South Central Illinois Bird Rescue, NFP

13/11/2023

It is just about time to order our first of our last two orders for the year. This order is coming up to just over $900, that leaves us around $500 short for right now 😞

I am praying that we can come up with the rest to be able to get this order placed, but our supplier wants money up front before they deliver. While we have always paid them right away, I guess some others have not and they said with costs rising and overhead, they need money up front.

We buy the large bags and try to buy 4-6 weeks worth at a time. By doing this, if the supplier doesn’t get their shipment on time we can usually make the food last until they get their supply in.

I have literally ran my credit cards to the max these past few months and borrowed leaving myself having to try to make those monthly payments now. I just don’t have anywhere else to borrow from to get these orders done.

If there is anyway you can donate, it is so much appreciated …
I hate asking, I just don’t know what to do anymore.

This is why we tried to stop taking the birds in, costs have gone up so high and I refuse to let them go without…

With that being said, we have placed some of the “forever” birds with close friends because it isn’t fair to them that I’m in this situation, However , we still do have the ones here that we need to provide care for, including food, medications, toys, etc. When we gave up the storefront and yet continued rescuing, people who would help out kinda forgot all about us, but that again had to be done as it was an additional $2200 expense monthly with mortgage, insurance and utilities… I am glad we don’t have those added expenses at least…

Thank you from the bottom of my heart…

Hi, my name is Schatzi, we have ran a non profit bird rescue and sanctuary … Schatzi Grossglauser needs your support for Help us make it through the Holidays

09/11/2023

https://gofund.me/adc3af56

Hi, my name is Schatzi, we have ran a non profit bird rescue and sanctuary … Schatzi Grossglauser needs your support for Help us make it through the Holidays

06/11/2023

Haven't done an update in a while...
We have slowed down in the rescues, however, we do still have our "Permanent" residents in our Sanctuary...

Over the past year in our attempt to close down, we have been very successful in still rescuing and finding home for 32 birds...
(Yes, this is slowing down for us)...

We will forever help where we can to place birds with their people, once it is in your blood it is hard to stop. However, we have also learned our limitations of what is fair to the birds in our care.
We will still help owners find good families for their flock should the emergency situation arise...

NO, we will NOT help you SELL your bird. That is NOT what we are here for...

We just wanted to update on our current situation...

No, we do NOT have any adoptable birds currently at this time, however, we do get calls to help rehome so if you want to check by sending a message, we try to continue to check our messages regularly...

Thank You for understanding our decisions on slowing down and deciding to just helping in the emergency situations...

02/12/2022

As many of you know, we
Have attempted to slow down or stop with the rescue due to financial and medical reasons…
Also as many of you know I find it very hard to turn away a bird in need…

With that being said…
This past 6 weeks have been a busy time with the following placements..

Bandit - a 30+ year old green wing macaw
Coco - a 30+ year old Catalina macaw
Christine - a 20+ year old Catalina macaw

Each of these came in inadequate cages and all the cages have been replaced except for Christine’s as of right now.
These birds have all been placed where they are receiving individual daily attention and out of their cages as much as possible.

We do have a few smaller birds coming this week and will know more after we receive them.

We do not charge the owners anything to help rehome these birds and do what we can in the best interest of the birds.

We still have our very high success rate with placing these birds and very proud of that, however we are asking for help due to recent intake and tremendous costs involved.

We are also looking to get Christine a bigger cage…

If anyone has a gently used macaw cage they would like to donate, that would also be greatly appreciated. Note it cannot have rust or holes in it for the safety of the birds…

****ALL of these birds have been placed in what we hope will be their forever homes…
We stay in contact with the new homes and keep up on how the birds are doing…
We are trying to get a new cage for our latest one which has been placed, and trying to recoup some of our expenses.
Thank You

09/09/2022

Bird Trims...

We will be accepting appointments for trimming your birds
(parakeets to macaws) on weekends...

We are still located in Gillespie and will require appointments.
With MULTIPLE larger birds we can make arrangements to come to your home, you will just need a table to work on, we will provide the rest.

We are very experienced and able to do wings, nails and beaks...

COSTS:
Wings - $5
Nails - $10; Macaws & Cockatoos - $15
Beaks - $15

Feel free to message or call for appointments...

South Central Illinois Bird Rescue & Sanctuary
217-313-4601

24/04/2022

I wanted to let everyone know that we will be closing (or at least cutting WAY back) the rescue this year so we are not updating the website.

With the rising costs of everything and no support from the government or even donations it is just getting too hard to continue. Our food bill alone is over $800 per month. Then there is the housing (cages and buildings), toys, cleaning supplies, heating/cooling costs, lighting costs, etc….

While we have LOVED every one of the birds we have been able to help, we just are finding it hard to continue as we have literally gone through our entire savings to help the birds.

IF there are any birds that seriously need our help and can’t find anyone else, of course we will be there for them, however, we are not going to be continuing in the same capacity that we have in the past.

