How to Rehome Your Parrot
There is no shame in admitting that circumstances, whatever they are, are leaning you towards rehoming your parrot. I am a behavioralist, as well as I used to work for six years full time in bird rescues, I will be the first person to say that most reasons for rehoming can be worked upon. I have comforted many broken-hearted caretakers at the end of their rope with their parrot dropping it off to our rescues because of behavioral issues that can be modified. They tried, but they never reached out to a professional to be sure that they are using appropriate behavioral modification strategies, as well as management plans. If you are feeling this maybe you, and you ant to give it one more goes before you rehome, you can always feel free to contact me to set up an online or in-person consultation.
On the other hand, there is no judgement for saying “this concern is beyond my experience and comfort level” or that circumstances, like living situations or health reasons, cannot be changed and you need to rehome. What rehoming animals ethically is starts with the current caretaker admitting this is not the circumstances the animal deserves; they need better, no matter the reason. Then comes to finding the correct rescue or home that will then better the life of that animal. That is the goal in rehoming, is to better the life of the animal. When correct choices on where the animal goes is made to follow this goal, it is ethical, and you should never beat yourself up about it. I am sure you are reading this relating to what I am saying here, but maybe do not know how to go about doing that, as there are a lot of not so good rescues and rescuers, even 501c3 nonprofits; do not be fooled just because they say “rescue” or “sanctuary” or they are a registered nonprofit, that does not always mean quality. Here I will go over some tips to help your rehoming process go smoothly, and give you education to make you more confident in your decisions for your animal.
Where to Find Rescues?
The first place to look is on Google. Generally, a quick google search of “parrot rescues in __ (your state) __” will give you a good place to start. Also, check Facebook doing the same search, as some rescues websites are not set up for SEO and may not be seen easily on a Google search. Compile a list of rescues within your desired travel radius that you find. This gives you a place to start your research.
Another good place to look is local parrot Facebook groups. Just search on Facebook “___ (your state) ___ Parrot Groups” and it should come up. Depending on your location, you may also do your city, providence, or entire country. This gives you access to a group of bird people of ranging standards, experience, etc. to give a lot of reviews for you and suggestions. This can also be helpful if you are trying to look to rehome directly to an individual find someone in your area looking for another parrot. Just making a post saying “what are some good bird rescues in the area?” Or “I am reviewing bird rescues, does anyone have any experiences with __ (name rescue or rescues) ___. Please feel free to comment or message me privately.” It is important for the private communication feature because a lot of people who have something negative to say about a rescue may refrain from saying it publicly, due to the sometimes backlash that can happen for sharing a negative experience.
Calling your avian veterinarian, or avian vets in the area, and asking for rescue options can be a great resource. These are professionals in the industry that can give names to places that are legitimate and provide care for the birds that meets the vet’s standards. Remember, everyone has different standards of care, so be sure that you still do your research on the rescue to be sure that it aligns with your goals for your bird as well. You can also ask parrot stores in your area for rescue recommendations.
What to Look for When Reviewing Rescues
The first place to start is to find reviews about the rescue. Yelp, Google Reviews, Facebook, and even local parrot Facebook groups making a post to see anyone’s experiences with said rescue. Look through photographs on their website and social media pages. If they have more than one social media, look through them all and DIG DEEP. Look at the parrot’s conditions. Are their colors vibrant? Do they seem alert, content, do videos show happy birds? Look in the background. How are the cages set up? Are the big enough, enough perch variety, clean, do they have enrichment? Look in food bowls in pictures. What is in there? How much is in there? Look in the background at the rescue as a whole. Are cages super close together, packed, with rows and rows of birds? Are their play stands for the birds to be out? Becoming a detective and looking at the details can really give you an idea on what the rescue’s quality of care is daily. Words on their website and on their post are one thing, and the occasional photo post cleaning is another, but seeing the conditions of the birds daily through their posts can share a lot more. Maybe in that one post showing a picture of a clean room right after they clean is great, but in their daily posts in the background it is messy and dirty, meaning maybe they do not clean as often as your standard. If the background is blacked out or overly blurred, ask yourself why are they trying to hide the background?
Next, go to their website. review the relinquish policy, or email and request for it, and look at the adoption policy, or request for it. This will help you understand the rescues process for relinquishing, which is what you will be doing, and adoption standards to know if your bird will be going into a good home. There must be signed documentation paperwork of both the relinquish and adoption for legal reasons, if there is not, I would consider that a red flag. The general adoption policy that is industry standard is:
· There is a form to gather information about the potential adopter that is reviewed to be accepted or denied
· The adopter comes to the rescues facility to meet all the birds, not just the one they are interested in, to ensure it is a good match, what they are looking for, and that the bird enjoys them
· There are multiple visits, average at least 3, following deciding on a bird to be able to spend time with the bird. The rescue staff should be present during the visits to be sure there is proper handling, to read the birds body language to be sure they are comfortable and advocating for their needs, to educate the caretakers on the species and their care, and to ensure a good match.
