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| About CPR | |
Companion Parrots Re-homed is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Our Mission
The exclusive mission of Companion Parrots Re-homed is to accept companion parrots from unwanted, emergency or crisis situations throughout the Greater Charlotte, North Carolina, area and to facilitate through training and education, new adoptive homes for these sensitive and intelligent birds.
Meet the Birds
At our website
or
at Parrot University
321 S Polk St, Pineville
Visiting Hours:
Mon - Fri 10 AM - 7 PM
Saturday 10 AM - 6 PM
Sunday Noon - 5 PM Please consider a tax deductible donation. Your gift of any amount will directly help the birds.
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| FREE Classes at Parrot University |
Please RSVP
Call 704-889-2325 or email
Parrot 101
Thu, Mar 8, 6:30 pm
Positive Reinforcement Training
Sun, Feb 26, 2 pm
Wed, Mar 21, 6:30 pm
Avian Medicine
Sat, Feb 18, 2 pm
Sun, Mar 18, 2 pm
Sex & the Single Bird
Wed, Feb 22, 6:30 pm
Check 'Calendar of Events' at
Please Support Our Sponsor
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Recently Adopted |
These lucky birds of CPR have recently found new families.
Amelia, Blue-front Amazon
Chippy, Green-cheek Conure
Nonny, Cockatiel
2 of the 'Animal Control 7' Cockatiels
Our new families often post their progress on Facebook
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New to CPR |
Visit our website and stop by Parrot University to meet the birds and to help them find new homes.
Buster, African Grey Harry, African Grey Pepper, African Grey Emma Jane, Amazon Gracie Sue, Eclectus Romeo & Juliet, Lovebirds Gizmo, Macaw Magoo, Macaw
www.companionparrots.org
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Joining Us Soon |
In Quarantine
Bella, Sun Conure
Sadie, Sun Conure
Olivia, Meyer's Parrot
Waiting in the Wings
Quaker
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Happy Valentines Day | |
 | | Peanut & Lily |
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you
from the Birds of CPR!
This month, there are lots of new birds at CPR. Three of them are featured in this issue of The Feathered Forum. Visit our website to read the stories of all the new birds and then stop by Parrot University to meet them! And while you're there, blow a kiss to your favorite feathered valentine.
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Your Pre-Adoption Home Visit | |
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Louie |
by Lynda Rettew
At some point during the adoption process, you will have taken your two classes, filled out the adoption application and had your other birds vetted. You will have spent time bonding with the bird that you want to join your family. So all that's left is the home visit -- what should you expect?
The entire adoption process, including the home visit, is geared towards setting up you and your new feathered family member to succeed. This last step is an opportunity for you to ask any unanswered questions within a one-on-one, on-site visit. There's a lot of material covered in Parrot 101 and the other classes, so the home visit is a great opportunity to clarify information, ask questions and get more information -- especially if this is your first bird.
Here are some of the questions we ask during the visit:
- Does anyone smoke? Do you remember about scented candles and air fresheners?
- How many people live in your home? Who will be the primary caretaker?
- What other animals do you have? Are they going to be an issue with your new bird?
- What size cage will you have and where will it be located?
- Do you use a ceiling fan or fire place? How close are they to the cage?
- Which avian vet will you use?
- What kind of food do you plan to use?
It's rare for someone to "fail" the home visit. Once the classes are taken and you have visited with us several times, both CPR's expectations and potential problem areas with your bird have usually become clear. So, don't view the visit as an "inspection" but rather as another opportunity for education and communication. Our goal is success and happiness for all! |
| Romeo & Juliet: Featured Birds for February | |
 | | Romeo & Juliet |
Meet Romeo & Julliet
Species: Lovebirds
Ages: 6
Did you think this pair was a male and female? Nope -- they're a bonded pair of male Peach-faced Lovebirds. Romeo & Juliet recently joined CPR due to their owner's severe allergies. Both of these guys are hand tame, but they're not happy when separated, so they must be adopted together. These quiet birds would do well in an apartment or condo.
These sweet, colorful guys are just adorable and guaranteed to steal your heart!
Watch a video of Romeo & Juliet. |
| Pepper: Featured Bird for February | |
 | | Pepper |
Meet Pepper
Species: Congo African Grey
Age: 9
Pepper recently joined CPR when his family felt they could no longer give him the time he deserved. He's a talkative, active guy who likes being around people. With plenty of foraging and other activities since joining CPR, his feather abuse has virtually disappeared.
