House vs Aviary birds

[spook]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and light years away from owning my own parrot, but I want to do as little trial-by-error as possible when it finally happens.

So my dream scenario is to have a massive aviary for some parrots that I would spend time with them in. I'd prefer to have a couple to help keep them entertained. My favourites are macaws, but I know they're a lot of work, so if anyone knows how'd they do in an aviary that'd be great to know.

However, here are my concerns:

While I don't particularly need birds that are all over me and desperate for affection, I would still like to be able to interact with them. Maybe give them some treats or have them not afraid to be close by. How feasible is this with aviary birds?

Also I was thinking about having birds that are in the aviary during the day, and come in at night. Would that be a better setup in your opinion? Then I would worry about them not being tame enough to willingly come in for the night.

Another thing I was thinking about was, with a very big aviary, there would probably opportunity for the birds to perch up high unless I deliberately removed it. Would this cause dominance/tameness issues? I don't need them to adore me, but I wouldn't like to be savaged every time I go in to feed them!

I was also wondering how well rescue birds integrate with other birds, and how well they'd adapt to at least the day out in the aviary.

I've done a decent search of the forum and couldn't find anything as specific as this, so sorry if I overlooked something! Thanks in advance for all your help. :red:

 

[Mango7218]

First of all height dominance is a myth.And you could get hand reared birds to use your aviary then you dont have to worry about them not being tame enough.

 

[JerseyWendy]

You mentioned macaws. Please know that they are pair bond birds. A male and female may form a super strong bond, while males (or females) housed together may not get along once sexually mature. “May” being the key word here.

....And you could get hand reared birds to use your aviary then you dont have to worry about them not being tame enough.

A hand reared bird does not guarantee a bonded/tame bird. Socialization is key. Continued socialization that is. 

 

[Mango7218]

It does if you are always interacting with.S/he mentioned she would be out there daily with them so they would stay tame.

 

[JerseyWendy]

It does if you are always interacting with.S/he mentioned she would be out there daily with them so they would stay tame.

There is a 'slight' difference between 'interacting' and 'socializing'. You may want to look it up. Better yet, here you go, for your reading pleasure:
Interacting - definition of interacting by The Free Dictionary
Socializing - definition of socializing by The Free Dictionary

 

[Mango7218]

It does if you are always interacting with.S/he mentioned she would be out there daily with them so they would stay tame.

There is a 'slight' difference between 'interacting' and 'socializing'. You may want to look it up. Better yet, here you go, for your reading pleasure:
Interacting - definition of interacting by The Free Dictionary
Socializing - definition of socializing by The Free Dictionary

I know the definitions lol.What I mean is if your with them everyday and handle them regularly then yes they will stay tame if that wasn't true then all my birds would be wild.

 

[spook]

Thanks for the response guys I'm willing to put as much time with them as they want or need. If they want to be cuddled and petted all the time then I'm more than happy to do that! I'd love to have some birds that were harness trained and could go places with me!

My concern was that realistically an aviary is the only set-up that would work for me. (Partner wouldn't be crazy about birds in the house and I'm quite sensitive to allergens). But it sounds like with enough work they could stay tame in an aviary?

I was thinking that I would probably get a male and female so they'd be more likely to get along. It would be a shame if they bonded so strongly that they wanted nothing to do with me, but I'd rather have two happy and unfriendly birds, than two friendly birds who'd lose the plot if something came up and i didn't have enough time for them for a couple of days. Any thoughts?

 

[Piasa]

If you are able to adopt birds, getting older birds who are already friends and used to being together and who also accept people may be exactly what you are looking for. You will be able know better what to expect since their relationship is already established. In volunteering, I have met some really wonderful birds like this. Good for you, and no broken hearts for parrots who may otherwise be separated in looking for a home.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Pardon my manners in my first post. WELCOME to the forums.

Many of our members (most actually) work full time jobs, yet their birds are incredibly bonded with them, and vice versa.

