I do believe its warming up very quickly now and over the next 24 hours will be back up to 6 degrees, hopefully the conractors will get back on to the development then too as we have had a couple of slow days with not much going on at all.

For those of you that didnt see, our Meerkats have given birth to 3 angel and they are wonderful, we shall try and follow them for the first few weeks on video, she is a new mother so hopefully all will go well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB0br-asWxM

Okay thats the hospital all closed for the night so Im off home (dont worry its only next door)

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First of all I personally wish to say a big sorry to the real Animal Rights, we have been viciously attacked over the past 3 years now by what we thought was an animal rights group only to recently be informed by one of the largest in the world after looking at our history that this isn’t the work of any regulated or bona fide animal rights group. On looking at the series of events they recognise the actions and methods of this fraction but say this is a personal attack on me and nothing to do with animal welfare. This all came about due to us having the Special Branch police involved who have been monitoring the situation both from letters and emails sent around public bodies, a number of names were logged and it became apparent that this was a little different to normal activity, so i contacted a large animal rights group through a member of our staff who also happens to be a member of an Animal Rights group, that last sentence says enough; we cant be that bad if they will even work for us!!!

Also sorry to you lot that used to read these blogs with interest about the total lack of blogs, we have just been so busy building here, new parrot houses, new education room, new path extensions and new visitor welcome centre and i know there’s been a couple of disgruntled people who have asked why we are building a new place for people when we have all these animals to cater for; Simple, we have over 30,000 supporters and many visit us on a regular basis, for the past 9 years we have, as any ordinary animal centre, been making steady improvements as funds allow, we have now got to a point that major improvements for both people and animals are needed and so major investments are required, in this day and age of financial uncertainty we can not depend on donations alone as most charities have had a drop in assistance over the past couple of years so we are building with no cost to both the charity or the animal fund, whether we like it or not, we need to offer visitors a pleasant experience as well as animals.

This brings me on to the animals, they are all doing fine and the weather at present isnt having an effect on them, although we have always provided acilities for heating indoor enclosures, our new buildings are moving with the times and they have all the mod cons making sure that the temperature never gets below whatever we set it at. This in mind though the birds that have access to these facilities already, still choose not to use it , we have students here from all over the world working in different fileds of study with the parrots, they are amazed that as intelligent creatures, parrots choose where they roost and most of the time thats outside under cover rather than inside where the heat is I suppose as long as they have the choice, thats all that matters.

Saying that, I have always said that parrots dont need the heat, even though we have always had the facility to offer it them should they need it and I know many many breeders and none of them have heated quarters and never have done for 30-35 years so they must know what they are doing as their livelihoods depend on it, one of them lives within a few miles of us and they have nearly as many parrots all living outside. Then again all we have to do is look at last years severe winter and it had no marked difference on our mortalities here, although increased for the overall year it was easy to see within the veterinary and post-mortem records that the dates were well before the winter struck, so although we would naturally expect a natural increase with the severe weather (we only have to look at the increase in human deaths in these times) there wasn’t nothing to be alarmed about.

This then brings me on to all of the issues above, the group of good intentioned but misguided people are intent on continuing to waste public money by continually sending public authorities and the RSPCA here to inspect different areas around the zoo in order to cause as much inconvenience as possible and this hasnt slowed down any, although things are slightly different now. Over the past couple of years one of our biggest visitors was the RSPCA acting on behalf of the group, and not once did we recieve any letters or forms of concern from the RSPCA, the sad part about it was they would also never send any confirmation of that but thats about to come to and end.

In January this year (3 weeks ago) in the middle of the winter the vehicles started pulling into the car park, it then came over the radio that there were people in uniforms seen on the security cameras outside the offices, I walked out to find another uninformed improtu visit by the senior inspectorate from the RSPCA only this time accompanied by Avian Zoo vet Matt Brash, now as our group of ‘Steve Nichols’ haters have always portrayed, Mr Brash has no love for this place and has never worked with us albeit he did do a zoo inspection here a number of years ago which produced no problems hence the fact he gave us our continuation of license.

So he was the one that the group had recommended be paid by the RSPCA to do this uninvited inspection with the inspectorate and this they did, they went through a full interview followed by a very long inspection of every single enclosure inside and out, the quarantine, the food room, the diet sheets, the hospital, they even went in my house? when i say everything, i mean everything. After many hours of interrogation they left, it is only now, 3 weeks later I have had the results and WOW, they finally not only accepted that not only are we good at what we do but IMPECCIBLE  is a word I do not see or use a lot, but are also willing to produce it in writing. The full report will be plastered all over the home page of the website and probably the the front page of the 50% of the bird press that always believed us (theres only 2 bird mags ). I will get it everywhere and even put it on boards around the zoo for anyone thats a little uncertain.

