East Valley Business - 02.06.2022

east valley

Volume 4 Issue 30 Mesa, AZ

February 6, 2021

Bird owners flock to this Mesa store

BY MELODY BIRKETT Tribune Contributor

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IN THE BIZ

anaries, finches, parakeets, budgies, conures, cockatiels, amazons, cockatoos, ringnecks and quakers are among the many breeds people will find the Arizona Bird Store.

“We hand-raise babies,” said AZ Bird Store owner Debbie Schweikardt, who owned the former Cage World in Mesa for 19 years before moving to the current location near Dobson and Broadway roads in 2013. “When we get babies in, we run them through a panel of four different tests before we open them up to the public.”

She said birds don’t breed in Arizona during the summer because it’s too hot with few food sources so she doesn’t have as many birds at the moment.

“But this time of year, the birds know there are going to be fresh flowers and grasses and other food sources to feed their babies,” said Schweikardt, adding that no breeding is done at the store.

For anyone who never has had a bird for a pet, Schweikardt said cockatiels are “super cuddly and super friendly.

“They’re bred that way,” she added.

“If they lay three eggs and three babies hatch, they’re only going to raise one baby.

They’re going to let these other two go.

They’re going to put all of their focus and attention on this one baby. So, innately, this is an animal that’s going to be very codependent – like an only child.”

Scheikardt said she takes the babies Public Notices ............... page 3 © Copyright, 2022 East Valley Tribune

AZ Bird Store owner Debbie Schweikardt poses Kaos, Indigo and Flower, all of whom are trained.

(Melody Birkett/Tribune Contributor)

out of their nest at four weeks and starts hand-feeding them, “getting them superused to people.”

Hand-feeding the babies socializes the birds and makes them more comfortable with humans, enabling an easier adjust(USPS 004-616) is published weekly

Mailing Address: 1620 W. Fountainhead Pkwy., Suite 219, Tempe, AZ 85282

(480) 898-6500 Steven Strickbine, publisher Paul Maryniak, executive editor

ment to a new home.

For those who live in apartments, condos or townhouses, Schweikardt said canaries, finches, parakeets and budgies are suitable whole conures and amazons are very loud.

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“We also wouldn’t recommend a macaw or cockatiel for an apartment, although people do have them,” she said. “Some of the smaller birds can be pretty loud, too.

Many times, they call out to each other.

Most of the time birds are very active a half-hour before the sun comes up, a halfhour afterward and a half-hour before the sun goes down.”

She advised that birds make great pets for kids.

“They’re very forgiving. They’re very docile and passive. I’m sure every once in a while you’re going to get one that likes to bite and are a little unruly but when we raise little babies, they’re super sweet and have been handled ever since they were four weeks old.”

Schweikardt recommends setting boundaries for handling the birds.

“We recommend you handle them one hour a day because they’re clingy,” said Schweikardt. “Let’s say you’re talking on the phone, they know you’re talking but it’s not to them and they don’t like that. So they start making a lot of noise, banging their toys around.

“The human will try to comfort them, rewarding the animal for acting out and throwing a tantrum. They’re smart. Do that one or two times, they realize they’re getting attention. We try to educate people.

Don’t do it. Set some boundaries. You’re in control of this animal.”

Owning a bird is relatively inexpensive in comparison to a dog.

For little birds, a complete setup with a cage runs $100. Schweikardt said handfed parakeets start at $60 and hand-fed cockatiels at $200.

Grooming every other month costs $15 but the store has a special: buy four sessions and get two free.

“Food is much cheaper than dog food,” added Schweikardt. “The thing is to get good food. We sell it at the store. We don’t encourage people to buy their bird food at Walmart.

“These are exotic animals. Some of their diets are going to be a little precise but we always want to give them a good feed with plenty of vitamins, plenty of minerals and plenty of amino acids. We always suggest feeding them fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes if you don’t do that early enough they won’t take to it later on.”

She explained that manufacturers

make pellets with grains, fruits, vegetables that have all of the necessary vitamins and minerals birds need.

“We recommend that to be 80-percent of their diet and then 20-percent fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Schweikardt, who said it’s OK to feed birds things like French fries and tuna fish – “things you wouldn’t think to feed them but they might totally love.”

Birds live a long time so getting one as a pet can sometimes be a life-long commitment. Macaws live 50-60 years, the lifespan for cockatiels is 20-25 years and finches/ canaries generally last seven-nine years. A good diet contributes to a longer life.

Jack is a black palm cockatoo, which is very rare in Compared to dogs and cats, Sch- this country. (Special to the Tribune) weikardt said birds are lower maintenance but it depends on the owner. dangerous.

“The bigger the bird, the bigger the cage, “Birds don’t like a lot of temperature the bigger the mess. But birds aren’t neces- changes,” Schweikardt said. “They don’t sarily anything you have to take out as long as know how to fend for themselves. They you have them in a cage and got everything can’t go from a warm temperature during they need and it’s big enough.” the day to a cold temperature at night.

