Macaws:
Red Shouldered (Hahn's) Macaw
Severe Macaw
Blue And Gold Macaw
Blue Throated Macaw
Military Macaw
Red Fronted Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Green Winged Macaw
Hyacinth Macaw
Let's talk about big birds and cages. I'm not doing this to make anyone feel bad but hopefully to inspire people to do better. I know I've made mistakes with cage sizes and want to help you realize some of the conclusions I have come to.
I'm gonna play novice bird owner/shopper. So I decide to get myself a macaw so I go to google and search for parrot cages. I pull up the first site I find and look how convenient, it says I can search by "breed" (breed, really?) for cages. Anyway, they have a Macaw breed so I know this must be the right kinda cage. I figure I won't splurge out and get the top of the line but I don't want low end either so I find something mid-priced of what they have. $550 gets me 40x30x66 in powder coat. Not the smallest nor the biggest macaw cage (although the biggest ones offered are barely bigger at 48x34x70) while the smaller ones aren't even 3 feet wide.
I don't know Santina's measurements yet but let's say from wikipedia it says Greenwings are up to 37" head to tail and 49" wingspan. Holy moly, a 49" bird in a 36 to 48" cage? Maybe if we trim off the wingtips a little it could just make it if it stands in the very center of its perch!? We think budgies get shafted with those tiny cages but they can hop and sort of fly in those! The big birds are the ones who really have it badly. Worse yet, those "macaw cages" usually can fit only a single perch (will be lucky if it's not a dowel!). The bird's tail is so long that if you put a perch lower its tail will drag and if you put a perch higher, it will hit its head.
I have often likened keeping a Green Winged Macaw in a "macaw cage" to keeping a cockatiel in a shoebox. Well my friend Ginger, who runs a rescue for Senegal Parrots and Cockatiels, did a little measuring for me. Turns out a Cockatiel's wingspan is about 14 inches and a typical shoebox about 12 inches long. That is a bird confined to a space smaller than its wingspan. Yet even the most modest of Cockatiel cages are 16-20 inches across. Ginger states that, "The cage most of the Cockatiels come in is the same kind from petco: 20 long, 16 wide, and 33 inches high but it's really not that much as it is a dome." Not that I advocate such a small cage for a Cockatiel, the bird still has more than a wingspan of width and 2-3 height levels it can climb to. This at least provides space for a modest variety of perches, wing stretching, and some activity.
Yet the cages marketed for macaws don't span up. I know $500 or $1000 on a cage sounds like a lot of money and that it must buy something fantastic. But price and seller offerings have nothing to do with what birds actually require. We're not even talking about getting a super roomy cage here, just the bare minimums.
Imagine being confined in a room or space small enough that you cannot stand up or extend your arms all the way? That wouldn't even be considered a room but more like a box! We take for granted having enough space to at least be able to stretch in any direction. Convicts, murders, and rapists have more space in their jail cells (typically 6'x8') than a perfectly innocent, beautiful, loving, and adored macaw has in its cage.
Without knowing Santina's actual dimensions yet, I can tell you that she takes up all of her 32x22x22 plastic carrier. She can travel in it but I would not expect her to be able to live in it. I cannot begin to imagine keeping her in a cage this isn't even double that size (most are 48x30x60 or less)! I'm not trying to harp on people who have macaws in cages just because I have Santina in a room. I haven't given this as much thought until now. This is more to discourage people from getting macaws in the first place without having sufficient space for an entire bird room or aviary and to encourage those who already have macaws to find ways to get them more space. The absolute maximum size macaw cage available really only meets absolute minimum size requirements.
We need to stop thinking of parrots just in terms of their body. We must also take into consideration their wingspan. I think because many birds are clipped and don't fly, people are not accustomed to seeing those wings in full but they still need to be able to stretch and flap in their cage. I do think that a lot of out of cage time, outdoor time, training, flight, enrichment, and activity can make up to a large extent for an undersized cage, however, the cage must still meet the following minimum requirements:
1) The bar spacing must be appropriate and safe 2) The bird must be able to open its wings in full if it wants to 3) The cage must be able to accommodate an absolute minimum of 3 different perches that the bird can access
These are the absolute minimum requirements for a long-term bird cage not to be animal cruelty in my opinion. We should strive to give them as much space as we possibly can but if a cage does not meet those minimums, it should not even be considered.
