Rehome Pets
Worth ruling out first
The reasons people rehome birds are unusually often fixable, because they are usually husbandry problems rather than the bird:
- Screaming. Frequently a response to boredom, insufficient sleep, or attention that only arrives when the bird is loud. Parrots need ten to twelve hours of dark, quiet sleep; a great many "problem screamers" are simply exhausted.
- Biting. Usually fear or hormonal, and usually improvable with handling changes rather than rehoming.
- Feather plucking. Always warrants an avian vet visit first — it can be medical, dietary, or environmental, and rehoming a plucking bird without investigating simply moves the problem.
- Mess and noise. Real, and not going to change. If this is the reason, rehoming is reasonable.
- Lifespan. Larger parrots outlive many owners. Rehoming for this reason is responsible planning, not failure.
Preparing your bird
- An avian vet check. Not a general small-animal vet — birds conceal illness until it is advanced, and an undisclosed condition will wreck a placement.
- Know the species and, if you can, the age and sex. Many owners are unsure; say so rather than guessing confidently.
- Write down the diet in detail. Exact pellet brand, what fresh food is offered, what the bird actually eats as opposed to what is provided. Diet transitions are a common cause of post-rehoming problems.
- Record the routine: sleep hours, out-of-cage time, favourite people, words or sounds it knows, what it is frightened of, whether it is flighted or clipped.
- Any leg ring number or registration paperwork. For CITES-listed species you may also need documentation to transfer the bird legally — check before you advertise.
Check the paperwork for protected species. Some parrots and other birds are covered by CITES or national wildlife legislation, and transferring one without the correct documentation can be an offence for both you and the adopter. If you are unsure whether your species is affected, ask your avian vet or the relevant national authority before listing.
Writing the listing
- Photograph in natural light, without flash. Get the whole bird in frame, and include a photo of the cage and its setup.
- State the species precisely — "cockatiel", not "small parrot".
- Say whether the bird is hand-tame, steps up, tolerates handling, or is strictly hands-off. All of these are placeable; misrepresenting them is not.
- Be explicit about noise. An adopter who is surprised by the volume returns the bird.
- Disclose plucking, biting, screaming, or fear of hands. The right keeper takes these on knowingly.
- Say whether the cage, stand and toys are included.
- Give the reason you are rehoming.
List your bird
Reach keepers who search by species, and screen them before you share anything.
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Screening keepers
Bird-keeping knowledge is easy to check, because there are a handful of questions that experienced keepers answer instantly and inexperienced ones cannot:
- What birds have you kept, and what happened to them?
- What would you feed? (A seed-only answer is a serious warning sign for most species.)
- What size and shape is the cage, and where in the house would it go?
- How many hours a day would the bird be out of the cage, and who is home?
- Which avian vet would you use? (If they cannot name one, they have not researched.)
- Do you use non-stick cookware, scented candles, or air fresheners? (PTFE fumes and aerosols kill birds, and knowing this is a good marker of a competent keeper.)
- Do you have cats or dogs, and how would they be separated?
- Do you understand this species may live for decades, and have you thought about who takes it if you cannot?
Warning signs: wanting the bird as a surprise gift or for a child, interest in breeding from it, plans to keep a highly social species alone, no avian vet, vagueness about cage size, or pressure to collect immediately. Be especially careful with anyone who wants several birds at once.
Parrots, bonded pairs and problem behaviours
Larger parrots
African greys, amazons, macaws and cockatoos need a keeper with real experience, and the honest position is that this takes months, not weeks. Species-specific parrot rescues and keeper communities are usually a better route than a general listing. Do not lower your standards because the search is slow — a parrot passed through several homes deteriorates badly.
Bonded pairs
Birds that preen each other, sit in contact and call when separated must go together. Splitting them causes calling, plucking and appetite loss. Many species should not be kept singly regardless.
Plucking and screaming
Disclose these plainly and describe when they happen. Keepers experienced with rescue birds are often specifically willing to take on a plucker — but only if they are told beforehand.
Transport and settling in
- Move the bird in a small, secure carrier rather than its full cage — less room to be thrown about.
- Cover the carrier partially to reduce visual stress, and keep the car quiet and at a stable temperature. Birds are very sensitive to draughts and to temperature swings.
- Send the cage, perches and toys if you can, unwashed. Familiar objects matter.
- Send at least two weeks of the current food, and write the diet down.
- Advise the new keeper to leave the bird alone for the first few days beyond food, water and quiet company — no handling, no new toys, no visitors.
- Expect quietness and reduced appetite for a week or two. Advise them to contact an avian vet if the bird stops eating entirely, as birds decline very quickly.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to rehome a bird?
Budgies, cockatiels and other small birds usually find homes within a few weeks. Larger parrots take two to six months, because the pool of keepers able to house a bird that may live for decades and needs several hours of interaction a day is genuinely small. Plucking, screaming or biting extends this further.
Should I rehome bonded birds together?
Yes. Birds that preen each other, sit in contact and call when separated should go together. Splitting a bonded pair commonly causes calling, feather-plucking and appetite loss. Many species are highly social and should not be kept singly at all.
Should the cage go with the bird?
Where possible, yes. A familiar cage with familiar perches and toys removes a large source of stress, and it means the new keeper is not improvising housing on day one. If you keep the cage, check the adopter already has appropriately sized housing before agreeing to anything.
How do I know if an adopter can care for a parrot properly?
Ask what species they have kept, what they feed, what size cage they have, how many hours the bird would be out of it, and which avian vet they use. Keepers who cannot name an avian vet, who plan to feed a seed-only diet, or who are vague about out-of-cage time are not ready, however well-intentioned.
Do parrots grieve when rehomed?
Many show a clear response — quietness, reduced appetite, or increased calling for days to weeks. Most adjust. Sending familiar cage furniture, keeping the same diet at first, and asking the new keeper to be calm and undemanding for the first fortnight all shorten the adjustment.
