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Feffie's Feathers is a small, in-home aviary, located in Lansing, Michigan. When we decided to raise parrots, we promised ourselves that our parent birds would live as well as our pets and that we would maintain a pleasant living environment for our human family, as well. Although it took a fair amount of planning, re-arranging, redecorating and rewiring, we have been able to keep that promise.
Our parent birds are housed in an aviary with large, meticulously clean cages, full-spectrum lighting, natural foliage, lots of toys, and rainforest "music". Our babies are raised in a separate nursery, which has it's own kitchen facilities. We have cable television in the nursery. Between feedings, playtimes, and naps, our babies watch the History Channel, CNN, and the Arts and Entertainment Network. By the time they are weaned, most of our African Greys are ready for The High School Quiz Bowl. :-)
Our babies are fully and abundantly weaned to Harrison's and Scenic pellets, fresh sprouts, and a carefully balanced mash of fresh foods. They are tested for gender, Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease and Pacheco's Disease.
A sample of each baby's blood is registered in a DNA bank. This makes positive identification possible, in the event that the bird is stolen. Polyoma vaccinations are done by our avian veterinarian (Dr. Wayne Beasley, 2295 N. Williamston Rd., Williamston, Michigan, (517) 655-4906.)
Nurturing, loving socialization is very important to us. Everyone is the family takes part in the process. By the time our babies are ready for adoption, they are accustomed to being in many locations and to being gently handled by a variety of people. They have been raised in an active household, surrounded by a human, avian and canine family.
We believe that raising a well adjusted parrot involves a lengthy investment of time and attention and that their adjustment to life in a human environment should be as "natural" as possible. As a result, our babies are fully weaned and fully fledged prior to adoption. They are raised by their natural parents for an extended period of time. As they proceed through the hand feeding, weaning, and fledging process, they are kept with their siblings and/or surrogate siblings. Once they have become proficient and confident flyers, they are given a conservative, gradual, non-traumatic wing clip. Because this process takes many months, our babies are older, at the time of adoption, than many babies sold by pet stores and breeders. We will not sell young babies under any circumstances.
We provide a copy of a parrot behavior book with the purchase of each baby. When possible, we provide specie-specific books, such as "For the Love of Greys" and "Guide to the Senegal Parrot". Our comprehensive, written health guarantee assures our clients that our babies are healthy and free of hereditary/congenital defects.
We don't make our living selling parrots. It is truly a labor of love. We raise a relatively small number of babies and become attached to every one. It is important for every member of our adoptive families to be excited about, and ready for, the responsibilities and joys of "parrothood". Because our babies' futures are important to us, our clients are carefully screened. We have prepared a 30 page booklet about parrot ownership, which is available to anyone, upon request.
At this time, we have the following babies being hand fed:
Cape Parrots
Jardine's Parrots
Timneh African Grey
Bronze Winged Pionus
Solomon Island Eclectus
Thank you for visiting Feffie's Feathers
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