what such an inquiry means. I replied that same day (quite proud of myself for such a prompt response) and asked why she couldn't take Pierre the dove with her and when she was leaving. Her reply was that she was driving across country to college where no pets would be allowed, that Pierre couldn't be left at her home and that she was leaving that night. There seemed to be some family drama involved. Read more

Juicy the Rescued Amazon

by Vicki Ronchette

Mickaboo calls itself a “rescue” organization. There are few instances which illustrate the word more dramatically than the rescue of a bird lost in the outdoors.

Mickaboo volunteers originally learned of a stray parrot from a Craigslist post. On January 27, 2010 Mickaboo volunteers Scott Shipley and Jennifer Sommers made their first attempts to capture the bird, a Red-Lored Amazon. They used an extra long ladder supplied by the home owners who had posted the Craigslist ad. Although Scott was able to get within six feet of the bird on the first attempt, they could not catch her. Several attempts were made to catch her over the next nine days, but none succeeded. Read More

A Prince of a Bird

by Rachael Prewett

As often happens when working with rescue groups – I didn’t have a whole lot of warning and information when I agreed to take on a new foster bird. I knew that he was a male cockatiel, named Prince, who had been a stray and was now looking for a long-term foster home. I knew that he had been to a vet, had received a thorough evaluation that had included blood-testing for contagious disease, and I knew that he had been found to be perfectly healthy. I knew he was shy.

There was one detail that somehow slipped through the cracks, though. This cockatiel was naked. Read More

Longer Distance Adoption

Powder

by Carolyn Lewis

This is the story of a VERY long-distance adoption of a Mickaboo bird, as told by her adopter.

Our 17-year-old Goffin’s Cockatoo, Bernie, died unexpectedly in June 2007. It devastated us and the silence in our home was unbearable. We knew we had to have another goffin but also knew we couldn’t replace Bernie. We checked with local bird rescues throughout our state of Alaska. Bigger birds are not usually sold in Alaska and none were available. We had plans to spend the winter in the lower 48 so we expanded our search. Most bird rescues won’t adopt to people who live outside their area. We finally found Mickaboo. We submitted an application, sent photos of our home, did a phone interview and class. We had already taken classes through PEAC so were approved to adopt and went on the waiting list. We watched the website for new goffins and waited. Read More

What's New

Class & Location

by Chloe Redon

Mickaboo was fortunate to land one of the most desirable spaces in the San Francisco Bay Area as a new, additional location for monthly Basic Bird Care classes and other events: the Pet Food Express (“PFE”) in Walnut Creek. We were told the Walnut Creek store is the first PFE to have the state-of-the-art event room that we will be using. After some investigation and diplomacy, we secured the space from 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm on the fourth Saturday of every month. Another wonderful animal rescue, “Save a Bunny,” will use the space before us, from 10:00 am -1:00 pm. Read More

"Unusual Behavior" Contest Winners

Your Bird Does WHAT?

by Pamela Lee

Sheree Peterson says:
Our foster blue-fronted Amazon Santiago (aka Hector) loves his chew toys and bells. He likes to disconnect the clapper from inside the bells after sleeping under the bell like a helmet, as in Bell Helmets. He loves listening to the ringing of the bells as you can see from the photo. He'll ring, listen, and ring some more. Read More

Calendar Contest for 2011!