Birds Unlimited's Baby Birds, or What goes into them before you take them home
What we do at Birds Unlimited may be time consuming but after 28 years we know what works. Through networking and various contacts we also see how other stores go about raising birds and we still think we know how to do it better than most.
Nearly all of our smaller birds are locally raised while most of our larger species come from down South or the Mid West. Some we raise here or by the staff. Some are driven to us while many arrive at the airport. Once they come to the store they're given a quick evaluation and a warm meal. Nearly all of the birds still require handfeeding. When the store closes the youngest birds get loaded up and travel home as they need to be fed around the clock. Depending on the time of year, I may be hauling six to 60 or more babies back and forth with me every day. By the time you pick up your bird it may have logged hundreds of miles already, the trip to your home should be uneventful. Of course your driving skills may vary compared to mine, just saying. When the birds get a bit older they can start to stay the night and they don't have to travel with me. When they finally figure out how to eat on their own, drink on their own, know how to navigate their way around a cage, they are ready to leave. We
also encourage all the birds to fly and learn how to land prior to
clipping the wings. We believe it instills a certain level of confidence
in a bird. The staff loves to play with the birds too, great for the
birds and fun for the staff. Some of the larger species may be here four or five months before they can go, that's a lot of handfeeding. We don't sell unweaned babies as there is a big risk of accidents if not done correctly, don't even ask. Weaning a bird and knowing when to cut back on feedings is also something that comes with time, we've done this for nearly 40 years, don't be talked into taking a bird unweaned. If we thought it was the best way of selling a bird we'd do it, but it's not. While we are closed on Sundays, staff still shows up to feed and check on everything from boarders to babies, 365 days a year. The babies are probably the single best thing about this job. While we can get more babies than we do, we get the number we can handle and care for properly.
The staff arrives two hours prior to opening to get the store ready for the day. Every day, every cage that has a bird in it will get scrubbed with a Chlorox solution, fresh food, water and paper. Our boarders get the same treatment. By the time we open it'll be clean, birds fed, and vacuumed.
