Report: Detroit-Area Animal Rescue Blindsided When Resident Drops Off over 800 Parakeets

A bird owner unexpectedly surrendered 836 parakeets during two trips in four days to the Detroit Animal Welfare Group (DAWG) in Romeo, Michigan, the organization says.

The owner brought nearly five hundred parakeets, crammed into seven cages, to the nonprofit on December 23, according to Fox 2 Detroit, citing a DAWG Facebook post. The group was blindsided by the drop-off and rushed to “set up proper temporary housing.” Fortunately, DAWG had recently received a parakeet food donation.

The nonprofit says it received assistance from Jojo’s Flying Friends in Romeo. Jojo’s Flying Friends took on more than 100 birds including, “the babies that require hand feeding,” according to the DAWG.

DAWG described the parakeets’ previous living situation as “very unhealthy” and dubbed the owner as “irresponsible.”

While members of DAWG were expecting more assistance from rescues groups Birds and Beaks and East Michigan Bird Rescue on Sunday, it says it received a second unexpected drop-off by the resident, who brought an additional 339 parakeets. The second surrender brought the total number of parakeets to 836.

Birds and Beaks and East Michigan Bird Rescue took in about 400 birds on Sunday after the second surrender, according to DAWG.

“The parakeets will be available for adoption through the four organizations housing them once they are evaluated by a veterinarian and healthy,” DAWG wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. The organization says it is adding a bird-specific application to its website soon.

The birds have a life expectancy of 7-15 years, according to the animal welfare group. They will need food, water, daily cage-cleaning, daily interaction with their future owners, and daily flight time.