Employees at the store work with own“We also run a lost and found. Ever since ers who must give up their birds by put- this way of thinking started to happen, ting them on consignment. our lost team is just going crazy. Accidents As far as grooming services, Schwei- happen. We totally get it. We understand.” kardt said, “We do the wings, trim the Trimming nails is included in the groombeak, microchipping, DNA testing because ing. “That’s usually what brings people in,” with a lot of birds, you can’t tell the differ- said Schweikardt. “It’s a necessary evil.” ence between male and female.”

When owners go out of town for a week“We recommend grooming every other end, Schweikardt said to put out an extra month such as the wings…We change the bowl of water and food. But a trip lasting shape of the wing so they won’t be able to longer than a weekend, it’s best to have fly on top of somebody’s house or a tree a someone look after your bird or board it. half-mile away.”

“We offer boarding here,” said SchweiClipping wings isn’t painful to the bird. kardt. “It’s minimal. $15 a day. Then bird “It’s not even like hair because hair is owners feel confident if something were to something that continually grows,” ex- happen, we’re going to know what to do. plained Schweikardt. “Feathers, when they With birds, any exotic, if they’re sick, they grow, are basically dead after that. There’s don’t allow that to be known. no blood supply. There are no nerve end“A lot of it is due to survival. In the wild, ings. Twice a year they molt.” if you have a flock of birds and one or She said some people want their birds two are not looking good or feeling good, to fly and not clip their wings but Schwei- they’re a liability. They’re going to draw kardt said it’s the equivalent of taking a predators to this flock and potentially they dog that has never been trained to walk on get the whole flock sick. So, they’re killed a leash and letting them go. off. They spend an enormous amount of “It’s out of control. They’re just doing in- time pretending they’re fine by eating, etc. stinctively what they’re going to do,” add- People who know exotic animals know ing that letting birds fly has resulted in a how to look for warning signs.” lot of them getting outside which can be Information: azbirdstore.com, 480-833-4001.

EAST VALLEY BUSINESS

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FEBRUARY 6, 2022

Mesa remodeling firm slates grand opening TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF

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rebranded home remodeling business in Mesa is inviting the public to its grand opening.

Valley Remodeling, 4446 E. University Drive, will have food, drinks and entertainment 4:30-6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11, as the Mesa Chamber of Commerce presides over the festivities.

RSVPs are requested by calling 602316-9187.

The family-owned remodeling business has served the Southeast Valley since 2011 under the title UMGS, but rebranded as Valley Remodeling at the beginning of the year with a focus on kitchen and bathroom remodels.

The company obtained its general contractor’s license three years ago and have since completed a few kitchen and bathroom remodeling projects.

“With everyone wanting to renovate, it feels like this is the best time to move forward specializing in kitchen and bathroom remodels,” the company says on its website.

“Our passion for our work comes from our desire to put you and your home

Public Notice CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking a qualified firm or team to act as the Job Order Contractor for the following: GENERAL UTILITY CONSTRUCTION JOB ORDER CONTRACT PROJECT NO. JOC-U22 The City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Contractor to provide Job Order General Utility Construction Services. All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements detailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ).

The following is a summary of the project. The Utility Job Order Contract to provide General underground utility construction services for minor and major projects, maintenance, repairs, reconstruction and alteration services

Valley Remodeling’s staff is celebrating its rebranding with a grand opening Friday. (Special to the

Tribune)

first,” it adds. “We love to enrich people’s lives by providing a higher quality of life,

to City facilities.

A Pre-Submittal Conference will be held on February 16, 2022 at 9:00 am through Microsoft Teams.

Parties interested in attending should request an invitation from Stephanie Gishey at stephanie. gishey@mesaaz.gov.

At this meeting, City staff will discuss the scope of work and general contract issues and respond to questions from the attendees. Attendance at the pre-submittal conference is not mandatory and all interested firms may submit a Statement of Qualifications whether or not they attend the conference. All interested firms are encouraged to attend the Pre-Submittal Conference since City staff will not be available for meetings or to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this conference. In addition, there will not be meeting minutes or any other information published from the Pre-Submittal Conference.

Contact with City Employees.

All firms interested in this project (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants)

EAST VALLEY BUSINESS

working on each house as if it were our own.”

will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, as-sure that contract decisions are made in public and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative identified below.

RFQ Lists. The RFQ is available on the City’s website at https://www. mesaaz.gov/business/engineering/ construction-manager-at-risk-andjob-order-contracting-opportunities The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding PPVF’s and resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation).

Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall

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be 10pt. Please provide one (1) electronic copy of the Statement of Qualifications in an unencrypted PDF format to Engineering-RFQ@ mesaaz.gov by February 24, 2022 at 2 pm. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications.

The City is an equal opportunity employer.

Firms who wish to do business with the City of Mesa must be registered in the City of Mesa Vendor Self Service (VSS) System ( h tt p : / / m e s a a z . g ov / bu s i n e s s / purchasing/vendor-self-service).

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Job Order selection process or contract issues should be directed to Stephanie Gishey of the Engineering Department at stephanie.gishey@mesaaz.gov.

BETH HUNING City Engineer ATTEST: DeeAnn Mickelsen City Clerk Published in : The Mesa Tribune February 6, 13, 2022 / 44483

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

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