Every animal that has been relinquished to us has a story and we try our best to relate that story to you in that animal’s biography. What we know about each animal will help determine what type of person or family that animal will be happiest with. While our application process may be detailed, it is designed to make sure the match is right and that you adopt the perfect family member! Just remember that not all animals work well in all homes, so please try to come into the adoption process with an open mind. As long as you are willing to work with us, we will work with you for as long as it takes to find that perfect life-long family member. After all, isn’t it worth it to spend time finding the right addition to your family who may be with you for the rest of your life?
Some people ask “Why should I adopt rather than purchase a baby bird?” There are many reasons that adoption should be your first option. Firstly, there is an overabundance of birds in captivity – rescues and sanctuaries are full to the brim with requests to take birds – we are in fact always on a waiting list that is anywhere from 10-12 months long for incoming birds. Secondly, an adoptive bird is already an adult with a known temperament; this helps us determine which bird will be right for you and your family. Thirdly, an adopted bird is vetted properly before being placed up for adoption, so you know the bird you are bringing into your home has seen a qualified veterinarian and is healthy. Last, but not least, please understand that you DO NOT need to purchase a baby bird to in order to bond with that animal. A parrot can bond with you at any age given the right amount of time, patience, medical care, and love! All of the birds we have 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.
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.
Please also read A Parrot’s Bill of Rights by Dr. Stewart Metz.
YOU CAN VIEW ALL OF THE ANIMALS WE HAVE AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION HERE.
Benefits of Adopting from Florida Parrot Rescue:
• All of our birds have been to one of the many avian veterinarians we use across the state of Florida. Each bird – regardless of size or species – has been given a full well bird check with either a full physical with a fecal gram stain and cultures or a physical with blood work (or both – this is determined by the veterinarian). Some birds have multiple veterinarian visits before they are placed up for adoption. Any dogs or cats we have available for adoption will be spayed/neutered, up to date on vaccinations, and on flea and heartworm medications.
• All of our birds have either been converted to a healthy diet or we are working on converting the bird and will help you continue that process if needed.
• If the bird you are interested in adopting has its own cage, your adoption fee will include that cage. This is a value of anywhere from $50-$500, depending on the cage. (90% of the birds we have available for adoption do have their own cage).
• Your adoption includes any follow up phone and/or e-mail consultations for education, nutrition, and behavior – if needed – at no charge.
• Most importantly, your adoption fee pays for the next animal in need of a home. Without this fee, we could not take in another animal. Your adoption fee saves the life of another!
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 e-mail us if you do not hear from us within that time. We will then review your application and contact you via email with any questions. 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
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**
Once you get home and begin to learn more about your bird, you may find that you have many questions. We are here for you; if we don’t know the answer immediately, we will find someone who does.
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):
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
A NOTE ON ADOPTION FEES: Please understand that our adoption fees help us cover 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.
Our 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.
If you feel that a parrot would make a good gift for a friend, family member, or significant other, please read the book The Lonely Parrot by Lisa Kelley. Please understand that we do not allow adoptions to take place as gifts. We do require that the person who will be caring for the bird fill out the application and go through the process. We also require that all family members in the home be aware of the potential adoption and that they all be available for the in home consult and the pre-adoption visit with the animal. Please be advised that we do NOT adopt to breeders nor allow breeders to foster.500