Plucky Chickens Welcome Banfield Pet Hospital Volunteers

FEBS is home to more than six dozen chickens in addition to hundreds of parrots. Consisting mainly of Silkie and Bantam breeds, our chickens play a vital role in keeping the parrot aviaries clean and hygienically sound: they continually scavenge the ground inside the aviaries for seeds, nut and pellet morsels, and other edibles dropped by the parrots that otherwise would attract insects and potentially harmful microorganisms.

We give our chicken residents the same humane respect and care that our parrots receive, including preventive medical care and grooming attention. That requires considerable staff time, so you can imagine our delight when 18 volunteers from the Tampa Bay area Banfield Pet Hospitals came to our aid May 26 – 28^th!

FEBS Employees: Left=Sarah Tipton; Center=Bird Mother, Patricia Norton; Right=Annabelle (“Bea”) Dodge

Among other valuable tasks, the Banfield volunteers dispensed doses of deworming medication to the chickens and trimmed their claws as needed. They also generously shared their knowledge and tips with our staff about safety and efficacy when administering animal medical and preventive care.

Banfield Pet Hospitals has a longstanding policy of promoting volunteerism within its employee and trainee families. The 18 young people representing the company who gave of their time so unselfishly May 26 – 28^th were skilled, motivated, personable, and caring. We’re pleased to note that they had time during their visit to enjoy interacting with several of our more outgoing and entertaining residents. Also, we were able to prove once again that everyone enjoys homemade tacos and mealtime fellowship!

We greatly appreciate the service that Banfield Pet Hospitals provides to pet owners throughout the Tampa Bay area, and we are deeply thankful for the generous help that its employees and trainees recently gave to FEBS and its feathered residents.

Want to learn more about volunteer opportunities with FEBS? Or maybe you and your family are thinking about a guided tour of our sanctuary? Please refer to the Volunteer and Tour tabs of our website for full information. That’s https://www.flabirdsanctuary.org.

FEBS relies solely on the generosity of individuals, businesses, estates, and private foundations to fund our daily operations and capital expansion needs. Are you motivated to help us accomplish our mission and provide lifelong care to our feathered residents? You can donate via our website (https://www.flabirdsanctuary.org/make-a-donation) or by mailing a check to 8933 Casper Avenue, Hudson, FL 34667. Gifts and grants can also be directed to us via PayPal. For information on structured giving and related matters, contact our Treasurer, Dennis Padget, by email at Dennis@flabirdsanctuary.org. Thank you in advance for your love and support.