Adopt

PLEASE NOTE: Applications are processed as times allows. THANK YOU!

We appreciate your interest in parrot adoption. There are thousands of parrots waiting in rescue facilities nationally for committed, compassionate adoptive homes.

Our adoption process is very structured and will include a visit to your home as well as reference checks. An interview, a visit to your home, and several visits with your chosen friend will be required. This gives us the opportunity to assess the prospective adoptive family’s ability to provide patience, quality care, stability, and love. We want to get to know you!

We are committed to finding the right home for each and every bird, and to providing you with the support and information necessary to create the best match possible. Our goal with each placement is to find the very best home for every bird that comes to us, and that is why you are asked to provide the information in this application.

When you complete this form and send it back to us, we will begin working together to discover which parrots and guardians make the best match. Please consider the questions on this application carefully. When the process is complete, we want what’s best for the parrot and your family, and the information you provide is crucial to our mutual success.

Please review the following information carefully before you complete and return the adoption application.

The adoption process may appear lengthy, but it is nothing compared to the challenges of living with a parrot. If you do not have the patience to go through the adoption process, consider whether the requirements of parrot caretaking are for you. Living with a parrot may be one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of your life, but parrots demand patience and dedication from their guardians.

Adoption Criteria (PLEASE READ):

We are starting to see a significant increase in parrot surrenders due to guardians getting older, having health issues, going into hospice or have passed away and family members cannot, or do not wish to, care for the birds. Please remember to plan for your birds for these types of situations. These surrender requests are in addition to all the other reasons people want to or need to give up their companion. It’s been staggering lately.

Once you fill out the adoption application, if we think you might be a good match, we will set up a home visit or video interview. If that goes well, you will be asked to come visit the sanctuary. The more local you are to Nashville, the better. We do not ship and normally will travel within a 100-mile radius. We sometimes make exceptions for exceptional homes. We have a sister rescue in East TN we refer folks to in that area.

We are looking for adopters who are educated about parrot care, have ample time to spend with your companion parrot out of the cage, lots of love, a ton of patience, along with being financially capable of providing vetting (this includes emergency’s), housing, appropriate perching, enrichment (toys, etc.), and foods (pellets, chop, fresh vegetables and fresh fruit) If you have an outdoor aviary for nice days, all the better. All of these things can be very expensive.

Please realize there may not be an instant bond or connection. It may take weeks, months, or even years. It takes work, so if you do not have the patience, please do not apply. It takes time for them to adjust to new people and new surroundings. They may have been through several homes. They may have been mistreated. Respect their boundaries and don’t push. You also need to know they may bond with a specific family member and not the others.

You need to have an avian vet. If you don’t have one, search one out BEFORE you adopt. You may have to drive a good distance for a qualified vet.

Cage requirements for a medium parrot (Amazons/Greys) has to be a minimum of (36x28x66) and for a large bird (Macaws/Cockatoos) a minimum of (40x30x75) Smaller birds will need to have a flight cage. Wide and deep rather than tall and narrow. When we are able to, we will give you the option of purchasing the cage the parrot is currently using. Most of our cages are less than a year old. We can also help you with ordering a cage at a discounted price. Cage prices normally run between 550 and 675 for a medium to large bird (our cost). If you would like us to outfit your cage with appropriate natural perches, we can do that for 60.00. This is normally 5 regular perches and one long one to go across.

We transition every parrot that comes into our care to a pellet/fresh food/chop diet. We expect you to continue this diet. Nuts and seeds are fine for treats only.

Please research safety in the home. No Teflon, self-cleaning ovens, candles, Febreze, plug ins, or any other harsh chemical or cleaning agent. Ceiling fans and exposed cords can be deadly. Dogs and cats can be deadly to birds as well, and this will be evaluated individually.

Things in your home as well as some of your personal belongings will be chewed up. Expect this. Parrots poop every 15 to 20 minutes. Expect this. Parrots will throw their food everywhere. Expect this. Parrots are loud, messy and can bite. Expect this.

Cuddling or petting you parrot excessively or inappropriately may lead to hormonal behavior. Egg laying in females can be dangerous to your parrot. This may also cause aggression. Teach your parrot independence by giving them plenty of enrichment.

We prefer guardians that do not plan to clip wings. Even though some of our birds prefer not to fly, they all can. You need to be extra diligent with a flighted bird.

For our larger birds, previous experience is preferred. Please remember this is a huge commitment and parrots can live a very long time.

If you work long hours, have a busy lifestyle, or like to travel extensively, a parrot companion may not be the best fit for you.

We also do some direct adoptions. We simply cannot take in every bird people want to surrender, so in some cases we try to pair those that need to surrender with those approved that are looking to adopt.

If you tell me, you want a “bird that can talk” you will be put at the bottom of the list. Most birds can and will say a few words, some never, but if this is your reasoning for wanting a parrot, it’s the wrong reason. They are not here for our entertainment. We need to be there to give them the most enriching life we can for a wild animal living in captivity.

I don’t want you to adopt because you are looking for a “cool pet” I want you to adopt because you want to help a bird in need, live the best life possible in captivity. Your relationship with a parrot can be extremely rewarding, if you are willing to put in the effort and see them for what and who they are. They are not domesticated; they are wild animals with all of their instincts intact.

Adoption donations may vary, but most are normally between 150 and 450 depending on the bird. This may vary as we are seeing vet costs increase. Every bird has been seen by our vet, but we also encourage you to establish a relationship with yours.

We have got to start raising the standards of parrot care and it starts with you! They are not pets and we are not owners. They are companions and we are their guardians.

Lastly, we are always going to do what is best for the birds in our care. Although we try to get back with everyone, if you do not hear back from us, it does not mean you are not a suitable home, it just means we found a better match. We encourage you to keep in touch.
Please start by downloading and filling out the Adoption Application.

Why Would Anyone Want to Rescue a Parrot?

Author: Anne Feldhacker

Parrots are not pets. It is not mutually beneficial for parrots to live with us. Parrots are more intelligent and more empathetic than we, as humans, have even begun to understand. Parrots deserve to live their lives with their families, in the rain-soaked jungles, dense forests and fog-shrouded mountains of the world. Unfortunately, as usually happens when human beings get involved, millions of parrots worldwide will never have the chance to live with their own families in their natural habitat. If you have never actually lived with a parrot and worked to understand its motivations, fears, unending memory, sense of humor and sense of loyalty, this concept of parrots ‘not being pets’ may sound like a hysterical response to a nonexistent problem.

Happy Endings

These are some of our EAST rescues or surrenders who have found new homes, families, and a new life. We, and these feathered babies, are grateful to these wonderful people who have given them love, and a second chance.