A couple share their lives with 20 parrots – and regularly take them out and about.
David Vickery and wife Gill have spent decades rescuing birds after starting with two cockatiels and two budgerigars over 40 years ago. Their collection has now expanded and including a range of different shapes and sizes from African Greys, to Macaws, and Cockatoos.
The couple, who are part of the charity Problem Parrots, said more of the birds have been abandoned since the Covid pandemic. David said the problem was that once parrots have been reared by humans they are unable to return to the wild as they would not survive.
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He explained that their parrots come from people who ‘don’t want them anymore’. The pair are often seen taking around ten of the birds out as it gives them ‘different things to look at’ – such as trees, clouds and other birds.
David, of Calne, Wiltshire, said: “Most people see a parrot as a great opportunity and say ‘what an unusual pet, I will have one of them’.
(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
“They buy one and then next year when they go on holiday they think ‘what do we do with the parrot? In this country, people hand rear them to make them more human friendly and they learn that their care giver is a human and they expect their family to be around them all the time.
“It is sad news if you buy a parrot and then go to work all day the parrot gets very stressed and often pulls his own feathers out.”.
Mr Vickery explained how he doesn’t like to see parrots ‘stuck in cages 24/7’.
He said: “They should be free in the wild but sadly people breed them and hand rear them in this country for the pet trade. They are not domesticated yet – they are wild animals.
“Parrots are flock creatures and when hand reared they soon learn that the human that feeds and cleans them are their flock and they get used to that.
“However when they are fully fledged they want their flock – of humans – around them all the time. So by taking them out – wearing harnesses to prevent escape – it not only gives them enrichment but it gives people the chance to see them up close.
(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
“If you go to a zoo they are always either at the back of the cage or in their nest box and people can’t see their beauty and they are really beautiful creatures.”
For Mr Vickery, these creatures mean ‘everything to him’.
He said: “I love them all – I am just so passionate about parrots. My dream parrot would be a black palm cockatoo.”
David said that taking the birds out also helps the charity raise ‘much needed funds’ – which go towards vet fees.
He said: “We do not collect on the street but what we do, is ask if people would like to make a donation for the ability to take photos or stroke or even hold a parrot.
“There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a child’s face when I put a parrot on his arm. Some of the birds we put through a program of target stick and clicker training – just as you might do with a dog – and we can tell they really do enjoy this.
“Training sessions should take about 15 minutes but mine often go on for 30 plus minutes, simply because the parrots are enjoying it so much.”
When asked what he thinks of parrots being sold as a business David said that parrots shouldn’t be in people’s homes but in the wild.
“They should be enjoying their life in the wild. We tried to give them as good as life as we possibly can – but no life is as good as being in the wild.”