Help getting ready for my new greenwing!

[brianlinkles]

I tend to be a worrier by nature as well as someone that obsesses over everything! LOL So I am trying to get ready for the arrival of our new baby. I would welcome all suggestions! I am wondering how quickly they go through their toys, I usually change out my cags toys every week. Other than wooden toys are their other types that you recommend getting? Do they just go through a cageful of toys a week? I bought a large rope/boing to go in the cage, is this alright? Will he chew it up immediatley? What types of treats do your macaws enjoy? I have been reading (although I cannot find a book just on macaws) I feel like I knew so much more about our cag when we brought her home. Help!

 

[plax]

I tend to be a worrier by nature as well as someone that obsesses over everything! LOL So I am trying to get ready for the arrival of our new baby. I would welcome all suggestions! I am wondering how quickly they go through their toys, I usually change out my cags toys every week. Other than wooden toys are their other types that you recommend getting? Do they just go through a cageful of toys a week? I bought a large rope/boing to go in the cage, is this alright? Will he chew it up immediatley? What types of treats do your macaws enjoy? I have been reading (although I cannot find a book just on macaws) I feel like I knew so much more about our cag when we brought her home. Help!

Worrying can be a good thing, especially when it comes to the safety and protection of our birds.

I don't have a boing in Salsa's cage, partly because they take up quite a bit of room. But I get those rope perches for him and he tears them apart. You have to be careful with boings or anything made out of rope because when they fray it and the strands fall away it can present a tangling/choking hazard for them. When you use those kinds of things, especially in their cages, you should keep a close watch on the condition of the rope. And don't ever use a non-rigid rope that's small enough in diameter and long enough to wrap around the bird's neck. Such things can be horrible accidents waiting to happen.

 

[WharfRat]

start making your own toys...........you'll be going thru alot of them

Last ones we made lasted MAYBE 30 mins.

 

[plax]

Also, in addition to the ones you give him which you expect will be annihilated in short order, provide some virtually indestructible ones as well. For example, on some of the video's I've posted here of Salsa in his cage you'll see him hanging from and battling with one of those hollow, natural rubber balls made of open pentagon shapes. They're sold as dog toys. I put pieces of wood and other intriguing objects inside of it and Salsa just loves the thing. The rubber recovers from his best efforts at ripping it apart and stretching the daylights out of it, so the toy is lasting indefinitely ...well, I'm sure it will eventually wear out/fall apart, but it should last for quite a long time. Do something like that and keep giving him the destructible ones too and you'll be covered

 

[willist]

Both my GW and my Harlequin love walnuts (in the shell) as treats. If you can't find any in stores near you, you can buy them from nuts.com. Also another one of their favorites is pasta, any kind. Don't break up spaghetti, feed it to them full length, its fun watching them eat it. Be sure to get him/her a heavy duty bell (the cylindrical type made of steel). Macaws are loud anyway so a little bell ringing won't hurt. Also a big steel bell is the only toy that will last.

 

[tab_xo]

Hello in regards to the book on just macaws, there are 2 that i have 'A complete pet owners manual- Macaw' and 'A guide to Macaws'. I bought them off ebay so im guessing you could get them in america

and plax- do you use dog toys- the safe ones of course- but our pet shops dont really have big bird toys, only small ones as they are more common. so are dog toys an option?

 

[triordan]

I agree with making your toys~ its fun and a lot cheaper! He doesn't go through them that quickly, and it is easy to replace the pieces that have been chewed. Remington has one of those steel cages, sometimes I will put a roll of register tape in it, other times shredded paper and hide almonds, pecans, grapes etc in it. He also loves his stainless measuring cup toy.
Remington's favorite treat changes, one day grapes, the next pistachios, raisins, pine nuts...his boing hangs outside the cage off of a perch

 

[plax]

and plax- do you use dog toys-

Very few. But those rubber spheres are ones that work well. Just be sure it's the type that are made from natural rubber.

but our pet shops dont really have big bird toys, only small ones as they are more common. so are dog toys an option?

I wouldn't say they're an option as a general rule. But as long as you research specific ones and establish that they're bird-safe in every way, those should be okay.

