DETROIT – An animal rescue in the Detroit area got an unexpected delivery on Christmas Eve in the form of hundreds of parakeets.
More than 400 budgie birds, commonly known as parakeets, were surrendered to the Detroit Animal Welfare Group (DAWG) on Dec. 24 by the son of a hoarder.
The group posted about the incident on Facebook and noted that the birds “were all crammed in 7 cages and smothering each other and needed immediate help.”
Two days later, the man surrendered more than 300 additional budgies for a total of 836 parakeets, according to DAWG.
Several additional rescues were able to help care for the animals, including Jojos Flying Friends, Baird’s Nest, East Michigan Bird Rescue and Birds and Beaks, DAWG reported.
Birds and Beaks Rescue posted a Facebook update on Dec. 24 stating that rescue employees were on their way to pick up “a metric ton of budgies.”
This was us yesterday at Detroit Animal Welfare Group (DAWG) From left to right, Brad Older from East Michigan Bird...
Posted by Birds and Beaks Rescue and Rehab on Monday, December 27, 2021
As of Monday evening, the rescue said it lost one bird who was very sick but volunteers were able to perform 128 exams.
“We have an injury Cage, including a bird with an amputated toe because of Foreign material wrapped around the bird’s toe, a bird with a crushed beak, A bird with lesions on the bottom beak, a bird with a major head injury, etc.,” according to an update on the rescue’s Facebook page.
KSAT sister station WDIV in Detroit reported that all of the birds will be available for adoption sometime in late January.