Celebrating Piper's BIG Day

Happy hatch day PIPER - big 1 year old on 1/27/2010.

For Piper's birthday Patty took Piper to the pet store and bought him a new shreddy toy and some peppers. They also had a party. Piper and Patty live in Hayden, Idaho.


Elena
Piper's former surrogate mom
Rosie's Avianoutfitters (online bird store)

Attempted Escape from Beaker's by baby GW!

I caught the 'big guy' as he/she was trying to make the great escape from Beaker's. Check it out!

Elena
Beaker co-flock leader
AvianOutfitters online bird store

Welcome Baby Greenwing - first feeding at Beaker's

Boy I am having fun with my digital camera! Here is a video I captured yesterday (Sun 1/24) of the arrival of Baby Greenwing to Beaker's.... Cyndi and Terry are the proud new parents of Baby GW and they will be coming to Beaker's this week for their initial visit. We can't wait for them to meet this big, gentle giant!

Enough said... enjoy the video.

Elena
Beaker's co-flock leader
Rosie's AvianOutfitters (online store)

Abundance Feeding - U2's NEW experience

There are two schools of thought out there among breeders and those who hand-raise baby birds - feeding by the clock or abundance feeding. We chose the later for a few important reasons.

• Every bird is unique - you cannot judge by weight or species alone
• When you're hungry, you are hungry and when you are not, you are not
• If you listen, you can tell the difference in baby's cry - hungry, fussy, etc.
  

Well, yesterday (1/23/10) we were preparing hand-feeding formula for baby Timneh (TAG) and baby U2 indicated that he was hungry (yes, DNA testing shows that baby U2 is a boy!). So, what do we do? We gave him a snack.... Jeremy decided to try some softened hand-weaning pellets (We use Scenic products). These hand-weaning pellets are the same formula as the hand-feeding formula.

Well, take a look at this video clip and you tell me how Baby U2's first hand-weaning pellet experience went. And then immediately following that clip you will see a cute short clip I took this morning of baby U2 right after his morning syringe feeding. Enjoy! And Barbara (U2's mom) I just know you will love seeing this clip.

If you enjoyed this clip... please pass it on!

Elena
Beaker's co-flock leader
Beaker's Parrot Place
Rosie's AvianOutfitters (online store) January - Foraging toy DISCOUNTS

Happy Hatch Day Tiko - Big #1

What a big girl you are Miss Tiko... and beautiful too!

Happy Hatch Day

Tiko reading her hatch day card from Beaker

Sent with love from your surrogate parents,

Jeremy and Elena
Beaker's Parrot Place
Rosie's AvianOutfitters.com (online store)

Forever friends move on to their FOREVER homes!

We thoroughly enjoy all the babies we hand-raise. Even though species have common personality traits, each is unique and special. We had a great time hand-raising Unah (Congo African Grey) and Hoku (female Solomon Island Eclectus) and met an amazing family in the process.

This post is dedicated to two forever friends.

Unah (Cherokee for 'friend') and Hoku (Hawaiian for 'star') now live in Rochester, WA with their new parents. They love next door to each other (on the same property) and hopefully will visit each other often. The Ledl's have a spread in Rochester and raise miniature horses.

Knowing that Unah and Hoku would be friends and family, we made sure that the two birdies had a chance for some playtime. Here are a few snapshots for your enjoyment - pictures as babies, playtime and then go-home day. Enjoy!

Unah at 5 weeks

Hoku 7 weeks (not sure which is Hoku)

Hoku and Unah getting to know each other

Two friend sharing - how cute!

Left to right
Larry (Sr.), Larissa, Jan (with Hoku) and Larry (with Unah)

We help all our babies get off to a great early start with lots of love and affection, enrichment and a high quality diet of pellets and fruits and veggies. For customers who cannot come to visit us often (which I suspect will be the case with Hoku and Unah given the busy lives their parents have) we have an on-line bird supply store called Rosie's AvianOutfitters and offer a extensive, high quality, high value selection of birdie essentials so your birdies will never be without what they need.

Well that's it for this post.... Happy trails Hoku and Unah!!!!!

Elena and Jeremy
Beaker's flock leaders

More on Baby U2!

Well, baby U2 has been in our nursery for a few days now. I promised in my last post, that I would provide a little more information about the Umbrella Cockatoo. Here you go PLUS a short video of our new arrival, Baby U2, (sooned to be named by his mommy, Barbara).

About the U2
U2s extremely friendly and love to be handled (that's an over statement). Like most cockatoos, Umbrella Cockatoos make very loving pets that need 'lots' of attention. They can learn to talk, as can most cockatoos and are easy to teach all kinds of tricks. They tend to form strong bonds and may grow to regard their owners as mates (watch out!). If allowed, they can learn to manipulate their owners (establish boundaries and keep consistent in following nurturing guidance techniques).

Umbrella’s are not known to be prolific talkers like the African Greys and Amazons. However, some U2s do acquire a significant vocabulary. They are generally good at doing tricks and some excel at mechanical feats such as undoing locks and bolts. Make sure you have a Cockatoo-proofed cage

U2s are a full-sized cockatoo about 18 inches. They are primarily white with long wide crest feathers that resemble an umbrella when raised. The underside of the wings and tail is also frequently tinged with yellow. They have black beaks and dark-gray feet.

A little about their origin - U2s are found in Obi, Halmahera, Ternate and Tidore in central and northern Moluccas, Indonesia.

Another look at 'our' baby U2 (or should I say, Barbara's)

Thanks for watching!


Elena
Beaker's co-flock leader

Welcome Baby U2

We meant to send our New New Years greetings a week ago but missed the window with all that is going on here - babies going out and babies coming in. While we have your attention, we would like to wish you joy, peace and good health in 2010!

In this blog I want to introduce Baby U2 (Umbrella Cockatoo). We have the privilege to hand-raise baby U2 for Barbara who lives in Federal Way. Jeremy and I look forward to getting to know Barbara while baby U2 is in our care.

Baby U2 arrived yesterday 1/7 to our nursery. Baby's hatch date is 11-6-09 (a special day since it is our anniversary date) and baby is 63 days old. Here are a few snaps - visit often because this baby will grow fast!


In our next blog, we will talk more about this amazing bird!