I was wondering what would be a good first parrot. Maybe one that won't bite me!!

[Kakapo]

I'm not changing my room into a jungle.....lol. I have a spare double bedroom which il make into jungle. I work from 8-5 but will be able to come home for lunch at 12 for an hour. I never knew there was so much to learn about parrots. I'm glad i came on here first before i did anything drastic. I'm even more intrigued now about parrots

 

[Abigal7]

Everyone, is giving you good advice. Any parrot can scream and bite (chances are they will do those things). In my case bites I have been given have not been hard bites. Captain Jack bite me hard one time when he was playing with my finger (he was not scared or mad). I have not been bitten by a lot of animals but the worst bite I ever received was from a hamster. The big questions to ask yourself is if you are intimidated by big beaks and what risks you want to take on a bite (a bleeding cut or stitches). To be honest the only bird I remember that I never got a bite from was the cockatiel I had as a child. If the size of a large macaw intimidates you then I would reconsider since they can sense that you are scared of them. I have a hahns macaw and he is a cuddly sweet bird. As a poster pointed out the bigger the bird the more expense (cages ect go with it). Macaws stereotypically can be affectionate and cuddly while a African Grey is a better talker and probably not as hands on. Of course parrots do not always follow the species stereotypes written in books. It is hard to explain but they are nothing like a dog or cat (even the most affectionate cat has a independent side). Parrots demand attention (they live in flocks in the wild and are never alone in the wild).

 

[Kakapo]

I'm not afraid I'd just rather not get bitten. I understand now that's part an parcel of having any bird. I've learned so much since i posted that question. I watched one documentary were some of these birds are bilingual which amazed me

 

[Kakapo]

I've actually thought about the cage situation. Ive read people's different opinions. I wouldn't personally keep a bird in a cage if that's right or wrong I'm not sure but that's how I feel. Actually this would make a good thread an see what other people's views in this are. I'm no expert this question is really for the knowledgeable people on this site

 

[tab_xo]

A cage isn't necessarily a bad thing...

Few people have their bird cageless, so they have a very SAFE room dedicated for their birds.. So there are absolutely no dangers.. It is possible, all about teaching the bird to play on their gyms! But it will be a huge task to get the room very bird safe!

However a cage is a very handy thing if you have to be gone all day, or need to rush out quickly! Nothing is worse than a bird never being in a cage, and when the day comes they NEED to, they are very upset!


Aslong as your bird isn't stuck in a cage 24/7, then it is fine!


Fargo has a cage, he LOVES his cage... He puts himself in it sometimes..

It is just like another play area


He spends probably 3/4 of the day out of his cage, and he doesn't even sleep in his cage.. He sleeps above me on a perch!


So just because you have a cage, doesn't mean it is a bad thing.. Just aslong as the bird gets to come out alot and play!

I would neverrr go completely cageless! Although Fargo gets to be out and about all day.. On weekends i am usually not here, so he has to be in his cage.. Not safe for him to be out in the room, even though it is pretty much just a room for him !

I know a lady who has a huge room built on the side of her house which houses african greys.. It is kind of like an aviary, and they all live in there, but they each have their cages as well. Just incase!

 

[Kakapo]

Thanks tab lets say Fargo had his own room which was bird free of chemicals or anything that could harm him. Would there be any need in having a cage in that room? I'm don't disagree with cages but alot of experts do.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Seeing that you are still in the research phase, I'll give you some great reading material:

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/7244-parrot-me.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/8769-so-you-want-get-parrot-first-time.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/3100-bond-forming.html

 

[tab_xo]

Nope..

The only thing i would leave Fargo in, would be an aviary.. Not a room in a house.

A macaw DESTROYS walls... A wall, that is in your house, if left unsupervised, will be destroyed.. Not all macaws will, but most if they get the chance, will love to chew everything..




Most people disagree with keeping birds in a house full stop.. Just because some people say- Ohhh you shouldn't keep a bird in captivity.. Doesn't mean it is going to stop anyone..

Just like clipping.. Some people say you should never clip a birds wings.. But people still do it..

You as the guardian, need to make that decision

There is no right or wrong answer..

PERSONALLY i have no problem with cages...

Have you seen some of the cages of the members on here?!?! They are incredible! Massive, filled with toys.. NO bird would get bored in them..

Sure if you have a cage with one perch and one toy, then a cage is not good.. But alot of birds enjoy their cage, because of how FUN it is!


