http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php This is a discussion forum powered by vBulletin. To find out about vBulletin, go to http://www.vbulletin.com/ . en Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:54:22 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=48 Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:15:53 GMT Well its been a week of zoo visits, we have had personell from zoos and animal centres from all over this week from as far south as Bristol Zoo to as... Well its been a week of zoo visits, we have had personell from zoos and animal centres from all over this week from as far south as Bristol Zoo to as far north as Flamingoland then covering centres from Staffordshire on the West to Leicestershire so all in all lots of visits from lots of animal centres and its always nice to hear that they like what we do here and always a pleasure to help the larger zoos.

Pete and Liam have just finished building the new enclosure for our Black Cheeked Lovebirds, which if you didnt know are now the rarest bird in Africa and sadly in captivity there has been lots of hybridising with the Black Masked Lovebird causing all sorts of problems, fortunatley ours are pure breeds and are only allowed to mix with other pure breeds too, they are part of the CPCP, Captive Parrot Conservation Program which is working very well and benefiting our parrots and zoos and bird gardens around Europe.

The new enclosure is slightly different to all our others by way of its actualy a decorative one with a little of an African theme whereas all our other enclosures are practical designed naturalised ones, we will see how this one fares, i shall put some pics up on completion.

Rich and Phil have been cleaning and re-perching most of the enclosures and have also taken out my experimental garden in the Cockatoos which was a total disaster as they wouldnt let a blooming thing grow in it so they have removed it and put cockleshells there to the birds enjoyment.

All the birds are doing very well and if anything through our over feeding i the winter all the birds look spectacular, we always get remarks about how most of them look in goof condition but this year they look even better especially the amazons which really seemed to have benefited from the winter practice.

Mands and Nells have been out and about today with a little promoting of the place and we have seen some response so well done guys on the windy coast while we were enjoying the sunshine inland :p
The weather has been superb well into the high 20s not perfect ofr the birds as most of them have hiden in the shaded areas but overall really nice for us, soon be getting a tan...:)

Well time for food before i do another health round... ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=48 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=47 Sun, 04 Apr 2010 17:26:33 GMT Wow is it the 4th of April already, thats nearly a third of the year gone, already thinking of Christmas...oooh no thanks. Thanks for all the Easter... Wow is it the 4th of April already, thats nearly a third of the year gone, already thinking of Christmas...oooh no thanks.
Thanks for all the Easter greetings we have received toady, I didnt think it was something people did, write emails etc wishing you a Happy Easter but looknig at the amount we have got today shows how wrong you can be...or I can be to be more exact..:)

The weather men got it totally wrong again, its been lovely here today and all day with the temperatures getting into the high teens on the outside cafe wall the birds loved it and I must say they were a good few walking around Ivanvale the nature reserve, Mands and Phil sadly didnt see too much of it as their heads were down cleaning most of the day and even did the repairs to the macaw room floor which has been on the list of 'things to do' for a while now, 'well done guys'. After the office this morning I have spent most of the time in the reception and cafe area serving talking and eating all day...mmmm not a bad job come to think about it.

I have a funny feeling the arrivals are going to increase dramatically if the telephone calls are anything to go off, we have had 38 calls today from prospective donors and thats to add to the dozens already earmarked to to come in.....heres hoping they filter in as opposed to all at once, we will however be microchipping tomorrow so most of quarantine 1 will be empty so that will accommodate 40 or so....

Well the weather is still so nice I am going to have a walk around the water see if anythings changed, camera in hand so will jkeep you informed... ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=47 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=46 Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:08:26 GMT Right so its the first day of the holidays, theres guys and girls runnig all over the place with bits to do here and bits to do there, parrots are... Right so its the first day of the holidays, theres guys and girls runnig all over the place with bits to do here and bits to do there, parrots are appearing on every stand, nearly 10am and we can hear cars pulling into the carpark, whoopee looks like its going to be a busy day then BANG the credit card machine freezes up...OH MY GOD!!! we take most of our money through this method and cannot do a thing, never mond its HSBC and they are massive so just a quick phone call and its sorted...I think not!!! "oh its tyhe holidays" she says "we cant get anyone to you until Wednesday now" Oh no now what, well we have to get the old fashoined method out of the cupboard where you put their card in a little sliding machine and push it down like youre crushing tablets in between two spoons, then manually fill in all the details, but what happened next made it all worth while, I passed it over to the young couple who had obviously never seen these machines before, along with a good old biro, and pointed to the dotted line with a polite smile on my face, now most of us would just sign it and return, no she actuallt wrote her pin number on it and gave it me back :) after a bit of a laugh and a full repeat of the procedure off they went around the zoo and for the rest of the day I had a nice little smile on my face..