· There should be a in person home check, though with social distancing, it may be a video call. Ideally, the rescue would come into your home virtually or in person and ask to see all around, not just the bird’s area. Look into the kitchen cabinets to be sure there is appropriate cookware, alert of possible dangers, like ceiling fans when turned on. Check to be sure there are no air fresheners, oil diffusers, or any other toxic items. The adopters should already have the birds cage set up and food present, in which they will inspect for the cage quality in size and rust, as well as the general set up. they will make sure there are no dangers and the home is safe for their birds.
· Then, the adopters will pick up their bird from the rescue and take it home. At this time the adopters will sign the adoption paperwork transferring ownership. The form should also include that the bird should not be bred and if they need to rehome that the bird comes back to the rescue. There should also be an adoption fee paid at this time.
Following this, if the rescues are still high your interest, next it is time to contact them to learn more. You are entitled to ask these questions and get an answer for reassurance and understanding the rescues process and standards. I would be concerned if a rescue does to want to share any of this information to a relinquisher.
· Who is your vet that the rescue uses?
o Why? Because you are going to want to research the vet to be sure they are a qualified avian vet. To learn to do that, click here. You will also want to call the vets office and ask how often do they come in, and their opinions about the organization to get further reviews.
· Does the rescue disease test and quarantine?
o This is extremely important; they need to do both, even if your bird is healthy. To start, it is standard to have a 30–60-day quarantine of all avian species coming into care at a professional facility, arguably in any environment. This is because a rescue has a lot of birds coming in and out, which means it is easy to spread diseases, viruses, and infections. Your bird may be healthy, but that does not mean all birds that come in are. You would not want your bird to be exposed and become unhealthy or preeminently diseased because of this. Rescues that vet and do disease testing are recommended to quarantine till cleared medically be a vet. This means they came back negative for the disease testing, their bloodwork and gram stains were normal, and they have not been on medications regarding fighting an illness or shown any negative symptoms while in quarantine. The disease testing, I recommend as a minimum is PBFD, Psittacosis, Bornavirus, and Pacheco’s.
· How is the rescues quarantine set up?
o The quarantine should be a separate building or off premises away from all other birds. This is because if they are among the others, then they will be able to still infect others. You want them to quarantine off site ideally, or at least in a completely separate building. If they quarantine in another level of the same building, the door to the quarantine area must be kept shut, they must be on a separate air flow system (so not central air and heat throughout the house), and the birds are cared for last. This is so you do not handle possibly diseased things, as well as things can get on their clothes, and then they immediately go in with the healthy birds.
· Do they work with a trainer?
o They will be getting birds in that have behavioral issues. All rescues should have a trainer in mind, ideally being contracted in when needed and not apart of the full-time staff, or a more specialized rescue they transport birds to that handles severe behavioral issues.
· Do they have fosters? What is the fostering policy?
o Knowing who will be caring for your bird is very important. Having fosters means if your bird does not do well in a rescue environment, they can go somewhere quieter with a foster. It also can allow for extra training if they are working with a trainer or are a trainer.
· Is there a relinquish fee?
o This is very common. This helps cover the upfront costs of vetting and disease testing, as well as helps support your bird with food and care while they are waiting for their new home.
· When I drop my bird off, before signing paper work, can I get a complete tour of your facility?
o Never let the rescue come and pick up your bird. You will always want to drop it off. Why? So, you can see the facility first hand. All of the research you are doing now is amazing, but it is all from a distance. You want to see the rescue, you want to see the food they feed, you want to see every room that has birds in it. You do all of this before signing anything because if you disagree or get an off feeling, then you want to be able to leave with your bird, which you would not be able to do once you sign that contract.
The rest is up to you to decide. It comes down to then your own opinions and comfortability. Again, everyone has a different level of care. You may be reading this and think “this process she has outlined is too lengthy, too meticulous, I do not care about most of these things” which is completely fine! You do the degree you feel comfortable with. This is the process that I recommend from my experiences. Always feel free to ask the rescue more. If you read over a contract and want something amended for any reason, it never hurts to ask, and then if it cannot be done reevaluate how important that is to you.
Sometimes what may happen is you find a rescue that you love and they are full or cannot take your bird within a reasonable timeline for your goals. You can then ask that rescue another rescue partner they recommend that is to the same level as they are around. Rescues know rescues, they can give good information to help find one that can take your bird within your timeline if you cannot wait.
Remember, support the rescue that took your bird in. They are doing you a favor and a service, taking in your responsibility to be theirs. Ways to support rescues is to follow their social media and interact with posts. Liking, commenting, sharing (especially fundraisers) are an incredibly helpful thing for utilizing viral marketing. Donation of time through volunteering, monetary donation, physical donation of goods is also really important for the rescue to continue the work they do. Leaving reviews of your experiences will only help others going through the same process as you. There are so many other ways to help rescues, some involving very little from you, but makes a dig difference to the organization.