Tropical Bird Supply is here if you need us

by Mike Grusin March 25, 2020

Dear Tropical Bird Supply community,

I'm sure you've been getting lots of emails from businesses letting you know what changes they're going through due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these emails are pretty silly and I hate to add to that, but as several people have asked, here are a few things that might be useful to know.

The most important thing to note is that we're open for business as usual and plan to remain so indefinitely.

We received our yearly supply of grain in February, so we have plenty of stock available. Not that anyone has (thank you!), but there's absolutely no need to hoard, and by avoiding the temptation to do so everybody will get what they need. If and when you need to, feel free to order supplies as you normally would.

Our home of Boulder Colorado has enacted a "stay at home" order which includes exclusions for essential activities including pet care. This allows us to continue shipping products and offering local pickups as we always have. It also allows you to pick up your local orders if you choose that option.

For local pickups, we're already using a "pick up your order at your convenience" system that will let you maintain social distance. We haven't had any signs of illness here (knock on wood), but as an additional precaution I'll use disinfectant wipes on your items before you get them.

That's all pretty normal, but as these aren't normal times, please keep the following options in mind and take advantage of them if necessary:

If you live in the Boulder area and are unable to pick up an order due to illness or any other reason, please let me know. I would be happy to deliver it to your home.

If you live in the Boulder area and need temporary housing for your bird(s) due to hospitalization or any other reason, please let me know. We are not currently offering paid boarding (we are working towards that), but I would be happy to house anyone's bird(s) for any amount of time at no charge.

Finally, if you need food but are in financial hardship for any reason, please let me know. I would be very happy to help.

My Mom always took the health and welfare of not only her birds but yours as her top priority, and I am proud to continue that tradition. Please reach out if you need anything.

Aside from that, here are a few safety tips to keep in mind. You're all seasoned bird owners, but with the chaos everyone is going through it's worth repeating:

Please be careful when cleaning around your birds. Birds have very sensitive respiratory systems and even "natural" cleaning products produce fumes that can be harmful to them. Move your birds to other areas as you clean, and open windows even if it's cold. (As long as it's not drafty, birds can tolerate cold much better than fumes.) Above all, never mix cleaning products together as this can release gases that are highly toxic to you and (especially!) your birds.

Likewise, when cooking at home, move birds to other areas and use plenty of ventilation. Be especially careful when using Teflon / PTFE / "non-stick" cookware, which if overheated, can release an colorless and odorless gas that's deadly to birds. This is not an urban legend; I've sadly seen it happen. Due to the risk I recommend getting rid of all non-stick cookware if possible.

One bit of good news is that there is zero evidence that birds can get or transmit the COVID-19 virus. And remember that any coughing they do is because they learned it from you. ;)

Good luck out there! I sincerely hope that you and yours stay healthy, and please do what you can to slow the spread. Let me know if you need help of any kind. And as always, thank you for your friendship and business.

Best, Mike.