What a personality -- lots of birds imitate the ringing of the phone, but Pepper also imitates dialing and answering and the conversation!
Watch a video of Pepper and come meet him.
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| Gizmo: Featured Bird for February | |
 | | Gizmo |
Meet Gizmo
Species: Hahn's Macaw
Age: 20
Gizmo originally joined CPR due to his owners' declining health. He quickly found a loving home but sadly came back due to the family's employment changes requiring a good deal of travel.
Gizmo is a quick witted little guy who will sometimes give you a bite and say "Ouch, don't bite!" then laugh hysterically. His first home provided a long list of things that he says and we're listening for these phrases. If you wishing for a large Macaw but don't have the room, Gizmo will provide Big Macaw attitude in a very small package.
Watch a video of Gizmo. |
| Happy Endings -- Serena | | By Jose Sonero
 | | Serena with her Dad, Jose |
Early last year, I was given a bird cage, so I needed a bird. I knew I wanted a parrot, but I didn't know anything about them. My first option was to go to the pet store and buy a bird there, but I was concerned because when I went to the stores the sales people seemed to know little about the birds.
So I decided to search on the internet and there I discovered CPR. Now I had the opportunity to go to training and learn about birds before getting one. I felt comfortable that I had support from bird experts in case I had questions or if my bird experience wasn't a good one.
During my first visit to Parrot University, I saw a lot of beautiful birds that were available for adoption. Some were talkers, others wanted to play and others were shy. However, one bird in particular caught my attention. Serena was a beautiful Indian Ring Neck parrot. Whenever I went to Parrot U, she would be chirping like throwing kisses at me. I wanted to pet Serena, but she was not comfortable with me. After a little while, though, Serena was on my shoulders and I decided that I wanted to rescue her.
Once home, it took Serena a couple of days to get comfortable before she started talking. She says "Pretty bird", whistles, imitates the microwave, laughs in a funny way and more. During that time, I was getting to know Serena and although I was getting comfortable with her, I was a little afraid to play with her because I was concerned that she was going to bite me hard. Within a few weeks, Serena started to tell me with her behavior how she wanted to interact with me. I never expected to play with Serena the way we play today. She lets me hold her upside down in my hands while I gently scratch her beak. I can spend hours doing this because she loves that I can check her wings, feet and tail with no problems. We are very comfortable with each other.
I've picked up a few pointers in training and found that Serena quickly learns tricks. So far she can wave bye-bye, spin on her perch, throw a cylinder, play "almost" dead (while still moving her head), fly to her cage and climb a rope. I'm trying to teach Serena to open a small mail box that I got for her so she can get the mail. Serena loves to take showers and does a great imitation of an eagle -- she opens her wings and tail while I spray water on her. When she does that, you can see how beautiful Serena is.
Serena loves bells and spends a lot of time playing with them when she's in her cage. I make most of her toys. She lets me know which one she likes and which she doesn't. Sometimes I have to remake the toys to her taste, but I don't mind.
So far, my experience with Serena and the adoption process has been great. I'm glad that I have Serena in my life and that I'm having as much fun with her as she is with me. I still don't know all about birds, but I feel really good that I can pick up the phone and get my questions answered by the staff of Parrot University. Having that support is priceless.
My 'Happy Ending' is that I love Serena and I'm super happy that I was able to rescue her. |
| Tip of the Month | | Preparing & Cleaning Pine Cones
This tip comes to us from the Raleigh Durham Caged Bird Society.
Pine cones are abundant in our area and make great toys. Please make sure they have not been contaminated with sprays or car exhaust before you consider using them. Here is how to prepare them for your birds.
