(03/21/06) EAST ORANGE ? Animal rescuers descended on an East Orange apartment Tuesday to remove more than 100 parakeets from the residence.

The apartment?s tenant, Ruth Wilson, says her parakeet collection started with just a few birds. However, they reproduced quickly and eventually started building nests in the sheetrock. Wilson says parts of her apartment later became caked with bird feces. Mice, attracted by birdseed, also started making themselves at home in the residence.

Complaints led the East Orange Health Department and other animal rescuers to conduct the bird removal operation. The parakeets taken from the apartment will live out the rest of their lives at the Popcorn Park Zoo in Ocean County. Rescuers left about two dozen birds with Wilson in the apartment.