LETTS, Iowa — Iowa Parrot Rescue must find a new home for seven new birds taken from a woman facing 67 counts of animal neglect. They will need to get to know them before listing the animals for adoption.
"The birds were not too bad physically. They were all freaked out emotionally," Mike Hutchison, executive director of Iowa Parrot Rescue said.
"We want to make sure we get all the vetting done. Once we know they're all physically sound, they're available for adoption. Whether or not they'll be emotionally ready, we can't guess," he said.
The rescue center examines all birds before putting them up for adoption. Once the bird passes, people can look to adopt the parrot. However, the adoption process can be lengthy. Hutchison said you don't pick the bird; it picks you.
"We have to match them up with a bird, because the birds can be very picky about their people," Hutchison said. "We will see as we are feeding, as we are changing the toys, changing the papers, cleaning the cage. [We'll look at] how do [the parrots] reaction to people being near them. [We'll also look at] how do [the birds] react specifically to men [and] women. Because sometimes, [the parrots] will hate men and love women or vice versa."
The birds have personalities. They decide whether they want to go home with you or not. The parrots have a history of waiting for the right owner to come.
Hutchison said, "We have a bird four years, five years and [it] hates everybody. And then one person walks in and [the bird] says 'There [my owner] is' and then [it's] ready to go."