Where to buy a parrot in Delaware

K and K Parrots, LLC is a Parrot Place Location located in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of the older locations, established almost ten years ago. It is located along the I-95 corridor, which runs North to South, between Florida and the northeast United States. This has created an ideal situation in providing quick access for many bird customers that come from neighboring states.

Although K and K Parrots ships birds throughout the continental United States, the majority of their customers are from Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and New York. They are also located just 40 minutes from the Philadelphia Airport, so they are able to both pick up parrot babies and ship them out. There are no other bird stores located within an hour drive, so they have a good niche in the local area.

K and K Parrots is owned and operated by Kathy and Karen (thus the K and K!). Kathy was originally owned by a Cockatiel named Yoshi that had a small vocabulary, but whistled lots of tunes. After losing Yoshi, she decided to get her Quaker Parrot, Taco and, a year later, her Timneh Grey, Gizmo. They are still a part of the business and like to entertain the customers.

Karen and Kathy originally worked together outside of the home, and their kids went to school together. When Kathy’s husband, at the time, decided that he did not like the noise that her Quaker parrot was making, Karen took him in. Taco loved being with her and her family, and Karen grew to love parrots.

It is a love of Parrots and a desire to do more that inspired both Kathy and Karen to join the Parrot Place Organization. Both have children and work full time jobs, but really enjoy the opportunities that the business has provided. They have met so many people with a passion for birds, including customers and Parrot Place people. They have also enjoyed the opportunity to “sample” a wide variety of parrots and, of course, have kept a few favorites along the way! Karen and Kathy now have a personal flock consisting of Taco and Gizmo, plus Freckles (Black Headed Caique), Scooby and Mango (White Bellied Caiques), Buddy (Yellow Crown Amazon), Oscar (Blue Crown Conure), and Nellie (Congo Grey)

K and K Parrots has continued to grow and make changes through the years to create a successful Parrot Place location. Their first shipment included an Amazon, a Sun Conure and an Umbrella Cockatoo. They had no experience handfeeding and the support offered before Vicki Pierce took over was very minimal! Upon opening the shipping container, the Amazon..which looked like a naked baby dinosaur, looked up and growled at Karen. She immediately said, “Oh my! What have we gotten ourselves in to?” Needless to say, Kathy and Karen learned the ropes very quickly!

Business picked up gradually over the first year, and continues to build. They advertise in magazines and Google Ad Words, in the local Yellow Pages and through signage on their cars. But the best advertisement has been “word of mouth”. Several customers have bought multiple birds over a period of time. The services of grooming and boarding, as well as the sale of supplies, often helps them through times when the economy is suffering and bird sales are not good.

All birds sold at K and K Parrots come with a one year limited health warranty. They have added a stipulation that the warranty depends on the customer continuing to keep the baby on the same pelleted diet that they are sent home with. In addition, all bird customers are given 10% off of all supply purchases - indefinitely. This also includes on-line sales.

Local customers are invited to visit as often as they wish to see their new babies. This gives Karen and Kathy a chance to educate and develop a good relationship with the new bird owner. Each parrot is individually different, so it is a great opportunity to talk to the customers about their bird.

K and K Parrots is a Full Service Aviary consisting of the following:

• Two Aviaries off of the house – One aviary contains mostly babies and birds that are for sale. The second aviary is for breeder parrots, and some of our personal birds. They also have a barn in the back that has been used for additional space for birds in the past, and is now used for storage of supplies.
• In Home Shop – The front of the house is being utilized as a store. When customers enter the house they walk directly into this area. They sell everything that they use and have a great selection of toys, food, and supplies. Even customers that have not bought their birds from them will stop by for food and supplies.
• K and K Parrots website – Designed by Kathy and Karen, the website offers very extensive information about the business and the different species of parrots, including:
• Welcome Page – Tells the customers what we offer them as a Parrot Place Location, and what makes us different than most pet stores. This page also lists the services that we offer.
• Our Aviary – Lists all the Parrot Species that we sell and babies currently in the nursery. We also have customer testimonials that we have compiled from past sales.
• Price List – Lists all the species and approximate prices that are available to them through the breeder network. Species information is available, as well as some pictures of the birds listed
• Picture Gallery – Organized by Parrot species, here are pictures of many of the birds K and K parrots has raised for customers over the years.
• Companion Parrot Link – For those that wish to learn more and want to be a part of a growing community of bird lovers like themselves.
• Information Topics – Printable information about Bird Keeping and Techniques for helping with Behavioral Problems. Helpful topics include questionnaires to help customers choose a lifetime companion suitable for their personal situation.
• Links and Video Clips – Fun U-Tube Videos featuring Parrots in the Wild, Dancing and Talking Parrots and Einstein, the African Grey Parrot that helped parrot research.
• Online Store – Also designed by Kathy and Karen, the store features a great selection and wide variety of the best foods, toys and supplies. Very helpful for their customers that do not live locally. K and K Parrots buys its supplies from several distributors and manufacturers and either drop ships, or ships items out direct from their store.
• Services – K and K Parrots offers grooming, boarding and consultation services as ongoing support for their customers.

The On-Line Store, K and K Parrot Supplies, is a recent addition as of December 2009. Competition is fierce for pet supply sales in on-line stores, but the market is there. Since they also ship birds to other states, it has been very convenient to those customers to be able to still buy their supplies through them. They offer free shipping for orders of $50 or more.

K and K Parrots also breeds a few species of parrots, and offers the babies for sale exclusively to Parrot Place locations. The breeder pairs include Yellow Crown and Double Yellow Head Amazons, Blue Crown, Dusky and Green Cheek Conures, SI Eclectus, White Bellied Caiques and Congo Greys.