One problem I've run into when chatting with savy parrot owners is that it was difficult to impossible to establish baseline cage minimums with them. Everyone had a different opinion on the subject and many people would take whatever the minimum used to be and add a few inches and call that the minimum. I think it is well intentioned and I hope everyone strives to go well beyond the minimum. However, there has to be some kind of minimum in place below which it is just not acceptable and that is the one based on wingspan and perch quantity. Without this concrete minimum, it is hard to say and compare what kind of parrot personality requires what kind of size. All other personality/species differences can be added on top of this but no cage should ever be smaller (except perhaps in the case of a specially handicapped, baby, or injured bird). If you want me to make a general suggestion about what I think a good cage size is as opposed to the minimum, I would say double the minimum is a great place to be or the biggest thing above minimum that you can possibly accomplish.
Out of interest sake I measured Kili & Truman's wingspans for some comparisons. What is the wingspan of a Senegal Parrot? Kili is a below average sized female Senegal Parrot with a wingspan of 18 inches. Ever wondered what a Cape Parrot's Wingspan is? Truman who is a mid to large sized Brown-Necked Cape Parrot has a wingspan of 26 inches! Who would think it's so much just by looking at them. Folded up, these birds don't exceed 12 inches in any direction. Now let's see how their cages size up.
Kili's cage is 18x18x30 Truman's cage is 33x25x67 (though domed top)
I don't think Kili's cage is big enough but it's what I naively picked because I didn't know any better back then. I didn't find it worthwhile to throw it out to get something a little bigger so instead I focused on out of cage, aviary, and outdoor time. When Kili moves to my new place, she'll be getting a 25x22x63 aluminum dome cage just like Truman's. If Truman plays nice with Santina and I can leave them out together in the big room, Kili can have the entire little room with an open cage policy. If not, then Kili & Truman can have cages in the small room Santina currently occupies. These guys grew up in cages and are used to them.
Kili's cage works out to a full wingspan wide for her and she has 4 perches. So while unfortunately on the minimum end, I would consider this an acceptable cage (but hope for bigger). Truman's cage is 1.8 wingspans wide and has enough room for 5 perches, loads of toys, and still a lot of unoccupied space. That is a much better cage size for a Cape, Grey, or Amazon parrot. Ideally I would like a bit bigger but this is as big as aluminum cages come. The compromise for having an uncoated and corrosion proof cage is worth it.
Now that you've heard my thoughts about absolute minimum cage size, measure or research your parrot's actual wingspan and compare it to the cage size. If it is more than the size of the cage or the cage doesn't have a minimum of 3 different perches the bird can spend time on, get a bigger cage! If you're looking to acquire a big parrot (whether from store, breeder, or rescue), don't listen to them for a second about cage size if it doesn't at least meet those 3 minimum rules and really look for bigger. The time has come for savy parrot owners to take a stance and say it is not acceptable to keep birds in cages that they cannot fit in fully. Then take it one step further and provide the biggest cage or living space that you can. Your parrot spends more time in your house than you do so it's definitely worth it.
Check out Santina going back to cage room and climbing up:
Why doesn't Santina bite me? Is it because I'm fearless of that giant beak? Cause she's afraid of getting sent back to the rescue? Or cause I possess magical powers of telecommunication with animals? No. It's because of my approach to parrot training! Simply put, I don't do anything that will cause the bird to bite and then I start teaching it what appropriate behavior is from the very simplest of things. I don't take anything for granted. I act like I am dealing with a clueless animal that is nothing more than an attack machine. And I begin from square one, how to be near me. Then I work on taking treats from me, stepping up, touch, grab, etc. I don't do anything the bird doesn't want and then I make it such so that the parrot wants to do what I do want. Then it's just a matter of time until that bird blossoms into the pet I expect it to be. The only variables are how much effort and time it will take. The rest... is just the Wizard's approach.
But enough of the status update, here's what I'm sure you've been waiting for... Santina's first music video, Green-Winged Macaw Dancing to Barbie Girl. The folks at the rescue told me she goes nuts for this song so here she is, Santina the Barbie Macaw!
I took Santina to the vet for her first checkup. Whenever taking in a new bird, it is important to have it checked by an avian vet. But when adopting from a rescue or other bird-crowded place it is even more important because the potential for communicable diseases is greater. In fact, many rescues require that you take the adopted parrot to the vet within a certain period.
During the first week and a half I've had Santina, all training efforts were focused toward preparing Santina for this vet visit. I knew a visit to the vet would be inevitable and I preferred it to be sooner than later for the peace of mind knowing she is healthy or dealing with issues as they come. However, I do not believe in manhandling parrots or traumatizing them. The phrase "it's better someone else groom the bird so it hates them instead of you" is a load of baloney. The parrot shouldn't be put in the position of hating anyone. These traumatizing experiences on the parrot come back to bite the owner. If not directly, then through the parrot's distrust of all other people.
