Its true, folks. Been hearing rumors lately that a certain black headed caique mom is making her way over to the caique crazy forums? Well, its true! Sally Blanchard and her sidekick Spike are joining the Caique Crazy community! Sally has graciously agreed to participate in several live chat sessions with CCF members, and we are also currently working out a Q & A schedule. Chat sessions are FREE- but you must be a member of the Caique Crazy Forums to participate. This keeps out spammers, and allows us to carefully moderate sessions to ensure that everyone is having a good time! As soon as details are worked out, they will be posted- so check back soon! In the meantime, if you are interested, head on over to http://caiquecrazy.spreebb.com to register an account. Remember- you must be a registered member to participate in our chat sessions! Thank you!
Bird Auctions- death to birds?
The above is an advertisement for an 'exotic bird auction'. 600+ birds will be displaced, shuffled off to new homes to on June 16, with whomever has the highest bid and the cash on hand to pay for it.
A scary thought, isn't it? Many rare and exotic species that aviculturists yearn for- work hard for so many years to buy, care for, then breed to increase species numbers- auctioned off like some fresh cut of meat. Advertised as 'proven money makers' and 'proven breeding pairs', like the birds will return whomever invests x amount of money in them as long as they throw a nestbox in the cage.
Even worse is the fact that this is being put on by a world renowed veterinarian. Dr. Susan Clubb, who works for Loro Parque, Kaytee, and Parrot Jungle Gardens and owns Hurricane Aviaries, is selling her exotic bird collection to cover divorce costs.
But- does that explanation satisfy outraged parrot owners all over the internet? Of course not. Speculation goes that this has turned into a quick and easy way to make money. Each hyacinth in the collection- there are currently four- should sell for an estimated $9,000 each, which is speculated on message boards that, that amount of money should be enough to pacify general divorce costs. The Queen Of Bavara, or Golden Conures, (3 pairs) will go for an estimated 1,500 each.
So why choose this route? For someone so world renowned, this auction must be degrading. One has to wonder if the human ego has taken over, and then greed for money has overcome personal desires.
A petition to stop all exotic animals has started at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/486747064 with encouragement from everyone in the avicultural community to sign.
Some are defending Dr. Clubb, saying that in a short amount of time, this was the quickest and most effective way to dissipate her 'collection'. But, others must wonder why she chooses the informal route- selling to the highest bidder, her years of hard work going all over the globe (select species of birds have been approved for exportation), rather then contacting some of her many contacts in the avicultural community, and selling her collection that way. Surely some breeders of whom Dr. Clubb knows and places her trust in are looking to add some rare birds to their current flock? Rather then just any old Joe, who will do goodness knows what with their new 'purchase'?
The whole situation has left the avicultural community in turmoil, and this blogger in sadness and frustration.
Hey all, just a quick word.
CC now has a myspace account! Written from the views of the admins birds- Higgins, Rosie, and Cupcake. Please take a moment to visit, and if you have an account, add us to your friends!
http://myspace.com/caiquecrazyforum
See you around the net!
Caique Experts
Are you a caique expert? Do you breed caiques, or are you just a knowledgeable hobbiest? Do you know about caiques in the wild, have in depth information and knowledge of caique behavior, diet, and attitude? We want you!! Caique Crazy Forums is putting together a panel of experts, to answer member questions that are in depth about their birds. These questions may be anything from molting, to breeding, to behavior. If you are interested, please contact Amy.
Funky Happenings...
Anyone who visits the site frequently or even infrequently may have noticed to odd happenings going on over this past month. The site has undergone some wacky changes, and the whole forum looks different. E-gads, whats going on?
Due to some turmoil within the administration, the original site was pulled from its server. It has been rehosted and is currently undergoing changes to make it bigger and better then ever. Look for regular updates to the blog, new site features including an interactive caique quiz, and more articles pertaining to the care and keeping of caiques.
Please check out the new forum located at http://caiquecrazy.spreebb.com and keep tuned for further features to come!
The Pet Food Recalls & Your Bird Food
I'm sure you have all heard about the dog and cat food recalls that started happening early April. Over 30 brands of recalled wet food, due to melamine contamination. Now, some dry foods have been recalled, and the list of possible contaminates just keeps spreading.
Does this affect our birds? Its my belief that its only a matter of time before it hits all animal foods. This is just the calm before the storm.
Previously, the only bad boy on the label was wheat gluten. Now, there are 6 possible contaminates. Wheat gluten, corn gluten, corn meal, soy protein, rice bran, and rice protein are all being inspected by the FDA for possible contamination. I just inspected the ingredients list of Roudybush, the pellets that I feed my birds. Wheat gluten- check. Soy meal- hmmm. Corn products, check. Roudybush rice diet, which I feed my plucker, also has rice bran, and rice protein. Comforting, isn't it?
Are you thinking- 'well, I don't feed pellets, I feed seed!'. You are not going to be happy with my findings. A quick search on the internet scouring common brand seed ingredients revealed startling discoveries. Topper Bird Ranch Seed uses wheat gluten. They have assured me that they only use US sources for all their wheat gluten (why use it at all? Wheat gluten is a cheap, unhealthy filler) so it should be safe, right? One would think... until you hear about the recall of Chicken Soup products, who is US based, and did not use imported products, but still found traces of melamine in their Kitten and Puppy Formulas?
A quick look at the ingredients of another popular food, Kaytee, shows that their seed contains Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Middlings (don't know what wheat middlings are? A cheap way to feed cattle to fatten them up before slaughter. Don't believe me? Google it!) and Ethoxyquin . Their pellets contain - surprise surprise.. ground wheat middlings (again, cattle feed!), Corn Gluten Meal, Ethoxyquin, and of course, some sugar for good measure *insert sarcasm here*
I could go on and on, but you get my point. Just about every label reads the same. So now what? with more foods being recalled, how do we know what is safe to feed our birds?
My personal recommendation? Go organic. If you don't already- feed only organic fruits and veggies to your birds. If your pellets have any of the possible contaminates, ditch them. I've found 4 pellets that do not have any of the contaminates in the ingredients list- and, are healthy and use organic ingredients. They are:
TOP Pellets- Totally Organic Pellets. http://www.totallyorganics.com/ingredients.php
Harrisons- http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com
Goldenfeast Golden Obles- http://www.birdsafestore.com/detail.aspx?ID=1057
Foundation Formula- http://www.organicbirdfood.com/
Honestly, I plan on switching my birds over to the TOP pellets ASAP. I refuse to risk their lives because of human idiocy.
Want info on the latest pet food recalls? Click on any of the following:
Chicken Soup Recall
Specific Brand List of Recalled Foods
Site with constant updates about the pet food situation
Why Human Food Is Affected By Pet Food Recall
and of course... the scariest of the them all. Pet Food May Have Been Spiked On Purpose
The first post
Amy here-
Welcome everyone to the Caique Crazy blog! This is my first ever blog posting, so please be patient as I learn the ropes :)
Have you noticed the new site? Topps has done a wonderful job setting up a new format for us! Please note the new URL- http://www.caiquecrazy.us.tt
We have also been hard at work setting up a new forum for our CCF members. Proboards was getting to be a pain, and there was just too many logistical problems to count. We were getting increasingly frustrated by the things we wanted to do with the old forum, but simply couldn't. So, CCF packed up all its gear and moved to Invision board style hosting! I gotta say, I love the changes. It runs faster then ever, and there are seemingly no limitations. For anyone who wants to take a peek, check us out at http://caiquecrazy.spreebb.com
Like the changes that have been happening? Sign our guestbook and let us know! Feedback is greatly appreciated.
Until next time
~Amy
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