Newbie questions about large parrots

[chrisb]

Hello everyone,

Since childhood it was my dream to have a large or mid size parrot, like African Gray, Cockatoo, Galah or Amazon. Today we visited our local shop and there was a pretty nice Galah. Asked some questions to stuff about birds. They said that these parrots are screaming like constantly, and the cage they showed was like 2 meters wide and 1.8 meters tall, which seems a bit overkill.

I'd be happy to get some information from a real parrot owners. How about screaming and cage sizing? We had cockatiels some time ago and they were very loud. Screaming started everyday at sunrise and lasted for good few hours. Are larger parrots screaming more?

And once or twice in year we go on a trips for a 1-2 weeks. Is this ok to leave parrot alone if once a day someone visits him for a hour or so?

 

[Violet_Diva]

All parrots have potential to be screamers and all WILL make noise and be messy. So this would need to be something you would be prepared to be accepting of before committing to owning a large parrot. I would have Galah cockatoos on my 'typically quieter' cockatoo list along with Goffins. Other parrots that are quite quiet typically are Derbyan and Eclectus parrots. I believe cockatoos usually require more one on one attention than some other birds. But I've only personally had Eclectus parrots.

Cage size is usually the larger the better. Unless you are planning to have the cage for the bird to sleep in only and have the bird out all day long (but you would need to bird proof your home and or supervise.) If the bird is going to be caged for long periods it will need a large cage full of toys and things to do so that they don't become bored and self mutilate or constantly scream for attention as a result.

Parrots are flock animals and need contact. An hour a day visit would not really be enough. You could board the bird at a vets as a more suitable alternative.

I hope that answers at least some parts your questions and hopefully someone else will be able to add more to this...

 

[ToMang07]

Keep in mind most of those breeds live 40-80+ years with proper care.

Cockatoos are very high energy, and need stimulation. Willow rarely has less than 4 hours a day out of her cage(s) and generally spends most of the day out as long as someone is home.

As far as cage size.....bigger is better, however appropriate spacing and wire gauge is important as well.

As far as screaming and how loud....would your neighbors mind a 737 or Airbus in your living room? Because they can be quite loud.

Please do thorough research and reading before you decide to bring a parrot into your home, they are a long commitment and require a lot of work.