We are sometimes asked why we don't take payments when someone wants to adopt a bird. First, we have tried that in the past, and have found that more often than not, the person making payments fell behind, requiring the Center to spend time trying to recover the cost. This is time that would be better spent socializing the parrots. And the money is important to the Center. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we receive no government or outside funding. We need to pay for rent, electricity, bird cages, quality bird food, etc. Every dollar the Center receives, whether through donations, adoptions, boarding, grooming, toy/cage/food sales, or any other method, goes directly to help the birds. Secondly, and perhaps most important, owning birds is expensive! The actual cost of the bird is nothing compared to what you should spend on the bird during her lifetime.
- There's the cage -- and that may need to be replaced in a few years, depending on the type.
- There's the food -- generally a pellet diet, high quality seed mix, and fruits/vegetables.
- There's the vet bills. A well-bird exam can cost in the neighborhood of $200, and if there's a problem with the parrot, you can expect to pay many times that. At least 4 of the Center's volunteers have spent over $1,000 on vet bills for one of their parrots in the last year. The Center's vet bills average around $2,500 per month.
- There's toys -- parrots need lots of different types of toys -- wood destructible, other destructible, beads/leather, preening, puzzle, foraging, etc. And these toys need to be rotated often. A medium-sized bird can easily go through over $50 per month in toys. We have cockatoos and macaws at the Center that go through toys valued at over $200 each month.
- Other items including playstands, travel cages, harnesses, informational books, magazine subscriptions, etc. can also figu
re into the cost.
No comments:
Post a Comment