Birds-N-Paradise — Local services in Menifee

As an experienced bird owner, I was extremely excited to visit Birds N Paradise. I live in Menifee and thought how great it was to have such a well stocked bird shop nearby, with toys, cages, bird food and of course, a large variety of hand fed birds. The reviews on Yelp and Facebook had been overwhelmingly positive, so I brought my kids in to visit and to meet some of the birds.

Being an experienced bird owner, any time I consider a new species, I research tirelessly on their temperament, nutritional needs, etc, before committing to a new animal friend. We know whats safe and what is not; including the toxicity of certain foods, candles, non-stick cookware, perfume, etc.

We bought everything we needed to get started with two parakeets, including a black wire cage for two birds with a wire divider to keep them separated. The kids saved their money from chores and on Friday, 5/26/17, bought Sunshine, a beautiful light yellow and blue hand-fed parakeet; and Mango, a gorgeous green and black hand-fed parakeet with a yellow head with black stripes, and two small purple stripes under each eye. On Tuesday, 5/30/17, we awoke to find Sunshine dead on the bottom of the cage, though Mango still appeared fine. Sunshine did not have any trauma, marks of any kind to indicate injury, and no outward physical signs to indicate illness.

I called Birds N Paradise and got the spiel about candles, and perfume, and non-stick pans; when I asked if they would replace the bird they asked me if I had taken it to be seen by an avian veterinarian within 72 hours of purchase, which I had not. They refused to replace the bird, or discount the purchase of a new one. Ok, I thought, it sucks but not a huge deal, it must be a fluke.

After school, we took our daughter to pick out a new bird. She found Honey Lemon, a bright yellow hand-fed parakeet. We bought the bird for her and came home. Immediately upon walking into the house, we discovered Mango was dead. No wounds to indicate injury, no blood, no outward physical signs to indicate illness, and we were positive this one had been eating and drinking. Knowing the policy of the store, we didn't even bother to call. We threw out everything we bought from Birds N Paradise thinking the food might be the issue, or possibly even the toys. We bought new food at Petco, Zupreme brand which we know is a great brand having used it for years.

Yesterday (6/6/17) afternoon, Honey Lemon died. Again, no wounds, no blood to indicate injury, no outward physical signs to indicate illness. We know this one would eat and drink, because we would watch to make sure. My wife called the store and got the exact same spiel I got regarding the non-stick pans, etc. Anytime she would speak, it seemed that they were disinterested and not listening, only waiting for her to stop talking so they could repeat the spiel of non-stick pans, etc, again. She knew they weren't going to issue a refund or replacement, and wasn't trying for one, but called simply to tell them that there was an issue with some of the birds they were selling and to be on the lookout.

I should also mention that my other bird, who has touched NOTHING from this store and did not come from this store, is doing perfectly fine. I am now a little concerned, however, as we did bring him in for grooming the day we bought Honey Lemon.

I am throwing out the cage any anything left over that I bought from Birds N Paradise, and will be visiting other stores in the future, even it if means a much further drive. My kids especially have been devastated by this whole mess and the staff here didn't seem the least bit interested in resolving this matter. I only hope other families considering to purchase their feathered friends here, or their supplies, will see this review and avoid the heartbreak my family has experienced.

---EDIT 1:00 PM 6/8/17 --

The owner is now threatening to sue me over my negative review. See attached screen shots for the comment thread that took place...

BEWARE OF LORI, SHE LIES TO KEEP HER REPUTATION "Good" 8/04/2024 RESPONSE TO LORI POST THE VIDEO. YOU ARE FULL OF LIES, AND HONESTLY HOPE KARMA GETS YOU. Can't imagine how many people you lied on.

I have noticed the negative reviews involving the customer being verbally attacked by Lori, and Lori herself would respond to those reviews very aggressively, threateningly, and extremely defensively, which seems like a pattern that the owner displays. Unfortunately, we have recently experienced that same interaction with the owner but for a different reason.

