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Newsletter


Friends and Feathers
Published Monthly by the Mid America Cage Bird Society
April 2008 Volume 4 Issue 15


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Back To The Future . . . A Perspective On Rehoming By Madeleine Franco

As we review the year and embark upon a new one, I ask you to contemplate an important question. Where will you be 25 years from now? In my fondest dream, if life would be kind, I will be 82 years old and still be active and capable. The genes say it might happen. By that time, hopefully, I will have finally retired, but the thought of that is a distant vision and it is hard for me to imagine life without deadlines. Though definitely past my prime in the year 2032, may I still be surrounded by the birds I love, many of which will have hit the stride of their middle years. To realize my dream, I will have to work at it every day until then. There is no question that I will have to pay attention to my health, and most importantly I will ask for blessings to help make it happen.

The point of this contemplative exercise is the realization that, with love, proper housing and nutrition, and a generally healthy and supportive environment, our pet parrots are destined to be long-lived creatures. The daunting fact is that in many instances, the juvenile parrot purchased in 2007 will outlive its owner or favorite person. I have a number of birds, and I assumed the responsibility for their lifelong care as part of the dream, knowing that it was a lifetime commitment, measured not by my lifetime but by the lifetimes of the birds with which I am privileged to spend my life.

To me, as to so many of us, birds are family. Some of my own birds came to me having spent time among other people’s families. In several instances, I have entered into written agreements with the individuals having entrusted me with their birds that I would provide a forever home as long as my own health and circumstances would allow. In one case, an individual having entrusted his bird to me only months prior to the death of his wife continues to visit “his” bird. These visits are poignant and good for the soul, but admittedly they would not be for everyone. The visits do, however, convince me that birds are spiritual creatures with indelible memories of people and things.

In all of this, I am struck by the truth that, “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.* Parrots started out as wild creatures. While their beauty may have encouraged us to “tame” them, their intelligence reminds us to keep the covenant. In 2006 the Board of Directors of the Las Vegas Avicultural Society came to the well-reasoned conclusion that rehoming was a thing whose time had come. Our pilot program placed over a dozen birds, whose time had come, in loving homes. We also assisted with the private adoptions of dozens of smaller birds, not otherwise eligible for our program. Additionally, we helped several bird owners address behavioral issues, and our intervention resulted in the retention of wonderful birds in wonderful homes. Though we had been warned that the Club had tried to establish a sanctioned rehoming program before, which ended up succumbing to in-fighting, the fledgling program took flight. It was patterned after the highly successful program conducted by the Wasatch Avian Education Society in Salt Lake City--which has placed over 1,000 birds in its 12-year history-and guided by the insights of an attorney with as much compassion and conviction about avian rehoming as anyone I have ever met. We were afforded the luxury of working out the kinks, even before the program accepted its first bird for placement.

When we went to the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA) meeting in August with the good news that we had instituted a sanctioned rehoming program, the attaboys were plentiful. And, many people said, “It’s about time.” We discovered that the Las Vegas Avicultural Society was one of only two or three clubs in the country that still offered live birds on its raffle table as a partial solution to rehoming, a situation that many had considered shameful. But, shame was not why we had moved in the direction of rehoming. Years of paying attention to the growing trend of parrots as a pet of choice, and many people’s unwillingness-after 10, 15, 30 years of quality interaction-to sell that “family member” had helped bring about this change. That, and the emotional exhaustion of parting with a beloved pet with a wild heritage, but now totally dependent upon humans for its quality of life, were compelling enough. Sanctioned rehoming would offer responsible organizational oversight to the placement of man’s newest best friend. Calls in the middle of the night, on weekends, whenever . . . “This is really going to be hard, but I think I’m ready” . . . “I don’t want to sell my bird . . . to me, it’s blood money.” We created a system complete with compassion and understanding and total commitment to doing right by the birds, each of whom was accompanied by a historical background painstakingly filled out by the relinquishing party prior to intake. The process was not without tears. We became matchmakers, doing our utmost to match birds and lifestyles; interim fostering helped us understand avian idiosyncrasies more than any sheet of paper ever could. “Two almonds and a filbert at 7:30PM.” We can do that! We will do that!

Despite some pressures, we didn’t pay for birds. In our case, that would only confuse the issue; nor did we want to compete with other “commercial” rescue efforts. In fact, we sought donations upon intake. Why? Because we were spending money making things happen . . . like full-panel health screenings, veterinary follow-up, and cage repair . . . and we needed to keep the adoption fees relatively low. Still, the 2006 program, led by Mark Romansky and Beverly Harrison, operated in the black. And, too, the program made it possible for the club to access donations for which it would not have otherwise been eligible . . . Pet-A-Palooza, and a variation on the Feathers-On-The-Go program with the City of Henderson. Like a pet club before it that had booked an educational presentation, the City had absolutely no problem in understanding and honoring my request for a donation to LVAS for our rehoming program and for educational programs for bird owners so that some of our birds might never need rehoming, at least not prematurely.