Weathers been far better than first thought with just a sprinkle of rain this afternoon but did turn a little cooler later on..

Hopefully the weekend will just get better... mmmm i think not somehow. ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=46 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=45 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:12:50 GMT I am amazed at the response from our recent showing on BBC, we have been on television now since the late 90s and been on practically every chanel... I am amazed at the response from our recent showing on BBC, we have been on television now since the late 90s and been on practically every chanel but for some unknown reason this ones caused all sorts of interest, we have had news agencies from around the world, on the phone asking for stories along with very high profile magazines to which you will see us in very shortly and whats more we have had 6 television companies ask us if we would take part in programs and documentaries and not the silly 'I CAN SORT YOUR PET OUT' programs we leave those for the desperados, been there done that Tee shirt etc. So it looks like its going to be a very busy year on the media side of things and not being media shy :) well why not if it helps the birds.

We have also received an immense amount of letters and donations from the same coverage to which we are writting letters of thanks as we talk now.

I would also like to say a big thanks to Jackie Bridge one of our regular forum members who has sent some prints up that she has produced of parrots to which she has asked us to sell and pass 100% of the money direct on to the charity which is wonderful Thanks Jaq

Weathers not been brilliant but nowhere near as bad as it as for some in the UK just cannot beleive it, here we all are thinking summers arrived and wallop, back comes the cold and for some the snow, lot of it :(

Hope all are ok and we get a really good easter... ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=45 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=44 Sat, 27 Mar 2010 08:05:03 GMT I told you I was writing an article about my recent break, follow the link and see just how wonderful it was... I told you I was writing an article about my recent break, follow the link and see just how wonderful it was
http://www.parrotsanctuary.co.uk/loro-parque.php ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=44 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=43 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:09:53 GMT Naturally in the position we are in here at the zoo we speak to dozens and dozens of breeders from all different walks of life and they also breed... Naturally in the position we are in here at the zoo we speak to dozens and dozens of breeders from all different walks of life and they also breed all different species of parrots, most of them describe how they keep their birds with pride and rightly so if they do this with the birds interest at heart, but one of the big items they always talk about is how private the keep their birds so they have no disturbances and so feel at ease with breeding, this was also a topic when speaking to a breeder earlier we were walking past the umbrella cockatoos and amazingly the birds were at it again, yes they were treading in small groups, this time there were 3 pairs all synchronised breeding, she was absolutely amazed as there were visitors walking passed and feeding birds on the same branch but not so fortunate to be in the same position and had to do with a nut....:)

Do you think we have exhibitionist parrots - is there such a thing? - or are they just settled, dont know if they will lay eggs as theres no boxes or anything around butu will keep you informed... ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=43 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=42 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:02:11 GMT Ok so today we decide after the feeding is completed and while the other guys clean, Mands Rich and myself would sort out some of the microchipping... Ok so today we decide after the feeding is completed and while the other guys clean, Mands Rich and myself would sort out some of the microchipping on the macaws, we have a policy here that on arrival we go through the normal procedure but on none Appendix 1 birds, (Appendix 1 explained below) we cut off the rings to prevent future problems such as play fighting where one will play and bite each others legs but when they feel the leg ring they sometimes go a little over the top and crush it a little, not always to the point of pain but usualy causes a little swelling that can lead to many problems, theres also the chance that a twig could get caught and again lead to problems, so we cut them off. This is something we commenced only a short while ago so any that arrived before still have them on, so when catching these up it gives us the chance to do an overall check on them and see how their weight is etc.

The routine was going perfect, Rich and Mands catch the bird, bring it in to the hospital where we do the checks etc then they realease them back normally within a few minutes so causes minimal disruption to their lives, now catching macaws safely as i have explained in previous blogs is an art that you learn over many years but sometimes this art fails when you have others with you due to being alert for them too and also making sure if anyone gets bitten it is you not them, now you know where are going with this one :) Yes one of the little darlings decided not to play fairly and slipped out of our hand, happens now and then but as hes in the hospital we know he cant go anywhere so theres no panic except he went to land on Mands' head and not being to freindly I decided to intercept but with my left hand and not my right which needless to say is my weakest and therefore slowest hand, well the next thing i remember is this unbeleivable pain which compares to the proverbial kick in the testamonials or when you fall and land on your coccyx (tail bone in lower back). This was the lower mandable in the ball of my thumb, you know the fleshy bit? and the upper mandable on the top of my thumb, the bite only lasted for around 10 seconds before we prised him off but 'oh my god' the pain, then when i looked up those two swines were in absolute stitches laughing at me, we ended up with blood everywhere and decided to have an half hour break to get some feeling back into my hand and give them two time to stop giggling.

It feels a lot better this morning very swollen and very red but i can type at least :)

The culprit which was a Green Winged Macaw by the way is back flying around with his mates oblivious to it all.

