Featherheads Bird Rescue

25/12/2025

Happy Christmas to all that celebrate it, and regardless if you don't I hope the day and the coming year brings you all joy and peace ❤️

Featuring Christmas Cockatiel Jerry

21/12/2025

Pending home! 😍

Still needing a home!

~Adoption~

Southern Tas - two male cutthroat finches

These two beautiful boys were surrendered to me after a lady bought them from the pet shop, not liking that they were housed in a small cage for sale 🥴

She meant well, but I didn't really have the heart to tell her that by buying birds because you felt sorry for them is in fact supporting the pet shop trade.

IMO birds shouldn't be for sale in pet shops, but nevertheless here we are, and these two need a home.

Adoption fees will apply, and preference given to those with an aviary of finches that these guys can co-habit with.

21/12/2025

Adopted December 2025 😍

13/12/2025

Big thank you to the Animal Rescue Cooperative for some seed, medical gowns and bird feeders!

The medical gowns will be really useful for when dealing with potentially contagious diseases but I'm hoping I can store them and never have to use them!

The bird feeders will also be super useful to put treats in with the budgies.

08/12/2025

Adopted 😍

Hand raised male and female quakers (brother and sister)

Southern Tas

These guys are super adorable and very cuddly and you have no idea how hard it is not to keep them!

But they need someone who has the time to spend with them.

They are under a year old, the male is a little nippy but follows the lead of the sister-wife who is very affectionate and loves attention.

Adoption fees will apply, and interested parties will need to send me some info about themselves and a pic of their set up.

06/12/2025

Featherheads will be closed for adoptions/surrenders/advice for all of January.

I'm undergoing shoulder surgery to repair some damage I sustained in my motorbike accident early this year and I'll be out of action for a good few weeks.

I'm also needing to wind down who I already have in care and get everyones cages/aviaries cleaned out beforehand.

I will be posting a few adoptions in the next day or so, including two canaries, two finches, a female cockatiel (very sweet) and two handraised quakers.

If there is anyone who might be able to help out with cage cleaning in January while I'm non-functional, I would appreciate hearing from you!

Below is a pic of Fergie the Fantail chick, who is thriving! She is going to her new home tomorrow to another carer, who can take her past fledgling stage and can soft release at their house to join the wild fantails.

So pleased that this one has made it through, despite losing her sibling and being called a blackbird 😂

02/12/2025

Sadly one of the babies passed away during the night, leaving their sibling behind who is more than happy to make up for the extra food.

After consultation with a couple of bird ID expert friends, we are 95% sure they are grey fantail chicks.

They were initially identified by another party as blackbirds, which is way off base, and they could have possibly faced euthanasia had this ID been stuck with.

However I do believe that upon further inspection they would have realised that these guys are too small to be blackbird chicks.

There are lots of things to consider with chick identification - beak shape, weight, feather colour, feet/toes, the gape colour and the noises they make are just a few of the features.

And when they are this new to the world and haven't gotten many feathers, it makes it even trickier!

Thankfully, their nest was also found with the babies so that also helped with their identity crisis, as different species make different nests. Grey fantails make a little cup that sits in the fork of a branch, and is usually very fine and soft and made with grass and cobwebs.

Blackbird nests are a lot coarser and are made mostly of small sticks and mud.

Other birds, like many parrots, simply find a tree hollow or make one from where a dead branch has fallen from a tree.

Birds are incredibly clever, and the penduline tit will create a false entrance to its hanging nest to deter snakes from entering the true nest.

Today, this little one will keep his nest but will have a human blanket sitting on top to mimic the weight and warmth a mother bird would provide.

01/12/2025

Edit: babies are home safe with me!

URGENT HELP NEEDED!

TRANSPORT FROM HUONVILLE - TWO NATIVE CHICKS

Yeah yeah I say I'm not taking native/wild birds but when I got a call for these two chicks needing help, I couldn't NOT!

Unfortunately, Bonorong are having trouble with transport.

Is there anyone who might be able to transport, even part way, from Huonville towards Bridgewater?

(Side note- these are NOT blackbirds. They are smaller, browner, and have a different beak shape. Possibly robins or woodswallows)

30/11/2025

~Adoption~

Southern Tas - two male cutthroat finches

These two beautiful boys were surrendered to me after a lady bought them from the pet shop, not liking that they were housed in a small cage for sale 🥴

She meant well, but I didn't really have the heart to tell her that by buying birds because you felt sorry for them is in fact supporting the pet shop trade.

IMO birds shouldn't be for sale in pet shops, but nevertheless here we are, and these two need a home.

Adoption fees will apply, and preference given to those with an aviary of finches that these guys can co-habit with.

28/11/2025

Sometimes when birds go through a stressful time and their bodies aren't coping as well as they would normally, I like to give them a top up of Synbiotic from Vetafarm.

This tub was donated by vetafarm to the birds and is particularly helpful in times of moult, egg production and post-antibiotic use, to help their gut flora redevelop. The enzymes in it improve digestion of food which is crucial for birds recovering from stress and injury.

Herc here has recently lost her husbird and laid an egg, so she was a little stressed. A pinch of Synbiotic will help her feel better along with lots of love and a good diet ❤️

25/11/2025

I think I'm going to start shouting out other rescues to promote their work and their page.

Having a good network of colleagues in rescue is absolutely vital and I'd go bonkers without the friendship of some of the rescues that I work with!

This particular one is on the mainland, but have had their fair share of delulu people (sadly another thing all rescues have to put up with).

From what I have seen, and the people I have spoken with from here, they are the genuine article and care about the enrichment and proper care for their birds.

Introducing, if you don't already know them, Budgie Rescue and Sanctuary!

(There is another page with the same name, however that page is not the same people)

Please check them out!

We are reg as Budgie Sanctuary Rescue ™️, we are also a reg animal charity under the same name with ACNC. We are the real deal.
Donation Links Below♥️
https://www.paypal.me/BudgieSancRescue

20/11/2025

I cleaned out the galahs aviary the other day (Boris and Natasha, previously known as Statler and Waldorf until one of them laid a fertile egg 😅).

Their branches were chewed up and old and it was time to replace them.

It's important to use natural branches such eucalypt for your birds as the different shapes and widths help to exercise their feet. Plus, if you use melaleuca or paperbark they will have an absolute ball shredding it!

Old wood can also grow mould and harbour mites, which exist everywhere but an immunocompromised or disabled bird might struggle to keep them at bay.

It's also great enrichment for them to have their environment changed around, as in the wild they would be flying long distances with lots of different scenery.

Boris and Natasha aren't hand-friendly, they were wild birds found as injured juveniles and can't fly. In order to do a complete revamp of their branches and toys, I catch them and crate them while I do so I can keep the door open and it's much less stressful for them.

You can see here how stressed (not!) Natasha is 😂

Grass is also an important enrichment tool, as many cockatoos forage in the grass and dig up roots and bugs to eat. These two and all the others regularly get grasses in full seed to eat and play with.

Some people worry about nasty bugs in the soil; but this fear is wholly unfounded as the benefits of enrichment far outweigh the risks.

Just make sure you keep up with worming, checking over the birds regularly (body condition and poo) and keeping up with vet checks.