Many have “accused” at least several members of the courageous LVAS 2006 Board of Directors of being impassioned about a sanctioned rehoming program. Guilty as charged!

Speaking for myself and others, I do hope our rehoming program will continue. In fact, I want it to thrive. Even beyond that, I would like it to be a model of responsible stewardship for years to come. I don’t see it as a conflict with anything else that is good for the Club and good for our birds. I know it is good for people because I have seen the unmistakable relief on the faces of those whom we hug . . . and, yes, even cry with . . . when we assure them that everything is going to be all right . . . for as long as forever might be for their precious bird.

We are responsible, forever, for what we have tamed!

*Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

© 2007 Madeleine Franco, all rights reserved. Madeleine Franco, former president of the Las Vegas Avicultural Society, is an award-winning business writer and president of Jordan Richard Associates LLC. She is an investor relations and corporate communications specialist, and a work-from-home “bird mom” to a non-breeding, highly interactive and platonic pet flock.

Reprinted with permission of AFA

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From the President

Hello again everyone,
Well it’s April and it seems that spring has finally arrived. The snow is gone, the grass is greening up, the early flowers are coming up, and the native migratory birds are returning. Isn’t it great!
The March Fair has come and gone. As you know it fell on Easter Sunday again this year. That is never a good thing. Our March Fair has traditionally been the best fair of the year for the club but this year it was off. The number of vendors was down and the crowd was down as well. Easter Sunday did hurt the fair and the weather, though not too bad here in Des Moines, did also. Let’s all hope that we can have two more good fairs this year to help make up for March.
We were short a few volunteers for the March Fair so the crowd being down did make it a little easier on those of us that were there. Please consider volunteering for an hour or two to help us out with the May and August Fairs.
We are also in need of a volunteer to assume the duties of newsletter editor. Our long time editor, Deb Schwartz, has decided it’s time to hand off the torch. Deb has done a terrific job and she will be missed. She is willing to continue in the position until we find a replacement and to help the new editor get their feet on the ground. I’m sure with her help we can make a smooth transition and can continue to get our newsletter out on time and keep the membership informed as to what’s going on with our club. If any of you are interested in this position, please contact me for further information.
Our members have been invited to join the ISU Avian Club on April 16th for a program by Dr. Harrison of Harrison’s Bird Foods. The program will be held in Ames at the ISU vet- med building at 6 pm. Dinner will be provided. Please let me know if you plan to attend this event so I can inform Leslie about how many of us to expect.
At the March meeting the members in attendance decided that we should do a show and tell type of program for the April meeting. The idea is to allow the member to become a little more familiar with some of the birds we keep but some of the other member may not have been exposed to before. So this would be a great meeting to bring your bird(s) to and tell others about their habits and personalities.

I hope to see you and your feathered friends on the 27th, Dave

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Minutes of the MACBS Meeting Feb 24, 2008

The meeting started with a program on Iowa’s Backyard Birds by Dr. David Edwards of the Big Bluestem Audubon Society in Ames. He tried to answer some common questions. Should you feed birds? What should you feed? And some basic tips for bird identification.

Dave Marquis called the Meeting to Order. Our Main Issue is the changing of the Club Constitution regarding the holding of an Annual Show. Karen moved we accept the changes to the constitution as published. Neil seconded. The motion carried unanimously. Karen moved the because of the loss of our facility we cancel the Show for this year (2008). Neil seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Dave introduced Angela & Ron Fleener, new members at today’s meeting.

Dave invited suggestions for this years meeting. We need programs for April, June & September. Bonnie suggested a Show and Tell by some of the member about the birds they are familiar with and others might not be. The members in attendance thought this would be a good idea and Dave suggested we do this in April. If there are other suggestions please contact Dave or one of the other Board Members.

Volunteers are needed for the March Fair, which is on Easter Sunday and also for a program at the Johnston Library on April 17 at 4:15pm.

Also remember the May Fair and the Pet Expo. Remember! The ISU Avian Club is bringing Dr. Irene Pepperberg to the Sun Room of the Memorial Union on Friday, Feb 29th. MACBS is helping to sponsor this event which is free and open to the public.

Please remember to Renew Your Membership. They are due Jan 1.

Dr Harrison ,Parrot Nutrition Expert and ISU Alum will be giving a program TBA (Mid April) for Vet students, and we are invited. More on this later.

The Meeting Adjourned.
Respectfully Submitted, Bonnie Callan secretary

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From the Editor

I have enjoyed working on the newsletter for the past few years, but I want to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy being the editor.

