Shopping for a U2

A couple of days ago, I posted in the New member forum, and just want to Thank everyone for your greetings and kind words as well as support, and also for your concerns about being a new bird owner.

Yesterday, I visited Petco and Pet-smart, and found myself in disgust of their offerings in the bird world. However I’m pretty sure it’s not like that everywhere, Thinking they must just stock what they sell a lot of. Thankfully, I wasn’t in search of electric dog collars. (Hunting Dogs & evidently dogs who bark a lot) I found that they had exactly 4 foot long by 4 shelves high of Parakeet and cockatiel goodies. Closer inspection showed a half dozen budgies in a glass end cap. Everything they had for parrots was mail order, or ship to the store.

I felt like if I would have to mail order, or involve shipping, I would work on this quest in a different way. I started surfing the internet, and made good use of “Google” Seems like every store carries about the same items, from the same companies, at a variety of prices. However I did find a store which I won’t advertise here not knowing if they support the forum, that had free shipping if you ordered over $49 of their products, lol I found that pretty ez. And went on and ordered a tree perch, training “T” perches which come as two, The clicker for training purposes which came with the training perches along with an instructional DVD. They didn’t carry the same toys everyone else carried by the same company, but they offered a variation of their own, which looked pretty interesting. I ordered Six so far, for chewing, shredding, they looked pretty interesting with the leather strips etc…..

Out of the two cages that I’ve decided on, I’ll remove everything with exception of the stainless bowls, and everything new, including perches. Perches seem to have gotten pretty complicated since buying them for Sonny. They now have Lava Perches, Manzanita Perches, Grape Vine Perches and finally Bottle Brush Perches. I watched a video on each one, seems they all have good features, and also other things to be considered, so I passed on the perches yesterday in search of more searching out information, the kind that doesn’t come from a salesman with a sales pitch.

The last thing I attempted to find yesterday was an activity center/play gym. Seems I found so many variables, If I was only bringing home a canary, parakeet, cockatiel or conure. The offerings for a Large parrot, were nill. Found basically a “T” stand with a dish on either side, which would be basically a tree perch. But I didn’t find anything to keep him busy climbing, moving around or to hold his curiosity. So I’m still looking around, if y’all happen to know of something to keep a young U2 busy, please feel free to make a suggestion, and if it’s a web site that may be inappropriate to post a name for, please feel free to message me, If I don’t message back, it will only be because I haven’t made enough posts to earn that opportunity yet. If theres anything else I maybe forgetting, please feel free to suggest it please.

For the last point, I know that a lot of people have foraging trees for their larger birdies. They are not cheap though if you're looking to straight up buy one. I haven't seen one cheaper than $600.

Alternatively, you can make your own foraging tree for a much cheaper price although it might not look as nice depending on how handy you are and what materials you can get your hands on.

PVC pipe is very inexpensive and it's so easy to construct a playgym out of it, using t-pieces and x-pieces. Ours has lots of add-ons, like swings and a boing, a ladder and a cargo net. It used to hang over the sliding door in the kitchen, but since we've moved I haven't put it back up yet. It's *so* good to have the playgym up high, because the birds love being aloft and it keeps them out of everyone's face, unless you call them down to play.

If you don't want to use PVC pipe, you could use timber, I'spose. When I need branches for things, we just go for a drive out of town and pick up fallen bottlebrush, eucalyptus or cypress from the roadside. Since such branches are so readily available, I wouldn't even dream of paying for wooden toys or perches.

Of course, you might not have that luxury, so my next best suggestion is ebay. You can find just about everything on ebay and there are plenty of Chinese vendors which make reasonably good quality toys for a good price and minimal postage. Also, don't forget the great value of sisal rope, which can be purchased in many thicknesses, from small twine to 2" or more. You can hang it vertically or horizontally and larger birds just love climbing about on it.

PS. We reinforced our PVC pipe gym by adding self-tapping screws where the canes fit into the joiners. Just for security, y'know?

munami said:

For the last point, I know that a lot of people have foraging trees for their larger birdies. They are not cheap though if you're looking to straight up buy one. I haven't seen one cheaper than $600.

Alternatively, you can make your own foraging tree for a much cheaper price although it might not look as nice depending on how handy you are and what materials you can get your hands on.

