Beppo, Flora, Arthur, Dino, Caesar & Co
The Gut Aiderbichl parrot house and its inhabitants
Parrots have been kept as luxury animals since ancient times. Even then, the fascination with these highly intelligent animals was great. The touch of the exotic, the extravagant and that certain something that a parrot brings with it appeals to many people - then as now.
However, people back then did not know enough about these wonderful animals and whether keeping them alone in a castle tower in Central Europe is appropriate for the species or not. But people today should actually know better and yet unfortunately often make the same "mistakes" as back then...
Caesar - Gut Aiderbichl residents thanks to animal insurance
Caesar, the normally very sociable white-crested cockatoo, also found himself being kept alone in a flat in Bavaria. Besides his human, he was kept company by his dog Paula. Nice enough, but not nearly enough for a bird that lives in huge flocks. Humans simply cannot replace conspecifics. The animal lover lovingly cared for her friend. But she was also aware that he would probably outlive her, because the life expectancy of a parrot is about 100 years. So she decided to get in touch with Gut Aiderbichl and made use of our animal insurance. This is how Caesar and his friend, the bitch Paula, became Aiderbichlers in 2011.
Beppo - A cheeky resident
Probably someone had not correctly estimated the life expectancy of Moluccan cockatoo Beppo and his fellow parrots, because for this reason, or perhaps for another, they found themselves one day at a sanctuary for parrots in Munich. They were lovingly looked after and cared for there. But the owners were also faced with a problem: they had simply become too old to take responsibility for their charges alone - the work had become too hard for them. So they turned to Gut Aiderbichl. From now on, the 50 or so parrots had the chance of a long, species-appropriate life without ever again being in distress. Beppo was unaware of all this. With a sweet, croaking "hello" he still invites unsuspecting humans to come closer. And when the people do so, they experience their blue miracle. Beppo's gloating is, of course, included.
Flora - Captured by wildlife trappers
The fate of grey parrot lady Flora also hit us in a special way. Her life started in the deep jungle areas in Cameroon. She was free, wild and unbound. Together with her flock, she lived a life that nature had intended for parrots. But then everything changed: wildlife trappers caught her in 1995 and took her to Germany, where she had to eke out a life alone. The sudden silence must have been unbearable for Flora. We cannot imagine how she must have felt. An animal lover took her out of her predicament and actually wanted to improve it. Unfortunately, due to a painful separation and a big move, the animal lover could not keep her promise. In desperation, she asked us to take in her friend Flora, because she wanted nothing more than a species-appropriate life for her friend.
Emergency in Vienna - 323 parakeets become Aiderbichlers
Not only parrots are housed in the parrot house at Gut Aiderbichl Gänserndorf, but also many parakeets, such as wavy and nymph parakeets. A social worker contacted the Gut Aiderbichl administration in 2017 and asked for help. She had a client who kept 80 pet birds in Vienna and was completely overwhelmed with their care. Dieter Ehrengruber did not hesitate and immediately agreed to take her in. The team from Gut Aiderbichl Gänserndorf set off and drove to the address mentioned. What we found on the spot made us very concerned. The whole apartment was uninhabitable, full of coke and rubbish. The parakeets had conquered the apartment and evicted the occupant. The woman was completely overwhelmed and loved her animals very much.
But it was no longer possible for her to care for her charges. So Arthur, Carla, Dino, Kiki, Obelix and their 318 friends became Aiderbichler, with the promise that they would be allowed to stay until the natural end of their lives.
We have told you the fates of Beppo, Flora, Arthur, Dino, Caesar and Co as representatives of all our more than 300 rescued parrots and parakeets in order to introduce you to a few of our protégés and to start an appeal to all parrot lovers and people interested in parrots: Please inform yourself carefully about keeping a parrot, be aware that a parrot needs conspecifics and please consider that even an Amazon has a life expectancy of 40 years. Keeping a parrot needs a lot of time, love and patience, this must be clear to every new parrot owner.
Also ask yourself where your new family member might come from. Because wild-caught parrots are absolutely not a rarity even in this day and age. It is not without reason that around 99% of all parrot species are on the list of endangered species...
It is only thanks to your support, dear animal friends, that we are able to help so many parrots and parakeets and enable them to live a species-appropriate life until the natural end of their lives. Please continue to support us with a symbolic sponsorship or with a donation. We and our animals thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
