EXPOSED: Dead Parrots, Filthy Cages, Birds Crammed into Cages at Pet Store Suppliers

Filthy, crowded cages. Dead baby birds. Birds suffocated to death. This is the reality for parrots in the pet industry. Hundreds of thousands of parrots are bred in mills and shipped to pet stores across the US every year.

An undercover investigator documented appalling cruelty at four US Department of Agriculture-licensed bird mills in Oklahoma and Texas:

  • Fancy Parrots, Los Fresnos, TX (USDA Certificate #74-A-1593)
  • Ervin, Betty, and Gladys Plett, Boley, OK (USDA Certificate #73-A-2875)
  • Arden and Carol Plett (USDA Certificate #73-A-2860), Checotah, OK
  • Janessa Plett (USDA Certificate #73-A-2861), Checotah, OK

Parrot Factory Farms

Budgies, commonly called “parakeets,” are the most commonly bred and traded parrots in the country. At budgie mills, thousands of budgies are crammed into feces-coated cages in small barns.

This is factory farming with parrots.

Parrots stacked in cages in a mill in Oklahoma.
Parrots stacked in cages at a mill in Boley, Oklahoma.
Parrots in overcrowded cages.
Parrots in overcrowded cages fight and injure one another.
Older female parrots in a cobwebbed cage.
Older female parrots in a cobwebbed cage. Birds are discarded when they no longer produce enough babies to be profitable.

In the wild, budgies live in the wide-open scrublands of Australia, where they can fly for hundreds of miles and flock with hundreds of other birds. In mills, these small parrots are held in tiny wire cages.

Though the US Department of Agriculture requires enrichment, the birds had only a wooden perch for entertainment. Highly inquisitive and social, parrots need environments that allow them to express natural behaviors like foraging, interacting, and problem-solving.

Parrot mill cages for egg-laying birds.
These parrot mills are similar to factory farms where egg-laying hens are confined in battery cages.
Dead baby parrots were visible in the top center cage.
Dead baby parrots were visible in the top center cage.
Blue parrots sit in cages coated with feces and loose feed.
Blue parrots sit in cages coated with feces and loose feed. Cardboard sheets were placed under each cage. The owner said the cardboard was scraped once a week.

Parrots Trapped in Overheated Barns

In 2024, the US Department of Agriculture cited the Checotah mill for keeping parrots in a blistering hot barn with a heat index of 110.7 degrees. A government inspector found multiple dead birds, while others—panting and unable to stand—were close to death.

Suffocated to Death

There was a garbage can overflowing with dead parrots at the Boley mill. The owner admitted to the investigator to killing birds by suffocating them in a plastic bag. He explained that the birds sometimes “pick” at one another, and buyers don’t want “picked” birds.

A trash can with visible dead parrots.
A trashcan at the entrance to the barn with more than a dozen dead parrots visible on the top layer. One dead bird was shoved headfirst into a plastic cup.

Trapped with Dead Rats and Exposed to the Elements

At Fancy Parrots, many parrot species, including cockatoos, sun conures, and African grey parrots, are kept in outdoor cages on metal stilts, leaving them vulnerable to the elements. The investigator was told that many parrots died one winter during a freeze.

The cages' bottoms were badly rusted. Similar to the mills in Oklahoma, birds trapped inside had no enrichment. Most nesting boxes had spiderwebs and eggs in the cracks; many had holes chewed partially through from the inside. One macaw cage contained dead and living rats.

Cockatoos in outdoor cages suspended over mud and water.
Cockatoos in outdoor cages suspended over mud and water.
Cockatoos and an African grey parrot stand in rusted, bare cages.
Cockatoos and African grey parrots stand in rusted, bare cages.

A Miserable Life

Multiple birds at Fancy Parrots had significant feather loss. The investigator was told it was from plucking, a common form of self-mutilation in captive birds, and a symptom of psychological distress.

Cockatoos with feather loss.
Cockatoos with feather loss. Plucking is a common form of self-mutilation in captive birds.
Sun conures stand in a rusted cage.
Sun conures, a species sold at Petco and PetSmart, stand in a rusted cage.
A macaw in a cage suspended over water.
The investigator was told that the macaws frequently chewed through the cages' metal parts.

Fueling a Rescue Crisis

As mills flood the US with parrots, sanctuaries and rescues are in crisis. Few accredited parrot sanctuaries exist in the US, and most rescues and shelters don’t accept birds. The rescue community is overwhelmed with requests from people who want to surrender their parrots.

That’s because birds don’t belong in cages. Parrots are exceptionally social; they’re meant to fly through wide-open skies and roost with large flocks. Isolated and caged in human homes, many parrots develop challenging behaviors such as self-mutilation (feather plucking), screaming, and biting. 

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