Advice please

[wwendy104]

Ok so here's the story. Ever since we brought the macaw home about 6 weeks ago or so my birds have all just gone naughty. Lol kidding a little.

Anyways so the macaw and grey are in my great room which is huge I'm talking half the size if my entire house which has cathedral ceilings that go up to a loft so it's all open if you can picture it. Anyways so my grey is on one side of the room and the macaw on the other. They are alone about 6 hours each day in which I leave the Greys cage open and never have had a problem. My husband decided to teach my grey to fly cause at almost 20 years old she never learned and until 5 years ago she was always clipped but when I took her in I refused. She hasn't been having much luck with flying or well we thought until a couple weeks ago she flew off my arm and straight in the macaw cage and landed right on her. Everything was ok Waddles didn't seem to mind. I took her out immediately and put her back in her cage. We have been finding droppings on the carpet by both cages the last couple days and I was getting a little suspicious she was getting off when we weren't home. Kiwi has been calling the macaw at night telling her hey come here and waddles just waves her wing and says bye bye. I thought it was just cute.

Today my son stayed home sick from school and decided to leave his room and he peeked in on them and there is Kiwi just chilling on the play top of waddles cage while waddles was in the cage. Neither were alarmed until my son removed kiwi the grey off waddles cage. Now I'm worried should I start locking the cages or has anyone had good experiences with a macaw and grey getting along. My gut say lock them but I hate to do that.

If the recommendation to lock what kind of pad locks should we get cause the grey can get out of her lock and the macaw cage doesn't have a built in lock at all. Both can open them. Well thanks in advance and Happy Valentines day!

 

[ParkersMom]

i use a chain from an old toy with a twist lock clasp for my amazons cage..it has a push button lock and either Parker or one of the dogs somehow got it open the other day...i just run the chain through the bars of the door and cage then just twist it shut... hope this helps...as far as bird being together i'm just not comfortable with the idea...so I have no advice in that area

 

[plax]

I would NOT leave your birds out of their cages when no one is home, especially for many hours at a time! There is too much potential for danger when there's no one around to intervene. Parrots can become moody and decide to bite toes off of other parrots who may climb onto their cages. If something like that should ever occur, the bird who receives the injury may bleed out and ultimately die because no one would be available to administer emergency treatment or facilitate transport to a vet. Then there's the possibility that the free-roaming bird(s) may decide to explore areas and objects in the room and thus encounter various dangers, such as electrical cords and toxic materials. I don't know what your room setup is like... perhaps you've bird-proofed it. But even so, with no supervision the two may pose risks to one another that you haven't considered.

 

[SandyBee]

I'd have to agree, better safe than sorry.
I won't leave my two unattended if the cage doors are open and they seem to like/respect ignore each other.

 

[JerseyWendy]

100% agree with the above posters.

I would have a heart attack if I left the house and thought for just a second that I forgot to close/lock one of my bird cages.

 

[Turquoise]

Same here for me & my flock. They are only allowed out on their own play perches separate from each other when I am home & watching them. The macaws could easily hurt the smaller ones seriously. None like any of the others getting on or in their cage even when they are on their play perches away from them. that's my personal opinion & I myself would not take the chance.

 

[Parro]

I agree with all posters especially plax, he has experience in macaws

 

[bkparrot]

It would be risky to leave different size birds out. You never know what can happen.

 

[goalerjones]

:54:I agree with all the posters EXCEPT for Plax, just to be different.

 

[plax]

:54:I agree with all the posters EXCEPT for Plax, just to be different.

Which statement in my post do you disagree with?

 

[plax]

I think it's reasonable at this point to say that parrot supervision is quite a serious matter. It's so very serious because the decision of whether or not to supervise our feathered companions can literally mean life or death for them. Because it's such a serious topic, I feel that sporadic humor within such a thread is not appropriate. And I especially feel that posting contradictory statements that tend to cloud the predominant opinion isn't the best idea.

 

[goalerjones]

:54:I agree with all the posters EXCEPT for Plax, just to be different.

Which statement in my post do you disagree with?

There was absolutely zero value to my statement Plax. I was just attempting to be funny.

 

[RockysMom]

their is no way I would leave my cage doors open and leave for awhile , Opey our quaker would probably not go off his cage but Rocky would be all over the place and yes accidents can happen

 

[RockysMom]

o and DJ would be all over the place to lol

 

[WharfRat]

WOW

Trying to think of a nice way to put this, but having problems doing so.