You should also keep in mind that many commercially produced bird toys are made in China. China has a track record of producing toxic products for both pets and humans. The things that come over here now though are probably safer in general than they might have been a couple years back. But I still find it hard to have complete trust in any bird products with "Made in China" printed on them or their packaging.

As far as commercially produced safe bird toys go, mysafebirdstore.com ships internationally. So that's yet one more option for some peace of mind.

 

[brianlinkles]

thank you for the tips! I hope they keep coming! I visited Moses today, he changes so much each time I see him! He is so funny, everytime I come up to him, he lifts his big foot to step up, the trick is then to get him to get the other foot on my hand or arm! He is still clumsy, and just so adorable! Today was the first time I actually felt the strength in that beak. Usually he will just gently hold my finger, hand in his beak and kind of move his tongue around on it. Today he was getting a bit more wound up and I had a little bit of a hard time removing my finger. I tell him gentle and then kind of rub his beak after I take my finger out, I hope this is the right thing to do. He keeps trying to get up to my shoulder, which I am discouraging at this point. The breeder has shown me a way to kind of place my hand over his head to kind of block his path. It is so funny that I am so comfortable with my grouchy amazon rescue who can be quite a handful, not to mention a heck of a biter at times! I also have the easiest cag, however when it comes to Moses, it is so new! I feel more and more comfortable with him everytime I am with him, today when it was time to put him back in the cage, he was very upset and made that known very loudly! I checked through all the toys at the store and have found some great ones! Plax, I am curious about the ball you are talking about. Is it the kind of material that kong dog toys are made from?

 

[plax]

Plax, I am curious about the ball you are talking about. Is it the kind of material that kong dog toys are made from?

I haven't researched the material that Kong uses. All I know is they claim their toys are safe for dogs. The ball toys I'm talking about are made from natural rubber, like these from JW:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/JW-Pet-Company-Hol-ee-5-Inches/dp/B0002DJX44"]Amazon.com: JW Pet Company Hol-ee Roller Dog Toy, 5-Inches (Colors Vary): Pet Supplies[/ame]

 

[brianlinkles]

Plax, thanks for the link! Do you get the largest size? Where can I view your videos? I would love to see them!

 

[plax]

Plax, thanks for the link! Do you get the largest size? Where can I view your videos? I would love to see them!

I use the medium sized ones.

Here's a vid of Salsa playing with his in his cage:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHrrXiwPpDw"]Hyper Salsa - YouTube[/ame]

 

[plax]

Plax, thanks for the link! Do you get the largest size? Where can I view your videos? I would love to see them!

I use the medium sized ones.

By the way, the reason I use the medium size ones is only because the holes in them are smaller than that of the large ones. So objects that will easily fall out of the large ones will stay inside the medium size ones. But the size of the large ones is no problem for large Macaws. So if you're going to put fairly large blocks of wood or something else that's large enough (or spread out enough, like paper) inside the balls, the large ones will be fine.

 

[brianlinkles]

Oh my goodness, Salsa is gorgeous! I just came back from visiting Moses, he is growing so quickly! I am going to order one right now! I love seeing your birds! I cannot even wait until October when we bring him home! The waiting is very hard!

 

[WharfRat]

Yea, I'd go NUTS having to wait that long to get one. The benefit of being trained to handfeed I guess.

 

[brianlinkles]

Yes, it is so hard! I have been feeding him at the breeders several times a week. I have weaned several babies (I know, this is controversial!) However, I have surgery in Sept. and my husband has asked that we wait to bring him home until after I recouperate. I have several days in the hospital then I am not so sure when I can be up and around. Frankly I feel better having the breeder feed him as well! I think that this is a smarter route to take, I want to be 100% when Moses comes home!

 

[Mike]

We buy used baby toys and string them along a stainless steel chain. Mardy loves to chew the hard plastic toys. She's not so crazy about rubbery toys. Mardy is a "destroyer."

Mardy also gets bird toys, but they rarely last an hour and at $12-20 each, she doesn't get many of them.

Make your own and save money while still providing variety for your bird.