FOUND A BIRD?

1) Know that the bird is not yours to keep - it belongs to someone.

2) PHOTO!!!
Take a photo! Do this right away some pass just after being "saved."

3) CHECK FOR FLUFFY / TIRED / SICK!

You are now the Caretaker of the bird and need to do what it requires to stay alive. This may mean taking it to the vet.

Go to a drug store and get a bottle of Unflavored Baby Electrolytes (Pedialyte). If the bird is too weak to eat or drink, please use a syringe (carefully) to feed the Pedialyte. If the bird is able to eat and drink, put the electrolytes in the water dish instead of water for the first few days (do not dillute!). If the bird is still weak, please keep it warm and take it to a vet asap.

If you have found the bird on the ground, or if it seems "tame", it is VERY sick. Even tame birds usually fly away when a stranger tries to pick them up or grab them. We have seen too many birds pass away in the night after the finder insists that the bird is "just fine" and "nice and tame." This is a big warning sign.

If the bird is sick and you can't afford to take it to the vet, you need to take him to your local Humane Society or Animal Control Shelter- call ahead to make sure they take pet birds found outside.

If you don't know what type of bird it is or what colouring of a type of bird, please see our page on Bird Identification

Unlike most animals, birds don't show signs of sickness until they are almost dead. Signs include sleeping, low weight and abnormal poop. They fluff up their feathers to appear larger if they've lost too much weight.

Weigh the bird on a kitchen scale if you have one. Budgies should be 40-50g, or more for English budgies. Cockatiels range from 80-100g. Check online for other types. If a bird loses 10% of their normal weight, they are at risk of organ failure and death. So for a budgie to be under 30g or a cockatiel to be under 70g, they are really sick and need vet intervention ASAP.

You need to see a vet if the bird is:
* Fluffed up and tired? * Under normal weight for that type of bird.
* Not eating or too tired to eat enough to fill the crop (the chest part will fill up if he eats enough)
* Black Poop and not eating
* Bright Yellow Poop
* Runny Poop
(Normal poop is green/white/black and curls into a circle)

4) KIJIJI AD

Put an ad up on kijiji. Include a photo and your phone number. Keep the ad up for at least a month.

If you don't know what kind of bird it is, please refer to our page on Bird Identification. Also please read this page to understand the different colouring of birds so you can easily tell by photos what colour the bird you found is. If you don't know, please ask us. There's no point having someone with a pied cockatiel drive across town if yours is a Lutino.

ADD PHOTO!!!

The main reason it's so important to have a photo up is so the owner can know with one glance if it's their bird or not. It also makes it easier for volunteers searching for the bird you just found to look for that particular colouring and contact only those people.

Note: I responded to a kijiji ad for a "Yellow Cockatiel" in my neighbourhood! Mine was yellow. There was no phone number so I went by the postal code and found the right apartment building. I found the people who had the bird but they had just taken it to another place. So I was in panic mode. basically trying to get the information, ready to jump in the car and go, and she finally showed me a photo. It wasn't mine. A photo on the original ad would have prevented all the anxiety.

Also, it helps with closure for the owner of the bird if we have a photo and know the bird has been found safe and alive.

5) FINDING THE RIGHT OWNER

Of all the ads I've posted for found birds, NOBODY has come forward and tried to claim a bird that wasn't theirs. We have even had large parrots such as conures and cockatoos!!! People have emailed and called to say they would take it in and look after it, but nobody said it was theirs when it wasn't. So take a breath! People may think birds are "worth a lot", but if you look at the number of birds up for adoption and re-homing on kijiji, you will realize only the babies are "worth money."

If you're not a bird person, you may not think birds have different personalities.
Think if your dog or cat ran away and it was the same colour as another cat found in the neighbourhood. How would you know that one was yours?
By personality, obviously! They won't tell their name but a same breed dog will act totally different than yours. With birds, it's the same thing.

Yes, some talk which makes it really easy for the finder to know the correct owner. But there are other differences, which is why I made the Lost Bird Report and Found Bird Report on this website.

Some birds will step up, others will bite. Some love their swing, some prefer a mirror. Some will sit on your shoulder, others prefer to hang out on the cage.

Fill out the Found Bird Report and then when anyone contacts you about the bird, have them fill out a Lost Bird Report and send it to you. It's a lot easier to read that and determine if it's the same bird as a start.

You should be able to ask to see the cage and let the bird fly and see if he knows where he's going. Check to make sure it's a safe environment as well, free from smoke and other toxins as discussed on the Birds Die From .

6) EMAIL US

We are able to consult with many other agencies including the AACC, Parrot Alert, and Perroquet Secours to find the actual owners.

7) CONTACT PET STORES AND ANIMAL SHELTERS

8) KEEPING THE BIRD

If you don't find the owner of the bird after having the ad up for over a month and contacting us and your Animal Shelters, you may choose to look after it. It's never "yours" and we hope that you will give the bird back if the owners ever come forward. If you choose to give it away, please take it to your local Humane Society or Animal Control instead of a friend. It's not yours to give away or sell. If someone wishes to adopt it, they can do so from the shelter. Otherwise, legally it still belongs to the original owner. Please read the pages on Medical and Birds Die From pages. Ask on forums or our facebook page if you have any questions about pet birds.