Chat Week in BirdHobbyist.com
December 7-14, 2003
Current confirmed guests are:
NEW DAY! Julia Allen, President, National Cockatiel Society
Learning Through Exhibiting
Tuesday, December 9, at 10 PM Eastern in The Aviary
Julia Allen has bred cockatiels since 1982, and has also bred zebra finches, the rare Deliciosus Greenrumped parrotlet, and Australian Red Rumped Grass Parakeets. She has had several top winning parrotlets over the years. Julia will discuss the physical preparations of showing birds, the
underlying reasons and benefits of participating in a show. She says, "The education of
experiencing showing can not be found in text books, nor on the internet. A
person has to be an active participant in order to be exposed to the 'plan'
of it all. There is a misconception among many bird owners that exhibiting
their birds is all about winning. That would be considered the icing on the
cake, but without exhibiting birds, owners lose the opportunity to learn how
and why to make better quality cockatiels, which is the real reason for
exhibiting our birds." For more information on showing cockatiels, visit the website of the National Cockatiel Society.
 Jonathan E. Reyman, Ph.D.
The Feather Distribution Project
Wednesday, December 10, at 10 PM Eastern in The Aviary
Macaw, parrot, and turkey feathers are a central part of Pueblo Indian ceremonial life. But the practice of plucking captive birds is harmful and painful to the birds. In addition, feathers, especially Macaw feathers, are expensive, and recently their price has been on the rise as demand increases. Twenty-one years ago, Dr. Reyman founded a small organization called The Feather Distribution Project, which gathers and distributes molted Macaw, parrot, and turkey feathers, and provides them at no cost to about one thousand Pueblo individuals. Although the Project has distributed more than six million feathers, and has been able to reduce the commercial market for these feathers, they have not been able to eliminate it. Donations of turkey feathers come from the National Wild Turkey Federation, and many parrot organizations and aviaries, as well as parrot-owning individuals, donate feathers to the Project. But the need is not being met, and they are actively seeking additional donors. Come hear more about this fascinating project, Pueblo ceremonial life, the history of birds in America, and other issues related to the Project. For more information on the Project, visit its website.
 Bob Seibels, Curator of Birds, Riverbanks Zoo
Avian Husbandry at Riverbanks Zoo
Thursday, December 11, at 9 PM Eastern in The Aviary
Bob Seibels has a BA in Comparative and Physiological Psychology (Animal Behavior) and has been Curator of Birds at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC, since 1976. He is also Species Coordinator, American Zoo Assn., for the Bali mynah Species Survival Plan, and the North American Regional Studbook Keeper for the Toco toucan. He'll be joining us on BirdHobbyist to offer a historical perspective on his 30 years working with exotic birds.
 Melanie Piazza , Director of Animal Care at WildCare in San Rafael, California
Helping Injured or Orphaned Wild Animals and Birds
Thursday, December 11, at 10 PM Eastern in the Aviary
This chat is co-presented with exotichobbyist.com.
WildCare is a unique organization located in Marin County, California, one of the few truly urban Wildlife rehabilitation centers. They care for ill, orphaned or injured wild animals in their hospital and rehabilitation center. Orphaned raccoons, injured barn owls, hurt migrating birds and ailing squirrels - any native wild critter - all receive the best medical care possible. Once healthy and vigorous again, they return them to their woodland and seashore homes. Melanie Piazza graduated from Elon University in North Carolina in 1996, and since then has been caring for and releasing wildlife. In 2002 she left her position as manager of a wildlife rehabilitation hospital in order to accept the postition of Director of Animal Care at WildCare. She will discuss questions regarding wildlife rehabilitation, from determining if an animal needs help, to temporary care until the critter can be transferred to a licensed rehabilitator, and how to find a rehabilitator in your area.
 Jacki Harda
Founder, IMOM, Inc.
Friday, December 12, at 9 PM Eastern in the Auditorium
"No pet should ever have to die because their person didn't have the funds necessary to get proper medical treatment, or medicine and supplies." With those words, IMOM, Inc. founder Jacki Hadra expresses the mission of her organization, and the legacy of her cat, Magic, who died in 1998. IMOM works its magics by supplying funds, or helping pet owners raise funds, to pay veterinary bills for pets who need surgery or other medical care that the owners could otherwise not afford. You can read the moving story of IMOM's founding, as well as countless stories of pets helped by the organization, and learn how you can support IMOM, at IMOM.org.
 NEW DATE! Brian Speer, DVM, ABVP(av), ECAMS, Birds for Dummies co-author
Veterinary Care of Birds
Sunday, December 14, at 10 PM Eastern in the Aviary
BirdHobbyist.com is very happy to welcome Dr. Brian Speer, co-author of Birds for Dummies, and owner and director of California's Oakley Veterinary Medical Center and The Medical Center for Birds. Since 1989, Dr. Speer has limited his practice exclusively to birds species, including psittacines, ratites, gamebirds, raptors and waterfowl. An active member and past president of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, he serves as chair of the Aviculture Committee and on their board of directors, Research Director for the American Ostrich Research Foundation, Veterinary Advisory Council for the American Federation of Aviculture, as a director for the Model Aviculture Plan, on the advisory board for the Advocates for Bird Conservation, and as an avian consultant for the Veterinary Information Network.
Dr. Speer is also a co-author of the textbook The Large Macaws, and is a popular guest speaker at veterinary seminars, avicultural conventions and bird clubs throughout the United States and abroad. When he's not working, he can be found with his own breeding collection of ostriches, emus, macaws and waterfowl. View transcript of chat - Click here!
How to Attend
These events will be held in chat rooms listed above. To access the chats:
If you are a registered user of our site, simply follow the direct link to the chat, which for the main doghobbyist.com chat room is the Aviary, and log in with your username and password. (Forgot them? Click here!)
Some chats are being held in the Auditorium: the Auditorium
If you are not already a registered user of the site, registration is not required - simply go to chat.pethobbyist.com and use the "Guest" log-in option, then select the Dog Den as your chat room.
There is nothing to download or install, but the system does require you to have java enabled in your browser settings. We strongly suggest you access the room before the chat, so you have time to address any difficulties you might have. You might want to drop by one of our regular weekly chats as a test run ANYTIME AFTER WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3. Prior to that date, our chats will still be held in our old chat rooms. If you have trouble, please visit our Chat Help Area.
More Information
There is more information about other chats available at the links in the right hand column. Simply click on the species in which you are interested for a more detailed listing. Some of the chats even have free email reminders you can sign up for!
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