Environmental health authorities condemned a home in February after animal control officers found 23 birds in cages so greasy with bird feces they appeared to be painted.
The homeowner, Julianne Louise Kern, 50, was charged Aug. 27 with misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and two counts of illegal animal possession, authorities said.
The walls, floors, kitchen counters and furniture were coated with bird and cat feces and rotten food, according to a court record.
“Birds in the basement were kept in cages covered in cobwebs,” the report says. “Mice were observed running freely and climbing down the curtains.”
Three lories died of old age, disease and stress, and one lory had to be euthanized, the report says.
Several other birds suffered from hemochromatosis, a condition caused by an excess of iron accumulation in organs.
Three birds had large areas of their bodies plucked of feathers, which is caused by stress and poor living conditions.
The house contained two magpies and a blue jay, wild birds that are illegal to hold, the report says.
Bird cages had 2 to 3 inches of feces piled up. Animal control officers, who had to wear air filters over their mouths during an inspection, found about 10 cardboard boxes filled with “petrified cat feces.”
Jeanette Maez of Denver’s Department of Environmental Health condemned the house after finding it “unsuitable for human habitation.”
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
