Are there any toucan owners on the forum?

[Nathan1]

I've been looking through the "others" section, and I can't find anything about toucans. I'd love to see pics, videos and get an idea of what different toucans are like. Does anybody on this forum have a toucan?

 

[crimson]

I remember seeing on on Kijiji, and it was hand tamed, and was pretty pricey...$$$$
they are beautiful aren't they?

 

[lquan]

My friend has a Green Emerald Toucanet. He has been keeping and raising all kind of song birds all his life; for some 35+ years I think, but no parrot. Unfortunately, he is not interested in joining any type of forum. This guy can accurately guess the gender of a baby dimorphic bird just by looking under its wings! His has deep knowledge in birds.

Why are you interested in getting a toucan?

Toucan are playful birds like parrots. They are good at mimicking people and other birds actions; but vocally tho. They can be tamed just like parrots. They are pretty intelligent bird right behind medium or larger parrots.

 

[Birdman666]

I know a few breeders. I have played with them.

The upside is that they don't have the same bite pressure parrots have. Those beaks are hollow. I had a big old Toco Tucan who was not at all pleased to have me intruding on his flight, and he was gumming my forearm to death... with no effect. SORRY DUDE! I HAVE MACAWS...

They can be affectionate, they have big goofy personalities, and they can be trick trained, believe it or not.

The downsides: They are expensive, and expensive to keep. They pretty much require an outdoor flight. They hop around and can be hyper. They are messy liquid poopers, like lories...

They are extremely diet sensitive birds, and are prone to iron storage disease. Improper diet will kill them in short order...

I really consider these guys to be aviary birds, personally.

I'll stick to macaws myself...

 

[Nathan1]

Why are you interested in getting a toucan?

Nope, much too expensive for me...Beautiful birds though, I'd like to see more of them on the forum.

 

[MikeyTN]

There was someone on here that had them. But I don't think that member participate on here anymore.

 

[cstambaugh]

When we say expensive, what price range are we looking at (in the US)?

 

[Nathan1]

When we say expensive, what price range are we looking at (in the US)?

Depends...Toco toucans, the most well known toucans will cost $10,000+, I think even a bit more than a Hyacinth macaw. Not only that, but their diet is a large variety of fresh fruits(more than parrots), canned or frozen will not cut it. They also need specially formulated low iron pellets which aren't cheap either.

 

[Sambamama]

Mazuri toucan food (low iron) comes in 15 lb bags and can cost from $30 to $65 + per bag depending on your source. Mazuri soft bill food is low iron and will last one bird for least 2 months, if supplemented with papaya and other fruits. It's not terribly expensive, IMO. I would not keep a toucan on only these pellets though. Fresh tropical fruit will not break the bank, if you know where to shop. (Unless you live in the boonies, the fruit part should be easy.)

Toucans are bouncy and aurally, auditoraly pesky birds. They need room to fly, boing around, and be free to explore. The bigger ones croak or call almost incessantly. Most people in a home situation do not have the space, desire or patience for them. Smaller toucans are probably better for pets. That is IF you appreciate what the hyperactive, poopy squirty lifestyle of these guys entails....

They do have squirty poops. Did i mention that? This is why having an aviary is most convenient.... Or living in an area where the bird can access a patio that can be hosed down regularly.

This said, I love them. I love their interactions, for they are soooooo fun, and if I had a place to entertain one, I would! I would love one.. And for the US market they are less expensive than a hy if you shop smartly here domestically.

So I too would also be interested in knowing if anyone else on this forum has one in as a pet. Indoors.....

My experience is with foreign rehabbers and breeders of toucans. They are indeed easier to work with than the hook bills. They are less intimidating, but as equally as fun and clever... But until I get a real flight cage/ aviary I won't take one on myself.

Jmo

 

[Anansi]

I don't have any personal experience with a toucan, (you're getting a lot of that today, I know. Lol) but I met a bird owner with one (along with a beautiful, and atypically LARGE, eclectus parrot) at the bird store where I had purchased my own eclectus.

