Sitting in the sunlit garden room, a small, light green parakeet gently climbs onto the outstretched finger of Gabe Cooper.
Mr. Pickles, he’s called. The little bird is known at the facility for meowing like a cat. He sports a healthy layer of feathers and is at home in the spacious room filled with wooden perches and friendly small birds.
Despite his goofy name and sweet personality, the Indian ringneck’s story is one of perseverance. Seven years ago, Mr. Pickles came to Cooper, featherless and weary, having plucked himself bare from stress.
Previously confined to a small cage, within a month of taking in the young bird and providing him a proper habitat, Mr. Pickles’ colorful coat returned.
Mr. Pickles is one of Fins & Feathers’ several sanctuary birds, finding a forever home at the nonprofit avian and aquatic sanctuary. The Colorado Springs rescue cares for and adopts out owner-surrendered pet birds and freshwater fish.
Cooper and his wife, Roxann, run the nonprofit. It’s one of only two pet bird rescues in Colorado, with the other being the Denver-based Gabriel Foundation. Both are licensed by the Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act, which was enacted to protect the health and safety of pet animals in care facilities, said Nick Fisher, Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act program section chief.
Gabe founded the rescue back in 2014 after taking in the cockatiel of a friend who was moving out of state. Since he’s allergic to cats and dogs, Gabe grew up caring for pet birds, so it was fitting for him to take in the critter. Soon, a relative of his friend reached out with a similar circumstance, so he took in another.
“It started snowballing from there, and I realized that there was a need,” Gabe said.
The rescue soon outgrew its original home in the basement of Gabe’s home, moving into a separate facility in 2021. This year, the sanctuary transferred to its current location, which is about twice the size of the previous one, Roxann said. At any given time, the sanctuary can be home to 130 to 150 birds, from budgies to macaws.
The larger facility helps the rescue meet the needs of more birds and fish, as well as offer additional services like bird grooming and boarding. There’s even space for a retail section, where the nonprofit sells feed and supplies at a lower-than-average cost. Selling products helps supplement the funding for the organization.
“We were almost always at capacity at the smaller location,” Gabe said. “Now we’re able to offer everything that a bird or fish would need to be happy and healthy, and we offer it at much lower costs than places like Amazon.”
Last year alone, 931 birds were surrendered to animal welfare organizations in Colorado, according to a report from Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act released in June. In 2023, Fins & Feathers reported 211 bird surrenders to Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act.
The stories of surrenders range in severity, but the Coopers work hard to rehabilitate each critter turned over. Gabe recalls the story of a green-winged macaw that was adopted out last year. The large bird came to them in a restrictive cage, not even large enough for her to stretch her wings.
“She could basically just sit there, and they said she’s been in this cage for 25 years — in that tiny cage — and she was very aggressive and didn’t want anything to do with anybody,” Gabe said.
For a year, the couple worked to rehabilitate the macaw, eventually reaching a point where she was comfortable enough to step up and receive head scratches. Once trained and ready for adoption, she soon found a forever home.
“It’s really rewarding to take the ones that are just terribly neglected and to be able to give them new life. These are animals that have just been abused for such a long time,” Gabe said.
One reason the sanctuary gets so many surrenders is the lack of education on what it requires to care for a bird, Gabe said. Birds need mental stimulation, which they can get through toys, and need to have an appropriately sized habitat.
The process to adopt a bird from Fins & Feathers is thorough, and requires potential adopters to complete an application, provide cage measurements and photos of intended supplies, and attend an educational course. The process is intentionally detailed, especially since the animals can be a lifetime — even generational — commitment. The rescue’s fish have an easier adoption process since they typically require less care.
“Some of these birds can live 80 years,” Gabe said.
“One of the main reasons we’re doing this is to help educate people on the proper care of these animals, because when you buy one of these animals from a pet store, they don’t typically give you much education on their care.”
Greg Law and his wife, Lori, adopted their cockatoo Duncan this year from Fins & Feathers. The couple are experienced bird owners, with about a dozen smaller birds including parakeets and conures. But Lori had been wanting a cockatoo to join the family for a while, Greg said.
The duo were familiar with Fins & Feathers as a resource for bird supplements and advice. So, when they were in the storefront one day and saw a cockatoo, they asked Roxann about adoption. But, the cockatoo was spoken for.
A week later, however, Roxanne called to let them know a cockatoo had just been surrendered, asking if they were interested in meeting him.
“We went, and we spent probably about a half-hour with the cockatoo that they had up for adoption, and my wife just fell in love,” Greg said. So, the Laws adopted Duncan, who’s around 16 years old.
Since then, the cockatoo has been an affectionate (and vocal) member of the family, Greg said. The friendly bird prefers to be on Lori’s lap or Greg’s shoulder rather than his perch, and loves to puff up his white feathers and play with his toys.
“He just loves to talk. I have videos of him and my wife just jabbering away at each other,” Greg said. “We just fell in love with Duncan.”
Fins & Feathers used to adopt out the birds at lower-than-average prices, but soon found out that individuals were “bird flipping” — reselling the exotic birds for a profit. So they’ve since raised their adoption fees to standard market levels in hopes of deterring the practice.
About 20% of the birds in the nonprofit’s care are permanent sanctuary birds, like Mr. Pickles. The Coopers choose sanctuary birds based on temperament and comfort with people. These birds are not available for adoption and are used for education, often interacting with visitors at the rescue.
“If someone wants to learn more about that species — what is involved in their care, what to expect from their behavior — they can come and interact with that bird and understand a little bit more about it,” Gabe said. “The rehabilitation and training process really depends on the bird.”
The organization is a great resource for those who have birds, too, said Bryan Walker of Colorado Springs. For the past 15 years, Walker has had two blue-and-gold macaws named Buddy and Rio. He’s been using Fins & Feathers for boarding and grooming since it was operating at the Coopers’ home.
“They do a great service,” Walker said. “Birds are very sensitive to their environment, so you can tell if they haven’t been treated well, or if something’s gone differently that they’re not used to, but they always come home happy from there. So I’m always grateful.”
Walker cares deeply for his feathered friends, enjoying their unique company. He also recognizes the importance of proper care of these animals.
“It’s a huge responsibility, really,” he said. “You have to spend a lot of time with them in the beginning. But once they get to know you and their surroundings, they become real affectionate. Birds are just like humans, they have mental health issues. If you don’t give them enough attention, they’ll start plucking their feathers, those kinds of things. So, you’ve got to do it right if you’re going to do it.”
Like Walker and the Laws, the Coopers are drawn to birds, admiring the creatures’ intelligence and unique personalities.
“They are so smart, and it can be so shocking to have such a small creature be so intelligent. They can speak and be loving and affectionate and they can understand concepts,” Gabe said. “We try to give them the absolute best quality of life that we can.”
