The Kaytee Learning Center is a 7,000 sq ft facility open to the public for viewing and interaction of over 32 species of pet bird and small animals.  Its home to fun, interactive displays to help people better understand the joy of Wild Bird Feeding and the power of Pet Birds and Small Animals.

You’ll find everything from tiny finches to giant macaws, from speedy gerbils to super soft chinchillas and with help from staff you are able to interact with the furry or feathery critter of your choice!

We recently added a new display to help visitors better understand Positive Pet Training!  A Positive Pet experience equals a Happy Home!  Pets and children help a home come to life, but a pet that has been trained using positive reinforcement brings entertainment as well as a rewarding relationship for years to come!

The Kaytee Learning Center is open the first Friday & Saturday of each month from 10:00-4:00 where one of our three full time employees or knowledgeable volunteers are on staff and ready to help you meet your favorite Learning Center Critter!

Stop by either August 6^th or 7^th to enjoy a FREE family fun experience!

Saturday, June 19 was a HUGE success at the Learning Center in Chilton!

The energy was high at the Learning Center during the Hamster Races!  Lucas the hamster raced by Tori came in 1st place, followed in a close 2nd by Lilly the hamster raced by Sabrina and last but not least Speedy the dwarf hamster came in 3rd place and was raced by Madie!

Minnesota Zoo wowed the crowds with their wide variety of critters!  Guests were able to visit with everything from a Tarantula to a Skunk and everything in between!

A big thanks to all that helped make it a success!

During spring and summer, love is in the air, at least for birds.

Billions of birds are returning to their mating and nesting sites in North America.
Nesting is a very labor-intensive activity. They must first select a nesting site, a garden, a parking lot, the forest, on the ground, a roof, a tree cavity or a nesting box, nest step will be to find all the materials they need, carry them back to the nesting site, and then build  the nest.

All of this is extra activity happens in-between their normal activities of finding food and water.
Give the birds in your area a helping hand by providing a stash of nesting materials from which they can choose, Male and female birds will be finding mates, building nests, incubating eggs, and feeding ravenous young birds. Breeding and nesting season is an extremely busy time for birds so here are a few ways you can help out wild birds in your backyard.

Here’s some things you can put out:
Thin twigs

• Dog hair (I put out the hair from my dog after she is groomed)
  Human hair (put out the hair you pull out of your brush)
• Thin strips of cloth, about an 1 wide and 6 inches long
• Feathers
• Long dried grasses
• Yarn, thread or string cut into 4 inch lengths
• Pieces of cotton
• Long wilted leaves from daffodils, tulips or iris
• Fuzzy lint from your dryer
• Spanish moss
• Pine needles

As well as using the above materials, the birds may also use butterfly wings, flower petals, spider webs, snake skins, horse hair, and other found materials, even some of their own feathers to make the nest or to line it. Some birds use mud to construct their nests. Keep a muddy puddle in your garden available for their use.

Sometimes as a parent, you have those moments when you realize you’re “getting through.” The other day as we were driving, my 6-year-old daughter pointed out the window and said “there’s a red-winged blackbird.”

I was so excited she was able to identify the bird and then later that day, she recognized the call of the chickadees in our yard. It was wonderful to know she was picking up the tidbits I had offered through the years as we watched (and listened to) birds in our yard and as we rode in the car on long trips.

Looking for and identifying birds can be a good activity in the car on trips since it gives the kids something to do on long drives and it also engages their brain.

It’s so gratifying to know the kids are learning about birds thanks to my interest. I could barely identify a robin when I was my daughter’s age. I will keep on pointing out birds as we see them and showing them pictures in our bird guide book. It’s so fun to see their brains grow.

–By MaryBeth Matzek

Have you ever gone to the Pet Store, looked at the baby rats and wondered why they are such popular pets?  I know I did for years.  I’ve had many hamsters of all breeds, and even a mouse named Stewie Littlefoot – but I never had a rat.

I received a call one day from a rescue I help out, asking if I could foster a pair of rats.  Their owner was severely allergic and they needed to go as soon as possible.  I figured – why not?  It was one thing we never had, and it would be fun to see the cats reactions.

The young lady brought them over an hour later, in a special carrier – along with a 20 gallon tank with a metal cage on top.  As we set them up in the computer room, she thanked me for helping her out, and casually mentioned this was their 4th home in a year.  I knew right there that regardless of what they were like – they were never moving again.

I spent the next hour getting to know Sammy & Niki, feeding them treats, and laughing at their antics.  Niki would gently take a treat, bring it downstairs, put it in a pile, and come beg for another one.  Sammy took his treats, moved to a corner and nibbled away. By the evening I was on-line ordering a new cage.

Sadly Niki passed away about a month after the boys arrived – and I found him one morning when I went to bring them treats.  So Sammy was now by himself in a huge 3 level cage.

His personality grew each day, and we discovered he had a very gentle old soul.  He loved to come out for play time and run around my desk when I worked at home. He enjoyed sitting on my shoulder playing with my hair and nuzzling my neck.

