#Rescue birds in oregon crack#
#Rescue birds in oregon windows#

Unfortunately, government funding isn't the only resource that has been difficult for Second Chance to obtain. 'I used to cook them omelets back when I had 16, but our chickens don't produce enough eggs!' Instead, she whips them up a special combination of noodles, beans, cashews, almonds and bananas.ĭespite the lack of knowledge surrounding our feathered friends (which can be blamed for the majority of their mistreatment), they are loveable, brilliant creatures. 'I cook the birds a nice breakfast every Sunday morning,' Costley said with a warm smile. She also needs more funding for food, which usually totals in at around $1,200 a month.

#Rescue birds in oregon windows#

Ideally, she would use the $500,000 in grant funds to build out a bigger sanctuary one complete with windows and outdoor cages, so that the birds could come and go as they pleased. It's hard to find help for birds,' Costley shared. 'We've applied for grants twice, and we haven't heard back. She currently oversees 94 winged residents and space is getting tight. She opened her home and her heart up to several rescues, and in a matter of months she had taken in 16 birds. Unable to handle the grief, she retired from her Veterans Administration job in 2014 and moved to California with her husband. Just like all other pets, they're products of their environments.Ĭostley initially turned to birds after undergoing her own trauma, having lost her son, his wife, and their three children in a horrific car crash back in 2012. While many of the birds have warmed up to Costley, some are hostile-even violent. Rehabilitation can take years, seeing as birds are highly intelligent, emotionally driven and prone to holding grudges.

#Rescue birds in oregon crack#

Blue, over 60 years old, was rescued from a crack house. Porter, a beautiful Greenwing Macaw, was kept in a small home with 370 other birds, held hostage for years by a bird hoarder in Portland. you've got to prepare.'īarron was wrapped in duct tape for 20 years and tossed around like a football. 'Be aware that birds tend to outlive humans. 'People need to do their research,' Costley passionately shares. they end up throwing them away or locking them up.' Additionally, many birds outlive their owners. 'People get birds and then don't know what to do with them. The vast majority of birds Costley has taken in were horribly abused by their previous owners, some for decades. Caring for a bird is similar to caring for a small child one that screams and speaks and requires an unexpected amount of attention-one that lives to be 100 and never really ages. The novelty of an English-speaking pet is enticing, and, to the inexperienced, birds may seem like relatively low-maintenance animals. When people buy birds, they tend to do so impulsively. They've got the minds of two or three-year-olds.'