06/29/2023
BOARDING:
Did you know that your parrot could get sick if sharing close spaces with other sick birds, or from coming into contact with bacteria, viruses, and fungus? It’s important to choose carefully who to watch your bird for you when you’re away. Leaving parrots unsupervised at home can result in a deadly accident or exposure to toxins or bacteria. We have been running a rescue for two decades now and our facilities are communicable disease free. How do we know? When birds shed dander, they can shed things like viruses with it. Swabbing things like doorway trim or near the A/C where all dander will accumulate, gives us a good picture of the overall health of the birds in our facility. We also evaluate, daily, the droppings of the birds under our care as well as their overall appearance. It’s important to vet each one, no matter the size. We have never had positive disease results and the key to this is carefully examining birds before choosing where to put them: overall appearance, medical history, boarding history, flock mate history, housing (by state) history, and age. New Mexico is a fairly low risk state, but if you should adopt a bird from a higher risk state, such as Florida, disease testing is a really good idea! We have helped treat birds with disease but these birds were isolated and we have never had to deal with an outbreak.
Did you also know that you should never keep a baby bird (less than a year to two years) with other adult birds? Babies are more likely to be sick with something communicable and undiscovered and their immune systems are still developing. Older birds are less likely to suddenly develop a disease, especially with a clean history. Good husbandry and low stress can prevent a bird with ABV from developing PDD, for example. Papillomas are common in older birds, but will likely not spread with good husbandry.
Did you know that we designed our house specifically for the animals under our care? We have 5 separate indoor air systems including a freestanding building to house prey animals/birds in a predator free zone. Our yard is secure with brick fencing and we have a very large run available for aggressive dogs or more unique animals such as chickens. We have a 10 x 6 run usually used for housing fowl.
When a bird or small animal is sick, needs constant care or is not comfortable with being in our main facility, there are many choices including a sun room on it’s own air, a garage that was converted for the birds to include a window to see the beautiful mountain, our main house, and a room on the east side of the house for those animals who need specialized care, are elderly, handicapped, or blind. This also has a separate air supply.
People often ask me if we board other animals. YES! Absolutely! Everything from cats and dogs to reptiles, to rodents, etc. Our dogs are usually boarded indoors and may have free run during times when birds or other prey animals are not out, if the dog is well behaved. Owners can request outdoor boarding but we recommend against it during weather extremes. Kitties, ferrets, and similar species usually are boarded in their own room, with opportunities to hang out with the humans or have run of the house when no other animals are out.
I am also an advanced dog trainer and am the perfect landing zone for dogs who are in the middle of training or who are full fledged service dogs as I know they require stringent handling with an attention to small details that most people don’t think about. Your dog will likely be returned to you with more training or better manners than when he was dropped off!
Please consider us, especially during these busy summer months, instead of boarding in a noisy overcrowded facility!
