The son of an animal collector dropped off hundreds of more parakeets this week at a Macomb County relief shelter, bringing the total number of abandoned birds from the collector’s home to 836.
Although a few parakeets were crushed to death in their crowded cages during transport, all survivors are now in the care of four animal rescue groups in Southeast Michigan, who plan to offer the birds for adoption. in the next two to four weeks.
The son delivered a first batch of 497 parakeets to the Detroit Animal Welfare Group Rural Shelter in Bruce Township on December 23. Boxing Day Sunday, he returned with 339 more parakeets, said Kelley LeBonty, director of Detroit Animal Welfare Group.
The son’s father apparently intended to breed only a few parakeets, but let the situation get out of hand.
Following:Son of animal collector drops off nearly 500 parakeets at animal shelter before Christmas
The birds were crammed into a small number of cages when they arrived at the shelter in the son’s van. Their cages were so tight that the birds could barely move.
“All he said was his dad had a mental illness and (the son) had moved out and hadn’t been back for a while,” LeBonty said in an interview on Wednesday. “And when he got home he saw (the hoarding) and obviously knew that was a problem, and immediately contacted us to try to take control of the situation.”
JoJo’s Flying Friends, a Washington Township bird pet store, accepted 210 parakeets from the Detroit Animal Welfare Group. The store quickly separated the males and females to prevent further breeding.
Anne Jewett, co-owner of the store, recalled on Wednesday how when the birds arrived many were underweight, some were injured and lacking feathers, and the feet of others were covered in droppings.
Sadly, a few parakeets were crushed to death on the journey between the collector’s house and the various rescue groups, she said.
“When I took them out some of them were stepped on which means they didn’t make it because there were so many in a cage. So unfortunately we lost some because of that, “Jewett said.” And then while we were taking them out, because they were in a breeding situation, they were just laying eggs there while we were taking them out. were withdrawing. “
Jewett said around 20 of the chicks were now hand-fed and kept in special heated cages.
Rescue groups have received donations of food and toys as well as money for veterinary bills since the parakeet story became national. They also responded to many adoption requests when the birds came out of their precautionary quarantine.
LeBonty of Detroit Animal Welfare Group pointed out that people who are considering adopting any of the birds should be aware that they are different from the parakeets typically found in pet stores.
“One concern is that these birds are not hand raised,” she said. “A lot of people when they adopt a bird want a very friendly bird that they can hold, and these will be wilder. They are not tame, hand-raised birds. They are afraid of people. People. must therefore understand this.
“It will take time for them to work regularly with (the birds) to make them into pets.”
The four groups currently dealing with parakeets are:
- Detroit Animal Protection Group
- JoJo’s Flying Friends
- Rescue and rehabilitation of birds and beaks
- Bird Rescue of Eastern Michigan
ContactJC Reindl at313-222-6631 or [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @jcreindl. Learn more about the companies and sign up for our business newsletter.
