Woman Trades Corporate Comforts for Creature Comforts

Sept. 14, 2009 - PRLog -- HEMPSTEAD, Tex. – Forget the crackers!  Polly wants a hut.  Not just any hut – an Avian Haven hut.  A Texas woman came up with the unique invention to give you and your parrot or other caged bird some much needed peace.  The patent-pending product is the brain child of Tobi Kosanke of Hempstead.

Kosanke owns and operates a 35-acre working farm called Crazy K Farm, which is located northwest of Houston.  Crazy K Farm is home to more than 100 chickens, 25 geese, 30 ducks, four sheep, 12 goats, four horses, two donkeys, three livestock guardian dogs, two barn cats, three indoor cats, three indoor dogs, four parrots and a red golden pheasant.  Nearly all of her animals have been rescues, including three of the four parrots that inspired the hut.

Kosanke did not start out with the goal of becoming an inventor.  She’s a prime example of the saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”  The oil patch geologist recently found herself facing the financial burden of being unwillfully terminated from her long time job as an oil patch geologist with Shell, after being forced to take a three month, unpaid Family Medical Leave to care for her special needs daughter.  Taking care of her daughter at home and trying to cover the farm bills became almost impossible.  Food and medical care needs for 200+ mouths inspired her to market the inventions she has designed over the years for members of her own brood.

Her idea for the Avian Haven hut started about two years ago.  She wanted to create a peaceful place where her own birds could retreat, feel safe and sleep in peace.  “Parrots require 12 hours of undisturbed sleep, and I found out through research that they should sleep in their natural perching position,” Kosanke says.  “I talked to a veterinarian about the best materials to use – because birds like to chew – and came up with a roomy design that hangs over a bird’s existing perch,” she says.

The huts have four sides like a human house, and come complete with a chimney and window design on the side.  A sign reading “Home Sweet Home” decorates a large, arched doorway.  Inside of the hut is a back wall made of thick-pile Sherpa.  It makes a great place for birds to snuggle up, sleep and relax.

Kosanke began by showing her hut to avian veterinarians, pet stores and other bird owners and asked for feedback.  “Based on the comments and suggestions I would receive, combined with the results of on-going R&D with my own four parrots, I would make a few tweaks every few months,” she says.  The huts are now sold online (http://www.avianhavenhut.com), are available in two sizes, large and small, and come in two colors, brown and green.  Due to customer demand, two additional sizes are in the works, an extra small for smaller birds and their smaller cages and an extra large for larger parrots such as macaws and cockatoos.

Kosanke is ready to hit the ground running with her invention.  She has 2,000 Avian Haven huts that were recently delivered for her to sell.  Her goal is to move enough products to help her sustain her farm.  “I am doing this for my entire family – animals and humans,” she says.  “I am ready to get going.”

For more information about Crazy K Farm and its products, or to set-up an interview with Tobi, please send an email to getnoticed@thewriteplacepr.com, or call (717) 676-8327.

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