What is the difference, from teaching a bird to sit on a gym in a room... Than sitting in a cage?

There is no difference if you get a big enough cage.. Fargo's cage is massive.. and he LOVES his cage..

I have no need to make him go cageless.. He is happy..


Plus nothing is ever completely bird safe..



Now, lets say.. I have Fargo in a room, no cage, he has never been in a cage...

I get into an accident, i tragically die..

Fargo goes to a new home.. There are hardly any people who have a bird cageless.. So they say, well, he is going in a cage..

So for 2 years, Fargo has never been in a cage.. and now he is forced into one.. Imagine how unhappy he would be?


I have had a nasty horse riding accident before... Luckily, Fargo was in his cage, and he had to stay in there until i got out of hospital... I KNEW he was safe and secure!

 

[Kakapo]

Ok that actually makes a lot of sense i would have to agree with you. You make very valid points i just thought in my case I'm working through the day. I'd rather he had access to more than what's in his cage. I see now its best to have a cage even if the bird isn't in there hardly. I think the room i have could be easily changed into a safe free zone.

 

[tab_xo]

It IS possible, don't let me put you off it, but there are not toooo many people that do it.. Kinda like free flight.. There are people that do it, but it isn't common!


But yeah, just because you have a cage, doesn't mean the bird is going to be in it! It could just be for an hour a day, that's all, but it is just there if needed!

Like i said, Fargo doesn't even sleep in his cage, and so when he wakes up, he gets to play around the room by himself whilst i am asleep.. I just wouldn't leave him completely by himself

I woke up this morning and he was on his tree next to my desk, just whispering to me hahahaha

It is so funny how he knows that in the mornings, he has to be quiet, kinda like a child, they whisper to talk to you


How big is the room you would want to turn into a bird room?

 

[Kakapo]

I'd say about 25ft long by 18ft wide and about 12ft high. Luckily as an engineer i have access to suitable materials. Like some of the hardest metals which could be sheeted an used to cover I'm guessing basically the whole room. Hahaha that's sooo funny he is good yeah!! An free flight i wouldn't do we're i live there's a lot of peregrine falcons and other birds of prey. Obviously you live in a warmer part of the world so do you not have to use any equipment to keep rooms at certain temperature's?

 

[tab_xo]

Oh ok! That will be a nice flight area!

Just have to make sure the materials are safe.. Remember most metals are toxic! Stainless steel is the safe kind to use for birds!


Oh, so many people think Australia is hot all year round haha

Obviously it doesn't get as cold as england.. But we are just coming into winter, and it is already dropping below 0 degrees at night time!

Fargo doesn't need help at night time, he keeps himself warm, however summer is the problem for him!

He can't handle our 48 degree heat we had last summer.. So we have air conditioning in our room all summer So yes, we use equipment to keep the room at a good temp for him, but only during the heat!

Someone from england should be able to help with what to do during winter to keep them warm... I am not sure if they use heaters or not!

 

[Birdman666]

Wow I didn't know that all parrots bite..that changes things. I was looking at African greys how hard can they bite hard enough to need hospital treatment?

An African Grey has a beak like a scissors. They can bite hard enough to cause stitches. If they are shouldered... that's potentially facial reconstructive surgery time.

But there is a significant difference between all CAN. The thing about parrot ownership, is that they bond to you, and YOU TRAIN THEM NOT TO!

Most folks don't do enough work with their birds, and don't handle them enough. Birds that do not get handled do not stay tame. Then they bite when you go to handle them...

In the wild, you wouldn't get close enough to touch a parrot. They would fly off. In captivity, especially in a cage, they don't have the option to fly off. "It's ______ or flight." So what do they do, they BITE!

When they are trained, and love the person who is handling them, they generally don't. When socialized around strangers, they generally accept them. However they still CAN bite.

 

[GW.Joe]

A Macaw could literally chew right through the wall of any wood frame house in a manner of a few hours

You have to understand, they find a spot to "pick on" and then once they do, work on the spot till its a giant hole !!

The point is, left alone in a room it is only a matter of time till they find a weakness, they can even bend metal bars

The bird needs his cage for safety and his own feeling of security

When I was 6 years old my family's Green wing was left in the living room unattended while my mother was cooking in the next room, he chewed the back of an antique carved hard wood sofa, he choked on a piece of hard wood and died on the spot....

