Burge Bird Services

10/03/2026

Avian Medical Case Of The Day:

Today might have been stressful for lots of us, but this baby Red Lored Amazon parrot had a worse day than you did. Sold by an unscrupulous California breeder to inexperienced owners who had no idea how to raise an unweaned bird, he managed to dislodge the short silicone tube attached to the end of the syringe full of formula not once, but twice. The first time the owner was able to grab it before it disappeared.

This time it moved quickly from the crop down into the proventriculus, the first part of the avian stomach. I couldn't feel it in the crop, and knew he was in trouble because he was vomiting constantly and becoming lethargic. I stayed 6 hours after closing this afternoon to get him X-rayed, hydrated, warmed, and then under anesthesia. I couldn't positively identify it on the X-rays, so I spent 25 minutes trying to reach down his throat with the alligator forceps repeatedly to see if I could find and extract it.

I had decided that if I couldn't get it out in under 30 minutes, he would have to have surgery on Saturday. I plucked the feathers off his neck so he would be ready, and felt his neck one last time. I thought I could feel something in the neck right where the collar bones come together. I slid the forceps down to the spot, opened the jaws, pushed forward, then closed the jaws. I couldn't feel anything, so I was surprised when I pulled out the tube.

If you have a problem with an animal, call the experts. Don't try to learn proper pet care from YouTube.

08/09/2026

Did you hear the news? Christmas gifts will be delivered on Monday, August 10th, to the birds of Burge Bird Rescue thanks to the generous members of the Rockstar Rescue Tour! They are traveling around the country visiting bird rescue organizations that they feel are doing good work helping pet birds in need, and we are honored to have been chosen as one of their stops. 🦜

Between dealing with our busiest months of the year at our avian veterinary hospital Burge Bird Services, running a popular live music website KCLive411, and buying a house, Dr. Julie has been distracted and not posting much, but that doesn't mean we aren't excited to open our presents and hand them out to the parrots. 🎁

Watch for photos to see what kind of surprises there will be for the more than 100 birds in our care. 🥳

05/11/2026

04/02/2026

Last chance to help us with this fundraiser in honor of Dr. Julie Burge's birthday. https://www.facebook.com/donate/1533121438712870/

Send a message to learn more

03/13/2026

Expenses are up, donations are down. Can you help our rescue birds in honor of Dr. Julie's birthday?

Send a message to learn more

02/25/2026

This is a Kestrel, the smallest North American raptor. She visited our hospital yesterday and said she would be happy to help promote our:

CAGE & BIRD SUPPLY SALE SATURDAY 2/28 10am to 1pm
Burge Bird Services & Rescue, Grandview (south Kansas City) MO

https://www.facebook.com/events/2078161759696439

We have a huge inventory of used cages and other bird supplies that have been donated to our bird rescue. All cage sizes (except large macaw) including flight cages for small birds. Some are like new, while some are not very pretty and will be headed to recycling if they don't sell this weekend. Prices range from $5 to $300. There are also new and used perches, dishes, toys, and several brands of bird food including Zupreem, Kaytee, Harrison's, Roudybush, and Nutriberries.

Proceeds from sales of donated used items benefit our nonprofit bird rescue and adoption program.

Bring your truck, because we need some of these cages gone this weekend. We are about to have some remodeling done and need the space. See the discussion page where pictures of some cages and supplies will be posted. Information on specific cages will not be available; no cages will be on hold without payment.

If you can't make it during the hours of the sale, please call for an appointment for another day that works for you.

Our rescue birds will be on display, but no adoptions will take place without a previous appointment and approved application.

02/14/2026

I can buy 20+ pounds of fruit for the parrots at Sam's Club for the price of this tray. $35.00???!!! Is this the regular price, or was it tripled for Valentine's Day? Sorry, but nobody should pay that much for a chunk of melon! Rip off!

02/10/2026

AVIAN MEDICINE CASE OF THE DAY:

A beautiful female budgie came into Burge Bird Rescue with a group of 26 of her family members after someone let their 2 birds make a whole lot of babies. We named them after Hunger Games characters, and her name is now Peacekeeper. During her intake exam, I could feel something wrong in her crop, in her coelom (abdomen), and under her skin.

We don't know how old this girl is, but she probably used to lay eggs, and when her body craved calcium, she chewed on a cuttlebone or mineral block so much that the calcium powder formed into a stone. See that blob on the left in each image that looks smooth like a chunk of gravel? That's an ingluviolith, which translated from Latin is crop rock. I have only seen this a couple of times in my career, and never in a bird this small. It can be easily removed with surgery (well, it's easy for me anyway because that's what I do), but she has other complications.

It is not easy to see in these radiographs, but she also has a collapsed egg stuck in her uterus. The only way to get it out would be a hysterectomy, which is extremely challenging in a 1-ounce patient, but I've done it before. However, do you see that faint outline around her body? She has air under the skin, known as subcutaneous emphysema. That is usually a result of injury or disease in the respiratory system. This has me worried that she may have an issue that would put her at a much higher risk of not surviving surgery.

With 3 major problems, all of which are potentially life threatening, we aren't sure what we will do with Peacekeeper. 😢

01/30/2026

Santa didn't bring any toys to our birds this Christmas, probably because most of them did something to put them on the naughty list. (Hey, who chewed up the woodwork around the window?) Lucky for us Parrot Emporium is helping out rescues by giving free shipping if you order toys from them to be sent to us. Here's what they said:

Our hearts have always been with the birds. 🦜💚
Rescue efforts are near and dear to us, and our goal has always been to support parrots, rescues, and sanctuaries all across the country—not just locally, but nationwide.
We know the convenience of Amazon and Chewy is hard to beat. We truly get it. But when you choose to shop with us instead, you’re doing something powerful. You’re helping a brand-new small business grow and helping parrots in need at the same time.
We’re still very early in this journey, and while we wish we could donate endlessly, growth is what makes giving possible. Every purchase helps us get closer to being able to do more, give more, and reach more rescues.
✨ How you can help a rescue directly:
• Shop with us as usual
• Select pickup at checkout
• Leave a note with the rescue or sanctuary you’d like to support
• We’ll cover the shipping to get those items to them
💚 Please help us spread the word:
Share this post, tag your favorite parrot rescues and sanctuaries, and help us reach as many of them as possible. The more we grow, the more we can give back.
When you shop small, we grow together—and so does our impact for the birds. Thank you for being part of our flock. 🦜💚
Shop with us here https://parrotemporium.net/

01/21/2026

Happy story! This sweet girl, a 30+ year old Blue and Gold Macaw, is angry, scared, and hurting right now, but I saved her life yesterday, and she doesn't appreciate my efforts at all. She came to me in December with an enormous blood-filled mass on her wing, and her weight was dangerously low. Blood tests, cultures, and biopsies revealed she had anemia, cancer, and a life-threatening infection in the tumor. Despite antibiotics, pain medications, and surgery to remove some of the growth and infection, things kept getting worse. We made the decision to amputate her wing, knowing that she might not survive because she was so sick, but it was our only hope for saving her life.

When she woke up from surgery all she did was yell at me and complain in that very loud way that macaws do. I might have lost a couple more decibels of my already damaged hearing, but it was the sweetest sound I could hope to hear, because it meant she had not only survived the anesthesia and surgery, but she was strong and ready to fight her way back to health. We are sending her home today, less than 24 hours after removing that (literally) stinking cancerous bastard that was trying to take her life. We hope she will now live another 30 years!