The McDonald Family Animal Rescue - Rescued Animals in Need

Sam is A Mitred Conure who is suffering from a number of issues. Although the person who surrendered her loved her a lot, she was not always able to provide the best life for her. Certain things were out of her control but she did the best she could under the circumstances. She showed how much she cared for her by surrendering her to a rescue so she could have a more stable environment.

Bird owners often don't realize how much effect their environment can have on their bird's physical and mental well being. Cigarette smoke is very hard on the lungs of birds and can even cause them to pluck their feathers. It is also very important for a bird to have cages that are made of non toxic metal and a diet free of excessive daily sunflower seeds is essential. Sam may have a number of

reasons why she has plucked nearly all of her feathers, but she has been like this for over 10 years; she came to her previous owner in this condition. Sam shows some stereotypical behaviour, such as rocking and turning circles and she is totally in love with her mirror.

Sam will need extensive vet care and rehabilitation before being re-homed. A full Well-bird workup revealed high Uric Acid levels indicating Kidney Damage. The levels were not at the point that her condition is considered an emergency, but a change and diet and environment is essential to her health. She is in a nice new cage and has readily accepted her new diet of Harrisons pellets, which she is really enjoying much to our relief! In three months she will be tested again to see if there has been any improvement. If not, she may have to see a specialist in Saskatoon. Kidney Damage can be caused by a number of factors; poor diet, toxic metals, etc.

Stay tuned for more updates on Sam's condition!

Donations are always appreciated and can be sent directly to us OR to her file on our account at The Park Veterinary Clinic in Sherwood Park.

Birch is a Common Boa Constrictor who was surrendered by her owner on May 24th 2008. We were shocked by her condition and made her a veterinary appointment with the best herp vet in the area, Dr.kwantis at the Park Veterinary Clinic.

She is suffering from Anorexia (she hasn't eaten for a year) most likely caused merely by the fact that she's not feeling well. She has Oral Stomatitis (Mouth Rot) and is stuck beneath 3 or 4 old layers of skin that hadn't shed. She is severely dehydrated and severely pale. The old skin had layered up on her eyes as well and after a few soaks we were able to pull off two layers from her eyes, but they're still cloudy and they may be permanently damaged. Dr.Kwantis believes that Birch was at one point in much better condition and that recent husbandry is likely the cause of her current state.

He gave her a very thorough mouth and throat exam and palpated her entire body to check for an enlarged heart or tumours. He also checked her very carefully for mites as he was concerned about areas of inflamed scales and the fact that she is very pale, something that is usually attributed to mites. He found nothing, but she received a shot of Ivermectin anyways. If we notice any mites in her bath water, we'll give her a second treatment. She is now on antibiotics via injection which she receives every second day. We are continuing to soak her regularly and will try to feed her once she appears to be feeling a little better.

Stay Tuned For Updates on Birch's Recovery!

Donations are always appreciated and can be sent directly to us OR to our account at The Park Veterinary Clinic.

On April 1st, two members of The McDonald Family Animal Rescue drove from Edmonton to a Factory Farm in central Alberta. We were planning to take our van, but all of a sudden the engine light went on, and we thought we had better not drive it out to the country. We were stuck with our volunteer's little two door sports car!

We went to rescue as many chickens as we could from a group of 5000 that were slated to be slaughtered...not just slaughtered, but thrown into a wood chipper. The reason? They are only laying at an 80% capacity and were no longer considered profitable.

Wood chippers are a legal way of disposing of them.

We picked them up and had to remind the men loading them into the car to be gentler...they grabbed them out by their wings, legs, necks, whatever they could get, and throw them into the cages without any concern to their well being. While they loaded chickens, I was able to walk down the aisle in the barn and take a few pictures. Seeing all of the hens we couldn't take, who had lived their entire lives in this place, was heart breaking....they're all going to the wood chipper.

6-8 to a cage, wire floors, they can't stretch their wings or stand up completely straight. They can't move without pushing past another hen. The floors are slanted so that their eggs roll out.

They have no natural lighting, just incandescent bulbs that barely light the place up. The wide front doors were open at this point so there's a lot more light then they are used to. The workers had to wear face masks to be in there for any extended period of time...can you imagine how the chickens must feel?

'The Girl's' Page!

Gracie has been with us for awhile, and has definitely been a difficult case. She is an emotional self-harmer. She has been plucking and mutilating her right wing and shoulder blade ever since being rehomed for the first time. Her second owner had to surrender her to us for personal reasons. Upon her arrival with her cagemate Mercy, she had a small scab on her back and was missing quite a few feathers. According to her gaurdian, she had been worse before, and went through stages of plucking and chewing, then allowing herself to feather-out, just to go back to the destructive behavior later on.

The emotional trauma of being sent to a new home set her off again and she began to chew at her back and shoulder. Every day, she would re-open the scab, and pull out new feathers. A visit to two different avian vets confirmed that it was all emotional and unrelated to her physical health. We upgraded them into a much larger cage, and provided dozens of toys, perches, swings, and ladders. We ensured that they ate a

healthy diet and sprayed them with water every day. Despite our efforts, Gracie continued to pluck. We began to notice that Mercy was very dominating over Gracie, and decided to separate them.

Ever since then, Gracie has been doing a lot better. We fashioned a collar for her that prevents her from chewing, and all of her feathers have grown back on her wing and back. She is a lot happier and more outgoing since being split from Mercy, and seems to want to become friends with both us and the quaker available for adoption. The first week with her in the cone, she was obviously agitated...but after awhile she began to redirect her attention to her toys. Mercy was introduced to another single lovebird named Peaches, and they've hit it off...the perfect pair! So we're very happy with the way the separation turned out. Now alll we can do is see if Gracie will revert back to her old behavior when the collar is removed. We're going to leave it on until she is completely finished molting and the pin feathers are growing back, and will put it back on if she shows signs of wanting to pluck.