Adoptions

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Feathered Fairies aviary is located in Willow Creek, CA. 

Each of my baby parrots comes with a digital (PDF) Hatch Certificate, a Feeding Guide, and a Health Guarantee. I also offer 20% off two or more birds purchased.

Please read the entire Adoptions Agreement and Health Guarantee below before asking to purchase a baby! It will help both of us to be on the same page when discussing details. Additional questions may also be answered on my FAQ page. 

Payments: Deposits to reserve a baby can be made via Zelle, Venmo, or PayPal. I prefer cash or Zelle at pick-up to pay the balance for your baby. Before making your deposit I will send you an invoice detailing all items and balances for clarity. I will send you an updated invoice after your deposit payment with the remaining balance, and any additional items as needed.

 *Zelle is free and takes only 3 minutes to set up from your banking app on your phone if you do not already have it. Venmo or PayPal can be used for an additional fee to cover the percentage they take for using their services. Please let me know how you wish to pay and I will update your invoice accordingly.

Adoptions Agreement: 

Like most professional breeders I run a closed aviary system to maintain the health and security of my birds. My property is not open to the public. Pick-ups can be arranged at a public location nearby. Delivery may similarly be arranged within a reasonable distance (approx. 40 miles), for an additional fee to cover transportation costs. My transportation fee includes the current gas price and my time, which I set at California minimum wage per hour of travel. If I can divide the transportation fee between multiple customers picking up at the same location on the same day (and relative time), I will!

Please make sure you have an appropriate enclosure, accessories, and food for your desired species before picking up your new baby. It is always recommended to provide the largest cage you can afford and fit in your home, and to make sure it has appropriate bar spacing for the species you want. Up to ½" for budgies and similar-sized parrots is ideal, and up to ¾" for cockatiels. You will also need a travel cage to transport your new baby home in. If you do not have a travel cage, I may have one available for purchase.

The dowel perches that come with most parrot cages are not good for exercising your feathered fairy's feet. Using one of these in addition to other types of perches is fine, but if you have only dowel perches your parrot's feet may seize up. Please have several perches with varying widths and textures (no sand perches!), available for your new feathered fairy. Sand perches can cause bumblefoot! Please avoid them, or just scrape the sand off if you already own one.

Baby parrots can be reserved with a non-refundable deposit of $25-$80 per bird, dependent on species base cost. A full price list can be found on the Parrots page. Deposits will not be made for any birds not yet fully feathered and fledged. Hand-fed budgies fledge around four weeks of age, and wean around 8 weeks of age, for example.

Baby parrots are not available to go home until they are fully weaned, and they must be picked up within 7 days of being notified that the baby is fully weaned. If a deposit has been received I can hold a baby for longer than 7 days for an additional Boarding Fee of $2/day per American budgie, $3/day per English budgie or Bourke's parakeet, and $4/day per lineolated parakeet or cockatiel. Boarding fees are due before receiving your bird.

Unless a special exception is made, I will only hold a baby parrot for up to three weeks (21 days) maximum after weaning. This means boarding fees will usually not exceed two weeks' payment since the first week after weaning does not apply. If you cannot pick up your baby within this timeframe I reserve the right to make your reserved baby available again for another interested buyer and your deposit will not be refunded. It is in your best interest to pick your baby up as soon as possible after weaning so you can bond with them from as early on as possible.

To reduce stress I often have travel cages available, so your new feathered fairy can simply be passed over to you and does not need to be transferred to a new carrier at pick-up. I also recommend keeping two or more birds in the long term (for the species that I breed are all highly social), and they travel better with a friend, so I offer a 20% discount for all birds purchased if you buy two or more. 

I cannot guarantee the sex of each baby but I can offer my most educated guess, while some may be determined accurately by their genetic color mutation. I do not currently offer DNA sexing.

Health Guarantee:

All birds are guaranteed to be healthy at the time of pickup or delivery. The new owner is encouraged to have their new bird(s) examined by a veterinarian of their own choice within one week from the time of pickup or delivery to verify the health of the bird(s). Please arrange vet appointments in advance of picking up your bird or having it delivered.

 If any birds are found to have a condition that affects their long-term health or well-being as determined by the examining veterinarian within this time period, and I am informed of the health condition within three days of the veterinarian's examination, then the bird may be returned for either 1) a refund of the entire purchase price of the bird including deposit, or 2) an exchange for another bird of the same species, sex (if known), and relative age and color, if available. If you do not wish to return the bird I will refund half the total cost of the bird. If the bird you received was close-banded I will not accept a return if the band has been removed. I cannot offer compensation for any medical fees incurred.

 If there is any other reason you would like to return a bird, please contact me for a resolution. I want all of my feathered fairies to be placed into loving forever homes, so I will do my best to work with you, though I cannot guarantee a refund for other reasons. If you ever become unable to keep your bird they may be surrendered back to me with prior notice. If you choose to sell or re-home your bird please make sure the new owner also receives their digital hatch certificate and is able to contact me with any questions.

 If you already have a bird in residence, it is always recommended to quarantine any new birds for a minimum of 45 days for health monitoring, even if you received a clean bill of health from your vet. This time will also allow the birds to become familiar with each other through vocalizations before they meet, which will ease their adjustment to one another when they are introduced later on. You can also use this time to form a bond with your new bird(s) yourself before they meet your resident bird. 

