Loki the Moluccan Cockatoo and Friends

On April 3, 2014, we got a call from the neighbors of a lady in Portland who was dying and needed to be transported to hospice care. She hadn’t made any arrangements for her parrots. Upon arrival, we found Loki eating Beneful dog food. He was malnourished, had been self-mutilating and plucking, and had a large tumor. We also discovered several other parrots outside in a large cage in a shed.

We got Loki the care and treatment he needed, and he eventually recovered. Loki’s name has been changed, and he is now living in a wonderful home in Northern Washington.

Cricket, the Galah Cockatoo  also known as a   “Rose Breasted Cockatoo”.

Cricket is a galah cockatoo (also known as a rose-breasted cockatoo) who is partially paralyzed after an accident where an inexperienced vet tried to inject her with a medication to sedate her for grooming. Her former owner was heartbroken and surrendered her to use for ongoing care. Cricket can’t fully extend her wings, and she scoots more than walks. Because of this, she requires daily baths to clean her feathers from whatever she drags them through every day.

Despite her limitations, Cricket is very friendly and sweet. She loves to cuddle, and she purrs and gives kisses when you hold her. She is a big, bright, beautiful girl.

Mickey the Patagonian Conure

Mickey is a middle-aged Patagonian conure. His feet are completely bent upward toward his body, causing him to walk on his little ankles. This was a birth defect and not the fault of any human handler. It does not stop him from traveling around his cage. He cannot perch, so he is set up with soft pads covered in paper towels that he loves to destroy.

Mickey is one of the great joys of the sanctuary, and his antics can be heard often. He is a big fan of tossing his bells around and screaming at them as if they have offended him in some great way. He also likes to lie on his back with his feet in the air. One of his favorite activities is to “fly” with the help of his human daddy, who cups his little body in his hands and runs around the house as Mickey flaps happily along.

Missy the Congo African Gray

Missy is one of five African greys in our care with special needs, including three chronic pluckers that were surrendered to us due to internal problems, including liver and kidney concerns. Two of them came from homes with well water downstream from Christmas tree farms, where pesticide poisoning is suspected. Missy has a slipped lens in her left eye that causes her discomfort, and she cannot see out of that eye.  She is also a belly plucker and plucks any bird she comes in contact with.

Missy is the sweetest snuggler. She is also a very hearty eater and will gladly eat anything she has in her dish.

Bailey the Timneh African Grey

Bailey is a Timneh African grey and is the smallest and oldest of all of our greys. He has arthritis in both feet and partial loss of use in one foot.

Bailey is sweet and silly. He loves to blow raspberries and whistle. He’s also an avid shredder and goes through a raffia toy every couple of days.

Zoey the Red-Fronted  Conure

Zoey is a 30-year-old red-fronted conure who came to us with Forest the blue-crowned conure. She is extremely afraid of hands but will fly to her people to put her in her sleep cage at the end of the day.

Chicky Baby the Lesser Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo

One Sunday afternoon we got a call from a couple who drove Chicky nonstop from New Mexico to Vancouver while she held on to the sides of a 12-by-12 parakeet cage. When the couple woke up the next day, they discovered Chicky on the bottom of the cage. She had chewed her toes off and chewed her leg wide open, exposing her veins. They couldn’t afford the vet bill, so they called us. Luckily we were close and were able to hydrate her and help with her pain. We took her to the veterinarian’s office immediately and had her treated for her injuries. She’s been with us ever since. She has chewed her leg open several times, so she’s constantly under supervision, and she requires a special cage so she can move around.

Despite her sad story, Chicky is learning to trust again. She’s very sweet and loves to dance and snuggle.

Alex the Blue and Gold Macaw

Alex is a blue and gold macaw in his mid-twenties. He has severe arthritis and dysfunction in one of his feet. He can grasp perfectly, but any walking movement causes him to drag a useless foot along the floor. Alex is also an adept belly plucker and wing overpreener.

