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THE MESA TRIBUNE | FEBRUARY 6, 2022
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Bird owners flock to this Mesa store BY MELODY BIRKETT Tribune Contributor
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anaries, finches, parakeets, budgies, conures, cockatiels, amazons, cockatoos, ringnecks and quakers are among the many breeds people will find the Arizona Bird Store. “We hand-raise babies,” said AZ Bird Store owner Debbie Schweikardt, who owned the former Cage World in Mesa for 19 years before moving to the current location near Dobson and Broadway roads in 2013. “When we get babies in, we run them through a panel of four different tests before we open them up to the public.” She said birds don’t breed in Arizona during the summer because it’s too hot with few food sources so she doesn’t have as many birds at the moment. “But this time of year, the birds know there are going to be fresh flowers and
Jack is a black palm cockatoo, which is very country. (Special to the Tribune)
grasses and other food sources to feed their babies,” said Schweikardt, adding that no breeding is done at the store. For anyone who never has had a bird for a pet, Schweikardt said cockatiels are “super cuddly and super friendly. “They’re bred that way,” she added. “If they lay three eggs and three babies hatch, they’re only going to raise one baby. They’re going to let these other two go. They’re going to put all of their focus and attention on this one baby. So, innately, this is an animal that’s going to be very codependent – like an only child.” Scheikardt said she takes the babies out of their nest at four weeks and starts hand-feeding them, “getting them superused to people.” Hand-feeding the babies socializes the birds and makes them more comfortable with humans, enabling an easier adjustment to a new home. For those who live in apartments, condos or townhouses, Schweikardt said canaries, finches, parakeets and budgies are suitable whole conures and amazons are very loud. “We also wouldn’t recommend a macaw or cockatiel for an apartment, although people do have them,” she said. “Some of the smaller birds can be pretty loud, too. Many times, they call out to each other. Most of the time birds are very active a half-hour before the sun comes up, a half-hour afterward and a half-hour before the sun goes down.” She advised that birds make great pets for kids. “They’re very forgiving. They’re very docile and passive. I’m sure every once in a while you’re going to get one rare in this that likes to bite and are a little unruly but when we raise lit-
AZ Bird Store owner Debbie Schweikardt poses Kaos, Indigo and Flower, all of whom are trained. (Melody Birkett/Tribune Contributor)
tle babies, they’re super sweet and have been handled ever since they were four weeks old.” Schweikardt recommends setting boundaries for handling the birds. “We recommend you handle them one hour a day because they’re clingy,” said Schweikardt. “Let’s say you’re talking on the phone, they know you’re talking but it’s not to them and they don’t like that. So they start making a lot of noise, banging their toys around. “The human will try to comfort them, rewarding the animal for acting out and throwing a tantrum. They’re smart. Do that one or two times, they realize they’re getting attention. We try to educate people. Don’t do it. Set some boundaries. You’re in control of this animal.” Owning a bird is relatively inexpensive in comparison to a dog. For little birds, a complete setup with a cage runs $100. Schweikardt said handfed parakeets start at $60 and hand-fed
cockatiels at $200. Grooming every other month costs $15 but the store has a special: buy four sessions and get two free. “Food is much cheaper than dog food,” added Schweikardt. “The thing is to get good food. We sell it at the store. We don’t encourage people to buy their bird food at Walmart. “These are exotic animals. Some of their diets are going to be a little precise but we always want to give them a good feed with plenty of vitamins, plenty of minerals and plenty of amino acids. We always suggest feeding them fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes if you don’t do that early enough they won’t take to it later on.” She explained that manufacturers make pellets with grains, fruits, vegetables that have all of the necessary vitamins and minerals birds need.
see BIRDS page 20
