Rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming parrots

[SpaceOps]

I find abused and neglected parrots, buy them from the owners, rehabilitate them, and find qualified new owners for them. It's a money drain, but fairly rewarding. The hardest part is screening adopters. WHen they say, "Sure, I've had lots of parrots before," they don't realize they're automatically rejected because they treat parrots as disposable. The birds I rescue live from between 30 to 90 years, depending on the type.

[JinxXx0085]

That's awesome of you Snorkel! I've always liked parrots but haven't gotten one because I believed that I won't be able to provide what a parrot needs from me as an owner hence I'm sticking to my horse, dog, bunny, and fish tanks :-P
Can you post up some pics?

And what type of parrots do you typically work with?

[SpaceOps]

[SpaceOps]

These are my latest rescues just after I rescued them. They're a little scraggly looking. Eclectus parrots have feathers that look more like fur than regular feathers.

[SpaceOps]

In the past few years I've rescued about 15 parrots, one at a time, from a huge moluccan ****atoo to tiny parrotlets.

[JinxXx0085]

Someday I will be a proud parrot owner I'm afraid that I won't be able to provide adequate care/attention for one. I suppose it would depend on the species and their requirement.

[SpaceOps]

They all need about the same kind of attention. The difference is the amount of flesh they can remove in a single bite. The big macaws and ****atoos can bite through a finger in one bite if they want.

[Green Wrasse]

That red and blue one is beautiful.

[SpaceOps]

They're both the same species. All male eclectus parrots are green, and the red/blues are female. It's too bad there are so many bad owners out there or I'd have to find something else to do. There were 48 macaws and 150 fancy doves in an unheated house in Pueblo that were siezed by authorities 2 weeks ago, and over 150 parrots from a hoarder in Denver late last year. Funny thing is both claimed to be bird lovers. Ever see the show, Hoarders?

[notchback5.0]

You know, I have always wanted parrots. When i was a kid, we had parakeets (sp?) and my aunt had a huge grey parrot that they told us could bite off our finger.. My neighbor has one that has some type of disorder. It pulls its feathers out. If you are ever looking to get rid of a pair (male and female) I might be interested. The ones in the picture you attached are awesome. I love they way their feathers look like fur (as you pointed out)

[nur.dls]

I used to have a parrot, his name was Harvey. He always had to be louder than any sound in the house. In the morning when I would uncover his cage he would yell, look allive, look alive! He must of been a male, because he looked like your green parrot. My sister used to live in Saudi Abrabia, they used to house all kinds of exotic birds.

[stacy7127]

I have a sunconure cool birds but loud,I wanted the eclectus but they were just to much $$$ I thought I seen these same birds on Craigs list and colorado springs utilities forum????

[Alcedok9]

[QUOTE=SnorkelBob;81473]They're both the same species. All male eclectus parrots are green, and the red/blues are female.

I did rehab for the parrot rescue once. It is amazing how many people get parrots with no clue on what they require to remain happy and healty.

Interesting story on the eclectus. Seems the first importer thought they were different species and put all the red ones in one cage and the green in another. Nothing happened for several years. Because of lack of cages, he decided to just put those unproducing birds together..

Many years ago I rehabed a scarlet Macaw from the Aspen horder.Stupid %$%#@ moved around 75 macaws from Texas to Aspen to an unheated barn, then decided to stop feeding them. By the time the birds were finally descovered they were nearly dead with frostbitten toes and had upper resp problems. Never fails to amaze me. Robert Redbird (the scarlet) did well after daily injections to fight off his infections. He stopped feather plucking and turned out to be a real charmer.

[SpaceOps]

Stacy, I know what you mean. I think "conure" means "ear splitting screams" in some foreign language. How can such sound come from such a small bird?

Alcedok9, what rescue did you work with?

[SpaceOps]

Notchback, plucking happens all too often. Stress, boredom and poor diet are all possible causes. Unfortunately, it takes a special person to adopt those poor birds.

Nur.dls, do you know what kind of parrot it was? Did he make sounds like a baby crying "maaa"?

[SpaceOps]

You know, I have always wanted parrots.

My advice is not to get one, or at least not a large one that will outlive you, so your kids won't have to figure out what to do with it when you die. Even the small ones can live 20-30 years.

[nur.dls]

He was given to me around 20 years ago from a lady in Lamar. I don't know what type he was. All I know is if the vacumn was going or the kids got lound with one another he would always get lounder than them. It was almost like he didn't like loud noises. But in the morning when I uncovered him he would say to me Look alive. When he got too noisey I would have to cover him for awhile.

[Alcedok9]

the rescue was out of Denver. We sat and waited at the gate for several hours to get the court order to enter the property. They also had wolf hybrids (don't get me started) on the same property. The birds and wolves were separated by a common chain link fence. Several birds lost toes when they hung on to the fence. The only protection the birds had were trash cans nailed under the overhang of the roof. The birds were being fed dog food and old bread. Most of the birds were blue and golds, a few greenwing and one or two Catalinas and the one scarlet.

Robert had plucked and self mutilated his chest due to stress. After he regained his health he stopped the behavior. He definitely was a womens bird. He would try and lure you to his cage acting all sweet and loving, offering his head for a good ole scratch. Then he would hiss and strike and then do this evil laugh. I got along with him fine and could carry him around like a baby! After he was all fat and shiny he went to a permanent home where he still lives today with his friend a little blue and gold she already had.

Anyone thinking of getting a parrot needs to provide for them after you are gone. If given good care they will outlive you.

All parrots are noisy. If you cant take the noise, or just want one that can talk, get a
stuffed toy and a tape recorder. OH and you better like to vacuum and spend lots of money on buying fresh food. They need much more then seeds and nuts. They also need yearly blood tests to keep a check on their health. A bird will not usually show they are sick until they are taking their last breath. In the wild, a sick or weak bird is the first one picked off by prey birds.

[SpaceOps]

He was given to me around 20 years ago from a lady in Lamar. I don't know what type he was. All I know is if the vacumn was going or the kids got lound with one another he would always get lounder than them. It was almost like he didn't like loud noises. But in the morning when I uncovered him he would say to me Look alive. When he got too noisey I would have to cover him for awhile.

When I vacuum, these parrots decide to take splashy baths in their water dishes.

[SpaceOps]

the rescue was out of Denver.

Which one? The Gabriel Foundation? Colorado Parrot Rescue? Northern Colorado Parrot Rescue? Feathered Family Inc?

In addition to their hundred or so rescued parrots, Gabriel currently has 46 macaws from a Pueblo seizure 2 weeks ago, and over 150 parrots from a Denver seizure in November. They have their hands full. The court actually gave 50 back to the Denver hoarder, despite the terrible shape the birds were in.