parrotLife_Printers-3 (Page 1) - Rolf C. Hagen Inc.

BREEDER BREEDER
40
AVICULTURE
The Stienstra flock raises its own
babies. They have nearly all
proven to be good parents,
thanks to the secure atmosphere
they have been given to breed
enrichment (pine cones, large branches)
however the African Greys are happiest
without any new or strange objects in
their vicinity.
The Stienstras run a closed aviary; that
is, he and Shelagh are the only ones in
and out of the bird areas, with a strict
traffic pattern that minimizes any risk to
the babies. There are changes of clothing
for the morning chores, and as a
rule, Bill keeps to the adult birds and
Shelagh handles the babies. Any new
arrivals are strictly quarantined, and the
appropriate blood work is done (thoroughly).
They run a tight ship, and it
shows in the quality of their birds. This
attention to detail and persistence
served the Stienstras well when, in
2003, they faced the biggest challenge
in their careers as bird breeders.
Bill Stienstra: Continued
CANADIAN BREEDER
PLANNING FOR DISASTERS
No one had any inkling of what was to
come when lightning struck a tree at
Squally Point near the south end of
Okanagan Lake in August 2003. Within
days a roaring blaze had advanced
north in Okanagan Mountain Park,
engulfing the entire area and sending
some residents of Kelowna, a city with a
population of approximately 100,000,
running for safety on a series of evacuation
orders. The Stienstra’s own order
came relatively quickly, and with it a
unique problem: moving the birds.
While others were moving personal
effects and pets, Bill, Shelagh, their son
Tom and Bill’s brothers Andy and Harry,
were struggling to build the crates for,
catch and secure the safety of all the
breeder flock. It was vitally important to
save every bird if possible, however,
because of the evacuations they lost
approximately 30 fertile eggs.
In spite of the
hurriedness of the
evacuation, Bill and
Shelagh managed to
rescue all of their birds
and whisk them away
to a safe location.
A set of greenhouses owned by Rod and
Brenda Williamson were generously setaside
as shelter for some of the birds,
while others went to stay with Scott and
Sharla Baillie in Vernon. And this evacuation
didn’t just happen once. It happened
twice.
Now Bill advises people with birds to be
prepared beforehand: line up people
who you can depend on in an emergency,
build carriers to be stored and
used in emergency situations to evacuate
birds out, pair by pair, store business
and other important papers in easy to
carry boxes that can be quickly moved,
and have a place for the birds to be kept,
secure and safe. If you have these in
place, any emergent situations should
be easier to deal with.
In spite of the obstacles, and because of
years of hard work, Bill has built and
refined his aviaries so that everything is
efficient and streamlined: it is a source
of pride. The Stienstras feel that their
greatest accomplishment has been a
series of small ones – those designed to
keep their birds as happy and healthy as
possible. According to his wife, Bill has
always had the ability to think of everything
from small (filing off rough edges
of wire to protect the birds and strict traffic
patterns) to large (planning and
designing large aviary buildings for maximum
efficiency). It is the attention to
detail and careful management of his
birds that has made Bill Stienstra an
innovator in the parrot-breeding world.
And Bill figures he won’t retire any time
soon – caring for birds is in his blood.
By: Desi Milpacher
Desi Milpacker & Bill Stienstra,
British Columbia
Photography supplied by: Desi Milpacker & Bill Stienstra.
Desi Milpacher is an aviculturist with a small flock in the Okanagan valley. She has a diploma in Animal Health Technology from the
University College of the Cariboo and has seven years experience raising parrots.