Adopting a parrot from a rescue organization can be a deeply rewarding experience, offering a second chance to a bird in need of a loving home. The decision to adopt a bird over purchasing one from a store or a breeder is an admirable choice, but it’s important to understand the process in order to ensure a successful adoption.
Every animal that has been relinquished has a story, and rescues strive to share that story with potential adopters. The information known about each animal helps determine the most suitable person or family for them. While the adoption process may seem detailed, it is designed to ensure the right match and help you adopt the perfect family member!
Why Adopt an African Grey?
Some people ask, “Why should I adopt rather than purchase a baby bird?” There are many compelling reasons to consider adoption as your first option:
- Overabundance of Birds: Rescues and sanctuaries are full, with long waiting lists for incoming birds.
- Known Temperament: An adoptive bird is already an adult with a known temperament, helping determine the right fit for your family.
- Vetted Health: Adopted birds are properly vetted before adoption, ensuring they have seen a qualified veterinarian and are healthy.
- Bonding at Any Age: A parrot can bond with you at any age, given the right amount of time, patience, medical care, and love!
How To Pass a Home Check To Adopt a New Parrot | Parrot Rescue
All of the birds available for adoption are special and deserve a loving home! Parrots are challenging to care for and no matter how beautiful they are, how much they seem to like you, or how much you want one, very few people are willing to make the constant sacrifices necessary to care for a parrot in captivity, so please, before looking at the animals we have for adoption, research what type of parrot may be best for your family and lifestyle.
The Adoption Process: A Step-by-Step Guide
If you feel that adopting a parrot is right for you, first let us say THANK YOU for being willing to take the time to educate yourself before considering adopting. A great place to start on this journey is to research about each type of parrot. You can find information on each species and more educational materials including parrot care and nutrition here.
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1. Application
The first step in adopting a parrot (or any animal) is to fill out an application. The application will want to know things like what a person is hoping to get out of parrot ownership, their ability to financially support a bird, and will inquire about their lifestyle and household environment.
In order to adopt or foster, please be prepared to: Fill out a FLORIDA PARROT RESCUE APPLICATION TO ADOPT OR FOSTER. At this time, we DO NOT adopt outside of the state of Florida. Please be advised that all dogs and cats in the home MUST be up to date on rabies, parvo/distemper and heartworm testing, and those vaccinations needed for felines. Also all birds in the home must have had a wellness check up with gram stain within the past year. We cannot, and will not, process any applications if your pets are not up to date. If you fill out the application and your animals are not current we again cannot process your application UNTIL all pets are brought up to date, therefore you delay your adoption/foster process.
We will contact you within 48 business hours to verify that we have received the application. Please be patient with us on this, we are all volunteers and this may take up to one week. If you would like to volunteer (not foster), please fill out the FLORIDA PARROT RESCUE APPLICATION TO VOLUNTEER.
2. Vet Reference Check
During the application review process, we will first check your current vet reference. This is an important step in the adoption or foster process as the care you provide any animals you currently own will tell us how you will be caring for an animal you may adopt from us or foster for us. During the vet reference we will confirm that any dogs and cats you own are up to date on vaccinations and that dogs and cats are on heartworm medication. We will also verify that any parrots you own have been vetted within the past year with a wellness check up and either a gram stain or blood test, not just a nail or wing trim. This protects not only your current animals, but the animal you may adopt from us or foster for us. Of course if you have an animal that can not be vaccinated or cannot take heartworm medication due to a medical condition, we will verify that with your vet for an exception. If you do not currently have any animals, then we simply move on to the next step.
3. Online Tutorial
After the vet reference has been completed, we will send you a link to an on-line tutorial which will help you learn about parrot nutrition and care. The tutorial should take you approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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4. Home Consultation
Once the tutorial has been completed, we will then schedule a pre-adoption/foster consult in your home. During this informal visit, you can show us how you plan to incorporate a bird into your day to day lifestyle and ask answer questions you may have. Depending on available volunteers, it may take 1-3 weeks to schedule your consult. We are sorry, but you can only foster if you are in the state of Florida.
5. Meet and Greet
If adopting, we will then send you to meet the animal you are interested in adopting in the animals foster home. This aspect of the application process is crucial as this will tell us if the animal you would like to adopt will be a match with you. All members of the family must be present for this part of the process. If you are applying to become a foster rather than adopt, the foster coordinator for your area will contact you for the next step in this process.
6. Adoption Finalization
FOR ADOPTERS: Once you and your potential new family member have been matched, you will sign an FPR Adoption Contract, pay the adoption fee (most adoption fees are approximately 50% less than a baby bird of that species - (we can accept either money orders or paypal only for adoption fees, no cash or personal checks), and take your newest family member home!
**Please note that we do not ship birds under any circumstances**
Adoption Fees
Adoption fees help cover the vetting costs for the birds in rescue. Every bird that comes into Florida Parrot Rescue is vetted, regardless of size or species, and adoption fees rarely cover those expenses. We could not perform these critical and necessary services without those funds or without the generous donations from our followers and donors whose contributions help maintain our efforts. We ask that you please respect and appreciate that those fees are in place for specific reasons - mainly to support our continued effort in helping birds in need - and that no one except our birds benefit from those revenues. We will not entertain arguments over adoption fees.
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Here is a general overview of adoption fees:
- Parakeets - $100
- Lovebirds $100
- Cockatiels - $100
- Quaker Parrots: $150
- Parrotlets, Indian Ringnecks: $300
- Conures: $300
- Senegals, Lories, Meyers, Caiques, large Asiatic species (such as Alexandrine Parrots): $300
- Jardine Parrots, Pionus, Amazons, Miniature Macaws (Hahns, Severe, Illigers, Yellow-Collared), Small Cockatoos (Goffins Cockatoos, Bare-Eye Cockatoos, Long-Billed Cockatoos, etc…) African Grays: $500
- Eclectus Parrots: $500
- Large (other) Cockatoos (M2′s, U2′s, Sulfur Crested Cockatoos, Citron Cockatoo, Triton Cockatoos, etc..): $650
- Large (other) Macaws (B&G’s, Scarlet’s, Greenwing’s, etc..): $650
Adoption fees (all fees include the birds cage IF the bird has a cage, so please ask! If you choose to purchase a cage, please run it by our adoption coordinator as we do have minimum cage size requirements):
Minimum Cage Requirements
It is important to provide an adequate cage for your adopted bird. Here are the minimum cage requirements:
- Parakeets, Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Quakers: 27”w x 24”d
- Ringnecks, Conures, Pionus, Lories, Meyers, Senegals: 32”w X 23”d
- African Greys, Small Cockatoos, Eclectus, Amazons, Small Macaws: 36”w x 28”d
- Larger Cockatoos and Macaws: 48”w x 36”d
We recommend 64”w x 32”d or 80”w x 40”d cages for the larger birds (Moluccans and Greenwing Macaws). Make sure bar spacing is appropriate for your bird.
Important Considerations
- No seed diets. Period. Pelleted diets are required for long-term health.
- Smoking inside is not allowed. It damages birds’ lungs and shortens their lives. If you smoke indoors, adoption will be denied-no exceptions.
- You must be 21 or older to adopt anything bigger than a cockatiel.
- All adopted birds must be returned if things don’t work out. You cannot rehome, resell, or give them away. No exceptions.
- Birds aren’t presents. The person responsible for the bird must go through the application, interview, and approval process themselves.
