Psittacine Handrearing Improvement Testing
with Dr. Jason Crean & Tiffany Park
Our Mission |
To improve the health and wellness of handreared chicks through whole food supplementation to increase nutrient diversity.
Always looking to improve the lives of the birds we keep, our aim is to continue experimenting with whole food supplementation throughout the handfeeding process to better mimic natural processes. No handfeeding formula is truly “complete” for the many, many different species we raise so supplementation will help us better serve the birds we raise.
All chicks, once fully weaned and socialized, will be made available through our reservation system. We test for disease and sex and these costs are part of the cost to reserve a chick. Please use our reservation form here to reserve a baby that we are currently raising. Funds accrued help us continue the collecting of data to better inform us of the optimal ways we care for each species.
All chicks, once fully weaned and socialized, will be made available through our reservation system. We test for disease and sex and these costs are part of the cost to reserve a chick. Please use our reservation form here to reserve a baby that we are currently raising. Funds accrued help us continue the collecting of data to better inform us of the optimal ways we care for each species.
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Who We are
Dr. Jason Crean
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Dr. Jason Crean is a degreed biologist, consultant and science educator. Crean acts as consultant to different institutions, including zoos and others, including the Wildlife Genetics lab at Loyola Medical Center and Chicago Nature Museum. He specializes in biologically appropriate nutrition and enrichment as well as co-opting scientific research, like that of the Genetics lab, and incorporating it into educational programming to illustrate how science affects conservation.
With over 25 years of teaching experience, Dr. Crean is also a biology instructor and teaches in the Department of Biological Sciences at Saint Xavier University where he has instituted coursework like “Zoo Biology: Animal Nutrition, Behavior & Diagnostics” and “Animal Nutrition.” He also has partnered with Dr. Tatiana Tatum to start the Ronald and Charleen Crean Memorial Animal Nutrition Lab at the university.
Crean has been awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, the highest award a science educator can receive in the US, by President Obama in 2009, the 2010 Leadership Prize by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as awards from the National Science Teachers Association, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the Illinois Science Teachers Association, among others. He was awarded the 2016 Golden Apple award for excellence in teaching and has served as President for the Illinois Science Teachers Association, President for the Illinois Association of Biology Teachers, and President for the Association of Presidential Awardees in Science Teaching as well as being a member of the College Board's National Science Advisory Panel and co-chairing their 6-12 Science Development Committee. Most recently, Crean was awarded the NSTA 2020 Distinguished Teaching Award.
With over 25 years of teaching experience, Dr. Crean is also a biology instructor and teaches in the Department of Biological Sciences at Saint Xavier University where he has instituted coursework like “Zoo Biology: Animal Nutrition, Behavior & Diagnostics” and “Animal Nutrition.” He also has partnered with Dr. Tatiana Tatum to start the Ronald and Charleen Crean Memorial Animal Nutrition Lab at the university.
Crean has been awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, the highest award a science educator can receive in the US, by President Obama in 2009, the 2010 Leadership Prize by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as awards from the National Science Teachers Association, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the Illinois Science Teachers Association, among others. He was awarded the 2016 Golden Apple award for excellence in teaching and has served as President for the Illinois Science Teachers Association, President for the Illinois Association of Biology Teachers, and President for the Association of Presidential Awardees in Science Teaching as well as being a member of the College Board's National Science Advisory Panel and co-chairing their 6-12 Science Development Committee. Most recently, Crean was awarded the NSTA 2020 Distinguished Teaching Award.
Tiffany Park
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Tiffany is a degreed biologist and avid aviculturist. She has served as Membership Director for the National Finch & Softbill Society and has owned birds throughout her entire life, getting her first pet budgie at the age of 5 years old. She has been actively breeding birds for 15 years, starting with Gouldians and other small waxbill finches. She was highly successful showing Gouldian finches between 2008-2010, winning several major awards prior to briefly retiring and then relocating from the Northeast back down to Florida. Tiffany has published numerous articles in the journal of the National Finch & Softbill Society including early identification of Gouldian mutations in nestlings, informational articles on Gouldian finch genetics, and quarantine protocols around finches. In 2014, Tiffany began breeding hookbills, starting with Green Cheek Conures and then moving to Parrotlets and Red-Fronted Kakarikis. She is currently breeding Parrotlets, Red-Fronted Kakarikis, Red Rumped Parakeets and Sierra Parakeets. Tiffany currently works as a scientist where her responsibilities include experimentation with cutting edge anti-microbial coatings.