How to Adopt a Pet Bird in India | PetzLover

Where can you adopt a pet bird in India?

India has many groups that rescue injured wild birds and far fewer that rehome pet birds, so most adoptions are arranged directly with an owner. These are the usual routes:

You can browse pet birds for adoption on PetzLover by city and save the search, so you hear when a new bird is listed. Under the Pet Shop Rules 2018, a pet shop must also try to find an adoptive or new home for any animal still unsold three months after it was first displayed, and may not abandon it, so it is worth asking local shops.

Which birds can you legally adopt?

The same law applies to a free bird as to one that is sold. Exotic species such as budgies, cockatiels, peach-faced lovebirds, canaries and finches can be adopted without any wildlife paperwork. Native birds cannot: the Wild Life (Protection) Act lists the rose-ringed, Alexandrine and plum-headed parakeets, mynas, munias and many other native cage birds in Schedules I and II, and "adopting" one from a neighbour or a market is still possessing a protected bird.

Most other foreign parrots, including African greys, macaws, cockatoos, conures, eclectus parrots and most lovebirds, are Schedule IV species. Under the Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules 2024, the current owner reports the transfer in Form I within 15 days, and you apply to register the bird within 30 days, paying ₹1,000 per application, through the PARIVESH 2.0 portal. Ask to see the owner's registration certificate before you agree.

What should you ask before adopting a pet bird?

1. What species is it, how old is it, and is it male or female (and how do you know)?
2. Why is it being rehomed?
3. What does it eat, and has it ever eaten pellets, fruit or vegetables?
4. Is it tame? Does it bite, scream at certain times or pluck its feathers?
5. Has a vet seen it, and has it ever been ill?
6. Has it lived with other birds, children, cats or dogs?
7. Does it come with its cage, and is that cage big enough for it to spread its wings?
8. For a Schedule IV parrot: is it registered, and will you report the transfer?

Ask in writing through messages so you keep the answers. A good owner asks you questions too; see how to list a pet bird for adoption to know what to expect.

What does pet bird adoption cost?

Owners and groups decide for themselves; some ask a modest adoption fee or a donation and some ask nothing. Agree what the fee covers, for example the cage, toys and food, and get a written receipt. The real costs come after: a suitable cage or aviary if the bird does not come with one, a varied diet, a vet who treats birds and, for a Schedule IV parrot, the ₹1,000 registration fee.

The Pet Shop Rules 2018 set the standard shops must meet for birds: aviaries large enough for every bird to stretch its wings fully and to hop, climb and fly, with perches placed so droppings do not fall into food and water. Use that as a guide for your own set-up.

How do you prepare your home for an adopted bird?

• A cage or aviary in a quiet, shaded, airy room, away from the kitchen and out of afternoon sun.
• Perches of different thicknesses, chew toys and a dish for bathing.
• The food the bird already eats, so you can change its diet slowly.
• A separate room for the first weeks if you already have birds.
• Windows closed and ceiling fans switched off whenever the bird is out of its cage.
• A vet who treats birds, found before you need one.

What happens in the first weeks after adopting a bird?

Expect a quiet bird at first. Keep the routine steady, talk to it calmly and let it come to you before you try to handle it. Offer new foods alongside the old ones rather than switching at once.

• Book a vet check in the first week, and keep the bird apart from your other birds until the vet is happy.
• Watch the droppings, appetite and breathing every day; a bird that sits fluffed up needs a vet quickly.
• Clean the cage daily. Infected birds can carry the bacteria behind psittacosis without looking ill, and people catch it mainly by breathing in dust from dried droppings and feathers.
• In summer, keep the bird indoors after the early-morning hours: Chennai vet Dr Priya Govind told The Better India in 2025 that birds are vulnerable to the smallest change in temperature.
• Register a Schedule IV parrot within 30 days.

If the match does not work out, go back to the person you adopted from rather than passing the bird on or releasing it. You can also look at birds being rehomed by their owners, and if you are hoping for one particular species, post a pet bird wanted ad.