We will hold our non profit status, however, we are cutting way back to be able to give more to the birds currently in our care.

As for our Sanctuary Program, YES, we will continue with these birds in our care as we gave our word to their previous families and feel they need us…

Thank You all for understanding!!!

16/03/2022

We wanted to share with everyone to watch for Avian Flu...
There are several cases found in the US currently and for us as close as Missouri and Kentucky.
Most of these cases are in Snow Geese and Canadian Geese.
Please be aware that this CAN be transmitted to your Exotic Parrots if you are not careful....

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-wild-birds?fbclid=IwAR2gmFm37a4ZptOxl6E06p2OCE_JI7CHsas-a3SSsgCl8gxJUWbqp-zfDmM

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites always use a .gov or .mil domain. Before sharing sensitive information online, make sure you’re on a .gov or .mil site by inspecting your browser’s address (or “location”) bar.

17/01/2022

Updated our Amazon wish list…

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2BLAXCZ4A7ILE?ref_=wl_share

04/01/2022

What a Huge loss to the animal world as well as our world in general…
Betty White had a love and passion for animals of all species…
Here are just a few pictures of her with some birds…
There are several posts going around asking people to donate to an animal rescue of their choice to honor her 100th birthday this coming January 17th…
We would be honored if anyone would like to donate to our rescue in honor of Betty White.
If there are other rescues out there you would like to donate to we would love that you do what you feel is in your heart.
Betty loves ALL animals and I know would feel so honored to be remembered in this fashion…
We do have Venmo, CashApp, FB Pay, and can do PayPal also…
We do have a donate button on our website
www.southcentralillinoisbirdrescue.org

Thank You for all of your support!!!

04/12/2021

We are in need of at least one macaw cage for one of our rescues…
It needs to be 30”x40” minimum and in good condition.
If anyone has one they would like to donate or sell very very reasonable as we are low on funds right now…

Thank You

14/07/2021

We have some exciting and scary news to share.
If all goes as planned, we believe we have found a place for us and the birds.
This way we will have separate areas for different species and they will be able to have more out of the cage time.
I will also be with the birds literally all the time unless running errands as they will be at our place.
Now for the scary part…
For all this to be accomplished, we will have to come up with literally thousands of dollars within the next 2 weeks for the move. We are going to try to sell off all of our personal items we can do without, will try to sell some things online, and possibly see if we can do a fundraiser somehow.

I am asking for prayers as this is what we feel is best for the birds, and if there is any way anyone would find it in their hearts to donate anything, this would be our time of desperation…

All donations can either be mailed to us at
114 S. Macoupin St., Gillespie, IL 62033

Or

[email protected]

Thank You to everyone….

08/07/2021

Some of our birds that are looking to meet their new families…
Everything is BY APPOINTMENT ONLY and adoption fees are NOT discussed until meeting the birds.
If you are seriously interested
Please contact us to set up an appointment

14/06/2021

Thank you to Litchfield News Herald for the donation of newspaper…
It is GREATLY appreciated 🙂

09/06/2021

Good Morning....
We are planning on moving hopefully by the end of summer.
We wanted to let everyone know that we are still working with the birds on a daily basis and working with other LICENSED rescues in our area to be sure that ALL birds needing placed will get to where they need to be. As for the birds we currently have, they will be going with us.

Currently we do have the following available for adoption....

Quaker parrots - 2 green, 3 & 4 years old. They were surrendered with no DNA and the owner believed them both to be male, my guess is they are a male and female, however, DNA has NOT been done yet.
They are very bonded and protective of each other, cage aggressive, when they are out of the cage, they settle right down.

Amazon -
Mr. Jingle is an 11 year old Blue Fronted Amazon.
Mr. Jingle will let you know whether he likes you or not, he does not prefer either men or women, does well with each if he likes them.. Mr. Jingles is an AWESOME talker and likes spending a lot of time out of his cage.

Macaws -
Scarlet Macaw
Buddy is a 20 year old Scarlet Macaw who has had 5 different homes before coming to us. Buddy needs someone who UNDERSTANDS and has time for a macaw. He is not aggressive, just not overly affectionate either. We believe with the RIGHT person, Buddy would make an Awesome Companion...

Bolivian Blue & Gold Macaws - Kiwi & Melon
Kiwi and Melon are brother and sister 21 year old Bolivian Blue and Gold Macaws who have been together their ENTIRE life (in separate cages).
They have only been handled by one owner since they were a baby who has recently passed away. They will be going together as we promised not to separate them. They will need an experienced owner who will take the time to just get to know them without pushing them...

Coming up....
Max - 30 year old Blue and Gold Macaw
Max is an awesome blue and gold macaw who used to do everything with his owner. He has been plucking due to stress when the owner had an accident and eventually passed away. Max will make someone an AWESOME friend and companion and needs someone who has a LOT of time to spend with him.