Now, we are not going to gloat over it, we feel that all members of the public have the right to show concern if they have any worries about animals being housed at any animal unit, however how that is carried out is what needs to be altered and seriously questioned. This harrassment has been very personal and hurtful to my family and is caused by one individual that arrived at the zoo a few years ago, he paid to get in, got highly embarrassed when speaking to me, he showed his true colours of total lack of experience in these spectacular creatures and therefore decided to write his own report on the place, as we had no intentions of bowing down to an unqualified, uneducated and down right liar he took it upon himself to make it personal.

He is very good with the pen and the emails and excellent at repeating experienced and qualified people, not unlike a parrot really, the problem is he then lowered his standards to work with breeders and other rescues that for whatever reasons do not like me (beware people, he will then turn on you that have helped him), these are all groups he has openly admitted he wants abolished as he does not believe in breeding parrots, now he has stopped breeding?  

The trouble then began, I am not saying that it has stopped now, I know it will not just yet, not that quick, even though all the major authorities including the RSPCA, DEFRA, THE COUNCIL and THE ZOO VET MATT BRASH and the ZOO LICENSING AUTHORITIES have all agreed we are conforming to all relevant regulations and more. I have seen the fabricated videos that have been circulating around the internet to the sad Michael Jackson song, Im both amazed at the content of the videos as i have no idea where they have got some of the pictures from but they are certainly not here, one of the shots of dead greys is an old photograph we used to use in anti-importing weekends (one of the reasons you will see some breeders do not like me, as thats now cut off their cheap supply of birds). Then I find out that they have been made from people who havent even been here as i said earlier he works on peoples empathy to gain more leverage in his campaign. The letters from the RSPCA and the Authorities will be on public display to show any of the doubters, fortunatley these things do have a way of bringing out the best in people also, we have never received as much support or donations from the caring people that know, just remember theres still 100s of people that visit their birds annually, and have done for many years, do you think they would still be coming if we were anything but acceptable?

So now I have got that off my chest and I do not expect every person to believe every word but when its put up in writing, it will be hard not to!!

I must get out and sort the arriving staff and allocate them their work for the day, I wonder if this blog travels around as fast as those false videos? Probably not

All the birds are doing very well and so are all the animals, give us chance to try our newly design parrot houses out if it gets cold like it did last year, but even then we didnt really get any snow just plenty of ice and that had no increased effect on the birds, but with these new houses it will be even better, within every unit theres also a study room where colleagues from our partners The University of Lincoln can view the birds without them knowing, having the benefits of  no stress on the birds and everything needed within one place, this will be the same for every new enclosure. The Macaws are next, their building is up, just the roof to go on and the inside kitted out and then they too will have a new house.

So whats so special about these new houses? Well looking after the worlds largest collection of rescued parrots you learn a few things that you just would never know when you have half a dozen or maybe a dozen, you see a little more of how they live and just what their needs are, (which is one of the main reasons for linking up with the University) sometimes their needs aren’t what we would expect as humans so their new enclosures have to reflect this. So gone are the days of old when decorative wooden housing units that were protected by mesh etc like 90% of aviculturists use, set within the mesh enclosures, In with the newly designed concrete blocked buildings that have double insulated walls and a decorative skin of timber on the outside for aesthetics as well as more insulation, the roofs are triple insulated using anti-vermin foam then tiled with concrete tiles for heat retention and aesthetics . Then on the inside; each wall is steel lined for hygiene and rodent deterrence, this makes life so much easier for the keepers as all you have to do is lock the birds out, Jet wash the walls to remove and sticky fruit etc and then fog the room with F10….something you cannot do with timber structures. The actual enclosures are changing too, they will all have gardens set within a security fence to give them permanent greenery with foraging materials that they can reach but not damage the root stock, the new walls we showed you in the earlier blog are taking shape now and this gives them a constant flow of water so they can bathe whenever they wish, albeit their main water will be indoors. There are also little pipes in each enclosure which are to be used for enrichment by way of being able to stick fruit or willow tree branches from some of the 3000 willow trees that we are growing anually for this very purpose. Another idea we are experimenting with is solar energy, the general idea for the enclosures has always been the same which is not to let the inside area get below 4 degrees in the winter but still offer them the freedom of being able to fly outside whenever they wish, well these new designs and the solar energy will hopefully make this even easier, what has always been the difficult part when you build something new is getting electricity to it safely, due to all the other enclosures, this eliminates that problem altogether so we will keep you informed how it goes.

Pictures will start popping up regular now as theres allsorts going-on, on a daily basis so you will see before you visit.

Follow Steve on Twitter @parrotman

Now down to earth, Pete set out the boundary yesterday for the new proposed buildings and WOW do they look bigger when you can see the size on the ground, it looks massive and if it all comes to fruition will be just what we need.

The new education building has a roof and the inside walls are being laid out, the decking and exterior stuff is going to wait now until after the winter so they will get an dry period before being used, sounds a little silly but makes sense.

