Hi Les,
Many rescues do home visits. The Bailey Foundation did one when I
adopted my birds from them. They also charged a fee. I think it was a
hundred fifty dollars for Banning and 250 for Merlin, but Merlin came
with her cage.
I don't regard this as intrusive. They had to make sure that I had the
conditions I claimed so as to be sure the birds would be well cared for.
They would want to make sure that I did't live in an apartment where I
was going to have to give the bird right back because of noise
complaints. They would want to be sure that I am clean and will take
good care of the birds. They want to determine that I'm not what they
call a hoarder or a breeder. They also want to get a sense of whether
I'm going to turn right around and sell the bird, which is against their
rules. Thy do one check before the bird comes to you, and another one
between a week and two weeks later, by appointment, as described in
their contract.
As for fees, the Bailey Foundation is never caring for fewer than three
or four dozen birds of various sizes at any time. They have to feed
them, keep them clean, house them, and have vet checks. They have to
pay for all that somehow. So not only do I not mind having paid what I
consider a bargain price for my birds, I actually contribute to TBF every
year, which is even tax deductible because they are an NPO.
So if I had bought a baby Nanday, I would have paid several hundred
dollars for it. Banning was I think a hundred and fifty. I did have to buy
a cage, but I still think I got a bargain - especially since I couldn't have
a sweeter (to me) or more loyal bird.
If I had bought a baby Timneh (and Merlin was only ten months old
when we got her) I would have paid around 12 hundred dollars for her,
plus a cage.
Altogether, I figure that even with their adoption fees, I did pretty well
on the "price" of my birds. And I'm glad they wanted to know about me
before surrendering the birds.
Interestingly, they don't participate in the Petfinder directory because
they say that they don't require stringent enough home checks before
giving birds away.
Bailey has had some birds for a pretty long time. In some cases, they're
not good adoption candidates because of biting behaviors. In other
cases, they're 'toos, and undeniably noisy. But they turn them around
when they can. We got Merlin two days after they got her. And when I
had to give my cockatiel away because of health reasons, she was
adopted by the next day.
This is long and I apologize for that. But please don't be offended by a
rescue's rules. There are so many sleezy people out there, as we all
know, that it's just as well that the rescues advocate for their birds. It
helps to keep them safe and well cared for. And that's what's most
important, right?