08/20/2026
There is something we want people to understand about House of Birds and what this little store has become.
When we took over, our vision was pretty simple. We wanted to be an exotic bird shop where people could find quality food, toys, supplies, fresh bird chop, education and responsibly raised baby birds.
And yes, early on, we raised babies.
But somewhere along the way, House of Birds became something we never really planned for.
We became a safe place for birds that had nowhere else to go.
People started walking through our doors with birds they could no longer care for. Parakeets, cockatiels, conures, Amazons, African greys, cockatoos and even macaws.
The reasons were different every time.
An owner passed away. Someone's health changed. A living situation changed. A bird became more than someone realized they could handle. Sometimes life simply happened.
And those people trusted us with one enormous responsibility:
Please find my bird a good home.
This past spring and summer would normally have been filled with us raising babies. Instead, we made the decision to step back from raising them.
Why?
Because we could look across our store and see older birds waiting for someone to choose them.
And we couldn't ignore that.
A baby bird is adorable. They're exciting. Everyone wants to watch them grow up.
But you know what?
That 10, 20, 30 or even 40-year-old bird deserves to be chosen too.
That became the heart behind our Second Chance Birds.
Second Chance Birds aren't free. There is still an adoption cost associated with them, but it is significantly less than purchasing a baby. Many of them also leave with an appropriately sized cage and accessories.
But most importantly, we care where they go.
We educate. We ask questions. We talk about the reality of living with these species. We try to understand the household they're going into and whether that particular bird is actually a good fit.
And we have turned people away.
More than once.
We've said no to money because we didn't believe a placement was right.
That probably isn't the smartest business decision when you're trying to keep the lights on.
But it's the decision we can live with.
We know there are incredible breeders and wonderful pet stores out there doing things the right way. We also know there are people in this industry who see dollar signs before they see the animal standing in front of them.
We refuse to become that.
The truth is, caring this much isn't always profitable.
There are birds here that we've fed, housed, cleaned up after, loved and cared for while waiting months for the right person to walk through our doors.
And yes, sometimes doing things this way has hurt us financially.
But these birds didn't ask to lose their homes.
They didn't ask to be surrendered.
They didn't ask to spend weeks or months waiting for someone else to love them.
They deserve better than being passed from home to home because someone was willing to pay.
So if you've ever wondered why we're picky about where our birds go, that's why.
If you've ever wondered why we spend so much time talking to you before sending a bird home, that's why.
If you've ever wondered why we sometimes tell someone no, even when it means losing a sale, that's why.
Because at House of Birds, the sale cannot be more important than the bird.
And if you have a responsible, family-owned pet store in your community, support them when you can.
Buy the bag of food there.
Grab the toy.
Pick up some treats.
Ask questions.
Get to know the people behind the counter.
Because when you support a small business like ours, you're not helping some giant corporation hit its quarterly numbers.
Sometimes you're helping us buy another bag of food for the 30-year-old parrot waiting for his next family.
Sometimes you're helping us give a surrendered bird another week to find the right person.
Sometimes you're simply helping us keep the doors open so the next person who walks in carrying a cage and saying, "I don't know what else to do," has somewhere to go.
House of Birds has become much more than we originally intended it to be.
And maybe that's okay.
Because these aren't inventory.
They're family.
And every single one of them deserves for somebody to give a damn. ❤️🦜