Are you in a climate where an outdoor aviary is doable year round? Do you have any big mac experience at the moment? If not, I'd suggest going to a nearby rescue and/or store and handle as many of them as you can, and as often as you can so that you can learn all about their body language. Here's an excellent article for you:
http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/56384-big-beak-o-phobes-guide-understanding-macaw-beaks.html

IMO keeping a bird (or birds) in an aviary is about the same as keeping them indoors in a cage (or indoor playstand). The only difference here is that you are looking to keeping 2 of them together constantly. As long as you spend a fair amount of time with each individual bird, they will certainly remain 'tame'. They won't turn 'feral' or anything like that, but again, over time they may prefer each others company more than yours. My biggest fear would be sexual maturity. IF your future macaws bond that strongly, they may be looking to reproduce. :54:

 

[spook]

@Piasa

That does sound pretty ideal to me! I live in Ireland, so no dedicated parrot rescues unfortunately. When the time comes I'll keep an eye out, but unfortunately I get the impression that macaws tend to go around donedeal at quite high prices before they go anywhere near a rescue. In that regard am a little torn: pay the money and risk supporting that kind of practice, don't and risk the poor thing having a miserable life.

TLDR; preference for a pair of friendly rescues, but might be hard to actually find.

 

[spook]

@JerseyWendy

Thanks for your response! (didn't see it until I posted my first reply) Ireland unfortunately is pretty piss miserable, so options would have to be a proper little heated indoor area they could go whenever they liked, or come indoors which wouldn't be ideal for reasons listed above. (But I'm a total softy so...)

I've signed up to volunteer with the local animal shelter, and they do apparently get parrots in often enough. Forms, etc haven't come through yet but hoping to get some experience there. Worst case scenario planning to go down to a big aviary farm and beg until someone takes pity on me and teaches me a little hahaha.

Reproducing wouldn't be great, unless I decide that's a route I really want to go down. (Unlikely). Some techniques I've heard of include replacing eggs with dummies and removing nest boxes. I little worried about the idea of trying to take eggs of a psycho mum haha

 

[Mango7218]

I dont know if a Aviary would be good in Ireland it does get very cold sometimes.I live in Dublin where in Ireland are you from?

 

[spook]

Yes if it happened they'd definitely need a place to get out of the elements. That's quite the coincidence! I'm from Dublin too, near Bray. You? Any tips on getting experience here? I've been to Sherwood Aviaries which I wasn't impressed with and planning on visiting Copsewood Aviaries soon and hoping it'll be much better.

 

[Mango7218]

Yes if it happened they'd definitely need a place to get out of the elements. That's quite the coincidence! I'm from Dublin too, near Bray. You? Any tips on getting experience here? I've been to Sherwood Aviaries which I wasn't impressed with and planning on visiting Copsewood Aviaries soon and hoping it'll be much better.

I live near Clarehall.Theres a place in Crumlin called the Bird jungle they have two different stores the Bigger one on Keeper road has lots of Parrots and im sure they would let you hold the babies and stuff and ask questions.I got Mango from there.

 

[Dinosrawr]

Everyone has contributed and Wendy has pretty much said anything I was planning to. The only thing I would add is look for a video of two bonded and mating macaws... I've seen what they're like, and trust me, they can be exceptionally defensive parents. Not saying that will be the case... just be prepared for that to happen if you decide to get two opposite sex birds of the same species.

Also, in the wild macaws will still make "friends" within a large flock, but remain bonded to their opposite sex mate. So it's not as if you can't be the friend or two birds of the same sex won't be friends. It's about proper introductions, socialization, and the bird's personality.

Good on you for doing research, by the way! It's always important to read, but also very important to handle birds before you make your final decision. [emoji4]

 

[spook]

@Dinosrawr Thanks! I would hate to run out and get a parrot that I was totally unable for, I've seen some miserable ones being passed around on the equivalent of craigslist here :/

And brilliant tip on the videos haha, saw one where a guy was having to fend of a pair of macaws with a stick while he was trying to chance their nest box bedding.

Actually went and visited the bird shop that Mango recommended and fell in love with some parrotlets. Might have to look into getting some much sooner than I thought I would.

 

[Mango7218]

The Parrotlets are very expensive in there €90 did you visit both of them?

 

[Terry57]

We paid $200 Canadian for our parrotlet, and he was worth every penny I love those little guys, so full of personality!

 

[Birdman666]

Short answer: Macaws that do not get handled do not stay tame...

As others have mentioned, these are pair bond birds. Put the pair together in a flight, and they likely will bond with each other, and consider you the intruder, UNLESS they get handled every day.

MACAWS are extremely social birds, and very attention oriented. What happens if they say, start attention screaming out in their flight? Are you far enough from neighbors that you won't get noise complaints? Because they can be quite LOUD!

I'm not saying that it's gonna happen, I'm saying think it all the way through.

These are not back yard tropical decor. These are high attention needs animals. Same IQ, same attention needs as a human toddler.