Update on the Hoarded Birds / Now Available for Adoption
Facility Visits, Examinations,
and Disease Testing
In one of our previous blogs, I
had written about the “Aurora Birds” which had been confiscated from a hoarding
situation and were now being cared for by members of the Greater Chicago Cage
Bird Club Adoption Committee until they could be adopted. I had gone to the
facility where they were housing the nearly 400 birds for a prescribed thirty
day quarantine period. I checked out the birds, performed some disease testing
(which all turned out negative), and found them to be in good health.
I went to the facility yesterday
(11/28/12) to check the birds so that they could be released from quarantine
and put up for adoption. The birds were found to be in excellent condition and
are now eligible to be adopted. Details on how to adopt these birds follow in
one of the latter sections of this article.
In addition to the “Aurora
Birds,” I was contacted by Dr. Lisa Lembke, from McHenry County Animal Control,
two weeks ago to evaluate approximately 50 birds that were also removed from a
hoarding situation, this case in Woodstock.
There was a wide variety of birds, ranging from a macaw, large and small
parrots, quakers, cockatiels, parakeets,
canaries, and others. In order to properly have these birds adopted, I
enlisted the Greater Chicago Caged Bird Club Adoption Committee once again and
A Refuge for Saving the Wildlife. Both these organizations are not-for-profits,
dedicated to caring for as well as finding loving homes for pet birds. Diana
and Nancy from the GCCBC, Rich and Karen from A Refuge, and Christopher from Niles Animal
Hospital, aided in the
examination as well as the disease testing of these birds. The tests were
submitted for analysis and all came back negative, so they are also available
for adoption.
Yesterday (11/28/12), the
aforementioned members of GCCBC, with the addition of Bob, Karen from A Refuge,
and Christopher, came out to remove the birds from McHenry County Animal
Control and take them to the adoption facilities.
The Birds Up for Adoption
The final tally of the birds up
for adoption are:
“Aurora
Birds” (held by GCCBC)
340 parakeets
36 cockatiels
1 sun conure*
3 jenday conures*
1 pineapple conure*
1 green cheek conure*
2 black cap conures*
*Note: The starred birds are not
currently available for adoption. The original owner wants them back, so the
final decision will be made after the court date of 12/4/12.
“McHenry County
Birds”
(held by GCCBC) (held
by A Refuge )
9 canaries 4
cockatiels
1 pineapple conure 2
pineapple conures
1 rose-breasted cockatoo 1
rose-breasted cockatoo
1 blue and gold macaw 2
eclectus parrots (M & F)
3 sun conures 2
sun conures
2 ring-necked parakeets 1
African grey
1 Senegal parrot 2
caiques
2 quaker parrots 1
diamond dove
13 parakeets
2 lovebirds
1 finch
1 jenday conure
The Adoption Process
The reason that these two
organizations were selected to be involved in the adoption of these birds is
that they have long-standing excellent reputations in the placement of birds.
Both organizations are not-for-profit. They have strict standards which are
adhered to because they do not want the birds to go to just anyone, they want
loving homes, with people who will provide proper care for these birds. The
birds will not be placed with “collectors” or into another “hoarding”
situation. For both organizations an application form must be filled out before
being considered as an adoptive home. Following the application, a home inspection
is required before an adoption can be completed. If the adopter/adoptive home
meets the standards of GCCBC or A Refuge, then an adoption fee is required to
cover the costs of housing and any medical care/disease testing completed.
Some particulars about each group
and the adoption process:
Greater Chicago
Cage Bird Club
Current members of the GCCBC will
have first choice of the adopted birds. Only members in good standing can serve
as a foster home for any of these birds. The rules for adoption are that there
is a limit to the number of birds adopted per household; 4 parakeets or 2
parakeets/1 cockatiel or 2 cockatiels or 1 large bird.
Contact the GCCBC for more details and to obtain the adoption
forms. If you are interested in adopting these birds and are not a member of
the club, you can contact the club via email, adoption@gccbc.org or
phone 630-640-4924. They have a waiting list of people who are interested in adopting. Strongly also consider applying for membership in the bird club as well
in order to become an active supporter of aviculture. For the Greater Chicago Bird Club (GCBC) yearly dues are $20.00 for
single memberships, $25.00 for family memberships, $15.00 for single
seniors (62+), $17.50 for dual seniors, and $5.00 for juniors (18 and
under). Check out their website for more membership information or to
check out their various activities.
The club website is www.gccbc.org.
A Refuge for Saving the Wildlife
Visit their website at www.rescuethebirds.org to obtain the
adoption application form. In addition to the McHenry County Animal Control
birds, there are many other parrots at A Refuge who are available for adoption
and need a loving home.
Closing Comments
Some of you may be frustrated by
having to fill out forms and be subjected to a home inspection; however, these
steps are necessary to ensure that the birds will be placed in the proper
homes. Birds are more than possessions or something to collect, they are
living, loving, feeling, thinking individuals who need to be in a loving
environment where they can get the attention they need/deserve.
No comments:
Post a Comment