I Found a Bird

What to do if you find a pet bird

It is devastating to loose your pet bird. Just ask anyone that this has ever happened to and they will tell you. But what if you find a bird that someone has obviously lost - what do you do then?

If the bird just lands on your shoulder or at your feet and appears to be in very healthy condition, its very possible that he has just flown away and his owner is very close and frantically looking for him.

If you see someone walking, looking and calling a name, you could go to him/her and quickly return the bird to the owner. Of course, it seldom works out that quickly and you are more than likely going to have to bring the bird home with you while you try to find the owner.

If you are familiar with caring for a pet bird, you can probably set something up for this bird at your home, making sure that he/she is quarantined from your own birds. After that it is time to start trying to find out where this bird belongs.

If the bird has been missing for several hours or even days, there may be many places that have been contacted by the owner & you can begin by contacting these same places to find out who the owner is.

- contact radio & tv stations to see if someone has reported the bird missing & see if they will mention it on air and keep the information in case someone calls later about a missing bird;
- check the newspaper for a lost ad & if there is none, put in a found bird ad;
- phone the Humane Society to see if someone has reported the bird missing;
- phone veterinary offices and pet stores in the area where you found the bird;
- contact a local parrot club to see if they have been advised about a missing bird. If you are unable to look after this bird, the parrot club may have someone available who can look after him until the owner is found.

Please do not feel that you have the right to keep this bird. For some reason, unknown to me, many people who find a bird will go out & buy a cage planning on keeping him, instead of looking for the owner. If they find a dog or a cat, these same people will put a found ad in the newspaper. Think how you would feel if you had lost your pet and then try to get this bird back home where he belongs.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop by the Bird Forum anytime, (most recent topics are posted below).

The Guilde to Companion Parrot Behavior is full of information for both new & experienced parrot owners. You can find this book at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca
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