Our first visit to Wild Birds Unlimited was a good one, as staffer Alder (recent Iowa State grad)…read moremade the whole experience positive and rewarding. Plenty of parking, and their great interior makes for a warm and inviting visit. Their stock is well-displayed, uncluttered, and priced well. We appreciate Alder's awareness and knowledge. Join their club to receive discounts and information, and they provide a lot of information on their website and inside their store.

Well! Talk about your "all you can bird" store. This place is literally a bird-lovers emporium…read more Whether you like to feed birds and watch them eat, just enjoy going on bird hikes and identifying birds, or just well, like birds and enjoy having them on your decor, puzzles, mugs, etc., this is going to be the place for you. This is NOT a place to purchase pet birds or cages/etc. for birds. Wild Birds Unlimited is located in a smaller-ish strip mall over by Dutch Oven Bakery and the Kum-And-Go. Pretty easy to find once you've been there. The first thing you'll notice when you park during the warmer months is the sound of birds. Not only does Wild Birds Unlimited have bird feeders outside, but it looks like they've helped some of their neighboring businesses get into it, so there's lots of little bird calls around. It made me smile. Once you go inside, you're going to be met by a LOT of bird-related merchandise. There's a ton of bird feeders and bird baths of different varieties and styles including lots of different hanging mounts and mechanisms to work with your home. There is just as much choices for seeds. They offer huge bags as well as smaller bags. They include mixes as well as single-seed options for food. If you're more on the "bird watcher" side, they offer a ton of field guides, binoculars, and lots of CDs to help you ID various bird calls. If you're a hobbyist who just really loves birds, they have a ton of birding gifts. You can buy mugs, bookmarks, washclothes, stuffed animals, door mats, etc. The store feels a bit crowded with merchandise - closer to the size of a smaller mall-type location, but as it doesn't seem like they're usually swamped with people, this works out fine for me. It's a bit tight, but it definitely gives you a lot of stuff to look at on every glance. The staff here was super friendly - and knowledgeable! They don't seem to just be random university teens who work here - they seem to be people who are passionate (or just were well-taught) about birds and birding. They were happy to give me recommendations about the food I wanted to buy as well as recommended what I should look for if I wanted something new or how to attract specific types of birds. Great little store. I came away with a bit more knowledge, the bird food I wanted, and I'll definitely be back. I'm impressed.

Love this place but wish it was closer. The employees are always welcoming and helpful! Would…read moredefinitely shop here more often if it wasn't 80 miles away

We do not go here on a regular basis as we live some distance away but when we are in the area and…read moreneed anything that needs to be of high quality this is the place we go. I've always gotten so frustrated with the bird feeding poles that would bend from weight that I got from the China made poles sold by Lowes and Home Depot. This place sells great poles with tons of accessories to go along with the pole. They also have lots of quality bird feed, hummingbird feeders and lots of other stuff for birds. Plan on going today to pick up a new hummingbird feeder as the China one we had broke at the hook and dropped shattering when it hit the ground. Our hummers are missing their food!

woman sold me Fromm dogfood that I've now read to be bad for dogs with high incidents of Dialated…read moreCardiomyopathy. I'll dump this expensive food rather than risk killing my dog and i'll NEVER support this small business again. FOR SHAME.

A little tricky to find. It is in the strip mall almost directly behind the McDonald's. They have a…read morevery large assortment of toys, food, carriers, litter boxes, etc. Some that are even hard to find in your typical pet store. They have a rewards program for buying pet food through them, too.

My child and I frequently visit the pet shop. For the second time two young girls have made not so…read morenice comments about handling and petting the animals.

This establishment is amazing. They treat their animal great! Their customer service is…read moreoutstanding! The kittens are cuteeeee

We love coming here for our doggie treats, and really general items that come up ) your staff are…read morealways so nice and we always love going to places where people love to talk about their animals, because we sure love hearing about them, AND getting to talk about ours too hahaha.

Great local place to do business with!Staff is nice & prices are fair! I highly recommend!read more

Our experience with Ames Petco has been less than one star in the past 2 years we have gotten three…read moreanimals and two of them have died the very recent one is a guinea pig we've only had for less than 2 months and he's lethargic and stopped eating? Wow so much for being a pet store more like a death Store.

I apologize for how long this is.. My husband and I are…read morelooking to get a second conure for our family as we love them so much. We called around to different stores and found that this Ames Petco location had a few options. We live in Ankeny so of course we called first to get more info and make sure they were still available. When we arrived we looked at the birds first and then I went to find the pet specialist to help us. When she came over she Greeted us with "what's up" like we were bothering her. Annoying and unprofessional but we ignored that and inquired about the birds available. We then asked if we could hold the bird we were interested in and she said No it's against policy because of Covid... Really how dumb. I'm not going to pay over $800 for a bird if I can't hold it. She assumed we were just lookie lou's and really was just flat out roud. When we told her we want to buy a bird today but we're not gonna do that if we can't see if we have a connection and how we feel about it by holding it, she fired back with why didn't you start with that. Needless to say we did not buy a bird from the store. As we were walking out my husband said that he wanted to talk to the manager and inform her how rude the employees was. Unfortunately the manager really wasn't any better.

Like the store, go there every spring and summer. Perfect spring afternoon, 2:30 pm, every…read morehousewife in Ames is there. 33 cars in the lot. 1 gal helping outside customers, inside customers, and running the register. I notice what looks like the boss lady diddling on her computer in the office. This is your prime time, the time to shine, give people the reason to come there not the alternatives, not to sit in your office.

I absolutely love this place. My husband and I constantly go here to check out plants, mostly house…read moreplants. The person working the front desk gives us coupons for our next purchase (who is very nice), then I go back again. My only problem is one of the house plants I bought from here has gnats, but don't let that stop you! Just inspect the soil closely.

I came here the other day to look for more supplies for my turtles that the mainstream pet stores…read moredon't have. They have a great selection of fish and they have a ton of snakes which is unique! If you have a snake phobia, beware. They have most of the animals you'd see at pet stores and the staff are very knowledge. My only complaint is that it is very cramped which makes me feel bad for the animals. They deserve more space. There also isn't enough ventilation in the store because it always feels super stuffy and dry. Overall, it's worth a shot to visit if you're looking for a local shot but beware the environment isn't the best.

Animals were in poor condition. The fish were very emaciated. I don't think he feeds these animals…read more I regret going there. Specially after I found out that the owner was already charged and plead guilty to charges including animal death by neglect.

My son came back from ur store tonite upset and frustrated; went in on 3-29-26 in the evening;…read moreasked for crickets and an older fella gave him nothin but trouble. This is the kind of help you hire to represent ur store ? This Ahole handin out crickets and being rude as hell should be fired asap ! Do not spend money at this location until they can hire proper employees !!!

Member rewards really help cut the costs where it counts. I'm not a browser when running errands so…read morethis is quick stop for what I need, every time. The parking lot is a nightmare but after navigating it a few times I think I have it figured out.

Kind of off the beaten path but well worth the trip. Lots of lovely plants to choose from:…read moreperennials, annuals, herbs, vegetables and all your gardening needs. There is a large assortment of pots and containers to choose from. You'll find everything is moderately priced. They've even got a kitten that will help you shop. Try to stop if you're in the area, you'll be glad you did.

Love this place! Lori helped me fill some of my planters with beautiful flowers! I'm so happy…read morewith how they turned out! Norton's greenhouse has very reasonable prices, and very helpful employees! VERY worth the drive from West Des Moines! I highly recommend Norton's!