Thank you for a caring and concerned welcome to the forum

[Minimaker]

Hi everyone, let me just say that I really appreciate the help and responses I received when I sort of hijacked another thread looking for answers on cockatoos. My husband and I have been looking around the internet at parrots, and everyone here fell in love with the sass and hilarious antics of that particular species when we started watching videos online of parrots to see which would fit our family best. The attitude displayed by that type of bird really stole our hearts. I understand now from people on the forum that they are very needy and emotional birds and I'm here to do serious research on the species to decide if we can handle one or not. The jury is still out on that. I'm still looking for answers about that species, or perhaps macaws because those are the only two we'd really love to own.

I was raised on a working farm, with many types of birds and other animals. Handling birds is something I've done all my life, from several species of tame birds to many wild ones as well. I have family members who run a wildlife rescue so I guess it's in my blood. We have family experience handling some of the wildlife (including birds) that my cousins have rescued. Not many regular people can say they have cuddled a baby tiger or been pooped on by a baby black bear but I can honestly say that I have (that one was the highlights of my life, haha)

Anyway, to make it easier to understand my situation I'll explain our set up-because this was an issue of concern for some people here about whether we could deal with a large parrot:

Married right out of high school to my high school sweetheart-going on 19 years together now, two teenage children, steady home we've lived in for nearly 17 years and we own it, it's got a second story and a basement(so plenty of room for a large bird), the neighbors are nearly a city block away and we have dead people in a cemetery on the other side (so they REALLY won't worry about a parrot screaming), I work from home and I really am home a lot, plenty of farm fresh foods including fruit during the warm months and things we preserve for winter, we have two vet sources we can go to who deal with parrots and farm birds, and we have the money to afford large bird care.

I think the only thing we lack is experience with an actual parrot. Lots of other birds, but not large parrots. We own parakeets and they have to be the most spoiled parakeets I personally know. They get fresh foods and good pellets/seeds, they have a cage upstairs and downstairs for a change of scenery, a tall post with shelf for the cage to sit on in a shaded area right outside the kitchen window for fresh air and to feel the breeze in their feathers. Their main cage for two tiny birds is almost as tall as my 13 year old daughter. They have a multitude of toys and treats. They have a double decker table top play gym that we built ourselves to play out free of a cage in the house. I say all this to show our love and commitment to birds and to show that we would love and treat a parrot as we would any child. If we are this involved with these tiny birds, surely it shows we could be good parrot parents as well.

So any advice is greatly appreciated and looked into. I've been checking out all the information presented to me so far in an attempt to truly educate myself about all the bird choices before we make that leap of faith and commit to one. Please feel free to message me if you have anything truly important for me to know about either species we are considering. I look at and read everything shown to me. Also, this is the cage I ordered online because it was larger than the cages I saw in the local pet stores that had macaws and cockatoos in them. Do you think that this is adequate? The parrot will not be caged all the time whatsoever anyway. We have plans to build a large parrot play gym for the bird to play on the majority of the day instead of being locked away all day.
Kings Cages Parrot Bird 8004030 40x30x72 Bird Cages Toy Macaws Cockatoos | eBay

Thank you for sharing your experiences/information with me everyone and have a great week!

 

[thekarens]

Just a heads up. There aren't any breeds of parrots, just species. Dogs are all the same species with different breeds, but parrots are different species. Semantics, but interesting... Maybe only to me though

 

[Minimaker]

Ah well, all the reading I've done and I still missed that-thanks.

Do you think my cage is adequate for short term containment? I know we will be getting either a cockatoo or macaw so that would be the size we need.