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Hey Munami, thank you very much for your suggestion, a foraging tree made from Manzanita or Java tree is exactly what I'm looking for, ( I googled foraging tree) one thats tall 66" inch I bet he would love it. The one I purchased is more of a perch, it's 58" inch tall, but has screw in perches, which like a tree are tree branch sized and narrows, however it's not wood, the perches are replaceable after being chewed on etc.... and the branches are arrangeable. I don't know how to upload an image or I would upload a picture of it. It also comes with several hooks for hanging toys, also I ordered 3 of the Boing Rope spring like perches in a large, one for each cage and possibly one for the perch, if I can configure it to the perch.

I really like the look of the manzanita tree, but I'm a little concerned about what shape it would be in when it would be delivered. Another option would be to order one from Petco or Petsmart, in reading the Reviews, I read where you can't control the branches, and they may ship you one with the branches turned upward which would make it virtually unusable, or only able to use portions of the tree. I'm thinking it one of the box stores ordered one, they are $750 each, I would probably have a hard time getting them to order more than one so I could choose the one that best suits my baby. Also if they did, the tree would have to be put together before one could tell probably. But for that kind of money they should be willing to accommodate, or could just tell me order from somewhere else, Those places are pretty independent with a chain store outlook on things. Like I mentioned, they didn't have anything on hand, but the web site says they deliver to the store. I may have to do more research and speak maybe with the store manager, kinda run it by him/her and see what they think, and if their willing to help. But Foraging tree would be ideally what I'm looking for for sure. Thank You!!

PVC pipe is very inexpensive and it's so easy to construct a playgym out of it, using t-pieces and x-pieces. Ours has lots of add-ons, like swings and a boing, a ladder and a cargo net. It used to hang over the sliding door in the kitchen, but since we've moved I haven't put it back up yet. It's *so* good to have the playgym up high, because the birds love being aloft and it keeps them out of everyone's face, unless you call them down to play

Betrisher, PVC is extremely easy to work with, cut and fit, I had asked another member if there was a DIY set of plans on the site anywhere. I would think still in all one would need to glue the pieces together, just to keep sheer pressure from pushing it apart as the bird plays, if that happened once spooked I believe it would be worthless after. Then theirs the question of the glue being toxic, or if theres a safe cement that I could use for that specific purpose. The other concern I have is PVC is pretty smooth, I'm thinking there like a gritty cover to put over the PVC so the parrot could keep good sound footing, and not fall of. I did think about PVC immediately, but the bird safety was the second thought to mind afterwards. PVC also comes in many thicknesses, ¼" up to 2" inches and even larger diameters, Putting it together would be a snap, some of the fittings I've seen online would be very difficult to find like a 4 way fitting with a center hub, and a set of plans in hand, and this gym could be built in an hour or two.

If you don't want to use PVC pipe, you could use timber, I'spose. When I need branches for things, we just go for a drive out of town and pick up fallen bottlebrush, eucalyptus or cypress from the roadside. Since such branches are so readily available, I wouldn't even dream of paying for wooden toys or perches.

I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we are surrounded by softwood pines, which I don't think would be a good mix with a bird, if he got to chewing, which he will, then you have feathers and pine sap mixed, gotta a good thing. We do have some oak trees, but again I don't if the baby would be safe it he chewed into the bark. Another option I see they use on the Manzanita tree is sandblasting the bark off of it, I have no clue how that would work out with our oak trees, but seems to be an idea worth investigating, and if that would work, then a Foraging tree wouldn't be hard to make and assemble provided I could find someone to sandblast it. A nice trunk, a drill and some branches with Gorilla glue would do the trick, I'm envious for once of those folks living out in Arizona where the manzanita comes from. On the video I watched yesterday from Florida Pet Store, speaking about perches, The salesman was using Bottlebrush with the bark still on and considered the bark on the branch as an additional toy like treat for the bird. The grape vine he was showing off he mentioned was sandblasted, and also oven heated to kill of any insects. That's definitely a great suggestion, although would be a project for when I would have more time to research the preparation of the wood to make it bird safe, and then construct it.

