Rhode Island Parrot Rescue saves 71 parrots from unsafe New Hampshire barn

Seventy-one parrots were pulled from a New Hampshire barn that had no electricity or running water, then rushed to Warwick, Rhode Island, after rescuers said something got into the structure and attacked the birds. Rhode Island Parrot Rescue said all 71 birds were saved.

The immediate job now is quarantine, observation, hydration, and nutrition, the slow, methodical work that follows any large emergency intake. Executive Director Corrie Butler said the birds made it safely to Warwick, where they can be kept stable while staff look for injuries and illness that may not show up right away. That matters with parrots, which often hide pain and can worsen quickly after trauma, exposure, or neglect.

Rhode Island Parrot Rescue says it is the only Rhode Island 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused exclusively on rescuing, rehabilitating, and placing exotic birds into qualified homes. Re-established in 2015, the rescue reopened its West Warwick facility on September 14, 2024, and now serves birds and adoptive families across New England, with a Maine satellite location. That footprint has made it a regional landing place for birds in crisis, not just a local shelter.

This intake also shows how much community response matters once a case reaches this scale. A 71-bird rescue is not simply a matter of opening cages and moving birds; it requires quarantine space, veterinary screening, transport, food, secure housing, and likely foster homes or specialized placements for birds with more complex needs. Rhode Island Parrot Rescue’s placement program requires an application and scheduled appointments, reflecting how carefully these birds have to be matched once they are cleared for their next step.

The rescue has seen this pattern before. In July 2025, it responded when 16 parrots were found in a New Hampshire home, another reminder that unsafe housing and chronic neglect do not appear out of nowhere. Foster Parrots, another Rhode Island-based avian organization, says it receives one to three surrender requests a day, a steady flow that underscores how much pressure bird rescues absorb long before a crisis becomes a headline.

For parrot owners, the warning signs in this case are hard to miss: no heat, no water, a barn used as housing, and enough crowding or neglect for an outside animal to get inside and attack the flock. The birds in Warwick are now in the first stage of recovery, and the work ahead will depend on quarantine, medical care, foster placements, and the kind of patient follow-through that keeps emergency rescue from ending at the intake door.