Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I have 3 cockatiels which are my babies and I have been looking for a new business to start. I came up with a bird based business idea and would like some advice. I'm sure it's not a new idea, but I haven't yet found a business that is doing this. I know that it has been proven that pets in the workplace makes people more productive & calmer. I was thinking of setting up a program where I would set birds in offices and make regular trips for feeding and cage cleaning. I would maybe charge $100 a month for the service, depending on the cage & amount of birds. I would use acrylic cages so there would be no mess & less noise & no one poking their fingers in the cages. I think finched & parakeets would work out best in this situation. Does anyone know someone who is doing this as a business or have any advice? Thanks.

I do not know of anyone doing this business or how well it would work out. I do know some nursing homes set up aviaries for their residents to watch and interact with which seems to work well. Usually they do use finches, parakeets or cockatiels.

As far as the acrylic cages I would really suggest against it. Some people have wonderful luck with these cages but I have heard from many that they really promote bacterial build up even for those who clean their cages very often. They also seem to hold moisture which promotes mold and fungus and causes respiratory infections. Again this does not happen to everyone but there have been proven reports of this. I would instead think about cages with closer bar spacing maybe even ones you designed yourself or with the help of a partner to design them to "fit into" the office decor, much the same way they do aquariums. Since more than likely these birds will not be interacted with much if at all they will need a very large setting, much larger than minimum requirements to allow for good movement and flight, an aviary would be optimal.

I do think many of your businesses are going to find this to be distracting unless it is in a lobby type area and then the birds would have to be away from doors, etc to keep them away from drafts.

Make sure you think this through very carefully before going ahead and it would be a good idea to check with several businesses ahead of time to see if anyone shows any interest.

another thing is if you live in an area with cooler months some buisinesses turn off their heat at night or turn it down when no one is there, such a cool down could cause illness in birds.

and one more thing about acrylic cages, frightened birds have been known to fly into the walls of the cages breaking bones or even causing death.

Alot of places turn their lights off too for the weekend.

I personally think it would be a really bad idea.

I'd worry about some offices turning off their heating and air on weekends. Could be dangerous for our fine feathered friends.

Donna