A man plays with a parrot in front of a bird shop in Hong Kong on June 2, 2012. Hong Kong health authorities on June 2 urged the public not to panic after the southern Chinese city reported its first human case of bird flu in 18 months in a two-year-old boy. AFP PHOTO / Philippe Lopez (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/GettyImages) File photo of a parrot. (credit: PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

BUCKINGHAM (CBS Miami) – Almost 400 rare birds flew the coop, but not by choice.

Three hundred and fifty rare parrots valued at more than $80,000 were stolen from a high-end Southwest Florida bird breeder earlier this week. The News-Press reports that the birds included about 160 breeding pairs and had dozens of types of parrots, such as parakeets and macaws.

According to media reports, Sandy Kortz didn’t hear anyone enter her backyard between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

“It blew me away,” Kortz told the News-Press. She added that there was no insurance for the birds. “It has screwed up my business, and they have destroyed our retirement.”

Kortz indicated to police that she believed the burglars hopped her fence and had cages ready for the 350 birds in her aviary.

“I’ve worked too long and too hard to have someone come in and do this in two minutes,” she said. “Right now, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”