"yellow"]Of course, you might not have that luxury, so my next best suggestion is ebay. You can find just about everything on ebay and there are plenty of Chinese vendors which make reasonably good quality toys for a good price and minimal postage. Also, don't forget the great value of sisal rope, which can be purchased in many thicknesses, from small twine to 2" or more. You can hang it vertically or horizontally and larger birds just love climbing about on it.

The last time I ordered a part from China on e-bay was hilarious. He has a cat, and an indoor kennel type cage. I found a swinging hammock for the cage, on "Amazon" I ordered it, and completely forgot about it since it was only like $25, It came in when I least expected it, about 4 months later lol, although I gave up on it, it came in and was a decent product, The cat still uses the hammock till this day and loves the swinging hammock in his kennel!! e-bay is definitely a good place to look, I'll check them over. Wow, this is going to be a project any which way I proceed, but in the end I bet that baby boy would live it!! Thank You for the ideas and suggestions!! I was really wondering where others were shopping online, maybe someone who has truly proven products....

There are many PVC projects in here, look up posts by Birdman666! Even though not needed, glue is not an issue! 4 way connectors are a common item in the big box stores!

Flboy said:

There are many PVC projects in here, look up posts by Birdman666! Even though not needed, glue is not an issue! 4 way connectors are a common item in the big box stores!

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I just found and ordered this.....

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1.../AF1QipOaBGD5CRB66bQSPPrAWyDj7HIqBVXQL1lG6AqV

The designer/builder uses furniture grade PVC, he states it would nearly be impossible to chew through. He also is building a XL Toy called the popper, It's an XL Cube with cargo rope attached to it. He currently has them in stock for Conures and birds as large as an African Grey, but said it would take him a week to build one XL in his order lineup. The play Gym is called the Behemoth, and had more than a dozen hooks in it to attach different items. The perches are multicolor VET Wrap tape, and comes with two stainless steel bowls. The base is approx 28" inches footprint, and stands 68" inches tall. I ordered about 8 more large chewing/shredding toys to the order, which will bring his toy count to about 14, Thinking he should have a nice rotation of toys to keep him busy.

This is a picture of the Popper play cube I asked the builder to make in a Large/Xtra Large forum to hang on the tree as a toy. I thought it was pretty neat, and thought he would like it too.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMITT5B0KNllvrC2DfQr10dn9ohp9FqVZQKOmto
Looking at this play Gym for Large Parrots, I see a lot of potential. Also in researching this item this morning, I found a distributer online for PVC Furniture grade pipe, along with many different fittings. The builder/designer offers Pet Vet Wrap on his web site which one could purchase a single roll or a package of multi colors. Yep, I see a bunch of potential. I'll wait until I receive it, and put it together, see how sturdy it is, and how he likes it before I proceed.

G'day again, Casper223,

You must've missed the bit where I said I used tiny self-tapping screws to hold the PVC canes in the joiners. That meant I didn't need to use glue. I wrapped the long canes with vetwrap (purchased at a dollar a roll from ebay China). It gets very dirty very quickly, so I replace it often. I have thought of scoring the PVC with a dremel tool, but haven't gotten around to trying that yet.

Regarding timber, I have a feeling that, living where you do, there must be a stand of Australian Melaleucas or Callistemon (bottlebrush) somewhere nearby. I see them all the time when watching American TV, so I know they're there. We'll have to find out where there's a grove of them so you can go and purloin a few branches. Also, eucalyptus timber is good and they're common in the US. Some eucalypts are smooth-barked (great for perches), but others have fibrous or 'iron' bark and make *won*derful chomping for a parrot. Maybe your local forestry or horticultural centres could help there?

PS. Melaleuca has bark that peels off in almost transparent leaves, like paper (other name: 'Paperbark'). Eucalyptus, Melaleuca and Callistemon have flowers composed entirely of pollen-rich stamens and birds *love* them, both for the pollen and the nectar. If you search for Eucalyptus trees, look for 'bloodwood' or 'ironbark' as well. These varieties have their bark slough off in long strips - very good for birdies.

You are off to a great start! The lack of dedicated bird supply stores in your area does not mean you will lack for anything. So many E-tailers to choose from with quick delivery.

Scott said:

You are off to a great start! The lack of dedicated bird supply stores in your area does not mean you will lack for anything. So many E-tailers to choose from with quick delivery.

