Who are we and what is our mission?
"Let them thrive, not just survive..."
Hi there! This is Jezenia aka Zen, coming to you straight from my parrot centric home in South Africa. I currently have 6 of my own birds. I say currently because that number seems to constantly be getting bigger! My flock consists of mostly rescued parrots, with my oldest being 31 years old and my youngest being 6 months old. I have 2 Blue Fronted Amazons, 1 Orange Wing Amazon, 1 Green Cheek Conure, 1 Mustache parakeet and 1 Kakariki. All of them are pictured below!
I am so excited to finally be able to use this blog to reach bird owners with the life changing information that I have to offer through Naturally Captive. I've started this blog to be able to write about helpful tips and information that I have surrounding the care and training of captive birds. But what exactly is our mission at NC?
My inspiration...
Kiera, my inspiration. She was the most beautiful female eclectus. Her life was cut short due to my lack of knowledge and frankly, my lack of effort. While she wasn't fed seeds or peanuts, or kept in a tiny cage, she was not cared for properly. Thoroughly. She got a lot of rushed, 'thrown together' meals. I didn't train with her, and she was misunderstood by most people as being evil due to her unresolved aggression. Her hormones were always through the roof, and her cage set up was pitiful. She ended up passing away at a measly 8 years old due to HMP (Heavy Metal Poisoning), likely caused by the metal on her cheap toys or a rusted part of her cage. Her last moments were spent in a strange incubator in a vet clinic, with no one she knew around her. When I got the call that she had passed, I was inconsolable, and I swore to never own a parrot again.
Kiera:
A few years later, I began to form a passion for the a field I had once loved before: Animal behaviour. Later, I found myself training with a young, wild Indian Ringneck. Using my training methods, I was able to tame her in 24 hours. From wild and scared, to confident and cuddling. While I didn't end up keeping Em, I was stoked, to say the least, with my success with her. My studies and research continued tirelessly, and I started accepting my first clients. I constantly evolved my methods, and continually saw faster and faster results. At this point I still refused to have a bird of my own.
Em:
Fast forward to the day I received a call about a blue fronted Amazon, who's owner could not afford to take her to the vet, and who was shaking uncontrollably. "Please can you take her?" "Fine, I'll get her vet care, train with her and foster her until I find the perfect home for her." And so came along an almost 30 year old bird whom I renamed Georgia Rose. She had uncontrollable shakes, and would soon be diagnosed with having suffered strokes, and suspected abuse trauma. I was her 7th home. 7th. I'm sure you can guess that she wasn't going anywhere. She made a remarkable recovery, which deserves its own article, and I fell in love. The rest is history.
Georgia Rose:
New methods of care and training...
I have spent a long time formulating an amazing care and training routine for captive birds that is breeding awesome results with both my birds and my client's birds. I have been able to help transform many parrot's lives already, and I hope to help many more! This routine is structured around implementing the correct diet, environment and training methods. Essentially, we start by making birds feel great internally before trying to produce good external results!
Reaching People...
My focus has become reaching and impacting people. This is simply because at the end of the day, it is the parrot's owners who can make a difference in their lives. In my years of working with many different people who also work with animals, I have seen it all too often that they can be quite bitter and impatient towards humans. I understand that to an extent, since we see a lot of abuse and neglect within the rescue world especially. But if we give up on educating people, the way they treat their animals will never change. That is why Naturally Captive aims to show patience and kindness to people as well as animals.
Join The Flock...
If you work with, own, or simply love birds, please join our Naturally Captive "Flock" and access our future articles on a regular basis! Together, we will transform your bird's life forever! I am going to be giving tips and helpful information on our feathered companions for free. Don't miss out!
Look at
all those chickens.