Gabriel Foundation Elizabeth, Colorado

I adopted my cockatoo from here. These guys are amazing.

Fantastic parrot rescue. Forever homes and adoption available.

I Was a huge fan of Gabriel for many years before I moved to Colorado. I'm a huge advocate of parrot rescue, and have loved and cared for birds my entire life. My first "official" rescue bird was in 1974 where I helped to liberate several parrots from an abusive environment in Florida taking one of them for my self. She had been injured both mentality and physically and spent the last 34 years of her life with me getting the best of care and a loving home. Most of the volunteers at Gabriel are nice. That said it looks more like Hoarders then a rescue center and I have seen and worked with/for many centers all over the country. Hundreds of cages rusting outside yet they wont sell a single one (or parts) to house a bird that is already rescued. They have boxes and boxes of donated toys in a trailer, but most of the birds are playing with cardboard boxes. I have heard from many former volunteers and others that it is nearly impossible to adopt a parrot from there. I think it's good they are being cautious, but It seems this is more of way to make money from donations (think of this as a zoo) then a place that cares about birds and wants to enrich their lives. There is no way a handful of volunteers can give each bird the attention they deserve. They keep the birds outdoors on nice days so they can be seen by visitors...yet their water bowls are empty and or filled with poop and dirty water :( I wish I could say that they were the place they seem to be but sadly they are not. *UPDATE* In response to the owner $50.00 worth of Harrison's is not "Small" It's a chunk of change for a fresh new bag. This shows your contempt for people trying to help out. and second I have been there several times , different levels of experience and there was a particularly rude woman who flat out REFUSED to sell me a cage for a bird I was traveling 3500 miles to rescue and wanted to assure I'd have housing for her and NEVER volunteered that any cage was for sale. I have NOTHING to gain by saying this as I have worked over 50 years rescuing birds and would love for them to have good homes. Calling me a liar does no good. I recommend people come and see themselves. Come on a nice sunny day and see if the water dishes are clean outside and have fresh water. And if they do good! I have shamed them into keeping those birds hydrated.

What a awesome experience. We were so overwhelmed by the amount of birds, truly heartbreaking. I am so thankful for this organization and all their hard work. I noticed someone posted a rather harsh review... Our family would have to strongly DISAGREE with such a review. When we went for our visits we found tons of staff members working hard making food, cleaning cages visiting and engaging with people just like us. Some birds were happily perched outside their cages visiting with staff members, some were happily preening outside in their cages and some were in flight cages. We have been required to jump through several hoops in order to adopt but don't feel the adoption process is impossible. I think if you are wanting to make a "quick purchase" then you shouldn't be buying a bird, or any pet for that matter. The life of a bird is easily 50+ years investing a month or two learning about them and getting to know them is a small price to pay for what will hopefully be a life long treasured friendship I have learned a lot throughout this process and am better for it. I also think it might also be worth mentioning that we did adopt 2 cockatiels and were GIVEN several toys, food and a travel cage TGF is also willing to sell us a larger cage when we bring home our slender billed cockatoo. They do ask a lot from their prospective adopters but they to are willing to do a lot for those adopters in order to ensure a happy, safe and forever adoption. Thank you TGF for all your hard work and helping us find the perfect fit for our family.

I recently brought my Moluccan Cockatoo to TGF for a "beak n feet" trim. They were AWESOME with Apollo!! Thanks a million ~ we will definitely be seeing you again for our future groomies!