Shortly after acquiring Santina, I called the clinic and pre-arranged all the tests that we'd be doing. I wanted the first visit to go as smoothly as possible and did not want to be spending time with the bird there discussing tests or prices. By having a list arranged in advance, it would cut the bird's exposure time significantly. I decided to go full board and get most tests done because it is my obligation to ensure that Kili & Truman are not infected by an outsider. I requested the physical exam, CBC blood panel, Chlamydia test, PDD test, and XRays. The XRays aren't mandatory but they are good for establishing a baseline on a new older bird. Perhaps it swallowed something, has a tumor, enlarged liver, calcium seepage, punctured air sack, etc. It's better to know up front. I would be much less concerned about an XRay on a baby.
I knew that Santina is carrier-phobic from the rescue, so I established a backup plan with the vet. Since I knew she steps up but doesn't go in carriers, my worst case scenario plan was to bring her loose in the car and have the towel her while still inside and bring her in. Since they would have to towel her inside or out, that would make little difference. Having this plan in place took all the pressure off of me to carrier train her and allowed me to focus on that task.
In the first few days, I noticed that walking around the room with Santina, so much as going near the carrier would send her into a panic. She would jump off my arm or run up my shoulder out of fear of being shoved into the crate. Thus my first task was desensitizing her to the carrier. I intentionally did not hide it. But I did leave it at the furthest corner of the grand bird room. Santina would be exposed to the sight of it from her smaller cage room and even more so whenever I took her out.
Then I proceeded to teach Santina to climb insider herself. I realized she began to really like the carrier when I put her in for a walnut and she didn't want to come back out. From that point I've been able to just put her in or take her out as needed. Thus I had no trouble loading her up to go to the vet for her checkup.
Lorelei, the chief nurse and office manager came out to get Santina out of the car. She was shocked to find that a week since we talked, the bird was safely in the carrier and did not need to be grabbed out of the car. Santina stepped up for Lorelei and allowed her to handle her. This all changed with the towel came into play so toweling is something we'll need to work on. Lorelei has a great feel for handling birds and is the main reason I take them to the Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine. I am not bringing my pets to the clinic to be tortured. It is really important for me to know that they are in good hands and will receive not only a good health evaluation but also proper handling. Lorelei treats animals with respect and dignity and that's why they in turn like her.
The vet performed a physical examination of Santina and asked some questions. Then they brought Santina down to the lab and proceeded to perform some Xrays. I won't get into much detail about how they perform the process. I videoed it for those who are interested in the behind-the-scenes of how a bird is Xrayed and tested. When the anesthetics began to wear off, Santina looked like she was drunk. She wobbled around on the floor but walked toward me for safety. I picked her up and held her but also made sure that she'd go back to Lorelei and make up. I stayed at the center for another forty minutes to let Santina come to her senses but also to show her that being at the vet is not all bad. Less than half the time she spent in the clinic was discomforting so she has less reason to hate it than if she were brought in, handled, and then immediately taken out.
Santina had no problem stepping back into the carrier for me. In fact I think she was relieved to go in. And that concluded Santina's first vet checkup. I'm still waiting for the test results but on xray and physical examination she appears to be healthy.
I have been preparing to move to a new house for over a year now. The renovations have been ongoing and delayed. As a part of the move, I had a big bird room being built and this was an opportunity to house any sized parrot I could dream of.
About this time last year I began looking into acquiring a baby Green-Winged Macaw. I was on a waiting list for a baby once eggs were hatched. Infertile eggs and cold temperatures kept pushing things back until what was supposed to be my baby hatched in the spring. The plan was to acquire an unweened baby macaw to be trained for outdoor freeflight. By that point, I have been noting tremendous success indoor freeflying Kili & Truman and craved the challenge of flying a parrot outside. But according to most expert sources that I had encountered, the consensus was that you can only succeed with outdoor freeflight with a large parrot that was weened by the trainer. Furthermore the bird was to become a performer much like Kili & Truman and I was warned that anything but a baby might not be good for that purpose.
Note: hand feeding unweened baby parrots and/or outdoor freeflight bears a high level of risk and is complicated beyond the scope of any advice I can give. Virtually all pet parrot owners should not attempt either and those who do should seek out expert advice.
I don't believe in adopting rescue birds just because or simply out of sympathy. I see a lot of people in the bird community burn out because of these reasons. I think rescue parrots should be adopted on merit and benefit to bird and owner. There are too many reasons to go over here but there are definite pros/cons to adopting and there are plenty of cases where adopting a rescue rivals getting a baby. I may write another article later about how it turned out better to adopt Santina.
