The Feathered Sanctuary, located at 562 Beechdale Road, Bird-in-Hand, is one of only a few exotic bird rescues in Pennsylvania. The relationship that exists between domesticated birds and people strikes at the heart of what the Feathered Sanctuary does.

"These birds are exotic," said Sharon Shaub, the Feathered Sanctuary's manager. "Anybody can have a dog. Not everyone can have a bird. Dogs like everybody. A bird has to like you and you have to know how to take care of a bird. If they do, they'll love you."

Feathered Sanctuary is currently home to 60 exotic birds - parakeets, parrots, cockatoos, macaws and cockatiels. Many of them have been surrendered to the Feathered Sanctuary, and most are waiting to be adopted by their forever homes.

"When the phone rings, we never know what kinds of friends we're getting, where they're from or what their circumstances are," said Shaub. "Most of the time, people will call us and want to relinquish their birds. Sometimes owners go into the hospital and have no one to take care of them. Birds outlive their owners. Birds live a long time."

"We're all volunteers and we just love the birds," added Shaub. "It's not their fault they don't have a home. We've made them our pets and our responsibility."

For visitors, the atmosphere at the Feathered Sanctuary can be a little overwhelming at first. Coming from all directions, there's energy and sounds and sights that can only be compared to a menagerie.

"It's just fun," said Shaub of the rescue's indoor environment. "We let them out (of their cages) and everyone gets to come at you. It's fun watching them. It's always interesting. They know what they're saying. They're not just imitating. They're big and they're beautiful."

The Feathered Sanctuary is certainly a unique nonprofit. But like most nonprofits, it has a need for funds and volunteers.

"There are no other rescues around," said Shaub. "I get calls from Connecticut and Baltimore, and the only (other) two I know of are in New Jersey. That's why we stay open; we want to help (the birds). Birds are expensive. They have to have a good cage and good food. If you don't feed them good food, you're not going to have a healthy bird."

Feathered Sanctuary was started by Pequea resident Lynne Rothweiler in the late 1990s. Before moving to its current location in December of 2023, the rescue experienced consistent growth and placed dozens of rescued birds in new homes.

"If you were interested in adopting a bird, you'd come here and look around," said Shaub. "Hopefully one of the birds would pick you. You can't make the birds like you. That's their prerogative. We want them to know the person when they go home with them. There are some people birds just love. They're smart. They're very smart."

"Every animal should be rescued," Shaub continued. "So many need homes now. There are too many animals out there. Exotic birds are good pets."

For additional information about the Feathered Sanctuary, go to http://www.featheredsanctuaryebr.org.