My love of birds started when I was three years old, I loved watching them in the bird bath in my backyard and listening to them sing. My life with birds started when a baby had fallen from it's nest. With my mother's help, I raised that baby bird and taught it to survive on it's own.

From there my fascination with birds grew. When I was nine years old my parents let me buy a pair of parakeets. They were wild and bloodied my fingers regularly. I was determined to train them and eventually we became trusting friends. Then they had babies! I was thrilled to be co-parenting them. That was my first experience with hand feeding. I had one of those birds until I was 23 years old.

Still, I needed more. I went to work for a pet store where, almost overnight, I became their Avian Manager. At the pet store a baby Cockatiel needed hand feeding, I took it home. We sold it after it was weaned, how I missed that baby! It was my first psittacine, my first parrot! The next one was a day old Cockatoo. "You can do this" I was told, I was scared but took it home. I was well on my way to becoming a professional hand feeder.

My husband predicted I would raise parrots, how well he knew me... By now it was clear to me what I wanted and needed to do with my life; I was going to raise parrots! I belonged with them and they with me. Today, I am an Avian Hand Feeding Practitioner with 30 years experience.

Nancy Jaax, who was a breeder, histopathologist and a DVM, whom I knew well, needed a hand feeder. I got the job! I was nervous at first but we were a perfect match. Imagine learning to hand feed Macaws, Pionus, Eclectus, Greys and Cockatoos (to name a few) with a famous histopathologist standing next to me. Eventually I became known in my area for having healthy, well-socialized babies. Nancy had prepared me well. When she decided to retire and move back to her home town, knowing my particular fondness for the African species, she insisted I get in touch with a good friend of hers, Jean Pattison, The African Queen! I knew of Jean Pattison, I'd read all of her many articles. I also knew she co-authored a book depicting an overall view of African Parrots. I mustered my courage and got in touch with Jean. Much to my surprise and delight, Jean already knew who I was through our mutual friend Nancy Jaax.

Almost immediately I began hand feeding and raising Jean Pattison's baby Africans. Jean was already extremely well known for her excellent abilities in breeding Africans, genetically and health-wise, her breeders are among the best. Her Africans were wonderful - healthy and beautiful! Since 1995, I have raised Jean's African babies exclusively because of their overall character and appeal.

Occasionally I travel to Florida and stay with Jean and her family. Words cannot convey how rewarding it is to work with Jean. She, with her dedication to and understanding of breeding Africans and I, with my experience in handling, feeding and socializing baby psittacines, make a winning team.

Together, Jean and I can offer what I and many others believe to be the finest African parrots in the country. We both will always be grateful to Nancy Jaax for bringing us together thus making our baby Africans the finest lifetime companions for our clients. One of my greatest joys is to see a happy client who has bought one of our babies.

I reside in Maryland with my husband Michael, two daughters, a son and a nephew. I am owned by two Un-Capes, Angie (who has been mentioned in Bird Talk Magazine) and Magnum; a Lesser Jardine's Parrot, Mars; a cat named Misty and a dog named Gracie ("Yes folks, I bottle fed Gracie when she was three weeks old too!") and numerous bouncing babies from The African Queen.