Greenbriar Aviaries and Avian Conservancy

21/11/2024

This "porridge" is just right for when the bad wet/cold weather starts and you have a bird not feeling well. Sometimes we have to spoon or syringe feed them to give them an energy boost to get better!

Our sick bird "gruel" is a very thin mixture of pureed fruit, sunflower hearts, roasted meal worms, and dog food. We use sugar water to mix it to make it go down in a more energy boosting medium that is easy for a sick bird to digest. The sugar water also helps as a temporary energy boost allowing a bird to take those critical first steps to recovery.

We hope this helps.

08/11/2024

Whew been awhile since we posted but so much has been going on that is both exciting and new!

We are continuing our work in conservation and restoration with birds and now wetland areas! We are working on becoming a dnr certified nursery for both fish and plants native to our state. This means we would work with government and nfp agencies to restock and restore water habitats damaged or destroyed by industrial accidents or mismanagement.

We love our bird conservation and our environment so we are always working to help both.

21/09/2024

Our cobbled together isle of turtles and ducks is a hit with the locals. The normal basking log had drifted to an intolerably shadey spot and the turtles refuse to bask anywhere but the best spot so complaints were made to management and this monstrosity of pallets, screws, and posts was born for anything that enjoys chillin in the sun!

06/09/2024

This little critter was found hungry and lurking in tbe garage. After sleeping and stuffing his/her face it is feeling much better. We encourage all cat owners not interested in serious breeding projects to neuter or spay as appropriate. This little one was lucky it stumbled into a friendly garage. There are many owls and other predators around and not even our love of animals is enough to keep all of the "walk ins" as we call them so we do find them loving homes.

Let's all do our part to reduce the number of kittens that show up "at the front stairs of the church begging for sanctuary and food" as it were.

27/08/2024

A few books we love!

11/08/2024

Some of our young ones out in their "day brooder". When temps get above the 70F mark we let our young ones in this brooder to pick at bugs and grass. The brooder gets moved each day to prevent dropping buildup and the lawn they are on has not had birds on it in over a decade and a half. Plenty of time for our brutal winter cold and absence of hosts to wipe pathogens out.

13/05/2024

A big part of hatching success is knowing where a good place to put your bator is. I have my bators in my office so I can keep an eye on them throughout the day. I also use hygrometers and thermometers to confirm the bators' own readings. I also run an air purifier/filter to keep down dust and any "birdy" odors from hatching. What's most important is that the room has stable temps that are neither to hot nor to cold (65-75ish seems to be great h
For our humidity in the bators we keep it at 60% so 50% ambient humidity is just fine.

I do not recommend putting bators where it is very cool or worse very damp. Stability and a relatively friendly "baseline" in your bator room makes a huge difference.

11/05/2024

And the young uns are hatching!

05/05/2024

We love nature as much as birds. This well for irrigation had to be put in where a pen was but rather than just let it turn into a patch of weeds we decided to turn it into a prairie garden for pollinators and hummingbirds!

Larkspur, purple lobelia, blanketflower, cup flower, columbine, gayfeather, yellow cones, eastern prickly pear, blue lupine, bee balm, cardinalflower, and a number of other perennials are planted up for the spring!

A layered sand and composted manure cake is what the plants crave!

02/05/2024

Butt pearls are flying! When collecting eggs we immediately mark the pen it came out of. Before putting in the bator we wipe down each egg with a wet paper towel to remove any residual grime.

It is a myth that washing will destroy the eggs' fertility. You have to scrub them to do that and you're more likely to break eggs than clean them.

We hope this helps.

14/04/2024

(Sings) sand sand here, sand sand there, and a couple of brand new logs! That's how we keep birds in good care in the merry old land of Oz!

Sand is a great substrate to use for ground birds as it is poor in organics which draw worms, and easy draining which keeps disease down.

We use natural logs whenever possible of various woods. We don't have a preference just whatever has been cut or pruned. The birds love them and it is very healthy for their feet. Sort of like a foot scrub to remove dead skin.

04/04/2024

With so many spring swaps and auctions going on it can be confusing seeing all the colors and patterns of peafowl in all their glory, never mind how they look in combination with each other. This book covers many varieties currently recognized as well as varieties that have never been shown to the wider world until this publication. Chicks, train feather comparisons, side by sides of adults, pictures of colors and patterns from the world over, and commentary on identifying marks of each. Get yours today!

A photographic guide to peafowl including colors, species, side by side comparisons of different varieties and so much more.