Caring for 700+ parrots is a never-ending job. The dedicated staff and volunteers of the World Parrot Refuge start every morning at 7am and work continuously until 8pm, mainly with feeding and cleaning. It's a never-ending cycle of activity as I hope this two-part video will illustrate. And of course there are lots of winged "helpers" ...

Here is "All In A Day's Work (part 2)

Caring for 700+ parrots is a never-ending job. The dedicated staff and volunteers of the World Parrot Refuge start every morning at 7am and work continuously until 8pm, mainly with feeding and cleaning. It's a never-ending cycle of activity as I hope this two-part video will illustrate. And of course there are lots of winged "helpers" ...

Here is "All In A Day's Work (part 1)

This article is part of a new series on parrot nutrition, using information kindly provided by our sister organization, Phoenix Landing, in North Carolina. We hope this will help you make the best nutritional choices for your feathered friends.

Vitamin A is very important for your parrot!

The darker the flesh (not the skin) of the vegetable or fruit, the higher the carotene content. It is carotene that converts into vitamin A when metabolized by the digestive system. Veggies can be provided in their raw state, but are sometimes more digestible if cooked (steamed or baked). However, be aware that overcooking can destroy vitamin content.

Green Vegetable sources of Vitamin A

Dandelion greens, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, broccoli, water cress, chicory, parsley, green peppers, fennel, arugula, romaine, brussel sprouts, beet greens, cabbage, and alfalfa.

Yellow-Orange Vegetable sources of Vitamin A

Yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, hubbard squash, acorn squash, hot peppers, red peppers, pumpkin.

Fruit Sources of Vitamin A

Mango, peaches, nectarines, apricots, persimmon, cantaloupe, raw plantain, papaya, sour red cherry, pomegranates.

It's a pleasure to share this wonderful video with you, made by one of our special volunteers, Gene Gapsis. She takes us into the operations of the World Parrot Refuge, illuminating the many reasons why we exist, and explaining why this is a place worth preserving for the future of our flocks. Thanks, Gene!

For more information about why birds do not thrive in captivity, read Wendy's great article here, and be sure to share the video with all your friends!

By Wendy Huntbatch

Many years ago, when we first opened our doors to a Lesser Sulfur Crested Cockatoo named Little Charley – who needed a home because his owner was going into permanent care for post polio syndrome – Horst and I had no idea what the future would bring. As the years passed, and more and more birds arrived, we kept expanding the facilities in our home, and then moved on to building the free-flight parrot houses on our farm in Abbotsford. When we moved to Coombs just under four years ago, after an outbreak of bird flu in the commercial poultry industry, we had 400 parrots. We built the current 23,000 sq foot facility as we could see that we had already outgrown the 10,000 sq feet we had in Abbotsford. Thank goodness for foresight! Since arriving in Coombs, we have increased our number of residents by a further 300, and I am sure this year that we can expect at least another 100 parrots who need a Home For Life.

What is behind this influx of birds? Homes are getting smaller; people are working longer hours; and the grandparents who have had parrots for years are moving into care facilities where parrots are not welcome. When faced with these situations, people who currently own parrots look to place them in a safe haven: a place they feel confident will provide the proper care for their beloved friend. Many other people purchase a parrot for a pet, especially cockatoos, only to realize that the parrot is a highly intelligent living being and that flightless incarceration is an unkind situation. When we understand that these living beings have needs of their own, our minds are opened. Let me share a few insights with you.

Read more »

This is another great 'Thank You' that a school class sent along after visiting the World Parrot Refuge:

If your group would like to arrange an educational visit to the refuge, please contact us ahead of time so we can arrange the details. We're always glad to explain our work and the wonders of these amazing birds.

By Wendy Huntbatch
Co-Founder of F.L.O.P.R.S. (For the Love Of Parrots Refuge Society)

February 24, 2007
Presented to the SPCA Annual General Meeting, Nanaimo BC

Looking in the “Pets For Sale” column in the newspaper, you will find a huge number of dogs and cats on offer, many of them “free to a good home”. In all the years that humane societies have preached the importance of “spay and neuter” you might think that this column would be just a memory by now. There are two reasons for this lack of success. The first is that there are always people willing to make a dollar on the back of a “cute” or “exotic” living being. The second is that there are always devoted individuals or community groups willing to take responsibility for the same living being who has outlived the welcome at a home that, at the moment of purchase, could not imagine life without their new family addition.

These same groups of devoted animal lovers end up being responsible for ending the lives of animals for whom they cannot find a home. All this is done quietly and with dignity behind closed doors, so that the irresponsible feel no guilt. Even with “No Kill” policies at many shelters, more than 400,000 dogs and cats are killed in humane shelters in Canada every year. There are simply no homes available for these “excess” animals – and yet people keep on breeding them for money. What would happen if these shelters went out of business because people could no longer bear the heartbreak of having to kill another innocent animal?

Do you think this stops with dogs and cats? Think again!

Read more »

Parrots are prey birds, and in their normal life they would be flying freely in flocks, with fresh air and sunshine, eating the natural foods of their country in order to continue the habitat growth. They would have families of their own and be well adjusted.

Human beings chose to capture them, incarcerate them and feed them foods that their systems do not recognize. Most pet parrots spend their lives as a single bird in a human home. When they come to the world parrot refuge, they have to learn to live as a flock. We get to know each bird individually and observe their personality traits. We then choose the ideal flock partners for a successful new “family” life in one of the enclosures we have with other parrots of similar temperament. From this point we carefully observe them to make sure they adjust appropriately to their new home.

Birds arrive her being known as screamers and biters, but we rarely experience these problems when we provide them with a more normal parrot life, high canopy perching in a flock environment and the freedom to move around removes much of the fear experienced by the birds who are caged individually and kept below eye level.

Screaming or calling flock members to locate them is reduced when they receive the expected reply and the opportunity to have friends and spend hours grooming each other is normal relaxation for parrots.

Please click on the thumbnails below to learn how you can help some special birds have a home for life through our "Virtual Adoption" program! More stories coming soon!

Birds who are now partly sponsored, thank you!

Birds who are now fully sponsored, thank you!

"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.

"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)