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Speaking with the designer this morning, He also makes custom orders, So I explained I really liked the "popper" toy, but wished they made it for something bigger than a conure, a few minutes later he sent me an e-mail with a bigger design, and said he could build it in about a week, putting it in line with his other orders and such. I submitted my order of everything together and asked him if he received it, He mentioned he needed to go get started on it, I made a fairly large order that I don't think his small business was ready for. He mentioned he might have to do multiple shipments, in getting most of it out in 2-3 days, and of course reminding me a week on the cube with the rope. I kept typing in tree perch into Google, and wasn't getting anywhere when FlBoy said "Foraging Tree" and that was the magic language that "Google" understood. I think I'm set with Perches, activity sets, and even with toys. Knowing Buster Brown is going to be looking for a tip by the end of the week lol. The breeder is going to send a food package, and a harness that will fit. She suggested to keep him on the same food as she is using to continue his diet. I feel she's right for now. I'll definitely consult my Avian Vet upon his immediate check up for his suggestion of diet for the future. A healthy diet, nutrition and vitamins are a must. I did search Avians Vets in my area, and learned every vet is an Avian Vet if your pet is well. But in the case of a broken wing, diagnosing an unhealthy bird etc theres only one vet that the rest of the vets recommend. The one Avian vet is backed up on non emergency visits for 2 weeks, so schedule with knowledge lol I felt like that was a sad situation for him to be backed up for 2 weeks, while other vets in the area are starving for business, without adding that specialty to their practice.... Go Figure right? Anyway in the near future I'll be addressing proper diet subject, and what my Vet recommends.

Betrisher, I totally missed this, my apologies. A lot of times I read off of my iPhone, and even though its an 8plus, I have to turn it sideways to read messages sometimes, to get the font to be a little larger.

You must've missed the bit where I said I used tiny self-tapping screws to hold the PVC canes in the joiners. That meant I didn't need to use glue. I wrapped the long canes with vetwrap (purchased at a dollar a roll from ebay China). It gets very dirty very quickly, so I replace it often. I have thought of scoring the PVC with a dremel tool, but haven't gotten around to trying that yet.

I totally missed this, but I have it now. Thank You very much.

Hit a roadblock today.... A person on Letgo had 2 cages for sale, one was 32" inches by 40"inches by 6 foot tall, and the second was 30"inches by 36"inches by 5 foot tall, She described the smaller one as nearly new, and the larger as in exceptional shape but her macaw had chewed on the wrought iron a little, needed a good cleaning (No Rust). Finally this morning after playing tag for a week, I was able to view them. They were both in the front yard, and I would have to bet they had been there about a year! Grates missing from the bottom, and poop pans bent up. Real Tree limbs fastened to the inside, bowing the cage outward. Door latches missing along with bowls. She advised a good pressure washing would make them look as good as new. I obviously disagreed, although the price for both was about $500, I just don't know if I could ever find the missing parts, and replace the damaged items. Obviously I had to walk away..... Luckily for me, I stopped at a feed supply store near close to where I live, and they had between 10-15 nice cages. The prices were exceptionally good, they beat the online prices by being nearly half the price. The biggest they had in stock was

Exterior Dimensions: 36″x36″x67″
Interior Height: 54”
Bar Spacing: 1″

It's on wheels, has 4 stainless feed bowls, and made by A&E. So I ditched the wooden dowels that came with it, and they gave me a buy one get one free deal on Manzanita perches, 36" inches long. It seems to be a pretty sturdy cage, and certainly large enough. It's shaped in an octagon, and the bottom grate and potty pans come out in 3rds. Makes for easier cleanup the way it's setup. So anyway, I settled for one cage immediately, and will eventually find another deal I can live with for my outdoor cage. I'll enclose a picture of it, and see what y'all think, it's not the square cages like I've always been use too, But it's certainly roomy.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3...5Imz8KmaDtGnNQfYivF-rUQE1herNzEQ=w550-h650-no

this large play gym manufactured by Prevue is around $80 - $100 dollars. It's also on wheels. https://www.flickr.com/photos/157094556@N08/46836751995/in/dateposted-public/

I just "Googled" it and found it on Amazon, Thank You very much Annierose, I also seen one similar at the feed store where I purchased my cage today. I asked the lady who sold me the cage to research a couple of things for me, One being a play top that would affix to the top of the octagon cage, the even larger ones have the activity center attached to the top, so she was going to contact customer support at A&E, She was also getting information on the Manzanita Foraging trees. She definitely was on the ball today, My guess is they work off of commission.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPKzjId0ygxBbvlKvjT7ZIl8ntiiZWgNYHukN44

Definitely buyer beware online with used items, especially cages!