 

[SilverSage]

I am not sure of the size, I don't have any birds nearly as big as the ones you are looking at. However, I want to say welcome to the forum! Also, thanks for introducing yourself. As you have seen, we can get a BIT concerned when people talk about getting a bird, but it sounds like you have the prime makings for an excellent "Parront" and I think we are all excited to see what bird you bring home, and share your journey

 

[Kiwibird]

A formal welcome to the forum! I dipped out of the other thread because it was getting a little heated, but I was following the discussion I do commend you for doing your research before deciding on a bird. It's a big step, and they are very different from other kinds of pets due to their intelligence and "exotic" behavior/care needs. You'll have a much better experience with whatever bird you choose if you know and accept what your in for

I will be completely honest here- cockatoos take a special kind of person/family to thrive. They do not seem to be as adaptable to living in domestic homes as other species. Not saying they aren't wonderful if you have the "gift" for them, but you do need to meet some. Not just babies either. Even if you want to buy a baby, I STRONGLY urge you to schedule a visit to meet some older toos at an avian shelter to see what the personality of a mature cockatoo is like. The cute toos you see are likely babies/juveniles, and they do go through some pretty significant changes when they hit sexual maturity (which can be 7-9 years old for bigger ones). They are all super cuddly and sweet and friendly as babies and juveniles, but to keep them that way as adult.... Lets just say it takes a lot of effort, patience and a natural knack for the species to overcome those challenges.

On a cage-related note- toos are extremely active birds, so I think that cage would do well for a too in the small or medium size range (there's lots of them!). Cockatoos can do ok in smaller accommodations, but would need a lot of out of cage time. I think thats about the size of my parents goffin cockatoos cage. They've had him nearly 40 years, and "back in the day" he used to have a cage that would be considered tight accommodations for a conure (before anyone knew better). He did just fine as he does come out a lot, but enjoys having a larger cage. IMO, that would be a suitable long-term cage for a sm-med too (rose breasted, goffin, corellas ect...). For a short term accommodation, I think you'd be fine, but if you're considering one of the large too's (moluccans, U2's, sulfur crested and some of the rarer species), but a bigger cockatoo would really do best in a double macaw cage.

As for macaws, again, it all depends on what kind of macaw. That would be a palacial cage for a little yellow collared mac, but if you're looking at a hy, it's too small. Any idea of what species of macaw your looking at?

 

[Minimaker]

Hmmm, ok. Well it's a start anyway. I may just have to upgrade sooner rather than later. Apparently my local keepers don't care about the size requirements for larger birds because their cages are smaller than that and have no play tops-not to mention they are ALWAYS inside the cages and never outside of them as far as I have seen. Bummer for the birds No wonder they look so depressed and lifeless. I just want the bird with me wherever I am instead of inside the cage anyway. I don't feel that life in a cage is suited to a bird when the sky is usually their limit. Hubbs has a long list of honey do projects for building play things for different rooms.

As for the rescue in our area...there isn't one that I know of anywhere near me. This is cow country, nothing really for miles in either direction. The nearest movie theater is 30 minutes away so an hour drive in total. My best chance is the local breeders who are bound to not tell me the truth because they want to sell me a bird. That's why I'm here and I'm trying to learn more. But honestly we really fell in love with a large bird and would love to have one of those. Hubbs wants a big bird, and he'll only entertain the idea of those right now.

 

[Phlox]

Where are you located? Cow country sounds Midwest..and we do have quite a few rescues here in WI. We might be able to help.

I'm with the others with the suggestion of adopting an older bird, instead of a baby. If you get a baby, you have to struggle through bird puberty. That's hard enough with a little bird...I've never done it with a big bird but I bet its a difficult thing. (my 'big' bird is 11 and I just adopted her)

It does sound like you are a good fit for a bird, being home so much and doing your research. I think that cage however would only be the right one for a mid size Amazon, Grey, Eclectus or small cockatoo with lots of outside time. It's actually the next size up from the one my BFA has had for 11 years and is quite content in.

But seriously, don't discount a species, just because its "small." My green cheek conure thinks she's a macaw. And really, you never know what bird you might fall for. I never even considered an Amazon for my 'big' bird until I found out I was getting one in a will (not the one I have now). When I went to meet my girl, there was also an Eclectus (which was on my 'dream bird' list) and I just assumed I'd like him better. Nope, not a chance. It was mutual that we just weren't a good fit. But this Amazon girl is really fabulous.

