The San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) offered up more than 80 rescued cockatiels for adoption Tuesday morning and they flew off the shelves.
The organization tweeted Monday that it was putting the birds up for adoption beginning Tuesday at 11 a.m. A staff member confirmed that all of the birds had found new homes by 2 p.m.
The cockatiels were rescued last month from a one-bedroom apartment unit in Rancho Bernardo. SDHS officials said that when crews arrived at the apartment, dozens of birds were flying freely about the room. The apartment unit was covered in bird feces and there was dust from the birds in the air.
Crews wore masks as they used nets to trap the birds.
The Humane Society said the owner was "a good man who had a few birds, and they keep breeding and then, you know, it gets out of hand pretty quickly."
All of the birds seized appeared to be healthy, including at least one that was a chick. The situation wasn't healthy for the man that lived there because the conditions posed a risk for disease, officials said.
SDHS said it received a call about the birds the week before crews came to the man's home. The organization made contact with the man at that time, and again when the man called SDHS Tuesday.
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The man was taken into custody by a San Diego Police Department Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) who would serve as a connection to mental health resources.
The humane society's Humane Law Enforcement team was investigating the case to determine if any charges will be recommended against the man.
