In a facility as large as the World Parrot Refuge there will always be residents who need medical help. Once the diagnoses have been made, Wendy can continue with the daily medical attention and care. When there were only 400 or so birds it was not too difficult to absorb the costs. Even though Wendy works at least 13 hours every day and does not take a penny in compensation, the medical bills are piling up. The biggest worry is that we need to take more birds to see our already over-generous Doctor Anne MacDonald at Night Owl Bird Hospital.

Poppy, a Moluccan cockatoo who has lived with us for 8 years, started to sleep more than normal. When we examined him closely we could see that he was anaemic. Poppy is now in the hospital. His blood tests confirm anaemia. Now we have to find the cause. This includes many different tests including x-rays and an endoscope of the kidneys. He is currently receiving intensive care including antibiotics. The blood tests, x-rays and endoscopy are very necessary and the costs are high.

If you would like to help Poppy, please make a donation in his name. Every dollar makes a difference. Poppy does not yet have a sponsor for his daily care either.

Peaches is an Umbrella Cockatoo who has has been here for just about 1 year now. This little girl was rescued from a dreadful situation by one of our members. Starving and dehydrated, she was less than half her expected weight and unable to stand up. Her feet are totally deformed. We were told that her toes had been deliberately broken. She is now at full weight and has most of her feathers back. She can walk and loves to be cuddled, however, she has to wear a plastic collar to prevent her from chewing her legs. Now that she is physically able to take anaesthetic, we would like the veterinarian to see if her feet can have corrective surgery. We believe that it may be pain from her toes that causes her to try and chew her legs off. It has taken a lot of care to get her to this point. Now we would love to give her the chance to have a normal life – she deserves it.

If you would like to help Peaches with her surgery, please make a donation in her name. We will give her all the after-care, if you can help a little with her surgical needs.

Valentine, the Moluccan Cockatoo, is a wonderful member of our sanctuary who has diligently fought bone cancer. He lost one wing to this dreadful disease, but has soldiered on regardless for years now. He has been a happy little guy without further problems for a long time. Suddenly a lump started to grow on his leg. He needs to have tests done, of course. Can you help? Valentine will allow the work to be done without a complaint. We will take care of him after Dr MacDonald has performed her miracle. We just need money to cover his medical bills. He has a wonderful sponsor for his everyday needs.

If you would like to help Valentine, please make a donation in his name. A small donation from many people will make the world of difference for him.

Judy Langille is a wonderful benefactor who made a huge contribution that enabled us to set up the special needs unit. The Judy Langille Wellness Centre is the heart of the refuge and provides us with a place to give individual attention to an ever-growing number of our psittacine family.

Many newcomers arrive at the Refuge in poor physical condition. The special needs unit is home to parrots with a multitude of medical and physical problems that make it impossible to them to join the free flight flock facility. None of the birds in the wellness center are sick with contagious diseases. Some are crippled, often as a result of neglect, abuse, or injuries sustained when being trapped in the wild. Others are self mutilators, and compulsively pluck out their feathers, which is a common response amongst parrots when dealing with the stresses of captivity. Many others have cancer. More often than not, their illnesses can be associated with years of malnutrition, lack of sunshine, physical confinement and emotional deprivation.

Their stay in this section may be for just a few weeks for short-term medical intervention but in most cases, it is home. Most of the birds here are not caged and are able to wander around at their leisure. Some are justifiably cautious and others are gregarious as they meet and greet visitors, demanding lots of love and attention as they share their lifetime of experience.

Currently the unit houses 53 parrots, ranging from a Green-winged macaw to a budgie. The variety of reasons for being in the unit is just as diverse. Several of the Moluccan cockatoos have cancer. One of the Amazon parrots has epilepsy and has been on medication for 25 years. Some of the macaws and Umbrella cockatoos have extreme physical disabilities that were caused when they were caught in snare traps in the wild.

We have emotionally abused cockatoos who cannot forget the horrible words that were used as weapons against them when they pulled out their feathers, while locked in cages in lonely rooms known as "the bird room".

We have physically abused birds who were so badly beaten that their wings still hang down or they yell "Damn Bird! Damn Bird!". We have an Eclectus, who was kept in a 20" square cage on the floor of a garage in an area prone to melting summer heat and long freezing winters, and now suffers from arthritis so badly that his grip is as soft as a touch. He now loves his huge run-around area with his chosen friend, another Eclectus, who was traded to a body shop for work on a car, and who is also now enjoying love, a great diet and fresh air. She actually lived in the body shop where all those chemicals were used.

Sadly many of the birds have become extreme self mutilators. We give them the medical care needed to prevent infection in their wounds. Soon they improve with the continuous loving care and more appropriate diet we provide and they are able to go back to their own flock in the refuge.

Some of the Moluccan cockatoos here have cancer, but with modern medicine, love and dedication their lives continue in a controlled manner. Elvis a Moluccan Cockatoo is very old (possibly over 60) and is blind from macular degeneration, which is the same aging problem that affects humans. With proper care and love he will live out the rest of his life in comfort within the world parrot refuge.

There are so many reasons why these birds are in the unit. The financial cost to the refuge is enormous as, for many of the birds, it is intensive care. Your help is desperately needed. If you feel you can donate any money, please click on the following "Donate Now" button. If you would like to Virtually Adopt a bird, please visit our Virtual Adoption page for more information.

"The World Parrot Refuge is a true sanctuary where parrots live out their lives in a loving, spacious and happy environment under the guidance of extraordinarily caring people. The many visitors destined to pass through the refuge will come to understand that parrots are not toys or trophies, but beings with needs and emotions as real as our own."

– Rosemary Low (author of more than 30 books on parrots)

"This is, in a word, a great place and these miraculous creatures deserve no less, but few places can deliver it this well. It is, indeed, 'world class'."

– Stewart Metz (author and Director of the Indonesian Parrot Project), after his visit at the Grand Opening of the Refuge on August 13, 2005.