Birds, rodents rescued from filthy Ypsilanti Twp. home

Forty-two birds, three degus — small Chilean rodents — and one rabbit were rescued from a hoarder's Ypsilanti Township home last week after the Humane Society of Huron Valley received a tip that the owner had an excessive number of animals living in poor conditions.

According to the group, the owner said that some of the birds were rescues, but most appeared to be used for breeding. The group's cruelty investigation team will be submitting a report to the Washtenaw County prosecutor’s office for review in the coming days.

"Fortunately, the owner surrendered all of the animals to us,” said Matt Schaecher, the rescue group's chief operating officer, in a statement. “Of course, now we really need the community’s help to find great homes for these deserving animals.”

The birds and other animals were found in the garbage-filled home inside dirty, crowded cages that had several inches of feces. Despite the conditions, the majority of animals seemed to be in good health, according to the humane society.

“We’re glad we got there when we did,” Schaecher said. “Because of this tip, we got to intervene on behalf of a lot of animals who weren’t being properly cared for. Our investigators had to wear respirators just to be inside the home. If this situation persisted longer, it could have been much worse.”

Although the birds are in good condition, the humane society struggled a bit to find appropriate temporary housing.

“The majority of our shelter’s housing is for four-legged animals,” said Krista Donohoo, the humane society’s adoptions manager. “So we’ve had to get creative in finding housing for 42 birds. We’re thankful we are able to provide temporary space that is clean and roomy, but it’s a very full house here.”

The rescued parrots vary from small love birds to a talkative macaw. Donohoo said the group has never had this many birds at once and is hopeful qualified adopters will show up when they're ready for adoption, which she anticipates could be as early as Wednesday.

Owning large parrots can present extra challenges, according the humane society, so some of the birds will require experienced adopters. Anyone interested in adopting should visit the humane society's website or call 734-662-5585.

Contact Katrease Stafford: kstafford@freepress.com or 313-223-4759.