Save Sick, Injured, & Orphaned Birds - California

Please everyone, take every precaution that you can to keep your pet/domestic birds safe at home! Hardly a day goes by where Avian Underdogs Rescue Association does not receive one of more calls about a lost or found pet bird or aviary bird. I just tallied up the count for domestic birds brought to us from September 1, 2024 through October 15, 2024. It was a whopping 72 birds. Mind you, this number does not include wild/feral birds or relinquished pet birds that came into our care during this timeframe. This is the actual number of domestic birds that arrived in our care during this 6 week time period. Every, single one of these birds was found by a member of the public or was picked up by an animal services agency. These birds cannot survive in the wild on their own. Many were sick or injured, a few died, and most will never get claimed by their owners. This is tragic! About half of the 72 birds being discussed here are racing pigeons, roller pigeons, and a few show pigeons. With the exception of the show pigeons, the pigeons were bred to be released, free fly, and then manage to get safely home on their own. Sadly, that didn’t happen. The rest of the domestic birds are parakeets, cockatiels, conures, and amazon parrots that truly were house pets. Presumably, some unfortunate accident happened, and the birds ended up out in the big, wide, dangerous world trying to fend for themselves with close to zero ability to do so.

As a bird owner, YOU are responsible for the care and safety of your bird. Don’t assume that your family members, neighbors, children, or friends care as much as you do or even understand that it is most likely a death sentence for your bird if it escapes the safety of its home. It’s a whole lot easier to keep your bird safe inside or in a completely predator proof outside aviary than it is to try and retrieve it once it is loose outside. By all means, allow your bird time out of the cage in the safety of your home. If your bird is loose in your home, by very careful about doors and windows that open directly to the outside. Do not take your bird outside unless it is safe in a carrier or securely tethered to you by a harness that is specifically made for birds and that fits your bird properly. Do not put your bird outside in a cage and leave it unsupervised. Yes, the sunshine and fresh air are great for your bird, but your bird is at high risk of being attacked by a predator even though it is in a cage. And, as controversial as the subject is, please consider having a veterinarian or other trained professional clip the wings of your bird. When properly done, wing clipping does not cause the bird to completely lose the ability to fly. It is intended to only limit the height and distance the bird can fly.

Featured in the photos are:

2)       A Yellow Naped Amazon witnessed being attacked by a hawk and rescued from that certain death scenario. It’s someone’s pet.

3)       A Mitred Conure found near death on a sidewalk near a school in Costa Mesa. It’s someone’s pet. The bird is doing well now.

4)       A found cockatiel. It’s someone’s pet. It suffered some type of massive trauma, and even though nothing is broken, it has extreme torticollis of the head and neck. It’s not likely to make a full recovery.

5)       This beautiful little parakeet boy was also someone’s pet and found trying to survive on his own. He’s doing well.

56       And three beautiful domestic pigeons. The white one is an other (8 years) racing pigeon that ended up at an animal shelter. The other two are Roller pigeons found by members of the public. They are doing well.

As wlways, we are extremely grateful for your support and are lookkng forward to your continued support here on GlobalGiving for GivingTuesday on December 3.