Finding the right rescue is not necessarily an easy matter either. You have to research around and find the right rescue with the right attitude and most importantly the right bird for you! This may require some distant travel but for a bird that will live with you a lifetime is not something to skimp on! I had already been looking nationwide for a suitable baby so distance made little difference on finding a rescue. When I learned that Lazicki's Bird House & Rescue is in Rhode Island, that felt like right in my backyard compared to the far search I had been making.
The first thing you want to learn when choosing a rescue (after all there are many bird rescues but you only have the ability to support one at a time) is about their reputation in the bird community. Talk to local bird clubs, people who have adopted from that rescue, and volunteers at that rescue to get an impression what it's all about. I was hearing about Lazicki's in the news, from other rescues, and from adopters so I already had a favorable first impression. The rescue had several Green-Winged Macaws but everyone thought off the bat that Santina would be the right one for me. Given that those people have been around the bird and I haven't it was wise to take their advice and then test it out for myself. The next step was to go and visit the rescue and the bird.
To an extent it does matter what kind of care the rescue provides the birds. Naturally supporters of rescues want to support the ones that do a good job and let the ones that do a poor job go bust. However, it is impossible to hold them to the highest standards. They do things on a tight budget, they have a lot of birds, etc. So discounting these things, the things to look for are that the birds are healthy, treated properly, and that the rescue's policies are acceptable. Things like cleanliness, out of cage time, cage size, etc can be discounted from ideal (as long as they are not abysmal) as the rescue is only a temporary location for the birds. You want to look for minimum standards being met at the rescue and use that as an opportunity to provide maximum ones in your own home.
I won't spend too much time commenting on the appearance of the rescue facility when I visited because they will have moved to a new location by the time this article is released. So there's no sense in analyzing the facility I was visiting that they were in the process of replacing. The things that I didn't like were much the same as would be the case in most any rescue: the birds are clipped, not trained, cages are too small, etc. What was more important was that the rescue was open to the ideas of training, flight, cage-free lifestyle, etc. What I would not accept is a rescue that would mandate me to clip the bird or engage in similar unacceptable practices. I did not have any expectations to find a flighted rescue macaw.
I visited the rescue a month prior to adoption to meet Santina and go over preparations I would need to make in order to adopt her. We discussed diet, space requirements, behavior, and medical care. Santina did not want to step up for me but Steve did put her on my arm. She gave me a few nips but otherwise was content to just sit on my arm and preen herself. What I found was that she is not aggressive but rather regressive. In other words she does not come over to bite you but if you come after her, then she will. This is a much easier situation to work with. Just don't do the things that make the bird have to defend itself (and that is usually unwanted handling).
When it comes to adoption fee, I was not particularly interested. I knew it would be less than I had already agreed to pay for a baby but more importantly I knew it would be negligible compared to the cost of keeping the parrot long term. In a single year that bird could chew through more toys, food, or perches than the price I'd pay for her at the rescue. In fact, without even knowing what the adoption fee would normally be, I offered $1000 to the rescue for hooking me up with such an awesome bird. I had since learned that I donated double what the adoption fee would have been. I'm glad that I did because the rescue can really use the help right now and they had done the best they could for what would become my bird! You can't put a price on a living/loving creature; you can only do your best to support the rescue/store/breeder for being a temporary care giver. This is why I want to encourage everyone to give as much as you can to rescues and don't look at it as a cheap alternative. Nothing about keeping parrots is cheap. (In making preparations with the avian vet for Santina's upcoming first visit, I learned that it would cost over $800 for all the testing she would require. I would have felt terrible if I had paid any less an adoption fee for the entire bird!)
Steve, the founder of the rescue, is a nice guy (even if he tells you that he doesn't give a damn about you as long as the bird is ok!). His heart is in the right place and he is foremost concerned about the long term welfare of the birds. He shares my view that flight is essential for parrots and that they enjoy working for food (even if they are unable to provide those opportunities at the rescue). On adoption day, Steve and I went over pictures of the place I'd be keeping Santina and took care of some paperwork. Then we went over to check out Santina. I could tell that she did not want to step up for me so I tried to divert the animosity by chatting with Steve nearby.
I learned that Santina was hatched on September 13, 1999, had a single owner who had to give her up for personal medical reasons, and that she had a tendency to hate men. Also it turned out Santina was previously named Santino and thought to be a male until she laid an egg at the rescue. Otherwise little is known about her past and I would be left to discover her behavior and personality on my own.