Image of cage is not visible.

annierose said:

this large play gym manufactured by Prevue is around $80 - $100 dollars. It's also on wheels. https://www.flickr.com/photos/157094556@N08/46836751995/in/dateposted-public/

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I have this one for my U2-she loves it.

Scott said:

Definitely buyer beware online with used items, especially cages!

Image of cage is not visible.

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Sorry about that Scott, seems like the link disappeared for some odd reason. I may need to find a link to photo uploads or a better way to post photo's.

The cages needed to be pressure washed, Then re-evaluated for what needed to be done, fresh paint etc... and my time table ends as soon as next Friday, and as late as the Friday after. So my time table to have everything ready is quickly expiring. That said, (You'll enjoy this story) The big box stores Petco and Petsmart have absolutely nothing in stock, everything is order and susceptible to delivery. So I called a smaller pet store in the area before leaving that area, and sure enough, young man on the phone says.... YES. WE CARRY PARROT CAGES.... I ask for directions, and come to find out he has no clue. I'm unfamiliar with the area lol so I just get the store address, punch it in navigation and I'm off.... Finally I find the store lol, and walk in.... There were high school kids everywhere wearing the store name T-shirts, and I enjoy seeing our teens learning responsibility, but laughed to myself, thinking no wonder they couldn't give directions lol So each of them are with a customer, The store is pretty small, I see Budgie cages everywhere, Fish, Ferets, Bunnies, and a few parakeets, I walked all three isles of the store, Finally the owner approached me asking if he could help me find something, and I tell him I called and the young man said he had parrot cages, about that time the young man walks up and says oh that was you that called, glad you found us! I ask to see the Parrot Cage, and the owner is looking at us funny, his head sorta twisted to one side, "I should have known right then" The young man walks me over to a Dog Kennel hanging from the roof!!! and says there she is...... Will your parrot fit in there mister??? Now I'm looking at the store owner, and he's looking at me, and it clicks to us.... This young man has no Clue!!!! The store owner immediately starts apologizing, now it's the young man who doesn't understand Lmbo..... So The store owner says, my store is to small to actually carrot those cages, but because of this misunderstanding, I'll order you whatever you want, and discount it to you to make up for this..... Of course I passed on the opportunity, wanting to lay eyes on what I was buying, I don't trust pictures much, I want to break out a tape measure, make sure I'm at very least 24" by 36" by 48" AT VERY LEAST..... then check the bar spacing, and make sure it's made with strength. You know I use to Laugh at Sonny's cage.... It looked like a Cockatoo PRISON CELL built into the house. It was made back in the day when cage companies actually built something!! There was no wire like on todays cages, it was solid wrought iron. To move it would take AT VERY LEAST 4 Big Strong Guys......When I sold it, I used a come-a-long to lift it up in the air, and the buyer backed a trailer under it, and then I let it down and detached it, Oh and he was pulling the trailer with a diesel pick-up truck.

Then after the Fiasco of that small box stores, I remembered a friend told me of a feed and seed Farm supply store in town, and said give them a call, they often sell birds! So I did, and another young lady answered, and immediately said "Yes... we carry them.... Of course being gun-shy by now, I'm asking cage dimensions....lol. This young lady was on her game, she starts calling out sizes, and struggling to hold the phone and talk at the same time..... So anyway I get to the store and shocked as I was, They had a whole corner of the store dedicated to parrot cages, Most sized for a grey, but had 4 sized for macaw's and cockatoo's. She said she and a friend of hers had just put it together...lol You should have seen her face when I asked her if she could partially take it apart to fit through my door, and so it would easily be moved by truck lol All in all, I managed to have a lot of fun yesterday, but in the end I got what I was after. So this afternoon, they'll take it apart in 4 pieces, and I can then get it through my doors. Once in the house, I'll have to put it together, but then it will be on wheels.