Okay so Appendix 1 birds explained, these are the ones that the numbers in the wild are watched by CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species), and should they need protection then all birds in captivity need paperwork for legitmacy before they can be bred, displayed or used on a commercial basis, these birds must be either close rung or microchipped for identification and beleive it or not it is ilegal to buy or sell one without the paperwork and some ar every common like the Yellow Crested Cockatoo or Lesser Sulphur Crested as it is more commonly known so please be careful if you are thinking of getting one.

Okay back to bathing my hand and sympathy searching. ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=42 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=41 Sun, 21 Mar 2010 07:55:36 GMT How lovely is this weather, after the hardest winter we have ever had regarding weather and visitors it looks like we are climbing out of the... How lovely is this weather, after the hardest winter we have ever had regarding weather and visitors it looks like we are climbing out of the reccession slowly. People are appearing at the cafe in larger numbers and walking riound with a big smile on their faces and this has to be due to the sun as everyone must be feeling the same, had a couple of RSPCA inspectors turn up for a cup of tea and a look around the birds, however there was a method to their madness though as they also wanted to know how to catch and restrain the large macaws as a job was looming that would involve this, which was fortunate as I had to relocate a few from isolation to introductory so said they could help.
When you have litterally caught 1000s of birds in your life you don't realise how hard it actually is, that is until you see the average person trying to prevent losing their fingers, so much so they lose all normal mental powers and cant even hold a net straight :) but after 3 or 4 attempts and the realisation that they are totally safe in my hands as that would be an expensive lesson learnt (digit loss) they becam quite good albeit they couldnt stop laughing at their own fear.

Pete and Liam sorted out the new quarantine admin areas and before they were finished Mands was sat working at what now looks like her new desk :)

Phil and Rich after their normal cleaning duties spent the aftenoon putting new floors in, not last for long but look lovely when first done.

Quite a few wild ducks arrived on the lakes yesterday so no doubt the patter of tiny webbed feet will be on the cards very soon. Gnerally everything looking good and hopefully the start of a good season.....mmmm not the best thing to say is it? :mad:

Fingers crossed. ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=41 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=40 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:26:22 GMT Its all go go go at the moment getting everything ready for all our new arrivals but at least the weather wonderful, warmest day of the year so far,... Its all go go go at the moment getting everything ready for all our new arrivals but at least the weather wonderful, warmest day of the year so far, just now on the gauge its reading 17 degrees Celsius on the bird room wall and everyones in Tee Shirts, the paths are all dry and the maintenance guys are working on the new layout for Parrotdice Hotel making it a more inviting entrance for both people and parrots alike.

Mands and Richard the new keeper, (he knows the ropes has he has been here before) are taking care of all the feeding and enrichment as well as helping the younger guys cleaning, while Jaynes sorting quarantine out.

We have spent the past couple of weeks preparing the winter birds for their acclimatisation which also means microchipping etc they are done and quarantine is almost empty awaiting the big rush :) also received a call from a small rescue in wales that are closing down due to old age and they have asked if we will take all their birds which in total is 49, a mixture of large and small, we have obviously said yes but could take some months for them to get everything wound up so shouldnt be too much of a panic for us just yet, also the tv series we do want to film it all so you can see the full transition from owner to zoo etc.

Mick is sorting out all the educational computers ready for the kids to bash them to peices, this year we hope to have the touch screen edu-pods around too which will be a big help.

First guests to the B&B have been and gone and loved every moment, said they couldnt beleive waking up with a Ringneck sat on their window sill so have booked again for the summer so thats all good.

Lets hope this is the real start of the Spring...... ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=40 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=39 Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:10:56 GMT Been a busy day today moving birds from one quarantine to another getting them ready for introduction to the big world outside. The procedure is a... Been a busy day today moving birds from one quarantine to another getting them ready for introduction to the big world outside. The procedure is a little in depth, each bird has to be weighed for comparison to incoming weight then fed so it will have a full crop prior to being microchipped and given a unique number so we can follow his movements throughout his life. Today we have completed 38 birds with a few more to do over the next few days. Mands had to catch each one health check it and hold it while we removed any rings etc but we got a little help from Ruth one of our girls who is doing further studies into education popped into see us making sure she keeps her hands on approach with the birds.

Overall a very productive day in this lovely weather... ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=39 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=38 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:17:01 GMT We have been promised a frost free week by the met office and i must say it certainly does feel much warmer on a morning, so warm that a song bird... We have been promised a frost free week by the met office and i must say it certainly does feel much warmer on a morning, so warm that a song bird has decided to take morning chorus outside my bedroom window and he wakes up a little earlier than me at around about 5.00am, needles to say i am then up at 5.30, 'Bless him'!!!!