Santina did not want to step onto my arm and tried to bite. Steve forced her onto my arm and then Santina gave my arm a bit of a bite. There's no question why she bit. She did not want to go and then was forced to so she bit in order to not have to be on my arm. A large part of the problem was that the bird was bonded to Steve, had nothing to gain, and everything to lose by stepping up for me. She was already fed, uninterested, and defensive. She could not be sure if I was sturdy or safe so her best course of action was to bite rather than step up. This is one place I fault the rescue on not using socialization techniques to make visitors a highlight of the birds' day rather than a downside. It certainly makes the prospect and decision of adopting a parrot that does little more than bite you quite a difficult one.
The decision to adopt Santina was bitter-sweet. From a logical stand point she was a good bird, the right kind, and had a lot of potential. But in the introductory phase there was little bond or relationship between us that would be indicative of any sort of preference. Furthermore the rescue gave me little stimulation that the bird was ideal for me. Most of what I was hearing was about how I'd be ideal for the bird and little the other way around. What I had to remind myself of was the fact that a clever rescue could have just as well manipulated the situation (like a used car salesman) to make it seem like a good idea. Ultimately the decision and the risk was entirely mine. I decided that with my training capability I should be able to turn any bird around regardless if it chose me or not.
Santina did not want to go into the carrier. Let me rephrase that, she desperately did not want to go into the carrier and Steve had to do a double take to shove her in. Absolutely not the approach I'd wanna use but this was not the time to stand around figuring it out. I learned that Santina is phobic of carriers during that episode and also while walking her near a carrier since. Once in the carrier, I wasted no time loading her in the car and heading home.
The giant macaw clung to the bars during the span of most of the car ride despite the perch I put inside for her. At home I opened the door and tried to coax her out. After the bites she had given me at the rescue I was a bit leery of putting my arm in a confined space with her. Worse yet, every time I reached in her beak would come for me so I was unsure if she was using it to hold on or bite. Eventually I just bit the bullet and went for it and I was relieved to know that she was trying to step up rather than bite. I took her out and set her up in the smaller of the two bird rooms that will provide her temporary lodging. Since she has been accustomed to a cage for so long, I did not want to overwhelm her by letting her loose in the big room all at once.
Within 24 hours Santina has been stepping up for me, dancing, and taking scratches. This will be the subject of future blog posts so be sure to check back. In the meantime, here is the video of Santina at the rescue and coming home!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone from Parrot Wizard and TrainedParrot.com! It has been a fun filled year of parrot training and I hope you have been enjoying the experience as well.
Despite having just arrived, I had a special Christmas present in store for Santina, the gift of training! I got her a Parrot Training Perch Kit from the Parrot Wizard (oh yeah, that's me) because it is the most powerful training tool you can have for a parrot. Not only does the kit include two training stands, it also comes with a clicker, target stick, and basic instructional DVD to get you started. I think becoming social, learning to fly, and simply developing a mutual form of communication is the best thing for a captive parrot.
I unwrapped Santina's present and had the perches set up in no time. I made for her a set of T-Perches in size Extra-Large because she has some massive feet (about the size of my hands!). I assembled the perches in play sight but not too close so she could see what's going on and not get frightened (after all it's only been a day since she had come from the rescue). In no time I had her up on the Training Perches stepping on and off. She got super excited about her Christmas surprise and did a little dance!
The stands took a big weight off my shoulders.... quite literally! Santina weighs more than two pounds and can be quite a handful. My arm feels like it's going to fall out of its socket after a few minutes of holding her. Part of the problem is that I try to hold her away from my body just to be safe that she can't bite my face. The bigger issue, however, is that she has a killer grip and digs her talons into my arm. Worse yet she starts to slip as she leans back and the claw slides across my skin making a long cut. By having these training perches, I can take her out of the cage room and have a place to set her down to begin training.
But this is only the beginning, I look forward to teaching her tricks and more importantly flight using these stands. There's no better gift for your parrot than the gift of training and Parrot Training Perches help you make that happen! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Trained Parrot is a blog about how to train tricks to all parrots and parakeets. Read about how I teach tricks to Truman the Brown Necked Cape Parrot including flight recall, shake, wave, nod, turn around, fetch, wings, and play dead. Learn how you can train tricks to your Parrot, Parrotlet, Parakeet, Lovebird, Cockatiel, Conure, African Grey, Amazon, Cockatoo or Macaw. This blog is better than books or DVDs because the information is real, live, and completely free of charge. If you want to know how to teach your parrot tricks then you will enjoy this free parrot training tutorial.
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