Macaw Carriers

[Ella1]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and will be adopting a Green Winged Macaw within the next several weeks. He's is an extra large boy he measures about 40"-42" from the top of his head to the tip of his tail feathers. I have been searching and searching the web for a carrier that will fit him. I see that alot of people modify large dog crates for their larger birds. I would love if anyone here could share some photos of their modified dog crates so I can get a good idea of what I need to do. Thanks

 

[Safira]

I don't have pictures, but litterally all i did was use a sharp knife to put a hole in each side, so I could screw in a perch. The perch should be just an inch or two off the bottom of the dog crate, and forward towards the door so they could look out while their tail end is at the back.

 

[IcyWolf]

I use the plastic sided pet taxis for our birds, all I do is attach a perch to the front of it where the metal door is. For larger birds you could use a very large pet taxi or even get a metal dog crate and just put a couple perches in it. During the summer, I like to take the birds outside for some sunlight but ziggy's cage is too big to fit through our door ways without being completely taken apart, so what I do is take our dogs crate(that he never uses lol) and I throw a few perches in there and put her outside in that. Seems like the same could be used for a macaw, although it would be hard to transport something that big unless you have a very large vehicle. You may want to consider harness training as well, that way, when permitted, you could just have him leashed instead of caged, it would make it much easier to take him on outings or even to the vet.
I had a large iguana that I harness trained for that same reason, I did educational shows with reptiles but she HATED the carrier. It got to the point, putting her in her carrier made her so grumpy I almost didn't want to use her in the show at times. I started using a harness and leash and the problem was solved. I should probably throw it out there though, that she wouldn't run away or anything if she wasn't wearing the harness, I just used the harness to make others feel better. Something about her being on a leash made people much less afraid of her lol. I guess it made her look more domesticated.

 

[Ella1]

Thanks, I just ordered a crate and I'll have my hubby put in the perch.

 

[Gail55]

I've been having the same question about a carrier that is large enough for the blue and gold macaw that I adopted 2 months ago. His previous owner used a wire dog crate but I find it difficult to cover to keep drafts out. I have purchased 2 large dog crates but had to return each one as they were not long enough to accomidate his tail. My vet told me about a company called wingabego. Their plexiglass crate looked wonderful but still not long enough for my boys tail. I found some plexiglass crates on e-bay that look good. They are longr than the wingabego. Does anyone have experience wih them?

 

[Keinanna]

My dad has a macaw and has also converted a large plastic dog crate into a macaw carrier we also found some caster type wheels for the bottom and added a push handle to make it easier to transport. Sorry i dont have a picture but a little creativity and you could have a really interesting kennel

 

[Mitchell]

When I used the pet taxi's my bird would chew it up and act like it hated it and couldn't wait to get out. So I bought the metal crate and it would actually sit on the perch and watch whats going on around him. I think mine liked the crate better because he could see everything around him including me and had no blind spots. As for drafts, its not like he spends all night in it, in the wild birds sit in the wind for days. When we go to the beach, mine loves to sit out on the balcony and enjoy the view and flap in the wind. We invested in collapsible crates that fold down flat until we crate them to where we're going. Okay I'll stop babbling on, fact is...its all about which one your bird is comfortable in. I know some who have luck with the pet taxi's and some with the crate, both do the trick. My Macaw's tail still touched the back but it didnt bother him in the least. Acrylic is awesome, I have one for my Lenny for short distances because its small with no room for dish cups. They all get the job done.

 

[stephend]

When I decided to get Bob a carrier I could not find a bird carrier and so got her a small dog carrier and added a perch. It then turned out that the bars on the door were too far apart. I then ordered some stainless steel mesh and added that to the door. Shortly there after I was seeing carriers everywhere.