We rescue
We rescue parrots. We fight for them. We dedicate my life to them.
I rarely put myself first. I never put them last. I always try to do right by them.
I have opened my heart to more parrots than I can count. I bring them into my home. I return the life that was taken from them.
I have accepted the craziness of my world. I take the insanity in stride. I have given up any hope of having a normal life or a perfectly clean house.
I live each day, for the parrots. I wake up, prepared to save more. I go to sleep, thinking of those I couldn’t reach.
I hate my phone… it never stops ringing. I answer and listen to yet another plea for a parrot that no one cares about, no one will help.
I look into the eyes of the neglected. I feel their pain in my own heart. I hear their silent cries.
I apologize for the awful things that have happened to them. I say “I’m sorry” for things I didn’t do. I say, “I love you,” because no one else in their life ever has.
I can’t save them all. I can’t even save most. I live each day knowing that, no matter how hard I try, it will never be enough.
I know that even when I succeed, I fail. I know that for everyone I save, there’s another I lose. I know that no matter how much I help, my work is never done.
I take on their pain, so that they may have happiness. I allow my heart to hurt, so their’s can heal. I become the one who is wounded, so they may be restored.
I know the cruelty that exists. I’ve seen the faces of abuse. I witness the senselessness of the world… and know that change is always just beyond my grasp…
I sometimes lose faith in humanity. I often cry. Some days, I crawl into bed and pull the covers over my eyes.
Sometimes, I sob. I hurt so much… but I cry because they hurt more than I ever could. The helplessness drives me to say, “I can’t…”
So, I get out of bed. I brush off the despair. I vow to make a difference.
I do make a difference.
I never give up. I fight for change each day. I pray for relief from the pain… not for me, but for them.
I rescue parrots. In turn, they rescue me. Everything in between... is so worth it!
How to avoid parrot scammers
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www.pdsparrotshop.com
www.pdsnonprofit.org
PDS is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (tax id #46-2470926)
DIY healthy seed mix [bird food]
DIY Healthy Seed Mix [Bird Food]
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Organic herb seed mix for parrots |
At the sanctuary, we started making our own mix because in-store seeds had added vitamins or colored pellets. Since we mostly take care of Eclectus parrots we needed something without vitamins, colored pellets, corn, sugar, preserves, and oils. Instead of all these bad ingredients found in Parrot mixes, I can substitute them with healthy parrot-safe and more nutrtious seeds.
As always, seed mixes should only be part of a fresh food diet. Everything should be in balance and take everything in moderation. A 100 % birdseed diet causes fatty liver disease and other complications.
Healthy parrot seed mix |
The great thing about this DIY Healthy Parrot Seed Mix is that you can add anything you want, however much you want, and leave out anything you don't want to use or can't find. I tried to give more ingredients than you will need in a single batch, so there's room for variety.
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Author Monika Sangar
www.pdsparrotshop.com
www.pdsnonprofit.org
PDS is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (tax id #46-2470926)
Birdie Chop with Lentils [healthy recipes]
Birdie Chop With Lentils
[healthy recipes]
Parrots diet should consist of greens, veggies, and fruits. Fresh food is always the best.
I try my best to provide a variety of fresh food for my parrots to ensure they are receiving all the vitamins and minerals.
For chop, packages visit Christine's chop shop.
You can do the same, you don't need to follow my ingredients list exactly. You can add or eliminate things.
A safe food list, in case you're experimenting with new food.
I always try to add a rainbow of veggies or fruits into my chop. Different veggies of different colors have different nutrients and by varying them, I hope to give a completely nutrition-balanced meal.
Today chop recipe:
(you can vary your measurements depend on is you have one parrot or many)
1) Rice, lentils, dry peas with 1/2 tsp of turmeric, paprika, and cinnamon go into boiling water for 5 minutes
2) Add Farro, quinoa, barley, millet, and shredded sweet potatoes into your water with the rice mixture. I added a can of chickpeas too, washed (low sodium). Let the water come to a boil again. Turn off the heat. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.
3) Chopped veggies: cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots
4) Food processor: cilantro, kale, and dandelion
5) Seeds: sesame, flax, chia, and bee pollen
6) Other: red raspberry leaf and rosehip powder
Mix everything together... serve.
I also sell an Organic chop mix. The grains and seasoning mix are already done. You just have to cook and do the veggies
For chop mix contact by email: pds.contactus@gmail.com
USA only.
