Donations to this project
are eligible for a 50% match
as part of
the
September 2023 Little by Little campaign!
until September 22, 2023, at 23:59:59 EDT
Mickaboo is hosting two adoption fairs over the next few weeks - and you're invited! These fairs are a great way to meet some of the many birds in our rescue flock, talk to volunteers about bird care generally or with regard to a particular species, and start becoming qualified to adopt or foster from us.
The first of the adoption fairs will be in California's San Jose area:
When: Saturday, Feb 24, 11 am - 4 pm Pacific
Where: For Other Living Things, 1261 South Mary Blvd, Sunnyvale, CA
More information at this link.
The next adoption fair will be in the Sacramento area:
When: Sunday, March 25, 11 am - 4 pm Pacific
Where: Carmichael Public Library, 5605 Marconi Avenue, Carmichael, CA
More information at this link.
Buster is an example of a bird who found happiness in a permanent home. Buster is a 25-year-young red-bellied female poicephalus surrendered by her original owner because she was "in the way". The females of this species are often ignored or passed over in the pet industry because the males are more "colorful."
Buster loves to chew cardboard, makes soft whistles and kind of says "hello". She enjoys having her head scratched, and though she is missing one toe on each foot, she relishes dancing with her human friends.
Perhaps YOU will find a friend at one of these adoption fairs, like Buster did? If so, not only will you have a new friend in your household, but you will be creating the capacity for Mickaboo to save another life.
We hope to see you at one of the fairs!
Links:
GlobalGiving is hosting a #GivingTuesday Bonus Day TODAY. The matching event has already begun, and ends at 9 pm Pacific. GlobalGiving will match your online donations up to $1,000 per donor per nonprofit; the match rate will be determined by how much Mickaboo raises as a percentage of all monies raised. This means donations made during the entire day will count! There's no need to wait to help - head to this link now to give. Please consider using this opportunity to support our birds and have your gift go further!
Your gifts help birds like those pictured in this email. Mojo and Tory are 23- and 19-year-old cherry-headed conures surrendered to Mickaboo by a woman who had them their whole lives, and only gave them up when she was hospitalized permanently. (Conures like these have a life expectancy of around 30 years.) Their feather-plucking behavior has been successfully addressed by changes to their diet and environment. Mojo, the larger of the two, has added some English words ("Hello!" "Take a bath!") to his birdie vocabulary. Both enjoy interacting outside of their cage with their humans.
Interested in adopting them? See more information and contact their adoption coordinator here.
* * *
If you are in the area, consider coming to our Annual Holiday Party and Funraiser (Alameda, December 2) as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary as an all-volunteer organization. The event will feature:
See more details and RSVP here. If you can't come, we hope you will consider giving today, helping us lay the foundation for the next twenty years.
I hope to see you at our celebration!
Links:
Following up on the email we sent you last week, here is your reminder for GlobalGiving's matching day - today! From 6 am – 9 pm PT, GlobalGiving will match your online donations, up to $1000 per donor per project. The match rate will be determined by how much Mickaboo raises as a percentage of all monies raised. This means donations made during the entire day will count! Head to this link to give.
Your donations will help all of our birds, and especially those in our recent aviary rescue. The below is an in-depth look at the large flock of canaries in that rescue.
The entire flock of beautiful and varied canaries was in terrible health. Several have died, and it is likely that more will soon, despite specialized veterinary care. They were infected with malaria and canary pox, both carried by mosquitoes [canaries are susceptible to several mosquito-borne diseases, so outdoor aviaries should include protective screening] as well as cryptosporidium, an intestinal parasite; macrorhabdus, or avian gastric yeast; and parasitic nematodes. Not all of the canaries were afflicted with all of these things, but some did have everything listed above, and none of them were free of illness. Neither malaria nor canary pox is curable, although they are not always fatal. They do, however, weaken the bird and shorten its life expectancy.
We decided to treat the birds for the conditions that could be treated and give supportive care to save as many as possible. Because there were so many very sick birds needing veterinary care, this has been the single most expensive rescue in Mickaboo's history.
