Heather Gamble was surrounded by pets growing up. But birds — particularly parrots — hold a special place in her heart.
After moving to Texas 11 years ago and later rediscovering her love for birds, she decided to set up her own pet store. Gamble and her daughter run Heather’s Feathers in Bedford, where they offer boarding and grooming for parrots as well as help them find homes.
Contact information:
Location: 2828 Brown Trail, Suite C, Bedford
Phone: 682-812-0134
Email: hparrotfeathers@gmail.com
Website: Heather’s Feathers
Facebook: Heather’s Feathers
Instagram: @heathersfeatherstx
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Nicole Lopez: Tell me about how your business started.
Heather Gamble: As a young child, I did have parakeets. As I got older and busy with school, I couldn’t have a bird because I had so much to do and birds require a lot of attention. When I moved to Texas, I had a neighbor who had birds, and she asked me to babysit her birds when they had to move — until they got into their new house and had everything set up. From there, I just fell in love with the birds all over again.
Heather’s Feathers got started in April, two years back. We’re going on our third year now.
Lopez: Does your store offer foster services?
Gamble: When I have extra space in my store and I can accommodate, I do bring in birds in need of rehousing — to help people in the community who can no longer keep their birds due to health issues and things of that nature.
We’ll soon be taking care of a double yellow headed Amazon parrot and a blue and yellow macaw. They are very beautiful.
Heather’s Feathers sells a variety of parakeets including budgies and conures. Pictured is a sun conure. (Courtesy photo | Heather Gamble)
Lopez: What do your grooming services include?
Gamble: Grooming includes nails, wings and beak. The beak can only be trimmed if there’s something wrong with it. We won’t touch it unless it’s got some kind of deformity. It’s important for the bird’s beak to be sharp.
Lopez: What kinds of merchandise does your store carry?
Gamble: We carry a custom blend food that is Heather’s Feathers food. We also carry ZuPreem bird food products. We make some toys in house and some are purchased. Custom-made toys are available.
Lopez: Why should people look to a local business for pets?
Gamble: As a local business, we’re more capable to fit each customer’s needs as to where a big box store has to accommodate everybody. As far as boarding services, what sets us apart is we have economical rates for boarding. We provide fruits and vegetables at no additional cost while they’re boarding with us. We take very good care of your birds. If you have a disabled bird that needs around-the-clock care, I will take it home with me to ensure that it gets the care that it needs. We cater to our customers.
Lopez: Do you have any tips for first-time bird owners?
Gamble: Do not buy a bird just because you think it can talk. Just because it can talk does not mean it will talk.
That’s one of the biggest pieces of advice I give people when they come in. Social media can show you 30 seconds of a bird and how funny it is, but that’s not enough education. I prefer people to become educated if they want to know something. They’re more than welcome to come into my store and we can talk about what they may or may not need.
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Related
Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.
Republish This Story
Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details.