The one he had was among the smallest of that species, called an aracari (I believe) toucan. It was beautiful and comically hyper, darting about its large boarding cage in that ADD fashion seen most commonly in hummingbirds.

I chewed his ear off with questions when he came to collect his birds from the boarding room, as his little toucan was obviously very well socialized and recall trained. He keeps his toucan in his home. It is indoor flight-trained and has all day full run of the entire house. (As an alternative, I reckon, to Birdman's point about them needing the space of an outdoor aviary. Likely helped that it is so small a toucan, though. Not counting that beak, it was probably smaller than a cockatiel.)

As for sleeping arrangements, he said that it spends all night in his sock drawer. Lol! Never asked if that was the bird's innovation, or his own! But I have my suspicions.

He did confirm the squirty poop observations of Sambamama, but he said that he got around that by training his aracari to only go in the shower, where his jet-sprayed effluvia could be more easily washed away.

They are highly intelligent and learn quickly, but they don't speak.

And as for care, his opinion was that an aracari's requirements are not very much different from those of an eclectus, save for the need to monitor their iron-intake and that dried or canned fruits are not even an option. Everything must be fresh. (Which is pretty much what I do with Bixby, anyhow.)

They also cost far less than, say, a toco toucan. The prices I'd heard for those hovered around the $17,000 range, whereas the aracari was more around $4,000 or so. (Still high for me, though not inconceivably so like the toco.)

And one other thing I learned while researching them on my own: toucans cannot use concrete or sandpaper covered perches. Their foot pads are far more sensitive and those rough surfaces will badly abrade their tender little feet.

And there is everything I know about toucans. I too wish there were some toucan owners on this forum. If only so I might enjoy those sweet birds vicariously! Lol

 

[KeroRocks]

The petstore near me has both a Toco Toucan and Aracaris. The Aracaris are around $2200 and fun to watch and hold. The Toco is BIG but seems pretty friendly. He's in an aviary cage and I wouldn't consider anything smaller for him. He needs all that room just for his beak!
The Aracaris are cool. I like the curly aracari. It's feathers on the head look like curls. Very cool looking.

I can do without the liquid, projectile poo though!

 

[Birdman666]

I can do without the liquid, projectile poo though!

Exactly. I am much happier going and visiting these guys... and interacting with them that way. Not a bird I have a desire to keep. Between diet issues, Aviary requirements, and cleaning work involved... it would be way too much for me....

 

[lquan]

No kidding about large toucan! Even the small green emerald toucanet my friend has, he said it is more time consuming to maintain than any other bird he had. He got it half price ($800) from the previous owner who purchased him directly from Emerald Forest Birds. He thought it was a steal. He loves the beautiful bird but wish he didn't take it in. Preparing fruit for it daily is a lot of work. 60% of the fruit usually go to waste. You would think if you cut up the fruit into bite size he would swallow them whole, but no, he tosses them all over the flight. Out in the wild there is no one standing next to a papaya tree with a knife to cut up fruits for these birds, they have to yank the meat out of the papaya. It is their nature to yank and toss. With that long beak they can really toss! Cleaning up the dry fruit bits from the cage wire cloth is time consuming. Since he has only one bird, it cannot possible eat up the entire papaya or mango in one day, so the rest go to waste if his owner is to tire of eating the left over fruit. Oh yes, toucans are very picky eaters, unless the fruit is fresh, they won't touch it. Once a year he has to go to the vet to get his liver checked for iron level. That's $300 per test Toucan needs to be entertained, too, not at the same level as parrot, but you cannot leave it alone all day like finch. They are very intelligent bird. If you like to see toucans, I suggest go to the zoo. Or if you live in Souther California, go to Emerald Forest Birds, pay $35 to see all of the beautiful species of toucan and toucanet (aracary).