Here they are. They are so overfull and can't take all the birds that people are trying to give up. It's a matter of cutting losses. They do screen and only give to good homes and will take them back if needed. Even free, they can only adopt out a small fraction of the rescue population.
Only ones doing free I know of are furry rescues that get in feathered littles and that's iffy.
Right now,There is a-year-old African grey in a rescue near me that I can pretty much get for a song based on my experience with disabled birds, and even I would be wary to go near this particular bird. The disability is suspected to be traumatic brain injury. I can't afford the workup to confirm or deny that diagnosis even without an adoption fee, and if it is true, Viable adoption would greatly depend on what part of the Brain is injured.
I'm a great believer in Neuroplasticity,So it's not that the bird isn't salvageable unconditionally; It's that I would be putting All the birds In my home in danger,Including that one, without a popular neurological workup and regular follow-up visits.
Also, some of the screening processes are biased. Some people get rejected based on the fact they have allergies, even if the allergies Aren't to the bird in question Or any bird at all. Some people, Like myself, would be rejected on the fact They are disabled– Or bird would be given to someone else over me to someone with far less experience and knowledge simple because the other potential Adopter not disabled.(You may not think this one happens, but it does with the dog shelters in my personal experience;And the adoption process is much tighter when it comes to bird rescue's).You're also going to get people rejected on income, even when they are capable of living on the amount that's within their means and Have savings that reflect that-- therefore they can more than Afford the veterinary care involved,But their yearly income doesn't meet the standard, so no bird for them.Also, some places Won't do apartment adoptions, Even if the landlord signs off on it, and even if the neighbors have no problem with it as There are pre-existing large birds in the apartments.
And then there's the lovely rescues That claim to so desperately want to place birds and won't answer emails or phone calls – okay, it's just one; but it's the closest one near me so they tick me off on a regular basis As they are usually the first result the comes up a Petfinder and they still have the Severely disabled bird I wanted to adopt seven months ago. They just did a recent update on that bird.Yes, I do check up on her when I'm looking for birds for the rehome Highway. I fell in love with her and never actually occured to me at the time that they would put up a wall of silence – rejection may be, but what rescue doesn't want their birds rescued?
At the time, I had friends willing to Make specialized equipment for that bird's cage and a custom play stand. By this time,I don't trust myself not to say something about letting the bird Languish with a foster when it could had a forever home months ago.I have bias towards older and disabled birds, So it was literally the only one of their birds I wanted at the time.
Right now,I have Vet fee commitments to The one and a half budgies and another bird I'm looking to adopt For its first Well birdie visit If I get him(TAG), so I couldn't in good conscience take that bird right now and pay for the vet fees on top of the adoption fee. Still,It would've been nice to have met the bird at least once considering all the emotional investment I put into it-- which, of course, will never happen, because this place Does not pick up its phones or answer emails ;-)
Anyone considering adoption is almost guaranteed Getting there heartbroken at least once over a bird they want and won't get.
And people wonder at the appeal To the general public of consignment shops And backyard breeders– Rarely Do you lose the bird You fall in love with If you have the money to pay for it.In the short term, it's very attractive.But the startup costs are slightly higher with These birds because you don't know enough of their veterinary background not have to spend more More at the vets trying to figure it out yourself. Sometimes it's worth it – especially with some of the consignment birds.A lot of the time It actually ends up costing more money Then if you bought From a responsible breeder Over the long-term.
My one winged Angel, based on my research after-the-fact, was probably An Irresponsible breeder's Budgie Color mutations version of Frankenstein's Monster-- she has several rare color mutations markers when you do a close-up inspection, as does her "Service animal"Forest-- both budgies Were probably sold to the pet store Because they weren't show quality(Forest occasionally gets a slight tremor When he sits, which is probably some kind of very minor neurological or epileptic issue – but doesn't seem to affect his quality-of-life so I'm just watching it for right now).
And I haven't gone to the best part yet....The guy that inherited three more budgies from a breeder and put him with his personal pets(which are now my one and a half budgies) had no clue.He genuinely loved his birds and wanted nothing more than a good home – which Is exactly what they have. I don't think I'll ever Tell him, although I do intend to stay in touch with pictures and whatnot. Also, the angel is quite possibly transgendered-- there's color markers on the cere of deep purple (Male color marker) and all her behaviors are female. She may be the first budgie in the world to get a DNA test.
I think part of the reason the rescues are overflowing is there is literally no spare volunteers to educate(and I do mean in depth educate) the Potential new bird owner Specific to the species they're adopting And there's always the Lack of correspondence thing that I've been harping on(Did I mention that particular rescue really ticked me off ;-)
Most don't even have a slot on the volunteer application for An educational position – which would prevent most birds from coming back and help more birds go out.
