Unique Beaks Sanctuary

30/01/2025

We are so excited to announce that our chop toppers and sprouting mix our now being sold at ! You can treat your birds to some delicious and healthy treats while they receive amazing veterinary care from the team.

30/01/2025

We are so excited that our chop toppers and sprouting mix are now available to purchase at Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic!

We've partnered with Unique Beaks Sanctuary to bring you delicious and safe chop toppers, and a sprouting mix.

These are usually only available once per year at the Bird Lover’s Expo, but now you can access them year round at the clinic!

19/01/2025

Nothing better than cold watermelon on a hot day! In order we have Omari, Pierro, Athena, Hera, and Valentino 💚 The green crew

10/12/2024

A few months ago, the beautiful Mercury was brought to us by a lovely rescuer who took her in and got her vet care for some infected feather follicles on her wing, likely caused by an injury. She had surgery to remove the affected feathers and the rescuer believed she just needed to regrow the feathers and would be back to normal. Mercury would have been picked on in the rescuer’s aviary due to her lack of flight, so we agreed to house her in our specially adapted aviary for our flightless pigeons until she regrew the feathers and gained flight again.

Well, one of our disabled pigeons Cherry took an instant liking to Mercury, and he began constantly following her and courting her. We had never seen Cherry come out of his shell like this and we didn’t want to separate them, so we decided to make Mercury a permanent resident here. (pic of Cherry and Mercury on slide 6)

Fast forward a few weeks and Mercury’s feathers grew back very abnormally, forming lumps under her skin and becoming infected again. We took her to our trusted vet and found out that this was a chronic issue that was not going to be resolved with only one procedure. She has since had two surgeries to remove the affected follicles in an attempt to stop the feathers regrowing at all. Follicles are stubborn though, so it will likely take at least two more surgeries (maybe more) to damage the follicles enough that they won’t regrow and cause infection again.

It’s not a pretty process, but Mercury has been so incredibly strong and maintains her feisty personality! We are doing everything possible to make her comfortable during recovery and eliminate this issue.

Any donations are incredibly appreciated and would help us so much. You can donate directly to the vet’s account as pictured on the invoice with the description “Unique Beaks” or donate to our account at BSB - 062948 Account number - 13249918

10/12/2024

A few months ago, the beautiful Mercury was brought to us by a lovely rescuer who took her in and got her vet care for some infected feather follicles on her wing, likely caused by an injury. She had surgery to remove the affected feathers and the rescuer believed she just needed to regrow the feathers and would be back to normal. Mercury would have been picked on in the rescuer’s aviary due to her lack of flight, so we agreed to house her in our specially adapted aviary for our flightless pigeons until she regrew the feathers and gained flight again.

Well, one of our disabled pigeons Cherry took an instant liking to Mercury, and he began constantly following her and courting her. We had never seen Cherry come out of his shell like this and we didn’t want to separate them, so we decided to make Mercury a permanent resident here. (Pic of Cherry and Mercury on slide 6)

Fast forward a few weeks and Mercury’s feathers grew back very abnormally, forming lumps under her skin and becoming infected again. We took her to our trusted vet and found out that this was a chronic issue that was not going to be resolved with only one procedure. She has since had two surgeries to remove the affected follicles in an attempt to stop the feathers regrowing at all. Follicles are stubborn though, so it will likely take at least two more surgeries (maybe more) to damage the follicles enough that they won’t regrow and cause infection again.

It’s not a pretty process, but Mercury has been so incredibly strong and maintains her feisty personality! We are doing everything possible to make her comfortable during recovery and eliminate this issue.

Any donations are incredibly appreciated and would help us so much. You can donate directly to the vet’s account as pictured on the invoice with the description “Unique Beaks” or donate to our account at BSB - 062948 Account number - 13249918

28/11/2024

Artemis has been doing his best to start a nest in our kitchen shelves behind this tub, and guards the entrance fiercely 🤦‍♀️ He hasn’t even paired up with either of the girls yet so I dont know who he thinks will be laying the eggs 😂

02/11/2024

We are so excited to be selling more chop topper and sprouting mixes this year at on November 17!

Our chop toppers come in three yummy flavours to keep chop interesting for your birds! They can be mixed through your bird’s chop to absorb excess moisture and add a bit of crunch, or used by themselves as a foraging mix or treat.

Our sprouting mix is easy to make and comes with detailed instructions on how to prepare for your bird. Sprouts are a fantastic addition to your bird’s diet as they are packed with vitamins and minerals not always available in dry seeds or pellet mixes.

Please come along to support local bird rescues and shop so many products specifically for birds and their humans to enjoy!

12/10/2024

We are so excited for this year’s bird expo! Mark your calendars, come and have a chat with us, and pick up some fun things for you and your birds to enjoy!!!

12/10/2024

This cheeky girl always sizing up my food when she gets the chance 🍚

24/09/2024

Our beautiful Athena had a very uncomfortable experience last week!! She was so incredibly strong throughout this ordeal and we are so proud of her resilience ❤️ We are so grateful to the amazing team at Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic for taking such great care of her, we couldn’t ask for more caring and capable people to treat our residents. And we are happy to say that she is feeling so much better now!

24/09/2024

Just some pretty pidgies in the sunshine ☀️ Crampette, Fang, and Acacia ❤️

07/08/2024

Yesterday we said goodbye to our beautiful girl Manuela. It still doesn’t feel real.