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Author Monika Sangar
www.pdsparrotshop.com
www.pdsnonprofit.org
PDS is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (tax id #46-2470926)
Vitamin A deficiency information [parrot health]
Vitamin A deficiency Information [Parrot Health]
Before we go into more details, first we need a better understanding of Vitamin A and why it's so important and causes so much damage if absent.
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps grow and repair tissue. This antioxidant also helps to function eyes, skin, hearing, bone, and membranes.
Vitamin A deficiency can cause tissue damage in the respiratory, digestive, and reproductive tracts. This deficiency causes cells to undergo changes that prevent the secretion of mucous, and therefore destroying barriers that prevent bacterial infections.
Lack of Vitamin A causes bacteria, fungal, and virus infection because vitamin A is needed to produce mucous which is a layer of protection against the pathogen. So if your parrot has a vitamin A deficiency, it will not produce mucous, which will cause reoccurring infections.
Vitamin A deficiency in birds is a direct cause of inadequate diet. Only seeds diet, no fresh food, causes vitamin A deficiency in parrots because seeds don't contain vitamin A. Even when seeds are enriched with vitamins, the parrots eat the seed inside the shell, not the whole shell. Most vitamins add in seeds, only sit on top of the shell, and aren't consumed.
Why is Vitamin A deficiency an issue with parrots?
Because parrots require as much Vitamin A as humans, daily. Humans daily allowance for vitamin A is 2400 to 5000 IE a day; for parrots 2000-4000 IE per kg body weight. Therefore, per kg of a parrot, a parrot requires as much vitamin A as a human.
Signs and symptoms of vitamin A deficiency:

Treatment of Vitamin A Deficiency
Treatment of Vitamin A deficiency relies on the severity of the infection caused by the vitamin A deficiency.
Your vet will perform CBC and cultures to get a better understanding of the case. From the cultures, a specific antibiotic medicine can be given. The first step is to deal with the secondary infection because the infection causes death, and damage to internal organs. After an injection of vitamins can help boost vitamin A.
In some cases nostrils must be physically unplugged, then nasal flush with antibodies. Surgical lancing of abscesses might also be needed.
Prevention of Vitamin A Deficiency
No, not supplements. An adequate diet. Supplements can do more harm than good. The best way to ensure your parrot's well-being is by providing fresh food daily. There are many fresh foods with high amounts of Vitamin A.
Here is a list of parrot safe food which are high in Vitamin A.
Over Supplement of Vitamin A (Hypervitaminosis A)
Reference:
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Author Monika Sangar
www.pdsparrotshop.com
www.pdsnonprofit.org
PDS is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (tax id #46-2470926)
Birdie Chop Guide [easily chop recipe]
Birdie Chop Guide
Chop guide to help new parrot owners to safely and easily make Chop. Parrot love to eat fresh food and seed mixes don't provide all the nutrients needed. Remember to vary it, try new things, and soon you will have your own chop recipe which your parrots will love.
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Author Monika Sangar
www.pdsparrotshop.com
www.pdsnonprofit.org
PDS is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (tax id #46-2470926)
Unweaned Baby Birds
Unweaned baby birds
Before you go out and pick up an unweaned baby bird, realize that there is NO reason why an inexperienced hand-feeder should attempt to raise a baby bird. The idea that you can only form a strong bond with a parrot if you hand-feed them is simply untrue.
Unfortunately, it is only too common for unethical breeders to sell unweaned babies to customers telling them that it’s "for your own good! Your bird will not love you the same way without being hand-fed!” In reality, their motivations are purely selfish. An unweaned baby bird that can be sold faster is a better investment for a breeder, plain and simple. Weaning and hand-feeding are both difficult processes, even for experienced breeders, so the less time they have to spend feeding, housing, and socializing a baby bird is more money in their pocket.
It’s no surprise that a good breeder will not even consider selling an unweaned baby unless the customer can prove that they have extensive experience with hand-feeding and the knowledge to identify and deal with potential problems - if they'll sell an unweaned bird at all. The worst breeders will shove new owners out the door with a little bit of formula and a “good luck with that!” attitude. To them, baby birds are commodities that net the most profits the faster they can churn them out. Luckily for them, too many inexperienced people are all too willing to buying a cute, fluffy unweaned baby, and have little to no knowledge of how to properly care for a bird in one of the most difficult and important stages of its life.
