Twenty-two breeder parrots rescued

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Twenty-two parrots have been rescued from a life of breeding, thanks to Best Friends, Parrots First in California, and Phoenix Landing foster network.
By David Dickson

Twenty-two parrots just began a whole new chapter of life. For years they lived as breeding birds, but those days are over, now that they are at Best Friends.

A fresh start for breeding parrots

What a success! Many breeding parrots end up being sold or given to other breeders time and again, continuing the same lifestyle under a different roof. Not with these birds. And these parrots will soon be joined by others, when the entire breeding flock will get a fresh start. Hooray!

In animal rescue, it’s always a celebration when breeding animals are brought out of that way of life. Even so, twenty-two birds is a big jump for any rescue to take in all at once and there are more on the way. As it turns out, Best Friends’ Parrot Garden was already at full capacity. However, that didn’t stop the caregivers from doing all they could to place these birds. This was an opportunity to help breeding parrots that they didn’t feel they could miss.

Medical care and testing for birds

In the end, lots of rescue groups really pulled together on this one. Not a single bird will end up staying at Best Friends, though all of them will come through for medical care and testing. They will go instead to either Parrots First in California, or Phoenix Landing—a foster network—on the East Coast. Both rescues have the same values as Best Friends with regard to keeping birds out of breeding and finding good homes when the birds are ready.

With the twenty-two already at Best Friends, in addition to the birds still to arrive, that’s a lot of parrots with a brand new adventure stretching out in front of them. Now that’s what you call a happy ending.

Read about why it is better to adopt rather than buy a parrot in the Best Friends resource section.

Photo by Sarah Ause