A New Beginning

If you haven't met me yet, my name is Mike, and I was lucky enough to be Sara Kane's son. You might have seen me around the Tropical Bird Farm as I often helped Sara out on weekends.

Sara ran the Tropical Bird Farm for 20 years, first at its original location on Pearl Street in Boulder (above an auto mechanic's shop!) and later from its current South Boulder location. After she passed away last January, it became my mission to restart her business and continue supporting the community she loved so much. (I'm a part of that community as well; I have a 45 year old Amazon and a 25 year old Senegal, both of whom thrive on Mom's diet.)

Restarting the business was more difficult than I hoped it would be. There were significant family issues that needed to be worked out, and new licensing and supplier relationships needed to be obtained. But we're finally ready, and Tropical Bird Supply is now open for business.

Why "Tropical Bird Supply" and not "Tropical Bird Farm?" One reason is that it turned out to be easier to start with a clean slate than to posthumously transfer ownership of an existing business.

But another reason is that our mission will be changing slightly, and I wanted the new name to reflect that. We'll still carry Sara's Cooked Grain Mix and all the diets and supplies that Sara used to (we're still ramping up so please let me know what you need!). But we will no longer be breeding or selling birds.

Through the years we've seen far too many wonderful birds given up for adoption due to changes in people's lives, and we don't want to add to that problem by breeding more of them. Sara understood that better than anyone, and spent the last few years of her business trying to get her remaining birds into good homes.

If you're looking for a companion bird we highly recommend contacting a rescue organization such as The Gabriel Foundation or one of many other such groups operating around the country. There you'll find wonderful birds who are down on their luck and waiting to be adopted by loving families. I have a rescue bird myself, and on a daily basis he is the biggest source of joy in my life.

And if you're unhappy with your current avian relationship (or vice-versa), please let us know. We can give you advice about behavioral issues, direct you towards professional help, or try to match you up with people looking to adopt. Owning a bird is the most challenging and rewarding relationship you'll ever have, and we want more than anything for those relationships to be happy ones.

As with all new businesses I'm sure there will be growing pains, so please let me know if we can do better in any way. And on behalf of my Mom, thank you for your continued support. You, the members of the Tropical Bird Farm community, are the best legacy of her amazing life that I could possibly imagine.

Best wishes for the holidays,
Mike.