I had volunteered with TGF several times and got to know some of the staff. I was really onboard with this foundation and had originally started volunteering with them in order to meet a lot of the macaws because I had wanted to adopt an older bird. The staff was very kind and excited when I expressed interest in adopting one. One girl, Kyra, suggested 3 different macaws to me because she felt they would be a good fit. I met with them and decided that one macaw she suggested WAS in fact a good fit. I met with them 6-7 times and was told this macaw is definitely going to go home with us by a few of the staff. The macaw loved me and showed only kind behavior. On my last visit, I met with a girl named Micah. This person was extremely rude and presumptuous. After having an extremely unpleasant experience with her she decided out of nowhere that there were “red flags” which nobody else mentioned. And I had met with several different people. I then was unable to reach anyone there for a week and woke up to a very confusing email about how we were no longer a “good fit” for the bird. This parrot has been there for 7 years. As far as I could see the parrots are well taken care of as far as flights and food are concerned. I feel they have a great and consistent diet for all their parrots. However, I had heard it was nearly impossible to adopt from them due to the fact that these people hoard their birds. But I was more interested in giving it a shot because I loved some of these parrots and I preferred an older bird. They have over 600+ parrots and it doesn’t appear that they have much intention on “finding good homes for their birds.” The birds are neglected of human interaction aside from the girls doing husbandry and are kept in trailers all around the property, cage to cage, hundreds of birds. And the staff has said to me that there’s “so many birds it’s hard for us to pay attention to all of them.” Yet the one I was planning on adopting loved interacting with me and would be going to an extremely loving place. TGF hoards birds and claims that what they are doing is the best solution. They would rather hold on to the birds and neglect them than adopt them out to folks who are fully capable of taking on the responsibility. Why are they not adopting out more birds if the staff is saying they have so many that it’s hard to spend the appropriate amount of time with each bird? Seems irresponsible or an issue with hoarding. Don’t waste your time. As unfortunate as it is for these poor birds that are inevitably going to be stuck in one of their cages for the rest of their lives, it’s not worth being treated so poorly by the staff and being given the run around for months. If you are thinking of surrendering your bird to The Gabriel Foundation, know that the bird will sit in a loud room, caged, with very little human interaction until they die.

These guys are amazing. They are great with my little lovebird and always gentle with her

I regret that we ever attempted to adopt a bird from this organization. We spent many, many hours, over a series of weekends trying to find a bird to become a part our family. We were treated in a friendly manner on our first visit, however on subsequent visits this became less and less so. We were not allowed to meet with birds we selected from their "pet finder" ads, being given a laundry list of why they were not good matches for us. We wasted so much time looking at and reading about various parrot's personalities based on the descriptions in their bird "bios" only to be told over and over, no. We asked why those were even listed as "adoptable" if there were so many issues with each bird. We were steered toward bird breeds we hadn't ever even asked to see, and hadn't done any research on. Email communication became increasingly hostile, rude and quite presumptuous. On our final trip to the property, the board member who had been participating in our "adoption" process from the beginning, seemed to feel and understand our frustration. We explained to her how unfortunate it is that we spent so much time reading about and researching all their "adoptable" birds, only to be told nearly ALL the birds we selected to meet weren't "a good match" (we had nearly 30 birds on that list). She would ensure that next visit, we would be introduced to all macaws and cockatoos that were adoptable for us. Unfortunately, the extremely rude email we received from the cockatoo specialist after that visit, ended this experience for us. We could no longer feel good about this organization and how they treat families wishing to adopt these very sad and lonely birds. We'd heard a number of awful stories about this place from other bird enthusiasts as were researching and studying about macaws and cockatoos. Unfortunately, we decided to give them a try anyway. We regret that decision, deeply. Based on our experience, it is clear that these people aren't incredibly motivated to find loving homes for their large birds which is perplexing, given that they have hundreds, and many that have been there for years. There are other places that rescue large birds that are actually very happy to work with families to find a good match, and who enthusiastically mentor individuals in learning how to bring a bird into the family. Save yourself the heartache and go to a place where they really want to help you learn, and actually WANT to find homes for their birds.

