Will my bird stay at the centre for life?
Yes your bird will stay here for life, unlike every other rescue in the UK who re home parrots we feel you have given him what he needed as a pet, now he needs to be natural again and not passed from home to home which is sadly the case as each new owner gets fed up and moves him. This is why we have a total 'NO REHOMING' policy at the National Parrot Sanctuary enabling us to offer your parrot a long term secure future living within a colony of parrots while still having human interaction.
Does he still have contact with humans?
If on entry to the centre they still feel a need to interact with humans then that's what we allow, many members of staff and trainees etc are entering enclosures on a regular basis.
Will my parrot miss us?
We doubt very much that your parrot would miss you due to the new exciting life he has in front of him, but we are sure he will still recognise you and if he could he would probably thank you for allowing him to live his life as he's supposed too, free, as opposed to just being allowed out of the cage as and when you allow.
Can I visit my Parrot?
You can visit your bird whenever you like, this is where the centre is unique, we are open to the general public and encourage you to visit as often as you can, not for the birds purpose as he wont really be bothered, but so you know you gave him the best while he was a pet and the best now he wants to be a parrot again.
Does he have to go in quarantine?
Yes all birds have to go into quarantine, this has a twin purpose, first of all we can see that he is fit and well and also it gives us chance to see what his likes and dislikes are. A quarantine place is booked for you on contactng us
Will he be on his own while waiting to go into the flock?
No, as in the wild, he will now never spend one minute on his own, one of the major problems with parrots as pets is that they spend years and years alone which is where a massive part of their troubles stem from. As an example, forget about holidays, shopping, school runs and work etc just take into consideration, sleep, the average person has between 8-10hrs sleep per day, so if your parrot lives to a decent age of 24 years old this means he will spend at least 10 of those years on his own, then if you take into consideration all the other times mentioned above you can safely say that even the most loved parrot will spend half his life (and in reality probably much more) behind bars in solitary confinement.
What do you feed the parrots?
Diet is very important here at the centre making sure we offer all the birds a moderated varied diet covering all essential vitamins and minerals etc. If your bird is on a special diet then that will also be adhered to until such time as we can convert it on to the zoos diet.
Can we bring him to the centre ourselves?
We highly recommend that you do bring your bird here in order for you to reassure yourself on what his surroundings are going to be, this really is important and gives you a very good feeling, knowing he is in the hands of caring experts who specialise in pet parrot care, you will also experience large colonies of the same species living in harmony to which your bird will be finally introduced too, this is usually the part where you know you have made the correct decision, please call us prior so a quarantine place can be allocated.
Would you take our parrot in the event of our deaths?
We have a special service for this situation as we all know it is inevitable and lots of people naturally worry about what will happen in the event of their passing away. Although very important it is a very simple procedure. You just need to leave the details of your instructions with either a solicitor or a member of your family, once contacted, we will immediately send our ambulance to collect and cater for your bird.
Can we help in his future upkeep?
Yes, as a charity we depend highly on donations as part of our overall income in order to maintain the high level of care we provide. You can either make one off donations or we have a scheme named Sponsapoll where you can nominate a monthly amount to be deducted from your bank account, you also get privileged access on the website forum in order to receive an update on your bird.
Can we telephone to see how he is settling in?
We have no problems with you telephoning over the first 14 days while your bird is in close quarantine, however due to our extensive workload looking after the actual birds, it is impossible for our staff to continue this service indefinitely and hope you understand.
What happens if he doesn't settle, can we have him back?
If your bird doesn't settle in we would instantly give you a call to make alternative arrangements, but in all honesty it is very rare that a pet bird doesn't settle in to a natural environment.
Are there any costs involved?
Sadly in this day and age there are costs for everything and unlike any other rescue we will not be passing or selling on your pet bird for financial gain, your parrot will live here so you can visit for the rest of their lives. Our biggest initial cost is quarantine and the admittance admin so we request a fee of £100 for parrots which will go someway to cover these costs, and for smaller birds Cockatiels and Budgerigars etc we request £25.
We also ask if you would be kind enough to sponsor your bird for the first year through our Sponsapoll scheme for a minimum of £5 per month, this will help immensly with the initial upkeep of your bird and also gives you the added benefits of updates and free entrance.
Do you take in Parakeets?
Yes we offer facilities for all of the parrot family from Budgerigars to Macaws.
Our parrot has only ever known human family life so will he settle in okay?
He certainly will, over 90% of the birds here come from what we know as normal homes but most parrots settle in very quickly and find that living outside within a colony is far better than spending almost half of his life in cage within the house and believe it or not you too will feel a whole lot better when you see him living a natural life with a friends of the same species.