 

[Minimaker]

I would love to have a smaller bird as well, but it's my husband that's the problem. He's a big guy with big strong hands and he's terrified of hurting a small bird. We have parakeets and he adores them-and won't touch them unless it's a light finger rub to the chest. He's too afraid to handle them for fear of hurting the tiny things. It's his wish and he's the one paying for it, and he says he wants a larger bird that he doesn't have to be afraid of handling. And another thing he insists on is a new bird without prior problems from someone else's bad handling. We've read the horror stories of birds with serious damage done, and he doesn't want a parrot he can't even touch. Local store parrots look bedraggled and miserable-there's no hope of touching one because they'd bite you. He's seen what true unhappiness brings and wants one fresh and unharmed without prior bad habits from a lonely bored life. He worries about the kids as well, about bites and things of that nature. A local pet store owner told him his (unhappy and not well cared for) macaw bonked him in the nose with his beak and broke his nose one day on purpose. If I was the bird I'd break his nose too, because the cage he's in is way smaller even than the one I purchased and he's in it the majority of his miserable little life. There are exactly two toys in the cage that are worn, dingy, and tiny. There's a pile of filth and feathers in the bottom of the cage. It looks like the only thing the bird gets is regular bagged parrot food by the looks of his cage and food bowl every time we see it. Yeah I think he had that broken nose coming myself. Poor thing, I can't imagine the horror and boredom of his daily life.

 

[SilverSage]

I was thinking Cow Country sounded midwest as well. I grew up in South Dakota (or as I called it "the black hole of parrots) but it turns out there is one parrot rescue in Belle Fourche, SD. Even if you aren't interested in a rescue parrot, it might be wise to go and spend time with some of them. Another thing to keep in mind is that not all rescues are abused or neglected - some have simply outlived their owners.

 

[Minimaker]

I think since this is our first parrot that he's being picky. I also think that if this one goes well, I could talk him into getting another smaller bird and we could use this cage for it. And after the initial purchase of what essentially is his bird, I could go to a rescue (should I find one near enough) and adopt something smaller. I'd love to, but I do understand his desire for a larger species. He was afraid to handle our babies when they were first born for fear of hurting them, so I can imagine an even smaller parrot really worries him. To him they seem so delicate and breakable. And yeah this is the midwest. Yee-haw

As for the rescues, it looks like it would take us several hours of driving to get to one from here. The one I found online seems a bit grumpy about most everything including inquiry calls-they seem down right unfriendly to tell you the truth. I don't know how they'll get adopters in there with that kind of unwelcoming attitude. I think our best bet is to find some other local breeders and go visit several of them and just watch the action while we're there. And to take all the rave reviews from them with a grain of salt because obviously they want to sell the birds and make them sound great.

 

[SilverSage]

Sounds like a good idea. And I understand people being afraid of breaking small birds. A friend of mine with an Eckie was afraid she would smoosh the baby budgies we rescued, and her hands aren't even that big! In the end if size is one of your priorities, it just is, and there is nothing wrong with that

 

[Minimaker]

Thanks for the input everyone. Hubbs and I have been discussing the issue, and I think he has been effectively warned against the cockatoos. Now he's on Macaws again. So now I have to start all over again learning a new species to see how we'd do with that birdie. I'll be heading over to that forum section to learn all about that one now Anyone know a good online seller for those? I really doubt I'll find one locally. I was shocked to find one close enough to me that raised cockatoos. I really don't think there are any close that sell Macaws as far as I can see online for my area. I hate the thought of shipping birds on airplanes but I might not have a choice if they can do it safely. Does anyone have any bad experiences with that? Any horror stories? I really don't want to hurt a bird if this practice is not safe.

 

[thekarens]

I'm not sure where you're located, but there's no problem shipping when the breeder is reputable.

 

[RavensGryf]

Getting a bird shipped is common practice. It's done with babies all the time. I've done it several times before myself. The reputable breeders who ship, know what they're doing. It's usually done through Delta Airlines 'Pets First' program. They're shipped via airline approved crate. The breeder arranges all the details for you. Only thing you have to do is be at the cargo pick up building at the designated time.