To me (my opinion, not gospel) that is a "cardinal sin" in bird keeping. I NEVER NEVER leave any of my birds loose when I'm away, not even one. It's just something you don't do, period. I see enough potential danger when I'm here as it is when some are loose and some are caged. I absolutely, positively NEVER let my different species intermingle as well at any time. (yes I did when some were babies but my hands were right there at all times).

I apologize if this sounds a little harsh but it is what it is. Any knowledgeable bird person that I've ever known would say this is a very bad practice.

 

[Brodie]

I agree completely with all the above posts. I won't even leave the room without either locking the birds up, or taking them with me. Not only coz Scarlet do some extreme deadly damage to Ticka, but there's also many other potential hazards, as someone else said, electrical cords ect. Also I wouldn't trust them no to destroy my house.
My birds life's are much more important to me then letting them have free roam when I'm not home. It's just not at all worth it.
I just can't stress enough how much this is a terrible idea. I know someone who had an eclectus and a macaw, and let them interact daily, for 8+ years, they were friends, so it seamed. Then one day while unattended the macaw took off most of the eclectus' foot. This is horrible, and it makes me sad to think others are taking this risk aswell. You never know, they can change attitude an any second, and while your not there, how do you know they will be okay?
The grey seems to be getting a bit more curious.. I'd keep them away from one another. If your gut is telling you lock them up, then please do so!

 

[wwendy104]

Wow haven't been on in a while. We all have our opinions and I'm sorry I dont believe I've have performed a "cardinal sin". Im sure most have different standards of care, my birds are spoiled and very well taken care of. The macs cage was closed and is closed if we leave but not locked and the Greys cage open. Now the grey gets out when we close her cage anyways so we stopped doing it she was always alone if we left the house and there is nothing for her to get into in this room not even wires since the TV is mounted. My issue is there is a breeder box are on her cage that just has a swing tab and the front has like a lever close no place for a real lock on either. She also can get the food doors open. If we close her all in we come home and she is out. This is the first time we caught her leaving the cage and being That we have the macaw now which is new, I have to be able to keep her in. The macaw was in a different room being quarantined until recently.

So without replacing her cage all together is the best choice to chain everthing and pad lock? Is the metal of pad locks ok? Is there any other options? Her cage is only about 4 years old I can't get a new one right now.

 

[wwendy104]

I also wanted to add they had never intermingled none of my birds do. I'm afraid to even have them on the play area together.

 

[plax]

Wow haven't been on in a while. We all have our opinions and I'm sorry I dont believe I've have performed a "cardinal sin". Im sure most have different standards of care, my birds are spoiled and very well taken care of. The macs cage was closed and is closed if we leave but not locked and the Greys cage open. Now the grey gets out when we close her cage anyways so we stopped doing it she was always alone if we left the house and there is nothing for her to get into in this room not even wires since the TV is mounted. My issue is there is a breeder box are on her cage that just has a swing tab and the front has like a lever close no place for a real lock on either. She also can get the food doors open. If we close her all in we come home and she is out. This is the first time we caught her leaving the cage and being That we have the macaw now which is new, I have to be able to keep her in. The macaw was in a different room being quarantined until recently.

So without replacing her cage all together is the best choice to chain everthing and pad lock? Is the metal of pad locks ok? Is there any other options? Her cage is only about 4 years old I can't get a new one right now.

I don't believe anyone was trying to offend you. You asked for advice related to one or more of your birds having out-of-cage access for 6 hours on each of several days of the week when you're gone. The collective opinion which you've received from us is that allowing your situation to continue will effectively place your birds at risk for serious accidents while no one is at home to facilitate emergency treatment if and when necessary. You really should lock their cages when you leave. Even considering you've had no problems yet, all it may take is one first time foot bite and your bird may bleed to death in your absence.

Most padlocks contain a zinc alloy (such as brass) or a zinc plating, which is toxic to psittacine birds if ingested. I use stainless steel padlocks around my birds when necessary. Here's a photo of one:

 

[plax]

I also wanted to add they had never intermingled none of my birds do. I'm afraid to even have them on the play area together.

It's good that so far they've tended to avoid one another. But please be mindful that all it takes is once for a catastrophe to occur .