IF you are interested in meeting any of our birds, please send a message as we are BY APPOINTMENT ONLY and have very strict adoption process. You MUST have the time and availability to VISIT with and get to know the bird BEFORE adoption is even considered.
IF you do NOT have the time to do so, sorry, but adoption will NOT even be considered.

Also note: We do NOT discuss adoption fees until you have met a bird you are interested in...

07/06/2021

Please note, especially with summer coming on and the new baby wild birds...
We are NOT licensed for wildlife...
IF you see a baby bird that has fallen out of the nest, please leave the bird as mom and dad are probably closer than you think...
IF you find an injured wild bird, please be sure to look up on Department of Natural Resources, or you can look up wildlife rescuers in your area.
Sorry, we cannot legally take in wildlife and do not want to risk our license to even attempt to...
Again, we are always told the BEST thing to do is to LEAVE the baby birds alone.
Thank You

20/05/2021

Due to recent intake of birds, we are asking for assistance with a couple larger used cages and just making sure we have enough food and toys on hand...

Thank You to everyone :)

06/04/2021

Thank you everyone for recommending us and knowing how we care for our birds.
I will try to start updating with which birds are available for adoption and adding pictures.
Understand, we do NOT discuss adoption prices as we are very stringent on the adoption process.
NO ONE can just come in and "buy" a bird from us.
We require regular visitation to get to know your bird before they go home.
We are also still performing home visits...
We want to ensure all of our birds find the BEST possible home that is RIGHT for THEM....
Thank you again for your support :)

21/01/2021

Happy News...
Sam (our Moluccan Cockatoo) went HOME with his new family yesterday...
We believe he has finally found his forever home and will be VERY happy with them 🙂

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJwCovMn/

Sammy is coming home ❤️

21/01/2021

Emergency Evacuation ...

This begs the question, do you have a plan for your parrot? Sometimes, flood waters rise and conditions decrease rapidly forcing an evacuation that you had never planned for. Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and other weather events can cause panic, which wastes precious seconds in emergencies. Have things ready to go and an action plan before disaster strikes. Here is a list of suggested items to keep on hand and some tips that will help you prepare.

1️⃣ Food - Have a travel bag of food/seed in a sealed plastic bag, ready to grab. Many of us store pellets in a plastic container which is convenient now, but takes up space if you had to pack into a vehicle with everything you didn’t want lost in a storm. If you feed fresh food or chop, think about putting some of the favorites in a cooler.
2️⃣ Bottled water - At least two-three bottles of water set aside for your parrot.
3️⃣ Travel Cage - Most of our birds live in cages that aren’t easy to transport in case of an emergency. An appropriate sized travel cage/kennel can be a life saver. Literally. Consider setting up a perch inside for comfort. Attachable food and water dishes, or even Tupperware, will help with feeding. A few newspapers to line the bottom, and last you a few days.
4️⃣ Towels - Your parrot could get wet, or you could be facing a situation where you need to cover him.
5️⃣ Picture - A recent, paper copy of a picture of your parrot showing any distinguishing markings or their ID Band. You NEVER know what will happen and if your parrot gets lost, you may need a way to show people or prove that they are yours.
6️⃣ Medications and Medical Records - If you wind up having to fly last minute, depending on your state/airline regulations, you make be asked to show proof of health. Your vets contact information can also be helpful. Medication for your parrot is essential. Put everything in a dry, plastic bag and keep with you or affix the information to your cage.
7️⃣ First Aid - Bad things and injuries always seem to happen at the MOST inconvenient times. Your parrot will most likely be scared and unfamiliar with what’s happening, which can cause panic. A blood feather could break, a toenail could get stuck in an unfamiliar cage, birds in close quarters can reach out to nip another... It’s good to have an accessible, mini first aide kit. Needle nose pliers, some vet wrap, Quick-Stop, a small flash light, paper towels, q-tips, Vetericyn (a parrot safe antiseptic spray), batteries and duct tape are some good things to include.

❗️Always be mindful of your Parrots lungs and what chemicals could affect them during travel.
❗️ When staying with friends and family, remember they might not be mindful to the dangers of Teflon, Air Fresheners or other harsh products that could be harmful, if not deadly, to your bird.
❗️ Write down your plan and keep it on hand, where everyone knows about, or with the other medical/emergency information. If someone else has to pack up your parrot, this will make things much easier.
❗️Have your own evacuation plan ready. Think of where you will go. If you have to travel far away from home, look up local vets, boarding facilities and animal shelters to see if they offer emergency shelters for your birds.
❗️If your bird is nippy, lashes out, or isn’t acting like himself, don’t take it to heart. He is scared, in an unfamiliar area and needs love and reassurance. Quiet, calm places will help them to relax. Extra treats and scritches won’t hurt either.

At the absolute least, a travel cage with food and water should always be on hand.

Feel free to add any tips or necessities that you found helpful in your personal experience.
Stay safe!

Credit: Lauren Lewis