Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary in North Carolina

[PIrate's Mom]

Does anyone have any knowledge good or bad about Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary in NC? I have seen lots of videos on YouTube, but looking for any personal experiences. Greatly appreciate the info!!!

 

[Kratze]

Does anyone have any knowledge good or bad about Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary in NC? I have seen lots of videos on YouTube, but looking for any personal experiences. Greatly appreciate the info!!!

Hello, I just volunteered there yesterday! (And went there for the first time). Overall it was very nice. Not perfect, but then most places like this don't have enough budget to be perfect. This one does seem to have some pretty strong donors/supporters though, and I definitely got the impression they have enough to care for the birds and support their mission. You can visit for a $10 donation (by appointment only) and I definitely recommend that if you are close enough to get there.
It's run by two guys who are nice though a little reserved. They live right next to the sanctuary, so they are always close. The area is quite beautiful, and very remote. You'd barely know they were there other than a little sign by the dirt road that points to the sanctuary.
The birds are kept in large and sturdy wooden cages with appropriately spaced wire by bird size and usually species. There's plenty of room, nobody was cramped and every bird that could had room to fly if they wanted (a few cages were about the size of a walk-in closet but most were much bigger). The macaw cage is new and utterly massive with a lot of room for them to fly (not very tall at 8 foot but it seems to go on forever), and the parakeet/cockatiel section comes a close second since they have so many of them. Lots of flight observed, they are very pro-flying, at least within the cage.
All of the pens are spacious enough for their inhabitants, with the exception of one or two that are holding handicapped birds (there's a cockatoo with no feet who has to be kept in its own much smaller area out of necessity - I noticed the towel it was resting on is obviously changed out daily as it only had one or two poops on it and looked clean). Each cage has a covered area for getting out of the sun, a large water basin or two (or seven/eight in the case of the macaws), and multiple natural sticks to perch on spread out over the cage.
Most cages have toys, and several have safe-material swings, and I saw parrots using these. The ground is all-natural, and they mow periodically to keep the aggressive North Carolina grass from taking over. The owners were dealing with a disagreement between a few cockatoos when I was there, so they do pay attention to what's going on.
The majority of the birds are in full feather and looked healthy and well-cared for; there are some pluckers, but remember these are surrendered birds, so most of them are going to have come in that way. With just a handful of exceptions (the two footless birds), every bird either has one or more companions in the cage with them, or a companion in a cage adjoining theirs. It was pretty noisy when I went, but since I was a visitor, that probably got many of them going. Not all of the birds want you there when you visit, but some are quite friendly (especially the Amazons, conures and some of the cockatoos).
They mainly feed their birds chop, which I was happy to hear. Apparently a lady comes in once a week and preps it for all 741 birds. They said the birds are fed on the groud so it's more like foraging. They will give peanuts and sometimes walnuts as treats, so bear that in mind if you are looking to reliquish a bird.
Visitors are not allowed to physically interact with the birds, and nobody goes in the cages except the owners (and possibly a handful of other trusted folks). Mostly the birds are left to make friends with each other, and be birds. They don't let the birds breed, they take the eggs away.
I'd say it's a good place to leave your bird if you have to give it up and want it to spend the rest of its life hanging out with other birds. They don't sell or adopt, it's meant to be a lifetime thing. They have room to grow and they seem stable and well-kept overall.
If you do visit, watch for holes! There are holes around the cages especially that can be hidden by the grass even though it gets mowed regularly; I actually fell down at one point because of them.

 

[PIrate's Mom]

Hello, I just volunteered there yesterday! (And went there for the first time). Overall it was very nice. Not perfect, but then most places like this don't have enough budget to be perfect. This one does seem to have some pretty strong donors/supporters though, and I definitely got the impression they have enough to care for the birds and support their mission. You can visit for a $10 donation (by appointment only) and I definitely recommend that if you are close enough to get there.
It's run by two guys who are nice though a little reserved. They live right next to the sanctuary, so they are always close. The area is quite beautiful, and very remote. You'd barely know they were there other than a little sign by the dirt road that points to the sanctuary.
The birds are kept in large and sturdy wooden cages with appropriately spaced wire by bird size and usually species. There's plenty of room, nobody was cramped and every bird that could had room to fly if they wanted (a few cages were about the size of a walk-in closet but most were much bigger). The macaw cage is new and utterly massive with a lot of room for them to fly (not very tall at 8 foot but it seems to go on forever), and the parakeet/cockatiel section comes a close second since they have so many of them. Lots of flight observed, they are very pro-flying, at least within the cage.
All of the pens are spacious enough for their inhabitants, with the exception of one or two that are holding handicapped birds (there's a cockatoo with no feet who has to be kept in its own much smaller area out of necessity - I noticed the towel it was resting on is obviously changed out daily as it only had one or two poops on it and looked clean). Each cage has a covered area for getting out of the sun, a large water basin or two (or seven/eight in the case of the macaws), and multiple natural sticks to perch on spread out over the cage.
Most cages have toys, and several have safe-material swings, and I saw parrots using these. The ground is all-natural, and they mow periodically to keep the aggressive North Carolina grass from taking over. The owners were dealing with a disagreement between a few cockatoos when I was there, so they do pay attention to what's going on.
The majority of the birds are in full feather and looked healthy and well-cared for; there are some pluckers, but remember these are surrendered birds, so most of them are going to have come in that way. With just a handful of exceptions (the two footless birds), every bird either has one or more companions in the cage with them, or a companion in a cage adjoining theirs. It was pretty noisy when I went, but since I was a visitor, that probably got many of them going. Not all of the birds want you there when you visit, but some are quite friendly (especially the Amazons, conures and some of the cockatoos).
They mainly feed their birds chop, which I was happy to hear. Apparently a lady comes in once a week and preps it for all 741 birds. They said the birds are fed on the groud so it's more like foraging. They will give peanuts and sometimes walnuts as treats, so bear that in mind if you are looking to reliquish a bird.
Visitors are not allowed to physically interact with the birds, and nobody goes in the cages except the owners (and possibly a handful of other trusted folks). Mostly the birds are left to make friends with each other, and be birds. They don't let the birds breed, they take the eggs away.
I'd say it's a good place to leave your bird if you have to give it up and want it to spend the rest of its life hanging out with other birds. They don't sell or adopt, it's meant to be a lifetime thing. They have room to grow and they seem stable and well-kept overall.
If you do visit, watch for holes! There are holes around the cages especially that can be hidden by the grass even though it gets mowed regularly; I actually fell down at one point because of them.

Thank you so much for your detailed response! My husband and I drove down and checked it out yesterday as we have been considering a permanent facility for our bird. It is extremely well kept and the owner was very helpful in providing information about his sanctuary, climate conditions (as the birds are outside 24/7/365), and the future plans for expansion. We spent a lot of time on the kitchen porch talking and we noticed as long as we were not walking through the enclosures the birds were actually pretty darn quiet which is amazing having that many birds on hand!

Wish I was closer and could volunteer, they could use the help. I definitely agree that the birds are well cared for as well. We took a large donation with us when we went. I would encourage anyone who visits a sanctuary or a rescue to do the same. The birds appreciate it. Cape Fear Parrot Sanctuary has a wish list on their website, as well as lists on Chewy and Amazon of things they use.