There were 31 canaries in all — an unusually large number of these small birds, especially for Mickaboo, which doesn’t receive very many canaries. One long-time volunteer with a big heart, M.A. Samuelson, offered to foster all 31 of them. After it became clear the birds would require an unusually long treatment and recovery period, with no guarantee of full recovery, M.A. built an aviary for them. Designed to protect them from the environment while providing room to fly and exercise, this aviary would give them the best chance to recover.
We were extremely fortunate that M.A. had the space and the willingness to create such a fantastic indoor/outdoor aviary space suitable for this large canary flock.
Some of the canaries are still hospitalized, as are a few of the other birds from the same rescue. But most of the birds, including the canaries, will survive and live comfortable and happy lives.
Veterinary expenses for the canaries have reached $23,000 and continue to rise. Please help us with this extraordinary rescue by giving now - any amount will help and be appreciated!
Links:
Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue recently led a rescue of over 70 birds from a Silicon Valley home after the owner passed away.
A friend of the deceased owner contacted Mickaboo for help with the birds, many of whom were sick or injured. When Mickaboo's volunteers arrived to assess the situation, they discovered several aviaries of exotic finches, rare parakeets, lorikeets, conures, doves, a quail and a cockatoo. Because the owner's death was not discovered immediately, there was urgency in evaluating the birds' health and living situation.
The yard where the cages were was cluttered, making it difficult to find all of the birds. It was not until a visit in the late evening that the Mickaboo volunteers found several rats moving onto the property under cover of night. Rats will kill birds, especially small bids, and their droppings carry diseases that will also kill birds. Our CEO issued an urgent call to our volunteers to have all birds removed immediately. Within less than a day, all of the birds were in foster homes or receiving medical treatment at a local avian vet.
The volunteer team doing the physical rescue needed to remove the birds from aviaries covered in bird and rodent excrement. "We literally had to crawl through square holes on top of 12 inches of feces to get inside to net the birds" said one Mickaboo voluneer. "It was both a physically demanding and emotionally challenging situation ... and the birds were terrified."
Although an incredibly heartbreaking situation, including the loss of life of the birds' owner, this challenging rescue is ending on a positive note - the birds are getting a second chance to live healthy lives and find permanent caring homes. We want to acknowledge the help of our rescue partners, Palomacy, who took the doves and quail, and Wing and a Prayer Loriidae Preservation and Restoration, who took the lorikeets. Each rescue orgainzation is handling their own veterinary expenses and is responsible for adoptions of the birds in their care.
Veterinary care for these birds has been expensive. Mickaboo's costs alone have reached $20,000 and continue to rise, to treat the birds for their physical injuries, infections, and general supportive care. Once deemed healthy, they will be available to adoption.
Would you help us with this extraordinary rescue? On Thursday, October 5, from 6 am – 9:00 pm PT, GlobalGiving will match your online donations, up to $1000 per donor per project. The match rate will be determined by the amount Mickaboo raises as a percentage of all monies raised. This means donations made during the entire day will count! We will send you an email reminder on that day. EVERY donation, regardless of size, will help.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Links:
Here is the link to the matching gift event we promised you last week - the matching gift event is underway now! Give early to get a piece of today's matching funds!
Your financial support will help us pay for the medical needs of the over 500 birds in our care - including birds like Kizzy, the Goffin's Cockatoo we told you about last week. Kizzy started her life with humans by being secreted away in a dark dorm closet, where she started her feather-picking habit. She now has a loving adoptive guardian and a sunny home where her diet is being improved and her plumage is starting to recover.
Would you like to help Mickaboo rescue birds today and EVERY day? Your monthly contribution can do just that! By giving monthly, you provide dependable support to help us continue to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home these beautiful, intelligent, feathered companion animals. If you start your monthly donation plan today, Mickaboo will receive a 100% match of a single installment amount after your third installment. You can earn this benefit by starting your installment plan at any time today, up until 9 pm PT.
Whether you choose today to give a single donation, or start a monthly donation, any amount is deeply appreciated by our volunteers and our birds. Thank you for your kindness.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
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