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 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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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.