What was most surprising was he and my cat Morgan the Pirate Gato developed an incredible bond.  Morgan was born a rare diabetic kitten with cataracts, and spent a lot of time in the computer room.  He was fed 7 times a day, and had to be closely monitored.

Morgan would sleep next to Sammy’s cage, or on top of it, and you would often here Sammy squeaking away to him.  Morgan would meow back to him.

After Morgan had his double cataract surgery at Cornell he had to be crated unless under supervision.  He had to stay really quiet to ensure no damage to the stitches in both eyes.

Morgan and Sammy were both depressed.  Morgan wanted his rat, and Sammy wanted his cat.  Every time Morgan was let out of the crate – he made a bee line to climb up Sammy’s cage.  I finally had to put Sammy’s cage on the floor next to Morgan’s Crate so they could have their special time together.  They happily went back to their talks, and as soon as Morgan was allowed to take his e-collar off and be “normal” it was back on Sammy’s Cage.

A few months later we got another call, and ended up adopting 2 young girl rats – Mocha & Latte.  They were the silliest clowns I had ever met!  They loved to tease the cats, and get into mischief whether in their cage, or out for play time.  They always made us laugh!

Our current rats are two neutered siamese boys – Chili & Pepper, a siamese girl named Sandy, and a dark gray girl with white socks named Dusty.

Th e pros and cons of owning rats in my opinion are more on the pro side. They are sweet, gentle, very SMART little creatures.  I think many peopl e have a dislike for their naked tails, but you don’t even see them after a while.  There are so many different breeds of them.  Sammy was orange & white, Nikki was brown with white socks, Mocha was brown with white socks, and Latte was cream color.  I would love a dumbo one day – with the silly sideways ears. For me, the only con of owning a rat is that sadly their average life span is 2 years.

Rats are fun to feed – they need a good diet of healthy lab blocks, they love yogurt treats, but you can share a lot of people food with them.  Mine LOVE macaroni, toast (no butter), muffins, ham, chicken, cheerios, shredded wheat, banana chips, and other things.

Bedding can be aspen shavings, total comfort, or soft sorbent.  I love the soft sorbent mint for the rats myself.  I mix it 50/50 with the plain.   I also add shredded paper bedding for them to play with.

Cages should have 1/2 wire spacing, and be easy to clean.  I have my boys in a big Marshall Pet Rat Cage, and my girls are in a Super Pet Habitat Defined Rat Cage.

I love the size of my Marshall Cage – it’s HUGE – but – the only way to really get it clean it to take it outside and power wash it.  I tiled the main floor because rats are not very good at litter training – and I wash the floor twice a week.  I clean/SCRUB the whole cage weekly, but it still ends up with some parts you can’t get without the power washer.

My cage is super easy to clean, and to customize.  I re-did the shelf layout, only use one ramp and have their hammock in the middle.  I also now have a corner litter box in one section.  I remove the shelves, spray them with white vinegar, and in 2 minutes they are like new again.  The bars are also coated and come out like brand new.

The one thing I did learn was to block the locks on the sides with something.  Even with a bunch of hanging chew toys, rats will chew their cages.  The girls chewed the locks off from the inside, and almost had an escape through the side.  I know have the shelves set to hide one side, and a hanging litter box on the other.  I would love a cage like this double in size!

All of the rats that have joined our home have been rescues, and all have been in multiple households before they landed here in a FOREVER Home.

I hope the next time you’re looking for a fun and interactive pet, you’ll consider opening your heart to a needy little rat.  There are many, many for adoption through local shelters, rat rescues and pet finder.

Donna & the Crew

About four months ago, my wife and I were on the lookout for a new avian friend to add to our home, and this was when a special Cockatoo by the name of bubbles came into our lives.

We picked up Bubbles from a Rescue after hearing her touching story online, and knew immediately that it was the right decision to take her home.

Bubbles is a handicapped female Umbrella Cockatoo with a history that is mostly mysterious, as she has moved about from home to home several times over the years. Bubbles is missing a portion of her upper beak, is mostly blind, and her legs are crippled in such a way that it appears as if she was kept in a small cage and unable to move them much for an extended period of time. The only clue to her age is an old tag on her leg that represents a USDA quarintine facitilty that closed down about two decades ago. From these clues, we have drawn the conclusion that she was most likely caught in the wild and brought to the U.S. as a breeder, where her life initially seemed to be full of neglect and possible abuse.

When we took Bubbles home for the first time, we fell in love with her immediately. Despite her condition, her delightful, warming personality became instantly apparent. When I would open her cage to take her out she would dance back and forth happily and her crest would stand tall with excitement, reveling in the new affection she was now receiving constantly. Her eyes would open wide, and she would make soft squeaking vocalizations to show her contentment, a little song that would warm the heart.

