Parrot Garden at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary: Birds in paradise

Parrot Garden is the one place at the Sanctuary where you can talk to an animal and someone will answer back! Because parrots live such a long time (some up to 100 years), they are likely to lose their homes many times over the course of their lives. Many of our rescued parrots have been through multiple homes and may have special needs to boot, but at Parrot Garden they can rest and heal. In a light-filled tropical environment, they enjoy nutritious meals, top-notch vet care, mental and social stimulation, and the attention they need to recover and thrive.

Parrot Garden headquarters and central aviary

A new Parrot Garden headquarters, built in the fall of 2018, features a sturdy concrete foundation, along with updated electrical and plumbing systems. Created with high-quality materials chosen to stand the test of time (as well as curious beaks), the brighter, safer space is designed to enhance and improve the lives of our birds, however long they are with us.  

The central aviary provides a year-round space for birds to get out of their cages and provides potential adopters with a quiet space to spend one-on-one time with a bird. The space offers great enrichment opportunities that caregivers say make a difference by improving the behavior of active birds spending time there.

Parrot care and enrichment

What’s a typical day for a parrot? Parrots typically eat their breakfast first thing in the morning. In fact, according to caregivers, they will start yelling at you if you don’t move fast enough! About an hour after breakfast, depending on the weather outside, they are usually moved to their outdoor enclosures where they remain until the afternoon.

During the day, the birds get plenty of attention from caregivers, volunteers and visitors. Volunteers often play music and dance with them or give them showers in the afternoon. Shy birds remaining inside also get lots of attention. They especially love to have volunteers sit next to their cages and read to them. Just before caregivers leave for the day, all the birds receive their dinner and treats.

Our beautiful bird residents

Parrot Garden's adoptable residents are both beautiful and talkative. In addition to living long lives, parrots need a lot of attention and mental stimulation. So, a parrot is a real commitment. But there’s nothing these colorful creatures want more than a friend, so come take a look at some of the residents who make the Parrot Garden such a magical place.

Here are just a few of the types of feathered friends you’ll find at the Parrot Garden.

• African grey 
• Amazon 
• Cockatiel 
• Cockatoo 
• Conure 
• Macaw 
• Parakeet 
• Rosella

Volunteering or adopting

At Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, we're always busy keeping the animals happy, so we're unable to offer animal interactions to walk-in guests. To ensure you get quality time with the birds at Parrot Garden, please sign up for a volunteer shift. 

To adopt a bird from Parrot Garden, check out our list of adoptable birds. After you fill out an adoption survey, one of our adoption specialists will be in touch.