SCARLET MACAW HOUSING

[SIERRAS DAD]

1 Year ago I adopted a scarlet macaw from a rescue she is 24 years old I also got this giant cage with her . for the fist month she was super mean and lunging she also gave me a bunch of battle scars but if i got her away from the cage she was pretty good , so I disassembled the cage and got it out of there and bought a big Java tree stand It has food and water bowls on it , So I have been having her live there , she seems fine with it and its been that way for almost a year now she is pretty friendly ( when she wants to ) a few weeks ago I went on vacation and I had a neighbor girl stay at the house while I was gone to house sit and feed and water the dog and bird I decieted to put her in the giant cage while I was gone and make it easier for her to feed her and not have any problems . when I got back home she was as big as a beach ball with all her feather standing straight out and very aggresive , I could hardly get her out of the cage I had to use a broom handle so got the cage out and the tree back within an hour she was back to normal stepping up playing and talking so my question is is it ok to just have her on the tree and never have her in a cage she has never flown but there has been a couple times when I got home from work she was perched on the doggie gate so she must of fell off ? I would like your thoughts on it she probably doest get as much exersize on the tree stand as she would in a cage crawling around

 

[wrench13]

THe main reason for a cage for parrots is to keep them from destroying anything while they are unsupervised. Or from hurting themselves, like chewing wires, etc. Other then that there is no real reason to keep them caged. If she is always supervised, hey let her live on the tree.

 

[bocabill]

I would just leave the cage door open so that she can go in whenever she wants to and if you leave her food and water bowls in their holders that the cage has, believe me, eventually she will want to go in to eat and drink. She will also go inside just to relax and see it as her place of shelter. This way she can alternate between being in her cage and on the stand. That’s what mine do.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

What does Sierra do all day if she doesn't fly and doesn't walk around on the floor? Does she have a view of the outdoors from her stand? Does she watch TV? Does she interact with the dog? Are people home all day to play with or entertain her?

 

[SIERRAS DAD]

She watches parrot TV on you tube and has a view outside to the lake the dog is not at all interested in her at all and Vis versa I do take her to work with me a few days a week she gets a lot of attention

 

[SIERRAS DAD]

I would just leave the cage door open so that she can go in whenever she wants to and if you leave her food and water bowls in their holders that the cage has, believe me, eventually she will want to go in to eat and drink. She will also go inside just to relax and see it as her place of shelter. This way she can alternate between being in her cage and on the stand. That’s what mine do.

I would except she get super mean being on or in the cage Its like nothing I ever saw

 

[DonnaBudgie]

As long as she's happy and not destroying anything I would put the cage away. You're pretty lucky (and so is she) that she doesn't feel compelled to explore your house.

I always thought one of those indoor garden areas that were popular years ago, about 10x10 feet filled with growing plants in a corner of the living area would be a cool place to keep an uncaged parrot like Sierra that didn't explore everything. I would put kitty litter in the bottom and put parrot stands and parrot safe artificial plants an
d trees, and a one to two foot high masonry border to keep the debris inside.

 

[bocabill]

I would except she get super mean being on or in the cage Its like nothing I ever saw

She’s defending her territory. That’s her safe space. Offer her a treat or reward her for coming out and behaving and see if that helps over time.