Baby birds die, become permanently harmed, or acquire terrible lifelong habits every day at the hands of well-meaning but inexperienced hand feeders. The causes are many, and most can be difficult to avoid given the finicky nature of baby birds. Some of the biggest problems that can occur with hand-feeding are:
1) Feeding complications:
Aspiration: Food can easily be pulled or pushed into a baby bird’s lungs and cause immediate death or infections like pneumonia.
2) Beak Deformities:
3) Starvation:
4) Overfeeding:
5) Improper Weaning:
Finally, it’s true that in general, the BIGGEST problem faced by inexperienced hand-feeders is the simple fact that they are unable to recognize signs of trouble. They do not know what issues like crop stasis looks like, or what the proper weight of a baby should be, or how to handle a baby refusing formula. Because baby birds are so fragile and vulnerable it can be mere hours to minutes (in the case of aspiration) before a problem is serious enough to cause death.
Given these facts it is apparent that the task of hand-feeding and weaning a baby parrot is best left to the professionals. And if the tens of thousands of adopted birds out there are any indication, even mature adult parrots are still capable of forming strong, loving bonds with their owners. An important fact for all parrot owners to understand is that what creates a true bond is NOT who is providing the formula, or even who a bird first lives and interacts with. In the end, a bird is going to bond MOST strongly to the person or people that put in the time and effort to build a respectful and trusting relationship with them.
Author: Budgiefacedkiller
From Pam Bird
Birdie Cereal with sweet potatoes [ Healthy bird recipe]
Birdie cereal is one of the favorites around our sanctuary. All birds eat it. It's healthy and nutritious, a great addition to a fresh food diet. However, to make it diverse, I add different ingredients and today, I will share one of my recipes.
Birdie Cereal with Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
Birdie Cereal by PDS parrot shop or your choice
one sweet potato
Tsp of flax seeds, chai seeds
Tbs of chopped nuts
Directions:
1) First, make the Birdie cereal as directed.
2) Cook sweet potato and mash.
3) Mix all the ingredients.
Bella's Surgery [parrot health story]
We have rescued over 50 parrots from horrific situations and we were balancing our costs well, until last year… Tragedy after tragedy hit us and the medical bills piled over $10,000 all at once.
Here is where my 3-year-old girl Bella comes in, my little monster. She is a feisty eclectus, who is the heart of our sanctuary. (She’s the one we take to dinner with us) She loves new humans (grows tired of us, I suppose) and loves destroying anything she can. She says Hi Bella and the sweetest ‘hello’ that will make your heart melt.
Bella is the only parrot that chose to come home with me. You cannot say she is rescued because she said demanded I take her home. What her highness demands, I provide, so I paid her ransom and brought her home. Cut to a few years later, Bella starting pulling her feathers out. We took her to the vet, he said heavy metal poisoning, put her on chelation for months! Didn’t work, so we had to have surgery with an avian specialist ($$$$) Now that her gizzard was clean we thought she would get better but she didn’t. Another 6 months passed, back on chelation. Another 4 months and the Doc said, let’s do barium series with digital x-rays ($$$) Barium series showed an abnormality in her gizzard and her intestines being pushed to one side of her body. Doc said most likely it’s egg yolk peritonitis inside her abdominal cavity but of course, we can’t be sure until he cuts her open with ‘exploratory surgery.
I’ve got the best avian vet in the world Dr. Nemetz, the only Doc I would ever let cut open my girls or boys. But he is a specialist and very costly. He put Bella on Lupron to see how the drug would make her feel (that way he knows when he goes into surgery he has to look at the ovary also) So next for Bella was ‘exploratory surgery to clean her stomach out, if that’s the issue or to remove the ovary if that is the issue. The cost of surgery was $5000. It was discovered that she had two ovaries, so one and a half were removed. Also, she had become egg bound and the egg broke inside of her causing lots of damage. She is doing well now after the surgery. We are still giving her meds for pain and inflammation. We hope one day she won't be in pain.
Liver Issues [ parrot health]
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Marty ( scarlet macaw) and Basil (eclectus) |
1) Milk thistle seeds
2) Aloe Detox (green bottle)
We put him on aloe detox. Followed the instructions above for one month and healthy diet (few seeds: lots of fruits and veggies, chop) and exercise.
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Author Monika Sangar
www.pdsparrotshop.com
www.pdsnonprofit.org
PDS is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (tax id #46-2470926)