Sanctuary
Another of our services is long
term or permanent sanctuary. Long term sanctuary occurs when a
bird arrives with such severe medical or behavioural issues that he or
she is not a suitable candidate for adoption and requires extensive
rehabilitation before that is possible. Permanent sanctuary is
something we grant on a very rare basis to an owner who feels more
comfortable with their bird remaining here for the remainder of its
life, rather than being re-homed.
Many of the birds who come through our program require "long term sanctuary" and become part of our flock for some time before they are well enough to leave us. Our job is to ensure that each bird is as mentally, emotionally and physically stable as possible before sending them on to their new forever home, to increase the chances of a permanent placement, and reduce the chances of the new family running into the same issues.
That being said, permanent sanctuary is a very rare blessing to bestow upon a parrot, and comes with certain criteria. The general circumstances surrounding owners wanting permanent sanctuary involve life changes they cannot prevent, death of the original owner or illness in the family. In other words, the bird is being placed because the family is in trouble, not the bird. That is not to say that these birds don't have issues of their own, simply that they have families who have been able to cope with them.
Permanent sanctuary candidates must meet a few guidelines. They must come with their own suitable living space. We will not take up a rescue cage permanently for a sanctuary bird. That takes up space that could otherwise be used for other birds in need of help. The space must be suitable for that bird, meaning it must be large enough, strong enough, and in good enough shape to house the bird for at least a number of years. We believe that every bird should have access to the largest home possible, and one look at our own birds will show this belief in action! The majority of our birds spend only a small time during the week (20-30 hours) plus night time in their cages, and the remainder of their time they are "out and about" but just like people who want a house with a large living room and bedroom, parrots want a large living space too, and the bigger the better (with a few exceptions).
These birds must also be comfortable in a flock setting, and have some level of comfort with either my husband or myself. Birds are very much like people... have you ever met someone you didn't like, before they even spoke a word to you? You may grow to feel neutral about that person, but chances are that first impression is going to stick with y0u. We've had great success at winning over birds that hated one of us upon arrival, only to be snuggle-bunnies before leaving, but sometimes this just doesn't happen, and for a bird to live out its (very long!) life here in the company of birds it doesn't like and people it couldn't really care less about is not very fair when perhaps we could find it that magic person that really pushes their buttons!
The final criteria, although loose, is that we prefer permanent sanctuary birds to be older birds. We see no reason why a young bird should be placed in permanent sanctuary here with us (even though we refer to ourselves as Parrotdise Island) when they could find a home with perhaps only another bird or two. After all, who doesn't want the cookie jar all to themselves? Younger birds are much more pliable and adapt easier to changes in surroundings, whereas older birds can suffer more trauma being moved around.
The point is, we are not a rescue with an "open door" policy. We will not stack crates on top of crates, cages on top of cages. We will not have birds feeling as if they have to posture for their own piece of space, or that they have reason to believe that their neighbour is not under control. There is a limit to how many animals can be properly cared for, and while this is a fluid number, depending on many variables including the size of each animal and the severity of their emotional and medical requirements, there is still a ceiling that we will not surpass. Each permanent sanctuary bird brings that ceiling down a bit further. Thankfully, my lifestyle lends itself to the full-time care of these birds, so we are able to keep higher numbers than the average pet owner, but we will never be a breeder-type facility with 40+ birds in the basement, and 10 in a room upstairs, and 25 in the dining room.
All of our birds are kept on our main floor, where we can see them, and they can see us, all day, most of the time. They are an integrated part of our family and while that limits our space and numbers, we wouldn't have it any other way. Each bird is an individual, not a number, and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and that includes having his or her own space to call home.
For more information on sanctuary services, and whether your bird is right for sanctuary or perhaps just needs some rehabilitation before moving on to their next parrotdise, please contact us.
Now to meet some of the birds in our Long Term Sanctuary program! Below are Sunnie and Simone, two Amazon parrots who were rescued from horrible circumstances. They were not volunteered to the program, but rather my husband found these two with their owner and convinced him they would be better off with us. They were relegated to the damp basement, away from the family, in tiny cages.
Many of the birds who come through our program require "long term sanctuary" and become part of our flock for some time before they are well enough to leave us. Our job is to ensure that each bird is as mentally, emotionally and physically stable as possible before sending them on to their new forever home, to increase the chances of a permanent placement, and reduce the chances of the new family running into the same issues.
That being said, permanent sanctuary is a very rare blessing to bestow upon a parrot, and comes with certain criteria. The general circumstances surrounding owners wanting permanent sanctuary involve life changes they cannot prevent, death of the original owner or illness in the family. In other words, the bird is being placed because the family is in trouble, not the bird. That is not to say that these birds don't have issues of their own, simply that they have families who have been able to cope with them.
Permanent sanctuary candidates must meet a few guidelines. They must come with their own suitable living space. We will not take up a rescue cage permanently for a sanctuary bird. That takes up space that could otherwise be used for other birds in need of help. The space must be suitable for that bird, meaning it must be large enough, strong enough, and in good enough shape to house the bird for at least a number of years. We believe that every bird should have access to the largest home possible, and one look at our own birds will show this belief in action! The majority of our birds spend only a small time during the week (20-30 hours) plus night time in their cages, and the remainder of their time they are "out and about" but just like people who want a house with a large living room and bedroom, parrots want a large living space too, and the bigger the better (with a few exceptions).
