Surrendering your exotic bird:
Surrendering your exotic pet bird to a rescue can be a very painful, stressful, and difficult choice. However if you’ve come to conclusion that surrending is the best choice for you and your bird here is a list of requirements for this rescue:
You must surrender your bird with all of his/her belongings. This includes but is not limited to its cage, feed and water bowls, toys, perches and any food, vitamins, or prescriptions your bird is currently using. This DOES NOT include cages with rust on them. If your cage is old and/or rusted, please birng your animal in a pet carrier.
Any and all information you might have concerning your bird such as age, sex, any illnesses, behavioral issues, etc
We will accept birds based on a completed application that tells us about the bird, its habits and care. Due to space and funding contraints we will also take in birds based on need.
On Donations and Owner Surrender vs Rescue Parrots.
Except in hardship situations, we ask for a donation to help us with the continued care of the pet your are no longer able to care for.
This is a parrot rescue, I am also more than happy to help with owner surrenders whenever space, time and money permit. There is a difference between a rescue and an owner surrender though.
An owner surrender is defined by this rescue as a bird that is being at least moderatly well cared for by its owners, but for one reason or another that bird is in need of a new home and the owners would like help placing that bird and would like the peace of mind knowng the bird is being kept watch over and new owners are being carefully screened.
Again I am more than happy to help owners and their parrots. However I do not feel it is my job to pay to help you. This means you need to help pay for the cost of finding your parrot a new home by making a donation to aid in covering it's care here. Its part of being a responsible pet owner.
Now let me give you some example of what a rescue parrot is:
1. In need of immediate veterinary care to save its life.
2. We are called by a vet's office to rescue a bird from euthansia
3. Poor caging and diet.
4. A parrot thats been locked in its cage for 3 years.
5. A cockatoo locked in a closet or dark laundry room to keep "it quiet."
6. Severe behavioral issues keeping it from having a high quality of life.
7. Their owners have passed away or become terminally ill.
8. This has been a big one this year; their owners have had their homes forclosed and cannot keep their parrot in their apartment they now need to move into, or their families home they will be staying with.
In short a "rescue" is a parrot that is living in very poor circumstances with a very poor quality of life that is endangering its physical and mental well-being, or it's a parrot that no longer has anywhere to go, or its owners have become truly incapable of caring for it or paying for its care. This is what our fundraising and donors are helping to pay for, abused, neglected and unhappy parrots in need, or parots whos owners cannot care for it.
This rescue is very expensive to operate. As a responsible pet-owner we need to be responsible in re-homing our pets. We make a commitment to this ideal when we purchase them.
So let me dispel a couple of myths about costs and misconceptions that I keep hearing:
"You get a great discount on food im sure." Nope, none at all. We feed a very high quality diet consisting of Harrisons Pellets, Nutriberries, Bountiful Harvest, gardenflora, herb salad, and fresh food daily. We pay $5-7 per pound just like everyone else who feeds a high quality diet. (Seeds are not a healhty diet, they are cheap but incredibly unhealthy). I know a lot of dog and cat companies, like purina, donate a lot of food to dog and cat shelters, but Parrot food makers do NOT do the same. We get a very small discount for buying in bulk, when we can afford to purchase enough at one time to get a bulk discount, but the food is still $5-7 a pound; just more towards the $5 mark vs. the $7.
I assure you niether Laferbers, or Harrisons, or Whole Foods Market is giving us a penny off due to being a rescue. Not one free bag a year. I wish they did, but they dont. Our food costs can easily go over $500.00 a month. During very busy times i've had to come up with over $800.00 in monthly food alone.
"My bird is an expensive bird, you'll be able to make your money back." We are not re-sellers, so this means less than nil to us. If we took in your bird, didn't vet it or feed it well and got it back out the
door as quickly as possible it might, but this is not what we do here and this is not the case. Also I can assure you that money you spent on a nice, cute baby parrot is not its market value when its all grown up and is one of the thousands of birds in need of a new home on craigslist.
We NEVER make our money back on caring for your bird through adoption fee's. A bird that spends a year here costs us over $1000.00 on average and our top adoption fee is $500.00 for a macaw in near perfect health and condition. Now you can do the math. Our minimum stay is 30 days, our average stay is closer to 9 months+
So now lets talk about a donation. Our minimum donation is $250.00. This covers the vet bill, the medication that 90% plus of the birds need along with maybe two months care cost (for small -medium birds) For larger birds this is closer to a month, usually less.
So 250.00 is a minimum. A donation that actually has a hope of covering your birds costs with us (when added to their adoption fee) is $500.00. A generous donation that usually does cover your birds costs to us and sometimes even helps another bird in need is $1000.00+
For every bird that gets adopted quickly after it goes up, their is one that stays over a year. For every bird that brings in an adoption fee there are two that I've given away for free to get them into homes because they have health or behavioral issues that keep them from working out in a normal home and getting adopted otherwise.
Between feeding the birds really well, buying cages, buying cage liners, vet bills, toys, sanitizer, paying for gasoline to drive up two hours plus to take a bird to its new home, doing another home check, paying for booths at events to get our name out so people can adopt your bird because they know about us, etc it is very costly and time consuming. We have no paid help and I work two part time jobs just to keep the doors open. So please think responsibly and make a donation with your bird, because someone has to pay for its care.
"I'm sure there are a lot of grants that cover your costs." Nope, none. Currently we do not recieve any. Their are very, very few grants that parrots qualify for. Unfortunatly a lot of foundations that give grants to rescues of "domesticated" animals don't consider parrots "domesticated", but classify them as wild animals. The foundations that give grants for "wild animal" rescue, won't give to parrot rescues because parrots are classified by them as "domesticated" It's a classification issue.
"You're a rescue you have to take my bird." No, I do not. I have made a commitment to rescue and help as many parrots as space, time and money permit. As of December, 2011 we are "pending" with the IRS as a 501(c)3 charitable organization. We do not work for a profit, and noone but parrots profit from our existence, but this does NOT mean that this organization can run without money coming into it to support it and at this point in time it keeping its doors open to help people like you comes almost entirely from the people bringing their birds in and making a donation and from those adopting our wonderful feathered friends.
In short if you are wanting to bring a bird into this rescue without a donation please be prepared to tell me exactly why it is I should pay to find a home and care for your animal. It had better be good and im happy to help those who really can't make any kind of donation if it is.
Our Promises:
1. Your bird will receive a full 30-90 day evaluation to best direct its future homing needs.
2. We DO NOT SELL PARROTS. This rescue is not dependent upon the adoption of birds to maintain itself. This means that your bird will have a new home found – not based on its market value, but upon its needs.
3. All parrots will be adopted out following strict adoption polices and procedures including: an adoption application, applicant interview, home-checks, and an adoption contract.
4. We will remain the legal guardian of all parrots that pass through these doors.
5. We do not allow the breeding of our parrots. This will ensure each parrot a place in someone’s home as a beloved & cherished pet.
6. We are a no-kill shelter
7. Your bird will recieve a well-bird check and recieve vetrinarian care while in the rescue.
8. All parrots recieve a high quality pelleted diet, seeds, and fresh food daily.
If you would like to keep your bird, but are having trouble with behavioral issues, or any other issue PLEASE let me try to help you! I can give you free, unlimited email and phone support.
You can also consider some of our free rehabiliation services.
Surrender Form: Application for Surrender
Please email all surrender forms to: ffom@me.com