We have a pretty smooth operation and it is a fairly easy job. And after the newsletter is finished, I email one copy to Dave Marquis to post on the Internet and I print one copy to give to John Thielking to run off copies which other club members then collate, label, staple and mail. Ta-da!

I put the newsletter together on my computer (which is old and grouchy). I start each month by taking the previous month’s newsletter, deleting the old articles, and then saving the newsletter under the new name. That way, I don’t have to retype all the classifieds, the membership information and the cover sheet.

Dave Marquis emails his President’s Report to me each month and Bonnie Callan emails the meeting minutes, so I can simply paste those items into the newsletter.

AFA sends a monthly newsletter which I just paste into the newsletter. Classified ads are emailed or sent through the postal system, so I actually have to do some typing.

Other articles are available from a variety of sources:
*The AFA website has a section for newsletter editors with articles - I just copy and paste.
*Other clubs’ newsletters have good articles, some I can copy and paste from a web site, others I type by hand.
*John Thielking has a cache of filler pages for those dry months.
* On occasion, a member will submit an article (but not often).

I will always be around to offer support and help find items for the newsletter. It has been fun, but I’m ready for a change. It really isn’t that hard, and you get to read the newsletter before anyone else!

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Upcoming Events

Dr. Scott McDonald will be at Steve Dingman’s
on Thursday, May 1, 2008

Call Steve at 515- 280-8066 to make an appointment now, the best times go fast.
For anyone unfamiliar with Dr. McDonald, he is an avian veterinarian who gives clinics around the country. He performs wellness checks which include grooming (trim nails, beak and wings), inserts microchips, and surgically sexes birds. Dr. McDonald comes our way every six months and I always take my Amazons to be groomed and get a “well bird” check. While Dr. McDonald does not do any lab work, he does give each bird he handles a mini-physical.

July 30 to August 2nd

The AFA will hold its annual convention in St. Louis, MO this year. AFA conducts an Annual Convention including a 3- to 4-day-long series of lectures by world authorities and experts on the husbandry, health and conservation status of exotic birds in captivity and in the wild.

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New Rescue Opening

We would like to take this opportunity to inform you of a bird rescue opening in the area. Amazing Grace Bird Rescue & Sanctuary is located in Coon Rapids, Iowa. This rescue is run by husband and wife team Steve and Sheri Baumgartner. We began our interest in birds first as pet owners, and then saw the need for quality facilities for birds that are in need of homes. It is our goal to provide such a facility.
Amazing Race Bird Rescue takes in birds of all species, from finches and canaries to conures, greys, and macaws. We care for birds that come to us and find new homes for them. In the event that a bird is not able to be placed in a home, he or she will remain with us in sanctuary.
These magnificent and tremendously intelligent creatures are often purchased on a whim by owners who give too little thought to the responsibilities associated with their care, and look to find a new owner for their bird. Likewise, situations arise in life that makes caring for our beloved pets difficult, if not impossible, and people must find them new homes. It is our mission to intervene and assist in situations similar to these and other in order to improve the quality of life for the bird. Please feel free to contact us or pass along our information to someone who may need it.
We are available by appointment, and will pick up birds if needed. We can be reached at (712) 830-7357 and at amazinggracebirds@gmail.com. Please visit our website also at www.amazinggracebirds.com.

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MACBS Meeting Schedule for 2008

April 27th. - Meet My Bird

Sun. May 18th. - Cage Bird Carnival

Sun, June 22nd. - Program to be announced

Sun. July 27th. - Annual Family Picnic

Sun. Aug. 27th. - Feather Fair

Sun. Sept. 28th. - Program to be announced, Final All Bird Show
preparations

Sat. Oct. 4th. - All Bird Show

Sun. Oct. 26th. - Program to be announced

Sun. Dec. 6th. - Holiday Party, election of officers, vice president &
treasurer

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MACBS Membership

Membership in the Mid America Cage Bird Society is by calendar year. Your membership runs from January 1 through December 31. If you have not already done so, now is the time to renew your membership for 2006. Dues are only $10.00 for individual or family.

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MACBS Board Members
President, Dave Marquis Vice President, John Grim

Secretary, Bonnie Callan Treasurer, John Thielking

5th. Board member, Randy Gibson
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Publication Editor
Debra Schwartz
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Deadline for submission is the 8th. of the month and may be submitted to the
editor by email, or mailed typed or clearly printed.
12219 Wellington Ridge Dr.
Clive,Ia.50325
debrasauriol@juno.com

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MACBS Group Home Page

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/macbs

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Opinions expressed in articles are those of the author and do not constitute endorsement by the editorial staff, MACBS or its board of directors
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