Parrot Rescue – Is It Right For You?

Article by Beth.

Many people like the idea of adopting a parrot: After all, parrots are talkative and will learn to mimic what you say, right? What can be more entertaining or fun than a bird who can talk?

The fact is not all parrots are talkers and parrots require the same care as a human toddler. If you have ever cared for a toddler, you know it requires a lot of work and patience. The only difference is parrots never outgrow the toddler phase and some, depending on the type, can live as many as 100 years.

Adopting and caring for a healthy parrot can be a challenge at best, but when you consider adopting a rescued parrot, who may have suffered abused and neglect, you are going to need even more patience, understanding, time, and knowledge of parrot care.

Neglected and abused parrots will often exhibit their pain through their behavior. For example, a neglected or abused parrot may scream or pick out her feathers until she is almost bare. It’s also common for abused and neglected parrots to bite.

While it is possible for a parrot’s destructive behavior to change or to lessen when she is taken out of the abusive or neglectful situation and placed into a loving and attentive home, there is no guarantee that the behavior will stop. Will you be able to handle it if the behavior continues?

Here’s Pedro, a 22 year old Mexican Redheaded Amazon, who is looking for a home at this time at petfinder.com.

Imagine that the destructive behavior and self-harm will end. Is adopting a rescued parrot still right for you, your family, and for the parrot herself? There are a few factors you want to take into consideration when making that decision:

- Are you prepared to care for the parrot for the rest of your or her life?

-Can you provide her with a large enough cage to spend time in? A parrot who lives in a cage that is too small will suffer psychologically.

- Will she have plenty of time outside of her cage to interact with you and to explore her surroundings? Keeping a parrot confined to a cage all day amounts to cruelty and will negatively affect her psychologically, often leading to screaming, biting, and feather plucking.

- Can you deal with the mess that a parrot will cause when she’s out of her cage?

-Are you prepared to be patient? It may take your parrot months to adjust to her new surroundings and to trust you. Avian experts recommend allowing the parrot to come to the new owner to establish a relationship. Never force your parrot to interact with you, or you could frighten her, making bonding even more difficult.

-Can you afford the cost of caring for a parrot for the whole of her life? Avian vets are generally considerably more expensive than vets who care for dogs and cats.

Before you decide that adopting a parrot is right for you, talk with other parrot owners and contact rescue organizations first to get an idea of what life is really like with a rescued parrot. You may even want to volunteer with a parrot organization, such as Foster Parrots, Ltd., so you can gain firsthand experience before you take on the lifetime commitment of adopting a parrot.

“The parrot holds its food for prim consumption as daintily as any debutante, [with] a predilection for pot roast, hashed-brown potatoes, duck skin, butter, hoisin sauce, sesame seed oil, bananas and human thumb.” ~ Alexander Theroux

Your Cockatiel Ain’t FurReal

Think you want a pet bird? Well, think about this! Birds can be noisy, messy, destructive, moody and expensive, and can live for a very long time – the larger species for 100 years or more. They have dander, which can cause allergies. Many birds require a special diet and/or need to be kept in a controlled environment. Single birds can become lonely. On the other hand, mixing breeds can be dangerous; some birds will attack and kill smaller feathered creatures. Your bird may even attack you if it’s bored, stressed or frightened.

Quite simply, birds require considerably more than a cage and some seed and if you’re not prepared to spend the time it takes to research and then provide your pet’s needs, I suggest you get a FurReal.

On the other hand, there are many species of bird that are beautiful, intelligent, funny and that will make absolutely wonderful companions. And there are simply thousands and thousands of feathered friends awaiting forever homes at adoption centers around the country.

The fine-looking fellow above is one of the lucky residents of The Oasis Sanctuary, a Rescue and Retirement facility for exotic birds. Thanks to Oasis for allowing Beau to participate in this article and for the wonderful work they do.