Important Notes:

Parakeet nails should not need trimming if they have adequate natural perches, except sometimes for linnies, which have faster-growing nails due to being avid climbers. In the wild, their nails would wear down much more quickly than in our homes full of fabrics and carpeting, unless they are given lots of natural perches outside the cage to walk on as well. 

Overgrown beaks are almost always caused by a medical condition, so please do not trim your bird's beak if it is not recommended by your veterinarian for a specific medical reason. Please do take your bird to see an experienced, registered avian veterinarian for an overgrown beak to receive the best possible care.

There are toxic fumes, vapors, and other airborne particles that can cause a bird to become very sick or die suddenly without warning. These include, but are not limited to, heated Teflon, chemical air fresheners, perfume, scented candles, chemical cleaning agents, heated vinegar, self-cleaning ovens, heavy smoke, etc. It is always a good idea to have a quality HEPA, or even better, carbon canister air purifier for your home if you own an indoor pet bird.

Other foods and substances that are or may be toxic to birds include avocado, onion, garlic in excess, certain spices in excess, fruit pits, apple seeds, chocolate, caffeine, carbonated drinks, heavily processed/salted/fried/sugary foods, soft cheeses (lactose), peanut butter (choking hazard), xylitol, and certain types of wood if chewed, which may be sold as perches or parts of toys for birds online. Always double-check the species of wood as safe for parrots before buying wooden perches or toys online, or harvesting wood to make your own.

Additional household hazards to birds include windows, mirrors, open toilet bowls or deep dog bowls, a hot stove, narrow spaces between furniture and walls, open doors and windows without screens, etc.

Ethical Husbandry:

All of my parrots are fed (and babies weaned onto) a complete, whole-food diet with my own sprouted seeds, grains, and legumes mix, a variety of organic vegetables, leafy greens, some fruit (mainly berries), hard-boiled eggs from my free-range chickens, and pellets so they are familiar with them.

Healthy genetics is always my first consideration when setting up breeding pairs, so I produce only a few rarer color-mutation parrots each year. I usually allow my parent birds to choose their partners since I believe their instincts are most trustworthy, though I sometimes set up pairs to produce rarer combinations of color mutations such as rainbow budgies. Budgies do tend to mate with multiple partners if allowed, though they usually have the same preferred partner each year to raise their babies. I don't set up pairs that have shown no interest in one another previously, I never breed related birds, and I cross back to a wild type every few generations to ensure healthy genetics. 

My parent birds are allowed to follow their natural hormonal cycles and are not encouraged to lay by artificial means or to lay more clutches per year or more eggs per clutch than is usual for their species. This is usually two, sometimes three, clutches per year, per pair. When it is hottest in mid-summer they would not normally lay, so I break their cycle at this time by removing their nest boxes and bringing them outside for some sun and fresh air. In the late summer or early fall they go back into breeding condition, so I return their boxes for one more clutch before a long winter rest. I follow their molting patterns, physical condition, and breeding behaviors to decide when to give them boxes and when to remove them. 

My baby parrots are handled from hatching and hand-fed from at least seventeen days of age for an easier transition to life in their new homes and ease of bonding with their new owners. They grow up in a clean environment with lots of human interaction and fly freely with my tame adult birds after fledging so they learn proper socialization skills. I also choose to spoon-feed and practice abundance weaning - which means they are offered formula, along with a variety of healthy weaning foods at all times, for as long as they continue to beg for it.

Hand-fed baby birds generally take a little longer to wean than parent-raised babies, and spoon-fed babies take a little longer than syringe-fed babies. For example, syringe-fed budgies should always be a minimum of seven to eight weeks old before going to their new homes. I usually send my spoon-fed budgies home between nine and ten weeks old, but up to twelve weeks is not uncommon. 

 I never clip wings so my babies fledge naturally and fully develop their mental capacities while learning to fly.  Learning to fly during fledging is crucial for the complete brain development of young birds. All of my birds are free-flighted except when breeding for their safety and the safety of their nests, eggs, and hatchlings.  

After a baby is fully fledged, weaned, and has learned to fly with some skill, clipping their wings becomes a personal choice for you, the owner, to make for your bird(s). I have never had any safety issues by teaching my babies that windows and mirrors are solid, so I do not think it is ever necessary without a medical reason. However, if you choose to clip your bird's wings after they have been sold to you, that is your choice to make without judgment.

 I am always very busy taking care of my parent birds and hand-feeding babies nearly year-round, so please be understanding of my time constraints. I will do my best to make sure my feathered fairies have a smooth transition into your home, but please do your research about the species and color mutation that you want before deciding to buy a new baby bird. I try to provide as much information through my website as my time will allow, but please let me know if there is something you cannot find an answer to. I will answer all your questions and make a note to cover them in a future article as well. 

Currently, I do not make a profit from raising my hand-fed parrots. It is purely a labor of love. All adoption proceeds help to cover feeding, housing, and medical care costs for all of my Fairy Flock™. 

Thank you!

Click HERE for currently available babies!