If you’re new to Adventure Toward Freedom, you may not know we are owned by 2 small parrots and 2 dogs. We live and travel full-time in our RV with all of them. Needless to say, we have a soft spot for animals.
I have to be honest, if we had to do it over again, we would not own parrots. It is a HUGE long term commitment. The lifespan of a dog if you’re lucky is 10-15 years. The lifespan of our little Green Cheek Conure is 30 years, and it goes up to 90 years for large parrot varieties like African Grey’s and Macaws. I love ours dearly, and will make sure they are well taken care, if we are here or not.
The average parrot will live in 7 or more homes during it’s life. Exotic birds are the 4th most popular pets in the US. There are about 16 million exotic birds kept as pets in the US, a good percentage of those are owned by folks over 50 years old. Each year approx. 664,000 – 830,000 exotic birds are re-homed – many reasons including health/death of owner, parrots are too destructive, time consuming or owners relinquish due to moving, new job, baby, etc. Thank goodness for Parrot Rescues and Sanctuaries!
When I started thinking about my “ideal life” – I wanted to spend some time contributing to animal charities and sanctuaries. I’m not sure what that will look like long term, I imagine it will evolve like everything in life. But for now – when we land somewhere new, I like to explore and see what Animal/Bird Sanctuaries are in the area.
We’ve been in Benson, AZ for the last couple of weeks and was thrilled to be able to visit The Oasis Sanctuary. I’ve been following them for years, they are one of the larger parrot rescues in the United States. The Oasis is outside of Benson, in the rugged Arizona high desert. It is a beautiful setting and perfect for 800 parrots to call home.
The Oasis Sanctuary is a 503 (c)(3) nonprofit avian welfare organization. They were established in 1997 and moved to their current 72 acre location in 2000. They currently use about 14 acres, so they do have room to expand. If you’re ever in the area — GOOOO, you’ll love the tour and have a ton of fun interacting with their almost 800 parrot residents, covering about 66 species.
The Oasis is dedicated to providing “permanent care”, shelter and rehabilitation to companion parrots. Many birds in their care have special needs, and the staff at The Oasis takes great care of them. There are 8 full-time staff members and several volunteers. Just feeding the almost 800 parrots takes about 4 hours – all of their bowls and feeding stations are cleaned/sanitized and they are fed a high-quality Zupreem pellet in addition to fresh fruit and vegetables. Approximately 7-8 gallons of fresh produce is fed PER DAY.
I find it’s a lot of work with my 2 guys – I can’t imagine 800. The Oasis is funded by donations. Their medical bill is approximately $70,000 each year, and food bill approximately $65,000. They are raising money now to build a new commercial kitchen.
I’m looking forward to return to the Benson area next year and volunteer. Many of the birds love attention and are happy to engage, while some just want to be left alone. They all get what they need at The Oasis.
There are a few other residents at The Oasis – chickens, ducks, goats and even several watch dogs who keep everyone safe.
An interesting side note – have you ever seen the documentary “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” by Mark Bittner? It’s a very interesting story of a homeless musician in San Francisco who formed a bond with the wild, cherry-headed conure parrots in Telegraph Hill. Four of the parrots who were unable to live with the flock lived with Mark. When he had to move, Mingus, Andi, Yosemite, and Ginsberg went to live at the Oasis. (https://the-oasis.org/the-wild-parrots-from-telegraph-hill/)
If you’ve enjoyed the pictures of these beautiful feathered angels, I’d like to make a special request. Skip a cup of coffee at Starbuck’s this week and donate $5 today to The Oasis, it’s for a great cause — it’s For the Birds. https://the-oasis.org/donate/
Adventure Toward Freedom 