A UNITED States animal shelter is surprised to receive more than 800 parakeets during the holiday weekend – delivered in two batches by the son of their owner who had kept them all enclosed in one room.

The Detroit Animal Welfare Group, based in the northern state of Michigan, posted on Facebook about a “Christmas present we were not expecting” – saying the “birds came from a very unhealthy situation”.

A first group of 497 birds were dropped off on December 23 – crammed into seven cages – while the second group of 339 birds were dropped off on Sunday.

“The irresponsibility of the owner is infuriating,” said the group on Facebook, saying that the birds were “smothering each other and needed immediate help”.

“We were in shock, but cannot turn them away.”

The group, together with other local organisations, has found temporary housing for the parakeets.

“It truly takes a village to help these animals,” it added.

Group director Kelly LeBonty told local newspaper the Detroit Free Press that the birds “were very, very stressed”.

“They were barely moving. We had to get them out and into different cages.”

The owner’s son told Lebonty that he believed his father had planned to breed only a few birds, but it got out of hand, and he had to spend US$1,200 (RM5,000) a month to feed them all.

The parakeets, some visibly injured or malnourished in photos posted by the group, will be available for adoption after they are evaluated by a veterinarian.

The Detroit Animal Welfare Group cautioned that “owning a parakeet is an up to 15 year commitment”.

“They require not only food, water and daily cage cleaning, but also daily interaction, enrichment and flight time.”

In Michigan, owners can be prosecuted for not providing adequate care to their animals.

Lebonty said the group has not contacted authorities, adding that she is happy the family took a “step in the right direction” by reaching out for help. – AFP, December 29, 2021.