Losing A Pet

My father had to put his beloved blue heeler dog to sleep yesterday morning. She had been fighting various health issues for a while, but ultimately it was a blood clot (stroke) that ended her life. Chloe was a wonderful dog. Sweet, smart, kind, loyal. My husband and I used to take care of her when my father and stepmom would go on trips. We always enjoyed keeping her and made a point to spoil her as much as we could while she was here! We had many good times with her. We will all miss her very much.

To many of us, losing one of our pets is almost like losing a child. We form very close spiritual connections with our animals. Whether it's a parrotlet, a cat or a great dane, the heartbreak we feel when they pass on is indescribable. They fill our hearts with so much joy and love while they are in our lives. When they leave us, it literally feels like a piece of your own spirit left with them. Everybody is different. It can take weeks to months before we begin to feel "whole" again.

People who are not animal lovers do not understand. They say, "why don't you just go get another ____ (bird, dog, cat, etc.)." I find it best not to waste my time talking to these people about the loss. They simply do not understand. Family and friends are wonderful for support. There are also some wonderful online chat groups that are very supportive while you are mourning the loss of your pet.

My two favorite poems I read during these times are "rainbow bridge" and "lend me a bird". You can google them to read them for yourself. I also send these two poems to family and friends who have lost a pet.

I think one of the reasons we grieve when a pet dies is that we feel our time with them was cut short. We are grieving not only the loss of the pet, but the loss of "what might have been" - the additional time we expected to have with them. Remember the good times you had with your pet. Celebrate the relationship that you had with them. You can express this in many ways. Maybe write a poem or write a biography of your pet's life. If you are artistic you can paint or write a song. Maybe frame your favorite picture of him/her and hang it in a special place. There are even online sites where you can "light" a virtual candle in your pet's honor.

Life is unpredictable. Every moment is precious. Spend some quality time with your pets every day. Reflect on the joy they bring into your life. No matter how busy you are, you can always take a minute to give them a cuddle and look them in the eye and tell them you love them.

I believe this is excellent advice to follow for the humans in our lives as well! 

Conure Update & Hummingbirds!

Our green cheek conure has been adopted! He will be going to a wonderful family in a few days when his brand new cage comes in! Thank you Mary and Richard!

Hummingbirds:

It is hummingbird season! We always have a lot here as we have hummingbird friendly flowers in our backyard and fresh nectar in our feeders. I just love watching them buzz around! They remind me of garden fairies.

People see all the hummingbirds in our yard and want to know what I feed them. I use an easy homemade mixture. One part white sugar to four parts water. Bring the water to a boil, then stir in the sugar allowing it to dissolve completely. Remove from heat, let it cool and serve! Extra amounts can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

The advantage of homemade nectar over the storebought "instant nectars" is that by boiling the water, you kill all the bacteria that causes the nectar to sour. Especially in our Texas heat, the instant nectars tend to ferment very quickly (within two days or so). My homemade nectar lasts until I need to refill the feeders. Which right now is about every three days LOL! During the peak hummingbird season in the past, I have gone through 60 ounces of nectar per day!

The homemade nectars are also much more economical. You can't get much cheaper than white sugar and water! And only use white sugar. Do not use brown sugar, artificial sweetners, etc.

And be sure to keep your feeders clean. Mold can grow on and in the feeders which can cause beak infections in those little hummers. I use a bleach and water solution to clean. Then I rinse with a vinegar/water solution to remove any traces of bleach, followed by a clean water rinse. This leaves my feeders sparkling clean!

Once the hummingbirds know you have good food in your feeders, they will return year after year.

Beak Appetit is back in business!

I just heard from the grapevine that Beak Appetit is back in business! Beak Appetit is a line of nutritious cook and serve food that you prepare for your birds. It comes in a variety of flavors that birds love! As soon as my distributor begins stocking this product again, I will put it back on the site. Meanwhile, you can order it directly at http://www.beakappetit.com/

Green Cheek Conure & Molting

I'm ready to go to my new home!

Will you be my friend?

Well our baby that had the beak injury has healed up nicely and is doing great! We are looking for a home for this little guy. He is super sweet and will make a great companion! His beak just needs to grow out and he'll be as good as new. He is eating a normal diet (pellets, fresh foods, etc.) and loves to come out to play! He has a gentle, playful personality. If you are interested in giving our little guy a home, please let me know. You can contact me at parrots4us@sbcglobal.net

Molting Time:

I've gotten a few emails from customers who are finding lots of feathers at the bottom of their birds cages. They are concerned that their birds are picking. Right now, many birds are going through their pre-season molt. This is usually a heavy molt and you may see more feathers at the bottom of the cage than during a normal molt. Your birds may be crankier than usual and have a head full of sensitive pin feathers. So be careful!

This is normal for this time of year and is nothing to worry about. If you have your birds on a good diet (mostly pellets with some fresh foods), than your bird will have the nutrition he needs to grow in healthy, beautiful feathers!

Birds Currently Available:

We have four lovely blue quaker babies. They are on two handfeedings per day now. We expect them to be weaned around the first week of October. They are very sweet and cuddly.

We have the neatest white bellied caique available! He is so smart and personable. Loves to play on his back! DNA'd male. He will make an awesome companion. I almost kept him for myself LOL!

And we have still have one senegal available. Weaning now, I expect this baby to be ready to go home in about a week.

If you are interested in any of the birds above, please go to my website at http://www.almostangelsaviary.com/ or contact me at parrots4us@sbcglobal.net  Pictures of the above babies are available upon request.