Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Second Meeting of The Austin Parrot Society

Hello everyone!

I want to thank all those who made it to the meeting. A lot of new people who were not at the first meeting, which was nice to see, but we hope those who came to the first one come back again. We had lovely weather and Jerry et al at J&M were gracious hosts.
Unfortunately the planned guest speakers fell through, so I pulled out the one topic I know I can present on short notice: Disaster Preparedness.
I think a lot of information was shared and the main point (that we all MUST be prepared) was taken in by all, which for me as a disaster management worker with humans and animals, was the most important thing.
So the people who were not able to attend don't miss out on the good information, I have posted the Parrot Disaster Kit I developed with Code 3 Associates below. If you have any questions about this or other disaster or preparedness related issues please get a hold of me via either the austinparrotsociety@gmail.com or my personal email (luchaschoice@gmail.com) and I would be happy to address them.

The organizations I mentioned during the talk were Code 3 Associates and United Animal Nations
I would also recommend the following sites for disaster preparedness and planning information:
Ready.gov
Stormpulse.com
Storm Prediction Center
Firewise.org

The next meeting will be Sunday April 19th (we'll be meeting the third Sunday of every month), starting around 12pm and ending around 2pm at J&M Aviary.
I am working on a guest speaker again, and hopefully it will go smoother this time! However, if there are any members who feel they have something to contribute to the group, please feel free to contact me about being a speaker one month.


I look forward to seeing you all there at the meeting... look for the evite a couple of weeks before!

Jamie




Avian Disaster Kit

By being prepared and able to react quickly in the face of approaching disaster you are able to keep you, your family and your animals out of danger.

If it is not safe for you or your children it is not safe for your animals to stay behind during an evacuation. Take your animals with you and be prepared to do so. Each animal in your family should have a disaster kit. The following is a list of things to build an Avian Disaster kit.

Food and Water

Food; two weeks supply – pelleted diets, seeds, dried fruits/veggies and nuts – in airtight container, rotated every 3 months

Small tubs of fruit salad in own juice is great as they provide fresh fruit and fluids but keep a long time.

Certain Baby foods are also good as they are mushy which is a comfort food for birds. Be careful as to vitamin and mineral supplementation which may be too high for a bird

Your birds favorite teats – rotated every 3 mo

Water; two week supply – estimate 1 to 2 quarts per day for drinking, bathing and cleaning

Food and water dishes – have extra and non breakable

Restraint and ID

ID - band number or microchip – have this information on your paperwork

Towels - wrap the avian in

Portable cage with perches - marked with your contact info

Recent photographs - including you or family member in picture

Wire, pliers, and duct tape – to repair portable cage

Wire cutters - to remove a stuck bird in an emergency

Sanitation

Newspapers for lining the cage

Paper towels

Dish soap

Disinfectant

Garbage bags

Care and Comfort

Blanket or sheet to cover cage

Toys

Hot water bottle

Flashlight w/extra batteries

Grooming supplies

Spray bottle for misting

Battery Powered fan - a small one can be attached to the cage and make the difference on a hot day

Records and medications

Vet phone number

Copies of proof of ownership papers

Copies of medical records

Medication – two week supply of any medication the bird is on

First aid Kit –

First aid book for Birds

3 X 5 conforming bandages

4 X 4 gauze pads

Graze rolls

Antiseptic wipes

Triple antibiotic cream

Q-tips

Scissors

Tweezers

Instant cold pack

Disposable gloves

Two rolls of vet wrap

Items in addition to basic kit

Pedialyte

Blunt nose scissors

Styptic powder

Cornflower – to stop bleeding on wings or soft tissue

Hemostat - for pulling broken blood feathers

Cotton swabs

Feeding syringes - incase hand feeding is needed)

NOTE: Birds are better being transported in the plastic animal kennels with a low perch, however this is not suitable for any longer than a day at the very most as most birds can chew through the plastic in short order.

Similarly cages (either small regular ones or collapsible travel ones) are dangerous for travel as the bird can easily panic and break wings or get them stuck in the bars.

Two cages are best, a travel cage and a collapsible wire one for when the destination has been reached.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Next Meeting Of The Austin Parrot Society Is On The 22nd

The next meeting of the Austin Parrot Society will be on Saturday 22nd March at Noon (folks seemed generally happy with Sundays, but wanted it a little earler). I would like to try and make the meeting a regular third Sunday in the month if possible.

Jerry at J&M Aviary has been very generous and has offered either an outdoor or indoor meeting area for free. So we have a new home and a nice opportunity to support a local avian rescue. J&M also has a store, so take the chance to pick up a new toy or bag of treats for your feathered friend before or after the meeting.
I will be headed out there this Sunday to work out which venue will be best for us at the next meeting.

I am currently talking with a local vet about speaking at the next meeting, hopefully we will be able to get schedules organized in time (we are playing phone tag at the moment), but rest assured I have back up plans from within the ranks of our amazingly diverse membership, so learning something new will be a guarantee!
If you know of someone who can teach us parrot owners something new, and who may be interested in coming and talking to us at a meeting, please let me know.

I look forward to seeing you all on the 22nd

If you are reading this and would like to receive emails with updates and news from the Austin Parrot Society then please contact us at austinparrotsociety@gmail.com