Many of these creatures have been severely neglected and abused. There are ghastly stories of birds that have been burned with cigarettes, smacked, thrown against the wall, been teased and tortured in unmentionable ways. Some creatures have been so confined and neglected that they have pulled out their feathers or chewed themselves to the bone. Others are physically suffering from being fed the wrong foods or housed with the wrong bedding. Then there are those who appear physically fine but are emotionally damaged.

The point I’m making here is that while I encourage adoption, don’t just answer an ad in the paper or on Craigslist. Go to a reputable organization (there are many listed online) where they’ll be able to match you with a bird that best suits your lifestyle and can offer information on everything from cages to diet to supplements to exercise and activities, and your potential costs, which can run very high. Your bird will also have had a thorough medical check and the shelter will have evaluated its temperament.

“I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.” ~ Charles Lindbergh, Interview shortly before his death, 1974, US aviator (1902 – 1974)

And think long and hard before getting a bird for your kids. Birds are fragile; they break easily; they are not toys! So unless your child is a paragon of patience, gentility and reliability, or you plan to oversee every moment of your pet’s care – don’t get a bird!

Seriously, if you have any doubt about caring for such an exotic, intelligent, wonderful creature, just go FurReal -

Also take a look at:

Transforming a Traumatized Bird into a Playful Parakeet

Polly Wants A Home

Adopting A Macaw – Is It Right For You?

http://the-oasis.org/index.php

http://featheredfriendsforever.org/

http://fosterparrots.com/

Polly Wants A Home

Many people have often dreamed of having a large pet bird, thinking how cool it would be to have a feathered friend to ride around on your shoulder and perform neat tricks. Large birds are quite expensive though, so many times when people decide to make this dream a reality, they look for large birds that are available for adoption.

While this is a noble and thoughtful idea, it can often lead to people getting a bird that has severe behavioral or health issues, that the new owner may not be able to adequately handle. Many of the large birds that are available for adoption are birds that have been rescued from their previous home, and these rescued birds often come with a great deal of emotional baggage.

Possible Behavioral Issues with Rescued and Adopted Large Birds

Each bird has their own personality, and large birds are prone to have even more personality than a small bird breed. Added to that, large birds such as Macaws, Amazons, African Grays and Cockatoos are very intelligent birds. This intelligence can often cause a problem for new owners if the bird has been abused and neglected in their previous home environment.

Large birds can easily remember things. If they have been abused by a male, they tend to hold a grudge towards males. Likewise if they have been abused by a female. If they have been poked at by little fingers, they remember those little fingers and can be aggravated by just the site of a hand. Unfortunately for those hands, large birds have very powerful beaks, and can easily cause severe injury to a hand that is stuck in their cage.

Many large birds that have been abused and mistreated also have the propensity to be extremely loud. And not just a little loud. Loud to the point that your neighbors three blocks over will be able to hear their screams! This often stems from their previous owners constantly yelling and screaming at them, or not giving them enough attention.

Possible Health Issues with Rescued and Adopted Large Birds

There are also a number of health issues that can come along with your adopted and rescued large birds. Large birds require a specific diet in order for them to maintain proper health. Often times, people get these birds and do not realize the extent of this diet, and the bird is forced to subsist on nothing more than a seed diet. This is not healthy for the bird, and can lead to a number of health conditions that you as the new owner will be forced to deal with. Additionally, you as the new owner will also have to make sure that you have the means and abilities to feed your new adopted bird their proper diet to make sure that they are getting the nutrients that they need.

Some large birds that have been abused and neglected may also have problems with their feathers, skin, beak and nails. If the bird has been  neglected, they can have beaks that are too long and will require trimming, nails that require trimming, and if they have not been given access to bathing materials, can have skin and feather parasites such as mites. If the bird was neglected and not given proper mental stimulation, or has been stressed excessively, it could also have started feather plucking, which can also lead to a number of health related problems.

All large birds will require a lot of attention and care, and birds that have been rescued and placed for adoption will more than likely require even more care on top of that. Before you adopt or rescue a large breed bird, you should make certain that you know exactly what you are getting into, and thoroughly evaluate whether you will be able to give the bird exactly what it needs.