06/17/2026
Let's talk a little bit about budgies/parakeets and cockatiels.
Parakeets/budgies and cockatiels are the most frequently surrendered pet birds. If I accepted all parakeet and cockatiel surrenders that have been requested just this year alone, I would probably have well over 200 parakeets/cockatiels right now. I know we've mentioned it before, but this is primarily a ONE person operation. I simply cannot care for that many birds in addition to all the other parrots in our community that need our help. And honestly, even when I have done a $0 adoption fee for these breeds, I have found it is incredibly difficult finding new homes for these birds. It's a lot of time, energy, and space that I simply just cannot do by myself.
They are super common in pet stores and very easy to purchase. Because of this, many owners impulse-buy them without realizing how much time, money, and care they require. Because they are biologically wild animals, their natural behaviors (like screaming, biting, and molting) frequently overwhelm unprepared caregivers.
One of the most common reasons I get for a surrender request is often due to parents purchasing these birds for their children. Many people will get them as a pet for their child and then quickly realize that children do not often maintain the care needed for the 10-15 years of their feathery lifespan. That is a huge commitment to place on a child. And even if the kid does take care of it, they eventually reach college/adult age and leave home (often without taking their bird), leaving it with the parent that doesn't want it. Getting a child a pet is a commitment for the parent, just as much as the child. It's unfair to burden the rescues because the pet was purchased for temporary entertainment.
These are fairly "simple" birds to care for when comparing to other parrots, but they are still a lot of work. And because they are cheap and breed easily, they are always readily available at nearly every local pet store. They have unfortunately become "disposable" to many people that own them, resulting in an unnecessary burden on your local rescues. The "temporary" mindset in our society is why so many of your local rescues are over populated and struggling.
I hate that we are unable to accept most of these birds into the rescue, but I simply cannot care for the number of birds our community is surrendering. I will always do my best to provide other resources that may be able to help, if I can. I am not abandoning these birds, but in many cases I will be placing the responsibility of finding a new home on the owner instead. When you purchase a pet, you are committing to that animal's care and well-being for it's entire lifespan.
Please stop tossing them to the side because you wanted temporary entertainment or didn't fully research the commitment needed for these little creatures before bringing it home. We (as a whole) need to do better for the animals in our world.
