St. Clair resale shop helps big colorful birds

ST CLAIR - Donna Hiebert says the Featherz resale shop in St. Clair's Riverview Plaza is a store with a message.

"It's all about the back room," she said. "The message is, we shouldn't be breeding long-lived parrots where people don't understand the commitment.

"The large species, like the macaws, the cockatoos, and the Amazons can live up to 80 years."

She cares for about 12 assorted birds — including a gorgeous and massive macaw named Bosco — that people have had to give up.

"I wouldn't call them true rescues," she said. "They are surrenders."

She said the attraction to the birds is understandable.

"People get them because they are gorgeous and we are drawn to them, but living with one is a lot different from playing with one for a week or so," she said.

Happy, a citron-crested cockatoo, was captured from the wild in Indonesia. He's about 40 years old, and he hasn't had an easy time of it.

"When he came to me, I don't know how many moves he'd had, but he was known as a biter," Hiebert said.

She said she found and removed a staple that had been embedded in the skin of his left rear toe, and Happy is much happier now.

She also said that while the resale shop, which has been open slightly more than four years, offers many items on consignment, goods that are donated to the store are marked with an orange sticker. She donates 10 percent of the proceeds from those orange-tagged items to the Blue Water Humane Society and the Humane Society of St. Clair County.

She said she's not out looking for birds, but many birds come to her through referrals.

"It's become a serious issue," she said. "People get them and get rid of them for the same reasons they do dogs and cats."

She said the birds have sharp beaks — and they will bite if they feel threatened or if they are aggressive.

"If you don't know what you are going to get into with these guys, you're going to get bitten."

She said a bird like Happy, for example, wouldn't do well with a family with children.

Hiebert said she will work with people who are serious about adopting a bird "if they're interested in learning about birds and wish to adopt a bird instead of buying a bird from a store."

She puts prospective adopters through a rigorous screening, requiring them to come in and work with the birds numerous times before the adoption becomes final.

Hiebert said she's looking for adopters who are good with birds — not someone who wants a parrot because it looks like fun. The birds at Featherz are not for sale.

"I would like to work with people who are serious about helping birds," she said.

Residents love new courtyard at Riverview Plaza

Contact Bob Gross at (810) 989-6263 or rgross@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477.

More information

• Featherz Resale Shop and Parrot Supply is in the Riverview Plaza, 201 Riverside Ave., St. Clair.
• The store is open six days from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed on Wednesdays.
• Call (810) 329-8800 or go to the shop's Facebook page at  www.facebook.com/Featherz-316806308392099/