I remember it VIVIDLY..... my mother crying hysterical..... my dad coming home from work

The bird needs his cage for his own safety

Joe

Here is one that chewed a hole in the bottom of the door:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHgNfxlXOJA"]Bird chews hole in door - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Kakapo]

Thanks joe i see what you mean...il be purchasing a cage birdman has recommended one that he uses for the same bird il be getting. I know you thought a green winged macaw probably wouldn't be a good idea as a first bird. I've been in touch with barret Watson today an he's going to help me. He's a breeder in the uk. You can find his site online he seems really an very knowledgeable an I'm going to his aviaries in a few months to get some handling experience before i take on my own bird. I feel much happier knowing he will be there for me if i need help.

 

[Kakapo]

I actually felt really sorry for that macaw in the video. It looked like it could really hurt itself

 

[Birdman666]

An also do parrots show affection or is it not like that with birds. What kind of relationship do you have if that's makes sense. I know it's not going to be the same as a bond you have with a dog. Maybe having a parrot is a bit like having a cat it's kind of one way if that makes sense

It's more like the kind of bond you would have with a human toddler. ESPECIALLY with a macaw. These are some of the most interactive animals on the face of the planet. And macaws don't take kindly to being ignored!

Same IQ. Same attention needs.

Much, much, much more bonded than a dog or a cat. BUT also a lot more work.

Incidentally - I have a bird room, but my birds have all been "stay put trained." The cage doors don't close, but they also don't wander out of the bird room on search and destroy missions. If they did, I'd close cage doors. Most of mine were rescues, and most of them were cage bound when I got them. They were locked up and left to rot. I don't do that for this reason... and mine are trained well beyond what most "normal people" would expect.

If I had to limit it to one bird, it would probably be my greenwing. That would probably never be an option for me... cuz losing any of them would kill me. But if I had to choose, I'd pick the greenwing. We are just that bonded... and they are that amazing.

They can be great first birds, for the right person. BUT with any large macaw, if they figure out you can't or won't control their behavior... You will have a difficult time with it.

The more you handle them, the more you will understand.

 

[Kakapo]

I will get mine around 5months old birdman. The breeder said they hatch in 3 weeks an takes 4months after that. I'm not sure how long it takes but that's what I've been told. Should i start reinforcing barriers straight away? I'm guessing you don't deter from the barriers you set. I'm willing to put the effort in i know it will make things easier in the long run. How do you find the green wing to other spieces?

 

[Birdman666]

Greenwings are actually one of the easier macaws to work with, in my opinion. (But then I may be a tad biased...)

The 'beaky' species, i.e. Scarlet, Buffons, Militaries, are the harder "first macaws."

I've already posted quite a lot of Macaw 101 on this site, so just search under my posts. I won't repeat them again here.

Greenwing 101



With the exception of some strange birds, like rock pebblers, you have two primary flock behaviors. "Flock" birds, and "Pair bond" birds.

Toos, Eckies, and CAGS fall into the "flock" bird mentality. They live in huge close knit flocks, where there is safety in numbers, and they switch partners. This is one of the reason these birds tend to scream n pluck. Because psychologically, they are hard wired to live in a flock, and in captivity, they don't have one.

Macaws, (and this means all of them not just GWM), are pair bond birds. In the wild they live in loose knit flocks of 20-40 birds, but if you look closely they are almost always paired up 2 by 2. They mate for life. The pair bond becomes almost inseparable. In captivity, they tend to form this same pair bond with a favorite person.

So, your first issue with any macaw is OVERBONDING. If they are allowed to overbond with just one person, all others need not apply. They will get aggressive with other people, and they may even get aggressive with you to keep you away from other people. So, job one is socializing them around strangers...

The second issue you can (but often don't) get with Greenwings, especially with the bigger "Bolivian" males, are dominance issues. (They are actually Columbian, not Bolivian. The smugglers captured the significantly larger Columbian greenwings, and smuggled them into Bolivia, where they could then be legally exported. Since the birds that were coming out of Bolivia were FRIGGIN' HUGE, they became known as "Bolivian" Greenwings.)

And this was posted in my macaw 101 post the other day. You cannot allow the bird to be the dominant one in the pair bond relationship. If you do, the bird will bully you. (This is actually a mating issue.) The dominant male thinks he is in charge, and he will battle you for control. (You're either the dominant bird, or you are not. There is no in between in the bird world.) If you are in charge from the get go, this doesn't happen...

 

[Kakapo]

Ok il go an read that now I thought you might be a little biased haha.