Thinking about rehoming a bird?
Rehoming is sometimes the right outcome, but the problem that brought you here matters. This guide helps you find the most relevant next step without making the decision for you.
Use the support, rehoming notice and handover templates
Work out the next useful step
Answer a few questions to narrow the guidance. Your answers stay in this browser and are not submitted or stored.
Responsible rehoming guide
You do not need to complete the questions above. Use the sections that match your situation.
Before deciding
Separate a short-term crisis from an ongoing mismatch. Consider whether health, housing, behaviour, social needs, time or cost is the main pressure, and whether a realistic change could solve it.
Birds are intelligent and generally social animals. Australian welfare guidance emphasises appropriate housing, mental stimulation, security, social opportunity and opportunities for normal behaviour.
For practical changes, start with understanding behaviour, companionship and social needs, or enrichment and toy safety. For cost, moving or temporary-care pressures, use the support-planning template to organise your next steps.
Prepare an honest handover profile
Record what a new carer actually needs to know: species and approximate age, identification if known, veterinary history, medication, diet, routine, sleep, housing, flight history, social history, handling, fears, behaviour, preferences and equipment.
Describe problems plainly. Hiding a health or behaviour issue can put the bird, the new household and the placement at risk.
Screen a prospective home
In Perth, Perth Pet Bird Rehome — Facebook group is a community option for rehoming enquiries. It is independently run, not a Little Beaks intake service. Facebook may require login or group approval; check the group’s current rules before posting. A listing or reply does not establish that a home is suitable.
Private rehoming gives both sides an opportunity to ask questions. Useful topics include:
- Who lives in the household, including children and other animals?
- What experience do they have with this species or similar birds?
- Where and how will the bird live, exercise and spend time with others?
- Which veterinarian will they use for bird care?
- What do they expect the bird’s diet, routine and social needs to involve?
- Are they intending to breed the bird?
- What is their plan if their circumstances change?
- Have they understood the bird’s known health and behaviour history?
These are prompts for a conversation, not a scoring system. Polished answers do not automatically mean a suitable home.
Plan the handover
Provide records and the handover profile. Transfer familiar food and useful equipment where practical, explain the current routine, and make any agreement about future contact clear before the bird moves.
For temporary care, write down who can make veterinary decisions, who pays costs, the expected duration and what happens if the original carer cannot resume care.
Sources and evidence
Little Beaks developed these questions and handover prompts using general welfare principles. They are not a validated screening tool or an externally endorsed rehoming protocol. Sources checked 5 October 2026; human editorial and veterinary review remains pending.
Practical rehoming templates
You may still be deciding what to do. Start with the support worksheet, or go straight to the notice or handover profile if rehoming is necessary.
These are blank templates to copy or download and fill in elsewhere. Nothing is submitted to Little Beaks. They are not an intake application or a home-approval process.
Think through support before deciding
For your own notes or a conversation with someone you trust. You do not need to disclose private circumstances publicly.
SUPPORT BEFORE REHOMING — PRIVATE WORKSHEET Use what is relevant; “unknown” is a valid answer. This is a planning prompt, not a welfare assessment or a requirement to keep a bird when care is no longer possible. What has changed, in as much or as little detail as I wish to share: [ ] Is this temporary, ongoing or uncertain? [ ] What care is working well at present? [ ] What needs are difficult to meet consistently? [ ] What have I observed about each bird, rather than assumed? [ ] What practical help would make a difference? [For example: help with routine care, a suitable temporary carer, or advice about housing and routine. Availability needs to be checked.] Who could I ask, and what can they realistically offer? [ ] Is there a deadline or immediate safety concern? [ ] My next step and when I will reassess: [ ] If support is unavailable or insufficient, my next rehoming step: [ ] Little Beaks is closed to all intakes, including emergencies. For urgent illness or injury, contact a veterinarian directly; do not wait for a form or social-media reply.
Write a public rehoming notice
Copy this into your own notes, replace the brackets, and review it before posting. Use a general location and omit home addresses, identification numbers and private records.
REHOMING NOTICE — TEMPLATE Seeking a suitable home for: [Bird’s name, species, approximate age; say if age or sex is unknown.] General location: [Suburb/region and state, not a street address.] About this bird: [Personality, favourite activities and daily routine. Describe what you have actually observed.] Comfort with people: [Handling preferences, whether they approach people, and situations they find difficult. A bird does not need to be hand-tame to deserve a suitable home.] Relationships with birds and other animals: [Known companions or bonds; observed conflicts; whether birds have lived separately. Do not assume interest in other birds means they can share housing.] Known health and care needs: [An honest summary of known conditions, ongoing care and relevant unknowns. Discuss detailed records privately with a prospective carer.] Current diet, housing and exercise: [What the bird is accustomed to.] What the new home needs to offer: [Space, routine, experience, companionship arrangements and any individual requirements.] Reason for rehoming, if I wish to share: [A brief explanation is enough; personal circumstances can remain private.] Timing: [How soon another home is needed.] Equipment and records available: [ ] How to enquire: [For example: message me privately with your experience, proposed setup and questions.] I would like to discuss whether the home can meet this bird’s needs before arranging a handover. Before posting: remove unused prompts, check the group’s rules and add a current photograph you have permission to share. This template does not verify or approve prospective homes.
Prepare a private handover profile
Complete one profile per bird. Share it with the agreed carer, rather than publishing it with your notice.
BIRD HANDOVER — PRIVATE PROFILE Bird’s name and species: [ ] Approximate age; sex if known and how established: [ ] Date this profile was updated: [ ] History known to me; gaps or uncertainties: [ ] Current daily routine, sleep, diet and preferred foods: [ ] Housing, exercise and flight history: [ ] Activities, preferences, fears and handling: [Describe behaviour and its context rather than labels such as “naughty”.] Social history: [Bird companions or bonds, conflicts, separate housing and arrangements that have worked. Record each bird’s needs individually.] Known health conditions and veterinary history: [Include relevant dates and records to transfer privately.] Current medication or treatment: [Provide the veterinarian’s instructions and clarify ongoing care with them; do not invent or change doses.] Veterinary clinic and records-transfer arrangements: [ ] Identification records to transfer privately, if applicable: [ ] Food, carrier and equipment included: [ ] Transport and handover arrangements: [ ] Questions still to resolve with the new carer: [ ] Agreed future contact and what happens if the placement does not work: [ ] For temporary care only: Expected duration and review date: [ ] Who makes veterinary decisions, and how they can be contacted: [ ] Who pays routine and veterinary costs: [ ] Plan if the original carer cannot resume care: [ ] This is a care-information worksheet, not a legal ownership-transfer agreement or a guarantee of a suitable placement. Keep private records and contact details secure.
Use the questions for prospective carers before agreeing to a placement. For a bird who may belong to someone else, use the found-bird guide first.
Little Beaks wrote these planning prompts to accompany the guide. They are not a validated assessment, veterinary advice or a legal agreement.
Take it with you
Make a rehoming checklist
Choose the parts you need and make one clean handout to save, print or share. Selections are processed in this browser. You can choose to copy, download, print or share the resulting handout.
Your handout