I would be very very cautious about buying used parrot goods. There are diseases like PBFD that are very hard to kill because the viruses are so small. If you are painting, you must use a bird-safe paint- U-2s beaks will flake off paint particles easily so you want to make sure it is avian safe...not just non-toxic, but specifically for bird cages.

noodles123 said:

I would be very very cautious about buying used parrot goods. There are diseases like PBFD that are very hard to kill because the viruses are so small. If you are painting, you must use a bird-safe paint- U-2s beaks will flake off paint particles easily so you want to make sure it is avian safe...not just non-toxic, but specifically for bird cages.

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Danggit Noodles123 lol You keep making great but challenging posts.... I Love it!! Honestly, I know how to keep a bird cage, I know how to clean one and keep it up. But everyone isn't me, nor you and thats a Fact!! and now that you say this, it makes a lot of sense. I certainly refuse to have any of that going on in my home, not with my baby or anyone else either. I'm a Happy Camper after buying a Brand New cage yesterday, one never before used by any bird. I was/am still disappointed cage #2 didn't pan out. I definitely want a second cage, One to put on my patio, That way he can be in the heart of family gatherings, and get outside. Cage #2 doesn't need to be as large as Cage #1, It's not a cage he will be spending 12-14 hrs a day in..... It's a cage he will spend 2-4 hrs in maybe once a month, or twice a month depending on birthday parties etc... realistically. I've consumed so much information in this last week, as I was given a month to prepare for his arrival initially, I'm down to 7-14 days left, 7 of which I cannot take for granted. After the sore employees put the cage together, (Said it took about an hour) I asked them to disassemble it, not all the way, but remove the top, remove the bottom, then break the octagon into 2 Pieces. That so I can get it through my front door which is 35" inches LOL. I'll have just 4 pieces to put back together for it to be ready.

I am THANKFUL to you for this post, I'll immediately stop looking for used and look at the store today when I pick my cage up, and see what they have that I can use on my porch.

Noodles, I'm not having much luck posting pictures, and asked Scott for a link to posting pictures on the site so they show up. The cage is built by A&E and it's an Octagon shape. It's 36" by 36" by 58" inch inside of cage height, but 60 something outside with the base. I'm 6'1" and can see the top, so I'm not exactly sure of their height. Anyway, can you google it under A&E Octagon 36 x 36 so you can see it, and tell me what you think about inside perches setup? I just mentioned to Scott, I'm certainly not novice to Cockatoo's, but my first memories of Sonny was when I was 5-6 years old, probably the first time he bit me LMBO.... So far I have purchased (2) Two Manzanita perches, They are 36" long, and attach by bolt, washers, and wing nuts on either side. I don't want to overcrowd him, but I do want him to enjoy his new environment. How many Perches do you think would be sufficient, and would you also attach any half perches, meaning they just attach at one side? The cage comes with 4 stainless water/food dishes, Do you think those sufficient, or is their a better idea out there that I should consider. Remember, I don't remember any of this from Sonny, My mom had all this done and set up at my birth, and when I inherited him, a little family discussion I had was take pictures of that cage, don't change anything up, Sonny may not like it.... So I kept his food and water dishes, and his perches exactly how they were set up, as not to disturb Sonny's routine any more than it was with my Mom passing. Please share your ideas, I can use all the ideas I can get in setting him up for success, knowing I can make changes later. Thank You for caring enough to share your feedback Noodles123!!

I am not saying a bird-safe used cage can't be found, but there are many challenges and the paint will be a major expense (based on my research).

I just prefer to err on the side of caution, but there are people who have successfully cleaned used cages. The issue is, it is a gamble and painting it adds to the difficulty...with the incubation time of some illnesses, you may not know for 10+ years whether or not your cleaning was successful (that stresses me out)! LOL

I am glad that I could help! Sorry to be the rain on a parade lol.
I am probably more paranoid than some, but I think it's better to be overly cautious than under-cautious--- especially when we are talking about a bird who could outlive a human when proper care is provided.

Good luck with the cage hunt!!!