When we were sitting with the girls a few nights ago, Manny very suddenly had a loss of coordination in her limbs and mouth, and was unable to eat solid foods or climb. She continued to decline, and soon lost her sight too. It’s suspected to have been caused by a pituitary tumor which was pressing on her brain and causing neurological symptoms.
Though scared and worried, we spent as much time with her in the last few days as we could, feeding her yummy puréed foods and cuddling her, as well as providing pain relief.
It all happened so quickly and we’re still processing it.

She had only had a checkup about a month ago and she was in great health, so it’s a real shock how quickly she declined. We had long discussions about what to do, and came to the hard conclusion that the kindest thing was to let her rest. Our wonderful vet assured us that it was the right decision for her considering her state, and made sure her passing was very peaceful, as well as allowing her sister Francie to be with her.
Manny brightened our lives so much, we feel so incredibly lucky to have been able to know and love her. Though it’s been hard grappling with the rats’ short lifespans, we feel so grateful that she spent so much of her life with us.

Manny, every day we will miss your comically loud sniffs exploring everything around you, your tiny nails leaving scratches on our necks because you insist on sitting against our skin, your sweet little round belly, your smell, the way you were always up in our business and we never minded at all.

Only a week ago, Fransisco underwent a surgery to remove a steadily growing lump on her neck. From the stress of that, to now losing Manny, we have been emotionally and financially struggling lately. I am very happy to say that Francie has been healing incredibly well and is already back to her normal self. We are heartbroken that Francie has lost her sister, who she loved so much, and who provided her a companionship we could never compare to. But since we are not in a position to take on another rat, we are dedicated to providing Francie with not only our increased company, but enrichment and stimulation to keep the remainder of her life as enjoyable as possible.

If anyone is able to donate to help cover the $1240 that have been spent on our wonderful girls, we would be so incredibly appreciative.
BSB: 062948
Acc: 13249918

13/07/2024

Hera enjoying some kale when Omari joins in 🥬

22/06/2024

We are excited to announce our 2nd art fundraiser to raise money for our sanctuary!
We have had a lot of veterinary costs lately, and we need some help getting on top of them. For $15 you can get a fun portrait of your beloved pet/s and help out a rescue in need.
These portraits are not as detailed as the last fundraiser, but more of a cartoonish style- all drawn by Martine.
The fundraiser will be running from 22nd June - 13th July.
Please share if you can and spread the word!

24/05/2024

Last Thursday we said goodbye to our beloved Newt. As some of you may know, Newt went to the vet about a month ago with strange symptoms and it was discovered that she had an extremely enlarged liver and an infection. She improved slightly with medications but deteriorated again and was taken back in for more testing.

Even with countless tests and medications, the cause of this liver infection was still a mystery, and her condition was only worsening. Our next option was a liver biopsy, but given her condition we knew that she would likely not survive, so we made the incredibly hard decision to let her go.

I will not go into detail, but her necropsy results showed that we had made the right decision, as her organs were extremely abnormal and there was a lot of tissue overgrowth. We can’t say for certain what this was without further testing, but the general feeling is that this was cancer which had spread and caused secondary infections.

In the weeks before her passing, we grew incredibly close to Newt and I really feel that we had a deep understanding of each other. Newt fought so long and hard in this battle, and I will never forget her strength. Her partner Frida was by her side every step of the way, and though it has been heartbreaking to see him cope with the loss of her, I do think he knew she was unwell all along- but loved her all the same. Frida was so incredibly gentle and loving to her in her last few days, and we are so glad she found love in him, even if only for a year.

In times of grief, the last thing one wants to think about is money, but unfortunately this is an inherent part of rescue. In our efforts to save Newt, we spent $1500 that we are still in the process of paying off. This stress on top of losing Newt has been extremely hard for us, so we have been taking some time to focus on ourselves. If anyone has the ability to donate to her bill, we would be forever grateful.
We love you forever Newt, we hope you are flying high wherever you are ❤️

06/05/2024

The beautiful Mac, affectionately known as Mac-a-doodle💛 It’s so hard to get nice pictures of the starlings since they’re always moving a million miles a minute! We adore these little pocket rockets so much, even though they’re chaotic little gremlins most of the time 😈

28/04/2024

It’s been a month since the beautiful Auggie has been in the outside aviary and he is absolutely thriving! Once his wing amputation healed up, we started trialling him outside to see how he would go. We have multiple flight-impaired pigeons in this aviary so it is well adapted with lots of low shelves, ramps, a ladder, and a tree stump for them to be able to get off of the ground. Auggie has claimed a low perch in the loft where he sleeps every night, and his confidence has grown so much- he doesn’t let any other pigeons push him around. We are so proud of his progress and get so much joy from seeing him climb ramps and explore- not letting this huge change in ability impact his quality of life.

27/04/2024

Beautiful Newt is unfortunately going through a very rough time. After noticing something was not quite right with her we scheduled her in with our avian vet. On her first visit she was sent home with antibiotics to watch for improvement but after 3 days we were still very concerned and took her back for investigation.

With x-rays, ultrasound and blood work our vet found she has an extremely swollen liver (2x the normal size) due to an internal infection, which has impacted her breathing as the liver is pressing on her air sacs. Thankfully she is already showing signs of improvement with medications and supportive care. The cause of the infection is still unknown and will require further investigation to diagnose once she is feeling well enough.

Our account is still at $357 owing, we are so appreciative of any donations to help us with Newts medical bills. She will be going back to the vet next week for a follow up which will be roughly another $300. You can donate directly to our vet account with the details shown on the invoice or donate to our bank account below.

BSB: 062948 Account number: 13249918