It does however give me chance to get around the centre nice and early seeing how all the birds are doing, they too get up a little earlier, so by the time i go round at 8.30 ish they have been up a few hours and are ready for their morning nap, one of many throughout the day so an early trip is much better.

Also had guests in the B&B so got to make sure everyones up and around cooking their breakfasts....mmm the smell of bacon at that time of the day is very addictive.

Ok off for a bacon sarni now :) ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=38 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=37 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:57:18 GMT *Sunday Afternoon Gripe* :-) I have received another report from a member of the The Glendell advisory forum, I think it used to be called Parrot... Sunday Afternoon Gripe :-)
I have received another report from a member of the The Glendell advisory forum, I think it used to be called Parrot Link, but anyway its the ones who constantly attack the zoo, I just cannot beleive how many inspectors we have in this world and just when a paying visitor turns into one?

This one is from someone named Acidus Novus, or thats what he/she uses as a knickname? on the forum.

Although it is not really a negative inspection or report (I have no idea what these self proffessed inspectors call them these days?) in fact most of his/her findings are very good, we just find it laughable that we are actually getting people to pay and inspect a subject they have neither any qualifications to do so or any experience within the zoo world, we first thought it was a bona-fida animal rights group who had a problem with us, but we support these guys in the correct fields so was quite suprised, however we very quickly realised it is obviously an extremist rip off version who are into it for their own egos and fame as opposed to helping actual animals.

Never mind just an extra cost in printing on our leaflets as we now have Adults, Children OAP's and INSPECTORS and you do have to feel sorry for these small forums who can only gain active members by supporting bad things......suppose we could make ourselves look a litle bigger by putting some fictitous figures as members...mmm a bit like cheating at solo though isnt it... ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=37 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=36 Sat, 06 Mar 2010 08:53:16 GMT Sadly a very close friend of mine has just passed away, John Strutt a masive bird keeper and unbeleivable caring man died of heart failure in the... Sadly a very close friend of mine has just passed away, John Strutt a masive bird keeper and unbeleivable caring man died of heart failure in the early hours of Tuesday March the 2nd at the age of 74.

If you ever met this larger than life character you would know just what a loss to the parrot world this is, he is famous in the Cumbrian area for his free flying parrots and we have worked on and off together in assisting parrots since the 90s'. I was always amazed to see his fabulous collection flying through the Cumbrian skies and he had everything from Budgerigars to Scarlet Macaws all of which flew free at some time or another.

John lived for nature and his charitable work was testament to this, he loved everything from a Butterfly to a Blackbird and all inbetween, he had even set aside 1000s of acres of land which he had purchased to allow it to go back to nature, what a wonderful man.

The parrot world will no doubt miss him but not half as much as his friends and parrots.

Rest in Peace John........ ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=36 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=35 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:49:20 GMT From where? you say....are you ready?....it was 10 years to the day that i last went on holiday and guess what? Yup i have just been and done it ... From where? you say....are you ready?....it was 10 years to the day that i last went on holiday and guess what? Yup i have just been and done it again, and what a break it was...so good and whats even better is everyone managed very well without me being here, i knew they could but until now just didnt want to leave them with the hassles..but now i know they have no worries with it.

It was a little of a busmans holiday as i still ended up being with parrots for a while within the break but this time i was in the sun lots and lots of sun it was boiling and all the time it was chilly here with lots and lots of rain :) oops sorry shouldn’t smile really.

I have however brought it back with me as it is lovely here today, up to a massive...wait for it...12 degrees woweee ,12 degrees almost Tee shirt weather, the birds are doing wonderful and all having a ball, no wind no rain and sun on a cool not hot day, thats about perfect for parrots.

Mands our resident chef has been at it again only this time with Palm Oil Toast, can you imagine cooking toast for this lot, well she has, i walked in today to find approx 500 slices of bread toasted and cut into quarters so all that like it could get a piece, Marge did all the buttering as it spreads on nice and thin on warm toast...cant be bad.

I am just writing a full article on my visit away and shall post it very shortly over the next couple of days..


Nice to be back. ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=35 http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=34 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:28:36 GMT Has anyone got any old boats they dont need, over 24 hours of solid rain, just got all the paths looking something like and splooosh!!!! they have... Has anyone got any old boats they dont need, over 24 hours of solid rain, just got all the paths looking something like and splooosh!!!! they have all vanished.

What made it funnier is pete and Liam were working on the new drainage sytem to remove any water, I feel they had plenty of time to check if it works, or they would have if the they could have seen what they were doing.

Well the met office say it is not only going to brighten up but also increase dramatically in temperature.

Here's hoping ]]> Steve http://www.parrotzoo.com/forum66/blog.php?b=34