Bird is the Word

This is the greatest bird store I’ve ever been to. From macaws and African Greys, to cockatiels and conures, these guys hand-​raise them all and know the ins-​and-​outs of birds of all feathers. Not only do they breed and raise these guys, but have every supply you could think of to keep your winged friend happy. Cages, toys, perches, and healthy foods and treats. For you travelers out there, Bird is the Word has travel cages or boarding services.
When I’m in to grab odds and ends for my parrot, I end up staying way to long, seeing their critters or talking to the extremely knowledgable staff. If you’re a bird-​lover, you can’t go wrong.

This place is a gem of a business. We’ve been going here for years for bird supplies and advice; but recently they helped us in a big way. We have two redrump parakeets, a pair that insist on laying eggs. This time, our female parakeet got egg bound. We had no experience, and our vet was closed (New Year’s Day). There were no guarantees. It could have turned out differently. They could have withheld advice out of fear of being wrong. They did not. Their advice was welcome, and because of their help, our bird is alive and thriving again.
They have beautiful birds here: parrots, canaries, and everything in between. They have cages, and toys, and high quality seed. That can trim wings and feet, and have a vet that regularly visits, so you can even get a bird checkup right in the store.
If you own a bird in the fox valley, you need to visit this place!
Ps: if you do visit watch out for the mooching squirrel that hangs out by the front door. She wants at the seed in the store!

Of all the bird stores and pet stores I’ve ever been to, and that’s been a lot, they do a fantastic job hand raising their babies. The birds are in ample size cages, and always have clean food, water and cages. I really enjoy coming here to see what they have in the way of babies.
My only qualm is that I wish they would carry organic foods, like Harrisons, Goldenfeast, and/​or Totally Organic Pellets. There could be more variety in food than the regular pet store brands. However, I cannot complain about the animal care there and the birds look happy, healthy and well cared for. I only hope their future owners take such good care of them.

This was the best bird store I have ever been in. I didn’t want to leave, and was hoping they’d ask me to sleep over. I drove from the South Side of Chicago all the way to Batavia to check it out, and I will be doing that again.
The young birdies are obviously well taken care of, and the staff is outstanding. I was talking to a worker in the store about possibly getting my cockatiel a friend, and the owner (I assume she was the owner) came right over and gave me her advice – which was not to buy another cockatiel, despite the fact that it cost her a sale. These people obviously love birds, not money (which «they say /​Is the root of all evil today. /​But if you ask for a rise. .. etc.»). I learned more about tiels and parakeets in a five minute conversation with her than I have learned in a year of reading about them.
You can also watch them hand feed the little ones. They know exactly what they are doing – I saw the birdkeepers feed the babies at Brookfield Zoo in the same way.
The store is large (not cramped at all) and clean and there are scores of birds (many sold and waiting to be weaned) in case you want to gawk. Like I said, I was hoping they’d let me sleep over. No such offer was extended, but I can’t blame them – I look like a psycho.
This is the best bird store in Chicago. As soon as I mentioned it on Facebook, four or five other people said they bought birds and supplies here and that it was an excellent shop.

We have been going to Bird is the Word for longer than I can remember (maybe over ten years). We brought our cockatiel in for a nail clipping and they hurt his foot, bruising and swelling, fortunately nothing serious. When we brought this to the owner’s attention, she blamed us, never apologized and said just wait a day or two.
Well, there’s nothing that can be done, but not informing us of the injured bird, covering it up, not caring, and no apology pretty much guarantees we will never be in this store again. We will also make sure that our friends and family know that this is a place that cannot be trusted

It’s hard for people who have companion birds to shop in 3D. Dog & cat lovers have all the shops & I try to avoid places like Petsmart so I really appreciate & want to support this place. They have a fantastic, well priced array of little toys like wingnuts & blocks that are so small that it kills me to buy online & pay for shipping so I can stock while mingling with all the resident birds.
I don’t have my birds groomed there just because of distance but they always seem to have a steady stream of regulars coming through for their manicures and such.

On numerous occasions, I have made the trip to Batavia to visit one of the most awesome shops in the known universe. Also, one of our parrots requires wing trims, a service they offer. We have never been let down by their wing trims here. We have not tried the boarding service, but we’ve seen how it operates and it all seems on the level.
As for the actual birds, I really think the methods here result in more well-​adjusted parrots. As soon as they’re old enough, the young avians go out into a large, open environment where people and other parrots interact with them constantly. They can choose to go inside a cage for some alone time or remain out and play. Various healthy foods are on hand to sample, rather than a monotonous diet from which you must wean your new pet once you’ve brought him or her home. In addition to «new» birds, they often have rescue birds, and the staff’s personal pets mingle with both in the common area. All of the parrots seem well-​socialized, healthy, and properly groomed for safety (no jagged nails to snag on the rope toys). You can tell the staff here really loves birds and knows their stuff.
The toy selection here is very good, as you can find preening toys, foraging toys, shredding toys, foot toys, and all manner of things here. The play stands are solid and available in different styles and sizes. You can also find treats, seed mixes, pellets, and dishes, including some types of dish that are hard to find elsewhere. In fact, they once special-​ordered some for me.
There are also numerous wild birds (not available to take home!), especially ducks and geese, that hang out behind the store. Great for birdwatching!
If anybody reading this is thinking about getting a pet bird, this is the first place I’d send you to get an idea of what it’s really like to hang out with parrots. There’s a good shelter in Northbrook, and I recommend volunteering with them, of course, but a lot of those birds have special issues and don’t really represent what it’s like to live with a parrot because some of them will not interact with you. (Nothing against special needs birds – I have one – but you want to see the ideal parrot before you decide if you even want one, to know what it’s like). If you really want to know what it’s like to have a bird bigger than your head (or any other size parrot) sitting on you or eating out of your hand, Bird’s The Word is your best bet.

Thank youuuuu! Thank you for my wonderful hand raised lulu birdie pants.
About 2 years ago I had asked for a parakeet for Christmas and thats all I wanted. Well after a long bitter fight with my mom she gave it and by word of mouth I ended up searching for my new friend at a cute little bird store named bird is the word! Its a great place with helpful people and they are really good to all of their animals.
They are a small family owned store with responsible people hand raising parakeets. You can go in there and pick out your baby parakeet and after it is weaned then you can come back and pick your baby up! Much better then the full grown never handled typical pet store parakeets.
I love my birdie!
Oh and they have a resident Macaw and Great Gray that will greet you when you walk in sooo cute!
Besides birds they sell anything and everything you will need to take care of your bird from toys to fresh food and treats. They also will babysit your bird if you go out of town the babysitting room has tvs and music to make it as homey as possible:)