Pine cones need to be gently soaked in a tub of warm water and mild bird-safe soap or warm water w/GSE added (Grapefruit Seed Extract). I use the GSE because then you don't have to rinse the cones. They will close up when they are wet. Spread the cones out on your deck or porch to dry and re-open. Finally, bake at 250 degrees for 15 minutes on a cookie sheet. (This makes the house smell yummy!). It sounds like a lot of work but these cones are such great enrichment items for all birds, even the very little ones and they are FREE! |
|
Train Away! | | | by Debbie Foster
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Debbie & Owl at Natural Encounters |
Four of us flew out of Charlotte on Saturday, January 14th and headed to 'Natural Encounters' in Winter Haven, Florida for a week's training on the ranch. We knew that Steve Martin, the owner of Natural Encounters and an animal trainer who travels the world working with zoos, animal parks, and animals of all kinds, and Dr. Susan Friedman, a psychology instructor at Utah State University who bridged the field of Applied Behavior Analysis and working with animals, would be our teachers for the week, along with Steve's very experienced staff of animal trainers. We also knew that there would be lots to see and lots to learn.
We were given the opportunity to pick birds we would like to work with from a list of 13 different types of parrots. We were each given a 'personal' bird (no, I didn't bring mine home, because he was too big to fit in the luggage) and a team bird. Each day we were taught the science behind the behavior and then were given a task to accomplish with our birds.
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David at Natural Encounters |
Throughout the week our energy ebbed and flowed, as we celebrated successes and bemoaned failures (or a lack of progress). One of our members pointed out that the birds can certainly teach you humility. But by the end of the week we were seeing huge strides with our birds and our skill levels. All of us came back fired up and ready to go. I couldn't wait to get back to Parrot U to try out some new ideas and more refined techniques with the Birds of CPR. You'll probably be seeing some of these on video or in the Positive Reinforcement classes soon.
Some highlights: watching Karen train a Red-fronted Macaw to do the turn-around AND a forward flip on a handheld perch, watching David work painstakingly and patiently to earn the trust of a very skittish Blue-throated Macaw, watching Nancy work with Scarlet and Hyacinth Macaws when she had dealt with nothing larger than a Senegal before, watching people teach birds to have their toenails filed, go under a towel, fly around a pole, play basketball or learn color discrimination. I fell in love with a Hyacinth Macaw named Chauncey, who learned to fly to my hand, climb a rope, fly to another perch and haul a bucket up on a rope to get the peanut inside -- all part of a behavior chain.
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Debbie and Hyacinth Macaw |
There were two other highlights worth mentioning. We flew juvenile Hyacinth Macaws back and forth. It was a little like playing catch with birds. One person sent the bird and the other one caught it. The other amazing thing is that we were able to hold a Eurasian Eagle Owl. Look this one up so you can appreciate the beauty of this bird.
If you ever have a chance to go to Natural Encounters, don't miss it -- it was an awesome experience. Learn more at www.naturalencounters.com.
Hope you enjoy the videos. Watch. Watch #2
I'll be back in next month's Feathered Form, talking about training. If you've got a question for us or an idea for this column, please email us at info@companionparrots.org and "Train away"!
Want to learn more? Reserve your seat now for the next Positive Reinforcement Training Class on Sunday, February 26, at 2:00 pm at Parrot University. |
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Volunteer Corner | | | by Lynda Rettew
 What a pleasure it is to work with our CPR volunteers. Never yet has a request been sent out that didn't get covered by someone. Our list of available volunteers continues to grow, and we always have plenty of offers of help for specific tasks. You are all terrific.
"Sundays with Judi" has been highly successful. We appreciate Judi Johnson allowing people to shadow her to learn how to care for the birds in the most fundamental ways. Ann Morris now comes in weekly, and we all appreciate what she is doing. Connie Thompson is our "go to" Saturday helper and is always available when we ask. A couple of other wonderful volunteers are working their way through the training, and we will continue with this initiative as time goes on.
Bird marts can be a challenge to coordinate. We not only need someone with a truck to haul our yard sale items, but also people to manage sales and talk to people. Our most recent event was at the National Guard Armory in Belmont on February 4-5. Taffy Price and Michael Graziadei handled the truck and hauling to the site, plus stayed around and worked all morning. Val Vajay helped on Sunday. I also spent time there on both days. Serious thanks to all who made this possible. Proceeds from sales at bird marts always earn a good return to support the CPR programs.
Happy Valentine's Day to all. I wish you some birdie love.
Lynda
Contact me at volunteer@companionparrots.org if you'd like to volunteer. |
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We'd love to hear from you. Please send your comments or suggestions to info@companionparrots.org. Thanks to all of you for your support.
The Birds of Companion Parrots Re-homed
Karen Cheek Justice, President & Founder
Board of Directors
Volunteers
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