On the parrot side, although we do not take in parrots over the weekend, we have been approached by a garden centre who works with a parrot rescue in Cheshire and sadly both are ready for ceasing trade so will need homes for their birds, a lot do live outside in their aviaries so that’s not too bad but there are at least 20 that are indoor birds so will need a home for the winter. Before we make a decision on whether we take them or not we are going to talk to the rescue and see if there’s anything we can do to help keep it working and therefore a valuable resource for parrots on the West of the country, it may hopefully be a decision made due to the garden centre closing and the fear of what to do with the outside birds, this is where we can help you…Yes I know you are reading this David , so if you are the slightest bit worried about asking or just didn’t like? well then the offers there and I shall be calling you this week to put the offer verbally, you are an excellent rescue and the country needs real ones that know parrots and just do not collect for the sake of it and part with the bad ones, lets see if we can work together mate. 

Another bit of news, we are opening our forum again and I am going to spend a bit of time on there answering questions about the centre and the birds here where possible, until we embed it in the site we are going to give it a trial run, it isnt going to be like other forums, although there is a place for them but they do become a little long winded with 100s of topics on allsorts, this is more a chat room so smaller amounts of topics and more up to date information.

Address to follow this weekend.

Okay enough for now and its time for work.

you can follow me on Twitter too @parrotman

There is a little sad part though and that is Vin one of out other maintenance chaps has had to stay off and care for his sick mother who is very very ill, Vin we wish you the best mate and will see you when you get back, and theres no rush, only come back when you’re ready.

On the education side of things we are ready to start another phase of the long term research program with a couple of researchers turning up over the next few days and they will be here for up to 3 months on this stint but bwhile they are here theres one or 2 more professors turning up to set out more long-term projects, so it looks like our accommodation is going to be full all year

All the animals and birds are doing very well, although we did have a poor little Barraband pass away yesterday for no apparent reason the hospital is still empty but we are moving the soft bills, (touracos and toucans) in there for a few days while we get their winter room ready. 

So hopefully not as much time in the office today but i do have lots to do and my Secretary Miss Bellamy is off for a few days, good luck in the hospital…

Speak soon

Follow Steve on Twitter @parrotman

As you know Derren Brown, that bloke from Channel 4 is the patron saint of the The Parrot Zoo Trust our charity, and although he tries where possible to give us a mention, it can become a little boring if before every act he told eveyone he was the patron..i think you get the gist.

Well it was the last of Derrens mini series on Sunday and in it he mentioned us, thats all good and well and very nice for the charity as all publicity is very good especially if it is attached with a celebrity, so yesterday i was coming out of the builders merchants after collecting some materials for the new education centre (which is coming on  brilliantly), well this chap was stood outside the merchants reading the Parrot Zoo van and he had a big cheesy….kind of pervy…smile, he came over to me and said, is it Steve? it is, I answered, I cant beleive it, I only heard about you when Derren Brown mentioned you on his show, I then checked you out and I am amazed at what you and the guys do there at the charity so I put a £50 donation in the post to you. He then shook my hand said well done and walked off. Now this was quite embarrassing in front of all the hairy arsed builders stood outside who all smiled.

Amazingly the cheque did arrive and so its a fact I am amazing…err i mean we are.

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A long discussion was had and positive ideas were thrown backwards and forwards trying our hardest to come up with some sort of solution and what this would mean for everyone, this is very hard for any personnel to cope with no matter what level from keeper to senior management, the impact could be devastating especially when under this type of pressure.

It was after a couple of hours deliberating that Neils eyes lit up he winked stood up and left the office, the guys thought he had just walked out, but no, a few minutes later he came back in with a big smile on his face and waving an envelope in his hand, “I remembered” he said “When we moved from one office to the other I came across it and thought then, where can I put it while moving where we wont lose it, and where would you put a television license? Under the telly” A big sigh of relief went all around the office and smiles all around, well what would the guys do if they couldn’t watch their Animal Planet in the break times

Been a real nice day day toady with lots of sunshine and loads of work done in all departments, the animal guys on finishing their normal duties decidid to set about the fruit room, its a pain due to the amount of different fruits it attracts every type of fly around if youre njot on top of it, so in they went and scrubbed the lot out, thats after jet washing most of the enclosures, no maintenance today so nothing much happened on the education room.

All going well and getting ready for the cold to arrive, its got to be there lurking somewhere this is just so unnatural.

A big thanks to Derren Brown last night for giving us a shout on his tv program brought a lot of interest yet again, we seem to be turning into the celebrity parrot keepers, not only looking after Derrens parrots but also we have Chesneys birds from Coronation Street and Natalie birds from Eastenders, lovely people but parrots are parrots no matter who owns them, they all love to get out there with some mates and have the option to fly.

Okay enough said I think im turning into an alcoholic, as again i feel like a glass of wine…oh sod it pour me a glass