The reason I started Avian Naturals in 1999.
Over thirty years ago I was given a Red Lore Amazon, Sassy, as a gift. Through the years we acquired Sammy, a greenwing and Miss Bell, a Moluccan Cockatoo and learned the fine art of handfeeding. That was a learning experience all in itself. I often wonder how either survived our lack of knowledge and the learning curve in between. Anyway, that was the start of “NEBS” (Never Enough Birds Syndrome). It’s a scary disease for which there is no known cure. All bird owners can be stricken with it. Since those days, we have added Mikey, the Military Macaw; Cody, a Timneh Grey; Coco, a Nanday Conure; Comet, a Blue Headed Pionus; Frick and Annabelle, two Black Headed Caiques; Goliath, a Hyacinth Macaw; Shasta, a Sun Conure; Jade, a Blue Headed Amazon; Jazmin, a Yellow Head Amazon and Gorgeous George, a Cockatiel, for a flock of 14 fids. We love each of them for their own "special ways" and for their individual comical antics.
It also became apparent that the foods being offered in stores came with problems for some of our flock. Plucking, shredding feathers, aggressive behaviors were a few of the problems. That's when I started researching ingredients and found I wasn't really happy with the food choices. All the additives, preservatives, colorings, and added vitamins, etc. I found that many of these unwanted ingredients were everywhere so I had no choice but to create foods that I could feel confident in feeding my own flock. I searched for human grade ingredients with no sulfur added, no colorings added and only natural preservatives used.
Our products never come in contact with any kind of mixing machines. We hand mix everything and package the products here. Being a small company has its advantages. We oversee each step in the process of each product from the first ingredient to getting it out the front door. Hence I started creating the "Just Say No" foods. The "Just Say No" line of foods is used with my flock daily as is our Herbal Supreme mix. Once our birds were being fed our products, all the plucking, shredding of feathers and aggressive behaviors disappeared. A healthy immune system means great annual exams and long life spans!! It’s a necessity to constantly search to provide quality ingredients as natural as possible and also provide safe toy parts made in the USA. I found it was easier said than done.
I don't have as much time now to make toys as I once did but have acquired some of the best sources for safe toys and parts which are available on our website. We have topped over two hundred safe toy parts at last count and always searching for more! We will continue to search for the best and safest offerings to display at Avian Naturals and All Bird Toys to make shopping easy and fun.
Now its 15 years later and I've handed the day to day business over to my daughter. She has been doing most of the work since 2012 anyway and doing a great job. I'm still here but only answering questions and getting back to research and development.
Over thirty years ago I was given a Red Lore Amazon, Sassy, as a gift. Through the years we acquired Sammy, a greenwing and Miss Bell, a Moluccan Cockatoo and learned the fine art of handfeeding. That was a learning experience all in itself. I often wonder how either survived our lack of knowledge and the learning curve in between. Anyway, that was the start of “NEBS” (Never Enough Birds Syndrome). It’s a scary disease for which there is no known cure. All bird owners can be stricken with it. Since those days, we have added Mikey, the Military Macaw; Cody, a Timneh Grey; Coco, a Nanday Conure; Comet, a Blue Headed Pionus; Frick and Annabelle, two Black Headed Caiques; Goliath, a Hyacinth Macaw; Shasta, a Sun Conure; Jade, a Blue Headed Amazon; Jazmin, a Yellow Head Amazon and Gorgeous George, a Cockatiel, for a flock of 14 fids. We love each of them for their own "special ways" and for their individual comical antics.
It also became apparent that the foods being offered in stores came with problems for some of our flock. Plucking, shredding feathers, aggressive behaviors were a few of the problems. That's when I started researching ingredients and found I wasn't really happy with the food choices. All the additives, preservatives, colorings, and added vitamins, etc. I found that many of these unwanted ingredients were everywhere so I had no choice but to create foods that I could feel confident in feeding my own flock. I searched for human grade ingredients with no sulfur added, no colorings added and only natural preservatives used.
Our products never come in contact with any kind of mixing machines. We hand mix everything and package the products here. Being a small company has its advantages. We oversee each step in the process of each product from the first ingredient to getting it out the front door. Hence I started creating the "Just Say No" foods. The "Just Say No" line of foods is used with my flock daily as is our Herbal Supreme mix. Once our birds were being fed our products, all the plucking, shredding of feathers and aggressive behaviors disappeared. A healthy immune system means great annual exams and long life spans!! It’s a necessity to constantly search to provide quality ingredients as natural as possible and also provide safe toy parts made in the USA. I found it was easier said than done.
I don't have as much time now to make toys as I once did but have acquired some of the best sources for safe toys and parts which are available on our website. We have topped over two hundred safe toy parts at last count and always searching for more! We will continue to search for the best and safest offerings to display at Avian Naturals and All Bird Toys to make shopping easy and fun.
Now its 15 years later and I've handed the day to day business over to my daughter. She has been doing most of the work since 2012 anyway and doing a great job. I'm still here but only answering questions and getting back to research and development.