She would spend most of her time outdoors on a nice sunny day, and while basking in the sun and feeling the cool breeze through her feathers, this formerly quite bird would begin to sing and would scare the giblets out of the other birds who were not used to such a noise!

Sadly, Bubbles has now passed on. She was an old bird with more than one disability, yet in her time with us she seemed the happiest bird in the world, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to have her in my life, and to
give her a permanent loving home after what she has been through. I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to take in an injured, disable, neglected or abused bird to do so; it is infinitely rewarding, fulfilling, and not only do you help them, they help you as well in ways that are indescribable.

My daughter came running into the house yesterday all excited — in her hand she held part of a bird egg. We looked at the white shell and then looked up to see what kind of birds laid white eggs. The answer — the chickadee — one of our yard’s most common residents. Quickly, the kids started looking for a nest — since the leaves aren’t on the trees yet it’s easy to look up and see what’s going on. We couldn’t find anything so then I headed back inside and heard chirping (yes inside the house) I was then reminded of the birds who lived on top of our fireplace chimney — their chipring fills up our living room with such merry sounds. (Don’t worry, there is a cap on the fireplace a wire mesh so nothing can come down the chimney or go out — it’s a very safe spot for the birds) The chirping has been louder than normal lately so we put 2 and 2 together and decided the chickadee nest must be on top of the chimney. We haven’t seen the new birds yet, but my kids put the egg remnants in a plastic bag and can’t wait to take them to school for show and tell. We’re still holding out hoping we’ll have other baby birds in our yard this spring that we can see — and not just hear.

– MaryBeth Matzek

Converting birds from seed mixes to pellets can be a bit tricky, but for the many health benefits it is a decision worth making.

I recently decided to convert my cockatiels from their usual seed mix to Exact Organic Parakeet & Cockatiel food, and this was to prove a difficult endeavor!
In the beginning, I first mixed in some of the pellets in with their usual food; 1 part pellet to 4 parts seed. They nibbled at the new food, but those old fatty sunflower seeds still got first pick!
I continued this process for about a week, and then decided to change it up the second week. In the morning, instead of mixing the two foods together, I instead replaced the seed altogether with the pellets. The birds seemed not to mind at first and munched away at the pellets, but their contentment was short-lived when they realized their favorite sunflower and millet was missing in attendance! Let me tell you, an unsatisfied cockatiel is a noisy cockatiel!
During this stage I left just the pellets in the cage to the resentment of the birds, but was determined not to give in to their wailing and this eventually paid off. After they realized that no seeds were going to rain down any time soon, their hunger got the best of them and they returned to the food bowl to eat.

In the evenings of the second week, I would switch the pellet out again for the seed and pellet mix, and this worked quite well.
By the third week of this weaning process, the cockatiels began to lose their addiction to the fatty seeds and started to appreciate the taste of the new food. By now, they started enjoying it so much that I removed the seed completely from their diet and now feed them the Exact food full-time.

The conversion process can be slow, but it is well worth it. Not only is it healthy, it reduces waste and mess around the birds cages, which can be a great relief when one has more than just a few birds!

Watching the birds this spring in our back yard, my 6-year-old made a great observation: “The birds are so happy spring is back – they’re dancing!”

If you’ve ever taken time to actually watch birds – I’ve especially noticed this with robins – it does look like they’re dancing as they fly around. Add to that their pretty feathers and it does look like they’re having a dance recital.

We too are “dancing” for joy that spring has returned. Yes, we know there’s a chance it could still snow, but the daffodils and tulips are finding their way out of the ground and the birds and squirrels are gathering again in our back yard. We are waiting to see if any birds decide to build a nest in our yard this year where we can keep an eye on what’s happening. Last year, we had a chickadee build a nest near our back door, but unfortunately another animal got into the nest and knocked out the eggs.

We hope to get over to the Heckrodt Wetland Reserve in the next week or so to see (and hear) what birds have returned there. Spring is a great time to watch birds – you never know who’s going to show up!

–By MaryBeth Matzek

I took my family to an undisclosed location today on a quest to see my first ever Long-eared Owl. We knew the approximate location, but overshot it and spent an hour looking in the right habitat, but the wrong place. While thoroughly searching in the wrong place, I was still delighted to discover a Red-tailed Hawk nest and even a Mourning Dove nesting on an old Magpie nest. After a phone call to a great birding friend, we got the courage to go back and look a little harder at the places we had already been. I spied the Long-eared Owl on a nest. I got my family and with stern warnings to be very quiet and to walk slowly we all peeked from behind a tall sage brush down the ravine at the Long-eared Owl. I took the photo below through my binoculars and then zoomed and cropped it. Look at her all nestled into that huge nest. My father-in-law calls her a rabbit on a nest. My three year old also believes it is a bunny. Momma Long-ear was certainly aware of us, but we kept a very respectable distance so that she wouldn’t get too nervous and flush. I am proud of my normally wound-up kids for their reverence in her presence. She is my life bird #320 and she means a whole lot more to me than just a tick in eBird.

Robert
Avimor Birder