New Beginnings Aviary Blog

We are a small home-based aviary based in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. I, personally, have had birds for 35 years now…boy that sure makes me feel old…lol. My love for birds has carried over to my husband and four children, who are now all teenagers. Ten years ago we decided to give breeding a try. Our main goal was, and still is, to raise well socialized, super friendly, happy, and healthy baby birds. The amount of time, energy, and LOVE that we put into our birds makes it very hard to part with them but we do so, very carefully. We are very picky where our babies go and if you decide that you do want to add a bird to your family we will ask you many questions. We want to make sure that you have done your research and know a lot about the bird that you are interested in getting. And, we also hope that you will ask us a lot of questions as well. 

Our pairs are fed a HUGE variety of foods. In the morning their water is changed and they are fed a nutrious breakfast of whole grain hot cereal mixed with a variety cooked veggies and fruit. In the afternoon they get a mixture of raw, fresh veggies and fruit along with some cooked quinoa, couscous, whole grain rice or some other tasty treat along with whatever else I may throw in the mix. I like to add a couple tablespoons of fresh sprouted beans on top. In the evening, before bed, they get a treat which could be a few nuts or nutriberries or some yummy fruit. All day they have access to a variety of pellets depending on what type of bird, I have Pretty Bird, Roudybush, Zupreem and Golden Obles. They also have seed throughout the day as well. The water is replenished in the evening as some like to make a disgusting birdie soup and some like to just bathe in their dish. Any pairs that are taking care of babies often get fresh and cooked food three and four times a day depending on how much they are eating and the size of their clutch.

My pairs only have two clutches per year. I firmly believe that they need a good rest and do not like them to have to be caring for more than two clutches a year. When the youngest baby is two weeks old I take the babies out of the nestbox and this is when I start to handfeed them. We use (both my daughters help with the hand feeding) Roudybush Formula 3 and Mazuri Hand feeding formula. We have found that both of these formula’s give our babies a great start in life and produce healthy, happy babies. NOTE: Mazuri has been hard to get so we now use mostly Roudybush Formula 3. The babies get a LOT of socializing and as they get a bit older they spend a great deal of time with the family whether it be in the living room just hanging out or in our family room watching tv with us and pooping on the back of our couches and shoulders. LOL  As they get a bit older we start adding fun foods for them to pick at and try. We gradually introduce more and more foods for them so that they are open to a nice variety by the time they are ready to go. We will NOT sell an unweaned baby. The age that your baby will be ready to come home with you  depends from baby to baby even if they are from the same clutch. We had a clutch of four cockatiels where one was eating all by itself regular birdie food at 5 1/2 weeks old and yet its sibling was 15 weeks before we could finally get it off its ‘baby’ food!!

We have a variety of different kinds of birds. Originally we had just cockatiels but we have fallen in love with several different kinds and just couldnt help ourselves. Currently we have the following beautiful pairs:

• Turquoise Male Indian Ringneck (Teeko) & Cinnamon Blue Female Indian Ringneck (Hyacinth)
• Blue Quaker Male (Gryphon) & Blue Quaker female (Megabyte)
• Two pairs of Sun Conures (Crayola/Sunrise & Solstice/Equinox)
• Two Greencheek Conure Pairs (Rio/Cheyenne & Apple/Skye)
• Black Masked Blue Lovebird Pair (Nairobi & Mozambique)
• Two pairs of Cockatiels (AutumnGold/Wynterbreeze & Shutterbug/Nikon)
• Three pairs of Parrotlets (Papillion/Levi & Xylo/Adam & Sunny/Cher) 
• Pair of African Grey Congos ( King & Amy)

As you can see we have a variety!!! And we name all our birdies!! When I am in the birdroom cleaning, feeding or visiting I talk to them all by name. Of course, sometimes I call them the wrong name but then I get my teenagers names mixed up too!!! Everyone in the household has a different favorite bird but they are all loved. We are constantly updating our pictures as we love to share off our beauties. Oh and you can see pics of our birdroom on the birdroom page. It has changed a bit as far as the type of cages and setup but it is still a lovely, bright, cheerful room!! It is my most favorite room in the house!! It used to be my son’s bedroom but it was so nice and sunny that I moved him downstairs…into the basement…LOL…so the birds could have his sunny, bright, south facing, airy room instead. Thankfully, my son has forgiven me for that!!

Anyways, I could go on forever but I had better stop now. Please feel free to email if you have any questions and we will be glad to answer them. We are able to answer all emails within 24 hours but more likely you will hear back from us a lot sooner than that…I recently got a blackberry and my emails show up on it…greatest thing ever!!!

Have a wonderful day!! And thank you for checking us out…we hope that you enjoy our site. You can reach us at brattybirdbeaks@telus.net . Oh and you might like to check out Bratty Bird Beaks Online Food & Supplies at http://www.brattybirdbeaks.com

Sincerely,

Deborah