'We thought we'd will her to our son': Bird ownership proves tough commitment

The closure of a parrot sanctuary in B.C. has literally brought a problem home to roost for a Winnipeg couple who didn't truly understand what they were in for when they first got a cockatoo.

"We could be 80 years old and Sydney could outlive us, so we thought we'd will her to our son, which really is a selfish and unfair way to look at it," they said.

Sydney, a 22-year-old cockatoo, recently returned to Manitoba following the closure of the World Parrot Refuge on Vancouver Island, a sanctuary for about 600 birds once billed as a "forever home."

• Once loved, forgotten parrots face uncertain future
• Nanaimo stepping up to help relocate 450 exotic birds from parrot refuge

Jan and Gord owned Sydney for 17 years before sending her to the World Parrot Refuge in 2011. They believed their pet, which had developed worrying habits, would be happier where she could fly, forage and be with her own kind.

But sanctuary owner Wendy Huntbatch died earlier this year, and now a massive parrot relocation, the largest Canada has ever seen, is underway. Workers at the Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary in B.C. are caring for the approximately 600 birds and looking for new homes for them.

600 birds without a home

Jan and Gord flew to the West Coast to reclaim their bird and they and their old pet are now struggling to adjust to Sydney's return.

Sydney, who could live more than 30 years, has attacked Jan, biting her twice, and the family dogs cower in the basement for hours after the cockatoo lets go with one of its ear-splitting screams.

They've brought in parrot specialist Melanie Shura, a certified aviculturist and president of Avian Welfare Canada, to help them deal with their bird.

"She's come back, and she's attached right to the husband, physically, which is worrisome," Shura said.

Shura receives emails and frantic calls every week from people whose relationship with their parrot has hit the rocks.

Experts divided on parrots as pets

She's dealt with people who hoard birds, birds left in abandoned apartments, birds with post-traumatic stress from abuse and birds depressed by the death of their owner.

"I always tell owners that you need to have a team of people to help you, because you will need to take a vacation, you will get ill, you will divorce, you will die, your children will not like this bird, the bird may not like the children. You need to build all these things in," Shura said.

• Ontario police break up 'domestic dispute' between man and pet parrot
• If a parrot witnessed a murder, should it be allowed to testify?

There is no reliable information on parrot ownership in Canada, but the American Pet Products Association conducted a survey in 2015 that suggested there are 14 million birds living in homes across the U.S. 

There is also a lot of debate about whether parrots should be kept as pets. Organizations such as the Avian Welfare Coalition in the U.S. argue parrots belong in the wild, where they can interact with their flock and fly each day. Keeping them caged in a home causes anxiety and distress.

Others in the bird community believe captive-bred parrots, raised and trained correctly, can form a healthy and intimate bond with their owners and slow the trade in wild birds -- in the wild, more than one-third of the parrot population is threatened or endangered due to loss of habitat and the illegal global pet trade.

Too many unwanted birds

But while the wild parrot population declines, a steady stream of unwanted birds fill the few avian shelters there are in Canada and the United States.

"Nobody brings a bird into their home with the idea that it's going to fall apart and their hearts will be broken, and however bad the birds have it, almost every case I've worked with the people are suffering as much if not more," Shura said.

"Unfortunately, the birds are the ones that end up getting moved, and that's just the way it is, the people have to come first, because in my experience, if the people are not happy, the bird is not happy, so rare is the parrot who does have a forever home."

• Parrot Partner sanctuary in Smiths Falls, Ont., houses 29 feathered friends
• The parrot lady of Smiths Falls is facing a big dilemma

Jan and Gord are still uncertain whether they will keep their bird.

They sent their pet to the refuge when she started plucking out her own feathers; they feared it could lead to self-mutilation.

It turns out Sydney was simply responding to their touch with mating behaviour – she was pulling out her feathers for a nest for her eggs, Shura has told them.

They now know not to touch Sydney below the head, because touching under the wings, on the back or on the tummy sets off a hormonal trigger that makes her want to lay eggs, the avian specialist said.

"I like what she has to say. It gives us some tools to work with, because we've just been treading water here," they said.

"We've brought her here and have to get her back into a family setting with us as her flock, not her birds anymore, so I'm hoping with Melanie's help we can do that for her, but at the same time, I'm not sure we will be keeping her."