How to Adopt a Pet Bird in Canada | PetzLover

Why adopt a bird instead of buying one?

Birds often outlive their first home. The MSD Veterinary Manual puts typical lifespans at up to 20 years for a cockatiel, 30 to 50 for an African grey and 30 to 60 for a macaw, so many parrots need a second or third owner. Rescues report more birds than homes: Parrot Partners, an Ottawa-area parrot charity, keeps its intake low and takes a new parrot only after it has placed a former resident, and Winnipeg Animal Services took in more than 40 birds from a single call in 2025.

An adopted adult comes with a known temperament, and the shelter or rescue can tell you whether it talks, bites, likes being handled or lives happily with other birds. That makes adoption a good route for first-time owners who choose a calm, tame bird.

Where can you adopt a pet bird in Canada?

• City shelters: Toronto Animal Services publishes fees for budgies, cockatiels and parrots, and Winnipeg Animal Services placed birds for adoption after a large intake in late 2025.
• SPCAs and humane societies: the BC SPCA lists birds on its adoption pages, and the Toronto Humane Society places cockatiels and Quaker parakeets.
• Parrot rescues: groups such as Parrot Partners near Ottawa, Saskatoon Parrot Rescue and Gift of God Parrot Rescue in Spruce Grove, Alberta specialise in parrots and often foster them in volunteers' homes.
• Private adoption listings: owners who prefer to choose the next home themselves. You can find pet birds for adoption on PetzLover by kind of bird and location, and save the search for alerts.

When an owner lists a bird directly, the checks are yours to make; our guide on taking in a rehomed bird covers them.

How does bird adoption work in Canada?

1. Browse the birds available and read each bird's notes on age, health and temperament.
2. Fill in the application. Rescues ask about your experience, household, other pets and daily routine.
3. Show your set-up. Winnipeg Animal Services, for example, asks for a photo of the proposed cage set-up before you meet a bird.
4. Meet the bird, ideally more than once for a large parrot.
5. Expect checks. Saskatoon Parrot Rescue describes applications, home checks, reference checks and meet-and-greets, and may ask you to foster first: a trial week for smaller birds and several months for larger ones.
6. Sign the contract and pay the fee. Bring ID showing your current address; Toronto Animal Services asks for it.
7. Take the bird home in a covered carrier, in a warmed car in cold weather.

How much does it cost to adopt a pet bird?

Parrot rescues set their own fees, and some say theirs are non-refundable or that a parrot must come back to them if you cannot keep it. Budget beyond the fee for a cage if none comes with the bird, a vet exam, a balanced diet and toys that will be chewed and replaced.

What does a bird adoption home check look at?

• A cage big enough for the bird to spread and flap its wings, with perches of different widths.
• Where the cage will stand: away from the kitchen, outside doors, heating vents and drafts.
• Air quality. VCA Canada warns that non-stick cookware heated above 280°C gives off fumes toxic to birds and lists smoke and carbon monoxide among the dangers.
• Other pets, especially cats and dogs, and how you will keep them apart.
• Who is home during the day, and how much time the bird will spend out of its cage.
• Whether you have found a vet who sees birds.

Some rescues visit in person and others accept photos or a video call. Treat the questions as help: they are meant to match the right bird to your home.

How do you help an adopted bird settle in?

1. Keep the bird in a quiet room, apart from your other birds, for at least 30 days, as the CFIA advises for any new bird.
2. Book an exam with a vet who sees birds within the first week or two.
3. Keep its old diet and routine at first, then change things slowly.
4. Let it come to you: talk quietly, offer treats through the bars and build up handling over weeks.
5. Keep the room warm and steady; an Alberta veterinary hospital notes that larger birds such as parrots tolerate temperatures only down to about 10°C.
6. Wash your hands after cleaning the cage. The Public Health Agency of Canada notes that parrots and pigeons are especially affected by the bacterium behind psittacosis.

If you have room for a bird but not a long commitment, ask a rescue about fostering. Owners placing a bird themselves can read our guide on listing a bird for adoption, and you can also post a wanted ad describing the bird you could take.