We are looking for volunteers to do home visits!
Needed locations include Des Moines, Dubuque, Eastern Illinois, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Sioux City, Mason City, Ottumwa, Fort Dodge, Mt Pleasant, and more. We’re also looking in Wisconsin, southern MN, and the Chicagoland area.
Why do home visits?
Home visits allow us to know what the soon-to-be-adopted bird’s new environment will be like.
They ensure it is a safe living area, free from predators
They show us how big the bird’s cage is, where it will be located, and how they will be incorporated into the family.
A good home visit will be free of obnoxious smells, animal smells, and dirty cages and floors.
What can volunteers expect to do?
Home visitors are expected to enter the house, have a tour, ask questions from our Safe Home Checklist, and ensure it does not smell like smoke or dirty animals.
They will need to look at the cage and ensure it is at LEAST proper minimal dimensions for the species of bird the applicant wants, and if not then recommend something more appropriate or refer them to our website.
They need to council the applicant on anything that needs changed for safety. For example, an applicant may have wax warmers in their house… This can easily kill a bird due to fumes and a flying hazard. A volunteer needs to be able to gently inform them they need to get rid of the wax warmers and can use a simmer pot instead. If a volunteer doesn’t know the answer to solving an issue, it is fine! They are simply to refer the applicant back to us for resources.
We love our volunteers to take notes for themselves AND the applicant, so they can see what may need changed or what may be a potential hazard to a bird. The vast majority of home visits only need minor changes, if that. There are times where we have a home visit not go very well (often things that are not easily fixed right away such as: mold, very unsanitary conditions, home in major disrepair, bad smell etc.) in which case we ask you report the major concerns to us and we make a decision to approve or deny based on several factors. You will never be responsible for making any decisions based on a home visit and if at any time our visitors or applicants are uncomfortable, we do everything we can to ensure the safety of all parties.
What kind of time commitment do home visits require?
Not much time at all! Most visits only last an hour, as long as the checklist is completed and the home is deemed safe.
Home visits can happen relatively frequently (several times a month) but we may only call on you every couple months depending on volunteers available. The more volunteers, the better.
Most home visitors are on stand by and we email you when we have a new applicant needing a visit. Any applicants getting a home visit have already visited the rescue, gone through the entire process, and likely already have a bird in mind.
We will teach all volunteers what to look for in a good home, the right questions to ask, and what to notice when entering a home. We expect volunteers to be professional, well groomed, free of perfumes, and non-smoking (anywhere). Training for home visits can happen mostly over email and phone but may require a trip to our rescue if you are a beginner to birds.