Alex is a “delicate” chewer, preferring small pine cookies to larger chunks normally destroyed by macaws. He is a great communicator and lets us know whenever something is amiss, even if it is just a stray leaf falling off the backyard tree.

Jack & Jill the African Greys

Jack and Jill are two wonderful African grays who were a victim of circumstance. The lady who owned them fed them colloidal silver and fresh sprouts as their only diet for over ten years. Because of this, they experienced feather loss, kidney problems, beak overgrowth, and vision loss.

When we received them, they were not tame, but they’re now learning to trust people. They are very happy to get fresh chop, and they still receive some sprouts every week.

Freddie the Orange-Winged Amazon

Freddie came to us in March of 2015. He is a wild-captured bird that was fed penicillin-soaked corn for two weeks in the ’70s when he was imported, which we now know is too strong for most parrots. Freddie lost his left eye in a fight with another parrot and has a cataract in his right eye. He also has arthritis in his feet, but he is otherwise happy and healthy.

Freddie is a very sweet bird. He is afraid of hands but loves to be talked to and be near his people. He is a master chewer and can take on even the most daunting toy made for a large macaw, but he also delights in tearing up birdie bagels and thin pine cookies.

Annie the Orphan – Blue and Gold Macaw

Annie was kept in a small breeding box for 29 years until her owners died and their son brought us their two macaws. Annie is blind and didn’t really know how to perch when she first came to us because she’d never had perches and hadn’t really interacted with people.

Despite this, Annie is a very nice bird. She has learned to trust us and happily accepts treats. She even steps up, and she loves to go outside and explore the outdoor aviary.

Midnight Rescue of 13 Birds

On January 28, 2018, we received a call from a gentleman whose brother had passed away earlier that day. In the back room of the house, the gentleman told us he had discovered nine or 10 parrots living in deplorable conditions. When he told us that we wouldn’t want the cages the birds were in, we knew it was going to be bad. We grabbed 10 parrot carriers and immediately headed to his location, which was about 90 minutes away. We couldn’t have ever imagined what we were about to discover.

The moment we walked through the door, we were hit with an overwhelming ammonia odor. The thick carpet was soaked and rotting, and the walls in the rooms and hallway were green and black with mold. We could actually see mold spores floating in the air. The parrots were in a dark, moldy room with no windows or ventilation and very little light. There was just a small portable heater to keep them warm, but what it actually did was germinate the mold and help to rust the cages quicker. They must have been in these cages for some time because of the amount of rust, mold, and cobwebs in the cages. Some of the parrots didn’t even have perches, so they had to sleep holding on to the rusty bars.

In the end, we rescued 13 parrots that night, and all needed veterinary care and rehabilitation before they could be adopted.

Midnight Rescue of 14 Birds

Special Needs Parrot

Our Mission

Since 2001 B.E.B.S & O’s ( Birdman’s Exotic Bird Sanctuary & Orphanage) facilities have provided: A safe haven for parrots that prefer not to interact with humans in a companion animal situation. Most of our parrots have been abused by humans to the point it will take some long term rehabilitation before they will be available through another adoption agency.

Our BEBSO Sanctuary is a parrot welfare organization that provides for the complete physical, psychological and environmental well-being of the parrots in the organization’s care.

Those aggressive that need a new human companion and are not available for adoption, until they are completely hand able and considered pet worthy.

Most of our residence parrots are sanctuary parrots for life. Primarily elderly parrots as well as parrots that are mentally ill, abused parrots, maimed, extreme self-mutilated parrots that need special around the clock care. Some of our clients specifically request that their parrot be placed in foster care or remain in our permanent sanctuary.

We are a No-Kill shelter. We maintain a special hospice area for the parrots that require special needs care and diet. So most parrots remain in a sanctuary until we find an educated and dedicated forever-home with Godparents, once BEBSO staff deem them ready to move to a rehoming rescue service.