These birds must also be comfortable in a flock setting, and have some level of comfort with either my husband or myself. Birds are very much like people... have you ever met someone you didn't like, before they even spoke a word to you? You may grow to feel neutral about that person, but chances are that first impression is going to stick with y0u. We've had great success at winning over birds that hated one of us upon arrival, only to be snuggle-bunnies before leaving, but sometimes this just doesn't happen, and for a bird to live out its (very long!) life here in the company of birds it doesn't like and people it couldn't really care less about is not very fair when perhaps we could find it that magic person that really pushes their buttons!
The final criteria, although loose, is that we prefer permanent sanctuary birds to be older birds. We see no reason why a young bird should be placed in permanent sanctuary here with us (even though we refer to ourselves as Parrotdise Island) when they could find a home with perhaps only another bird or two. After all, who doesn't want the cookie jar all to themselves? Younger birds are much more pliable and adapt easier to changes in surroundings, whereas older birds can suffer more trauma being moved around.
The point is, we are not a rescue with an "open door" policy. We will not stack crates on top of crates, cages on top of cages. We will not have birds feeling as if they have to posture for their own piece of space, or that they have reason to believe that their neighbour is not under control. There is a limit to how many animals can be properly cared for, and while this is a fluid number, depending on many variables including the size of each animal and the severity of their emotional and medical requirements, there is still a ceiling that we will not surpass. Each permanent sanctuary bird brings that ceiling down a bit further. Thankfully, my lifestyle lends itself to the full-time care of these birds, so we are able to keep higher numbers than the average pet owner, but we will never be a breeder-type facility with 40+ birds in the basement, and 10 in a room upstairs, and 25 in the dining room.
All of our birds are kept on our main floor, where we can see them, and they can see us, all day, most of the time. They are an integrated part of our family and while that limits our space and numbers, we wouldn't have it any other way. Each bird is an individual, not a number, and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and that includes having his or her own space to call home.
For more information on sanctuary services, and whether your bird is right for sanctuary or perhaps just needs some rehabilitation before moving on to their next parrotdise, please contact us.
Now to meet some of the birds in our Long Term Sanctuary program! Below are Sunnie and Simone, two Amazon parrots who were rescued from horrible circumstances. They were not volunteered to the program, but rather my husband found these two with their owner and convinced him they would be better off with us. They were relegated to the damp basement, away from the family, in tiny cages.
Sunnie
This beautiful Yellow-Crowned Amazon arrived to us smelling like she hadn't been bathed in ages. Her reaction to her first shower confirmed that, given that in the weeks since then, she's shown no interest in getting in the tub again (the first time she contorted like a Cirque de Solei performer, trying to get every last feather wet!). She has some aggression issues when she feels she's not getting her way, and shows very little bite inhibition. Her vocal stylings are in the low range for an amazon, although she enjoys trying to sing "Queen of the Night" and "Oh Canada." Her favourite impersonation, sadly, are tomcats yowling and mating (which she did NOT pick up here!). Sunnie is working on her behavioural training, as well as her nutritional well-being. After a month of feedings, she's finally beginning to get the idea, that these crazy-looking things in her bowl are called v-e-g-e-t-a-b-l-e-s and by gosh, some of them are even yummy!
This beautiful Yellow-Crowned Amazon arrived to us smelling like she hadn't been bathed in ages. Her reaction to her first shower confirmed that, given that in the weeks since then, she's shown no interest in getting in the tub again (the first time she contorted like a Cirque de Solei performer, trying to get every last feather wet!). She has some aggression issues when she feels she's not getting her way, and shows very little bite inhibition. Her vocal stylings are in the low range for an amazon, although she enjoys trying to sing "Queen of the Night" and "Oh Canada." Her favourite impersonation, sadly, are tomcats yowling and mating (which she did NOT pick up here!). Sunnie is working on her behavioural training, as well as her nutritional well-being. After a month of feedings, she's finally beginning to get the idea, that these crazy-looking things in her bowl are called v-e-g-e-t-a-b-l-e-s and by gosh, some of them are even yummy!
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| Simone! Typical to her breed, this Blue Fronted Amazon can be temperamental at times. However, this beauty has zero bite inhibition, and a serious hatred/fear of women. Blessed with the charm of Jude Law, she's the first one to the front of her cage to say "hello" "I love you" and smooch kisses in your direction. Men can reach in and give her neck scritches... women are likely to lose a finger. I have been personally working daily with Simone to try and decrease her anxiety level, and we've come a long way. When she first arrived, even when picked up with a dowel, she would attack the hand holding a dowel. She has now decided that "mom" is good for some things, such as transfer to a play stand, or delivery of lunch, so she has decided to give me space, rather than lunging and attacking me. We're slowly working out that I run the joint, not her. Whether or not the work we're putting into her will ever make her safe enough around other women to make her adoptable is another question entirely. She will even bite her dad if I have the nerve to be in the room while he is trying to make her do something she doesn't want to do, such as return to her cage. Her vocabulary includes an hysterical laugh, assorted chirps and chortles, "hello" "I love you" "whatever" "get out" "look out" and a few other phrases we're 99% sure we've heard, but you can't be sure until you've heard them twice. |
Simone Update!
We've made great progress with Simone, and she will now accept female handling, provided there are no men in the room. She will still go after women when she is in the company of men, but only if her boundaries are pushed. She's becoming more and more curious of what I am up to, instead of focusing only on my husband. In fact, she has started to mimic my quiet "good girl" in my voice, as well as soothing noises. When I leave the room, she chirps quietly to bring me back. She won't use a full-out contact call, as she's not quite sure just yet, but we're getting there! Simone's new family will be free of children, and must contain either just men or a woman with extreme patience and diligence. Regardless, her adopters must be aware of the Amazon nature, and Simone's example of their unpredictability.