So this place is a rescue shelter for birds, namely parrots, far as me eye can see! ???? The facility was surprising super clean... Almost spotless! The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable about the birds that are housed here. If one of the staff persons is unfamiliar with details on a specific bird, somebody else will certainly know. These birds are well cared for and loved. There are many healthy birds housed here, yet because they are rescued, some of them are not 100%. This is NOT the staff or the shelters fault, in fact they are doing everything possible to nurse the birds back to 100%! With that being said, MOST of the birds here are up for adoption. However, there is an extensive adoption application and a few visits required to rehome these awesome birds. Honestly, it's truly for everybody's best interest! This will ensure the bird has a healthy loving environment to call home and also to allow thee adopter or "parront" to make a well informed and educated decision if a "big beak" is the right bird for them. It was very exciting to meet some of these parrots! We also had thee opportunity to talk with the birds and learn a little history on some of them. All in all it was a fabulous experience and I truly hope a parrot picks me to be his lucky "parront"! Cheers

It is an amazing bird rescue. The birds get premium care as they await new homes!

This place is great! All the staff here know a lot about each bird and take care of them well, and I have 1 question, how often to people adopt?

Love this place, their chickens are awesome!

Good for adoptions and all staff are very knowledgeable. Learn new things i never knew about birds. Would highly give it 5 stars.

I love the volunteers! Julie Murad is doing a wonderful thing for these birds ???? I am partial to the Amazons, especially Humphrey! ❤

Amazing place! Do yourself a favor and take the 90 minute tour they offer. You have to reserve it 48 hours in advance but it is an amazing experience. The staff is super friendly and informative! There are too many great things to say about this place

The entire place is noisy but that is to be expected when you have 400 birds. I had 2 birds that liked me and were a blast to play with id volunteer if I was old enough but when I am im sure id be there alot.

Took my bird to get his beak trimmed. The staff is great

Great sanctuary for birds! They offer a tour and you can tell they really care about birds. They have many workshops that are educational while at the same time, helping the birds. ie, toy making and food prep. If you are interested in saving a bird, there are so many here that need loving homes!

Very nice people and be willing to educate you on birds and how to train them also

Great place to volunteer and hang with the birds

Best place to let a bird pick you. Adopt, don't shop.

Got there with no knowledge of and appointments for tour but they told ok ur here will give you the tour the guys were very nice and knowledgeable about everything thanks I am looking forward to go again and be available to get one of this fabulous bird I will spend all day there just enjoying then screaming been friendly I just love everything about this place. Oh just a suggestion if you don’t have nothing good to said keep it to your self this people work hard to keep this birdie there and take good care of them don’t do bad reviews keep it to ur self or send private email don’t do those bad review this people work hard God bless you guys for all this help to this animal that can’t defend them self A+ to The Gabriel Foundation Iris Jim

Amazing. They spoil their birds...very clean facilities and the birds are well taken care of. I adopted my parrot from them and am glad they really make sure a person is a good fit before you bring one home.

I was so impressed by how kind and caring the staff is, how well they know each bird, and how well-maintained the facility is. It's amazing!

I adopted my cockatoo from here kiwi

A very fun & informative experience.

What a great foundation! It's heartbreaking to see so many birds just abandoned or tossed to the side, but the team doesn't only offer them a safe home, they offer therm love and companionship that these forgotten birds need. If your looking for a pet bird, please, please, please stay here!

Currently working on adopting. I am loving my interaction when I'm there but feeling a little frustrated setting appointments to visit with the birds we want to adopt. There have been weather issues that are out of everyone's control but then there are days that I can't schedule a visit because they are training staff, which seems visits from adopters should be part of the training, and can't schedule visits because staff are out of the office. It seems that pushing visits out might impede bonding before bringing home your new family member. Just feeling frustrated not being able to spend more frequent bonding time, but am looking very forward to the visits I do get.

The Gabriel Foundation takes in as many parrots as they can help who have been displaced, suddenly or otherwise. They provide a healthy, and nutritious diet, and a clean environment. Many of the parrots get time outside on a regular basis on nice days. Providing the parrots with something to do while in their cages is very important, so the Gabriel Foundation holds monthly toy workshops where volunteers make safe, interesting toys for the birds. The CEO/President of the the foundation makes every effort to accept and help as many parrots as possible, providing the highest quality care possible.

I just love this Foundation! I love being apart of their volunteer team!