My grandmother rescued a bird that was in critical condition, he was given away for free online, and my grandma wanted to give him a better life. His beak was extremely overgrown, he had a missing lower beak, and the feathers from his wings were in a bad condition (we had to trim his feathers to allow them to regrow in their natural form). However, before my grandmother got to explain the condition of the bird to Lori. Lori automatically screamed at my grandmother and grandfather, and threatened to call the cops on them, and accused THEM for the abuse, without a single breath, she continued to tell them the bird wouldn't even live for a year. This interaction led my grandma to bawl her eyes out and had her blood sugar to rise. My grandmother continued to try to explain Lori about the birds situation, but Lori repeatedly cutted her off saying "YOU DONT NEED TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO ME", as she was man- handling the bird right infront of them and aggressively pulling the birds' wings open and said "THIS BIRD IS WORTHLESS". As my grandfather tried to deescalate the situation and explain to Lori that my grandma has type 1 diabetes and that her body cannot handle emotional distress, Lori cuts them off and yelled “I DON’T CARE” and stated, “I PREFER BIRDS THAN PEOPLE”. At the end, all my grandma wanted to do was give the bird a better life, and came to Lori with the trust that she would help them and give them advice, instead, she was hurt by Lori’s words especially after Lori threaten to call the cops on them and claimed they were an "animal abuser". This was extremely devastating after we recommended them to Lori.

My grandmother not only has type 1 diabetes but she also has COPD, after the altercation that Lori had created, my grandma came home extremely ill and was having a hard time breathing afterward. The lack of empathy that was given by Lori showed her true character and patience towards people.

Now, I must give Lori some credit she indeed helped trimmed the bird's beak and semi-apologized to my grandma at the end. But her so-called apology cannot recover the experience she created.

Lori, I know you're reading this… I hope you reflect on yourself and realize your words and actions have an impact on people. You cannot automatically assume someone is an animal abuser especially if you did not allow them to speak and please do not mistreat animals especially if you cannot manage your emotions… I am truly sorry for the way you are and I’ll pray for you.

The visibly "abused and worthless" bird that...

i used to absolutely love this store, until today. i actually really like the staff, but then i met the owner DONT👏🏻 EVEN 👏🏻GET👏🏻 ME 👏🏻STARTED. just to begin, i bought a precious lil baby parakeet from here a few months ago, within about three weeks of owning him he just dropped dead. no signs of illness or injury, the birdie also acted completely normal not lethargic what so ever, seemed perfectly heathy (also we made sure to discard of any incense, candles, or nonstick pans). i didn’t have a problem with the store after this, it seemed unusual but pets do die so i didn’t want to blame it on the store i loved so much. however, today was absolutely horrifying, i entered the store just like any other time, i was with my mother. the cashier kindly acknowledged us like always, we proceeded to say hello to all the lil birdies and show them love and affection just like every other time. while i was petting dory all of a sudden i hear a REPULSIVE lady SCREAMING at my mom approaching her in a very aggressive way, i mean i literally thought she was about to throw hands thats how ridiculous this was🤭. she was yelling at my mom saying she was abusing the bird when she BARELY touched his lil head. i can understand being protective over your own pets and the birds you breed but this was UNACCEPTABLE behavior especially considering the circumstances. my mom replied very calmly stating that she barely touched him and apologized. a more appropriate way to handle this situation would be calmly approaching my mother and nicely asking her to please stop touching the birdie like that; instead she made a scene in front of everybody in the store making an absolute FOOL of herself. soon after my mother told me she was too uncomfortable to stay and i could stay a little longer then come to her car when i was ready to leave. the owner overheard her say this and when my mom is basically already out the door she says “GET OUT OF MY STORE YOU’RE NOT WELCOME HERE!!!!” i stayed for a few more minutes and i hear this PHSYCO lady talking negatively about my mom to OTHER CLIENTS i could tell they were even uncomfortable with what she was saying. she goes on about how her store isn’t a petting zoo when she literally has NO idea how much money we’ve spent there. after a few minutes i felt so unwelcome and uncomfortable i decided to leave. i don’t think ANYONE with this AWFUL of communication skills should own a business, too bad she’s the owner and can’t get fired i hope one day she comes to the understanding that her behavior is OUT OF HAND just so she can better herself. after she basically CHARGED at my mom like a bad high school football player we will DEFINITELY WITHOUT A DOUBT NEVER BE BACK HERE AGAIN (unless of course this excuse of a business owner disappears off the face of the earth☺️) of course, my mom left a review about this incident too, lori replies with “i have a video of you abusing my bird” LIKE UHM YEAH I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT THANK YOU GO AHEAD AND EXPOSE URSELF ACTING LIKE A IMMATURE IDIOT FOR NO REASON WHILE UR AT WORK LOLOLOL i wish i could...