About Flock Haven
Back in 2002, while living in the DC area, we decided that we
needed to add another soul into our home. Since we lived in
a high rise apartment, we thought a cute little bird might be
the answer. Little did we know that this would be a life altering
decision. We purchased Sydney, our first cockatiel, from a local
pet store. Since we are information freaks, we searched the
internet for anything and everything bird related. This search
led us to a local parrot welfare and education organization. We began
volunteering, met some wonderful people and ended up as the
transportation coordinators for them. This meant that we
picked up and stored donated cages, we transported birds and
we also began doing rescues. In the meantime, we purchased Logan,
our second cockatiel from a local pet store and adopted Victoria,
our third cockatiel from the local Animal Welfare League of
Alexandria, Va. Here we are with three birds of our own, working
with many others. The biggest thing we were doing was LEARNING.
We never realized what taking a bird into our home really required.
These are very intelligent creatures that need tons of interaction,
intellectual stimulation and education. We give a heartfelt
Thank You to all of the wonderful people for teaching us and allowing us to help.
We soon realized that there were so many birds that
needed help in the DC area that we were constantly looking for
new foster families. We decided to apply to be fosters.
Since we had found that we had a “special knack” with
many feathers, we were awarded Wiley, the Quaker Parrot. Wiley,
like many of the birds that came in, had not lived a very
nice life. He was somewhat cranky, demanding, loud, obnoxious
and completely wonderful to be around. As our first
foster, later adoption, it was the beginning of a wonderful relationship
that continues today.
We were too soon transferred to the Florida Keys
and had to give up the time that we spent with the rescue.
Since we had been limited to smaller birds because of being in
an apartment, we looked for a house in the Keys. After a lengthy
process, Anne Marie and Junior joined us in Florida. We later
found out that Annie and Junior had actually grown up in Key West
before ending up in rescue.
The rest of this story is filled with similar stories.
We were transferred back to Virginia. The names and species change,
but the birds that have come through our homes have touched our
lives in a very special way. Cynthia
and I thought long and hard about what we wanted to do for our
future and decided that we would like to spend more of our time
taking care of the feathers that needed us near home. We then created Flock Haven. We
will continue to provide the local area with education on parrots
and hope that we can make a difference here. We will continue
to take in those feathers that need us, do our best to rehabilitate
them and then find them homes where they will be loved and properly
cared for.
Syndney
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The
Flock Haven Experience
It is important to understand how we deal with the
things we do for the feathers. Our main actions are education,
rescue/surrenders, foster/adoption and rehabilitation.
Education
We have a number of educational seminars that we can do with individuals
and groups. They range from a basic understanding of what it takes
to live with a companion parrot, dietary classes, parrot play
requirements and rehabilitation training. Just contact us for
specifics.
Rescues and Surrenders
We are often called upon by those who need to surrender birds
and by local authorities to rescue birds in a bad situation. When
surrendering birds, we take in as much information as we can get
and then get a Legal Transfer of Guardianship for the surrendered
bird. From that day forward, Flock Haven is forever responsible
for that bird. Since Flock Haven is a non-profit organization,
we accept ANY donations that the relinquishing parties feel that
they can provide for the care of the bird.
Foster and Adoption
It is our intent to place every suitable bird back in a loving
home after it is surrendered. Flock Haven begins the process with
having prospective adopters fill out a questionnaire that gives
us a great deal of basic information. Once the information is
reviewed, we invite the prospects to our home to visit with the
feathers to observe how they interact. Our feathers choose their
new family, not the other way around. Once we have this “meet
and greet” we do a home visit to ensure that the new environment
is a good one that will meet the needs of the feather. When all
is well, we begin the search for the right feather. The first
part of the process is a foster placement. The adopters sign the
foster agreement and a feather is placed in the home. We work
with the family and monitor the feather’s progress in the
home. If it is not a good fit, we take the feather out of the
situation and look for a better fit. When the right situation
is found and the foster term is completed, it is time for the
foster family to become the adoptive family. At any time in the
future, if the feather cannot stay with the family for any reason,
the feather is returned to Flock Haven. We do have adoption fees
and they are based on individual birds. Flock Haven is a non-profit
organization and all funds are returned to the care of the Flock
Haven flock. The fees are based on the amount of funds used by
an individual bird for vet visits, cages and other expenses. The
fees have NOTHING to do with the “value” of a bird.
Rehabilitation
Many of the feathers that come to us come from imperfect situations.
Some of these feathers have aggression issues, plucking issues,
nutrition issues and sometimes just issues. Once we bring a feather
into Flock Haven, they are evaluated for a number of things and
then we begin our work. If they are aggressive, we work on relaxation.
If they are plucking, we begin the LONG journey of finding why
they pluck and what we can do to help. If they have nutritional
issues, we teach then to eat a healthy diet. We are committed to
giving the feathers the best possible life they can have.
Anne Marie and
Junior
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