What Happens to Donated Birds 

"Their Future with FaunaLink"

   

FaunaLink places donated birds into a breeding situation whenever possible. Offering a single ex-pet bird a companion or mate of its own species will insure the bird learns the way of birds. Many pet birds were not privileged with knowing its bird parents. Some breeders pull the eggs soon after the female laid them and artificially incubated. Upon hatching, the chick was hand-fed and raised by a human. The chick imprinted with this human and by doing so became a loveable companion pet. Sometimes even the most loving family must part with their companion bird through no fault of their own. Many of these bird owners look for a suitable home where their ex-pet can live indefinitely instead of going back into the pet trade. Others pass their birds onto family members where they continue to receive loving care.

For those pet birds placed with FaunaLink we offer their owners the assurance that we will offer their bird a mate whenever possible. When a mate is not available, the bird is set up with a flock of the same species pending pairing with a member of the opposite sex. We continue to use the bird’s human-given name while we care for them. When compatible birds form a bond they are placed in a cage of their own with a nest box.

All living creatures have a purpose of their being -- to sustain themselves. They can only do this if they successfully mate and produce offspring. We give the birds at FaunaLink a chance to do this. When a pair has produced chicks, FaunaLink’s directors have to decide the status of the species both in the wild and in captivity. Chicks from birds commonly found in captivity, and who are thriving in the wild, will be sold as companion pets or placed in educational programs. By providing captive-raised companion birds for the pet trade or directly to the consumer we have eliminated the need for the exploitation of wild-caught birds for this market.

From time to time, FaunaLink also receives rare birds through donations. If this species is threatened with extinction or have been classed as endangered, the they are made a part of a captive management program. Breeding of these species is encouraged. If feasible, FaunaLink will allow the captive adult producing pair of birds to incubation and rear their own chicks. This will insure that the offspring from these birds will know how to be a bird. These chicks will imprint with their parents upon hatching and not with a human. The chicks will continue to learn from their parents as they grow and mature. These chicks still cannot survive in the wild on their own. However, they will have a better chance of adapting to life in the wild as aviculturists develop techniques of successful reintroduction of species. When a successful protocol for reintroduction is in place, FaunaLink will be there, along with other zoological and private institutions. We will contribute parent-reared captive-raised birds to form a colony of birds with genetically diversified genes as reintroduction stock.

FaunaLink has promised to continue to educate and promote responsible care of companion birds. Through FaunaLink’s captive-management and breeding programs we will continue to strive to enhance the productivity of the threatened and endangered species in captivity. We hope that captive-raised offspring from these declining species will become their future preservation.