Aussie Finch Forum

Heya,
So as a kid I would always go to a produce store on the north side of Brisbane where they had a large selection of poultry and birds of all kinds, I was obviously obsessed with the finch section
I won’t name the place because as of late it isn’t in that good of shape, it’s run down and the living conditions of the animals is questionable...

I guess I’m bringing this up because I’m inspired to help, ideally I would purchase the land and business and give it a complete revamp, brand it accordingly and make it into a destination. Hell I’d even open up a cafe off to the side, something for everyone you know...

Question is does anything like this already exist, I can’t seem to find anything like what I would love to do... and furthermore is there a market for it?

In its prime it was a very popular place for people to go, and I would love to create something where people would make a day out of it, gardens, food and all the birds you could imagine.

This may just be a dream for now but I’d love to hear people’s ideas or opinions on this

Hi,
Capalaba produce has quite a good cafe and poultry section you could check out for ideas.

https://www.capalabaproduce.com.au/
Good luck

That’s very much what I’m thinking , thanks I’ll go check them out

I think I know the produce store you're talking about on the northside, I visited lately and I wasn't quite impressed with the conditions their animals were in. As for ideas to revamp it, perhaps a much smaller-scale version of the Maleny Botanic Gardens & Bird World https://www.malenybotanicgardens.com.au/

I've been reading this massive variety of old ABK Magazines recently from the 80's and 90's, and the facilities that some birds were sold at were amazing, I personally think we need more big facilities/ shops for this kind of stuff as they pretty well have dissapeared in the last few decades

Something like those big, fancy specialist fish shops you see that have hundreds of fish being displayed in excellent condition and tanks that mimic their natural habitat. I'd be so happy if someone did that with birds, because we need stores like that.

The 2nd one in particular, has diversified to cover a range of income sources. A wise move in our current world. Though with all businesses it is wise to grow slowly, rather than go too hard too fast. Then go broke. I have watched others in my field of business over borrow and go broke while I keep on keeping on. Good luck with your dream.
LML

There is no point starting a business right now due to covid19, perhaps in a couple of years it will be better. However, even then, you will probably struggle with just birds. There simply aren't that many people keeping birds these days and many buy birds from Ebay and Gumtree instead of bird shops. This means a shop that deals only in birds is going to struggle. I have seen it in WA and shops that once did well with bird sales, have either gone under or are close to going under.

Any business you start needs to have diversity and not rely solely on one type of product.

If you have spare land near a city, it doesn't have to be right in the city but within 20km of a major city is great, you could set up a bird shop as well as breed birds/ poultry on site. You could supply eggs to local shops or sell them on site. Have lots of trees and plants and a garden section to sell native plants and bird friendly plants. And look into other ways of making money from birds, plants and anything else you can keep on the property.

Tea gardens work well on weekends in some areas but normally rely on tourism. If you can get the local population to visit you it makes a big difference to the profits.

The two links provided by other members are a good start, but diversify more.

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I had plans to set up a holiday resort down south. It would have a number of separate units for people to stay in, with dogs if they have them. I wanted it located among the trees and have huge areas of open grass land and lakes, as well as walking trails all over the place. I kept fish and was going to have a huge aquarium in the main lobby area, as well as recreational fishing in the lakes. I was also going to breed fish on site and sell them to shops.

I'm too old and unwell to do it now but you could do something similar but swap birds for fish and don't have dogs on the property. Maybe set up bird watching hides and have bird friendly plants to encourage birds to the property. Advertise to overseas bird keepers/ watchers who can come and stay for a week and watch water fowl on the ponds, honey eaters in the shrubs and cockatoos in the trees.

Have a huge walk in aviary with a variety of large parrots that people can hand feed and photograph.

Have pens with native animals like echidnas, wombats, possums and other native animals. You would need to learn about these creatures and get a license/ permit to keep them, but it would add to the attraction.

Have a souvenir shop, tea shop, sell birds and plants. Maybe have some small farm animals that can be used to produce unusual foods like goats milk/ cheese. Having fishing in some lakes as well as walking tracks.

Thanks for your ideas and thoughts everyone, it is very much only a dream at this time ... but something I’m working on in my spare time and evolving.
I bloody love the Maleny gardens and aviary ! Yes I would love something like that but a little more commercial
The birds would be a speciality, where as the money would be driven through the produce section and the cafe. I’m a head chef and cafe operator currently so that part I’m very confident on ... I’ve just got to save my pennies before I can start anything

And in the end I would love to Create a display walk through aviary for the public if anyone has seen the one in Ipswich at the free zoo ... kinda like that

If you're a chef, you can grow your own produce and cook on site. If you're in a wine growing region, grow your own vintage or work with a local wine maker. They make the wine, you produce cheese and crackers and sell at your shop at the bird garden.

Work on your pastry cooking and sell cakes, biscuits, breads, etc that are made with locally grown/ sourced produce.

Keep planning and good luck with your future endeavor