Bird people, give me some insight on small breed birds please

[shorthorsemom]

I had a cinnamon and a lutino cockatiel. The male was friendly. The female was more reserved. Both were awesome. Reading the post about cockatiels makes me remember them fondly.. they were all that. Ditto on the African grey. Lol my brothers " car alarm and toilet running and flushing" sounds for hours on end was mind numbing for me.. my brother loved that bird and was so sorry to send him to rescue when his wife became disabled. He loved the sounds. The grey barked like a great Dane too.

 

[Marty]

We have a dang cocketeil that thinks its human. II was my son Michael's pet. He raised it from a baby. Ace is spoiled rotten but has an amazing personality. He's in love with my husband and calls for him all the time. I'm not good enough for him. He walks around with him on his shoulder every night. He starts mouthing off every single time I'm on the phone because he wants to join in the conversation so I have to lock myself in the bathroom to talk so I can hear myself think. . He's quite a pain in my arse when he does that so I have to call my husband to make him stop. He has a lot of mood swings too when he wants to be alone or tells you when he wants to play. We let him out of his cage daily when he rings his bell which means he wants out..We keep him by the window so he can look out and talk to the other birds. He loves that. He's part of the fam.He's about 16 years old now.

 

[Carolyn R]

After a lot of research, I have chosen to go with a hahn's macaw, in the mini macaw family. At maturity, it is about the size of a sun conure and approximately the same life expectancy as the conures, unlike the large macaws that can live 80+ years.

Please, no flames, I know there are rescues, but considering we are a family and there are multiple people here, I chose a baby. It will be just shy of 5 months when we get it. whatever it becomes, good or bad, will be by our own doing, not because we received it with "baggage" from the start. If the kids were grown and out of the house, I may have considered taking on a "project" bird from a rescue, but since it will be my daughter's and will be a part of the entire family, i thought this would be the wisest decision so it could grow with us. Come summer, The breeder will be holding it for two extra weeks until our vacation is over. I did not wan to bring it home for her birthday just to leave for vacation a short time later and leave it in the care someone else figuring it was a crucial bonding period.

So onto the next issue, a cage.....Lol. I know what I want to get her, expensive, but looking at the long term picture. Looking into a 36"x36" x24". For the birdie people out there, what have you preferred for the bottom of the cage, a pull out tray with paper and newspaper put through the shedder for them to toy with, easy to change each day, or have you preferred to have a grate in the bottom above the pull out tray? The cages are custom, and I would hate to spend the extra $100 on the grate if many of you feel they are just a PIA to deal with. Opinions please!

Glad I have a few months to work out the details

 

[mickeymoto]

I would definately go with a grate, as you do not want your bird playing with the soiled paper at the bottom of the cage. Also make sure that you do use paper and not shavings. Shavings are very bad for a birds respiratory system, especially Macaws. Always get the biggest cage you can, just make sure that bar spacing is correct for your size bird. Where are you getting the cage from? I purchase all my cages on ebay and have had great luck and get fantastic pricing. I have never had to pay extra for a bottom grate. That is normally standard in a cage. Are you getting the cage from the breeder? If so, I would reconsider, just my opionion, as breeders normally charge a fortune. Not flaming you at all, but not all rescue birds come with baggage. This is a great misconception, same as a lot of people think that older dogs and rescue dogs come with baggage. Babies just take a bit longer to get that "baggage". Hahns Macaws are nice little birds and as you mentioned, are also a fairly small bird. I also like to go with a wider cage, rather than a taller cage. Birds have a tendency to use more horizontal space rather than vertical space. Here is one of the vendors that I have used on ebay if you want to compare pricing. I have also attached a listing for a bird behaviour and training DVD from Barbara Heindrich. She is excellent and this DVD would be great for your daughter. Good luck and I hope you and your family is happy with your new family member

http://stores.ebay.com/everila?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Good-Bird-Inc-Understanding-Parrot-Body-Language-Parrot-Training-DVDS-/380587548621?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item589cc91fcd

 

[Carolyn R]

The cage is by cages by design ( hybrid cage). Open on 3 sides. Saw some acrylic ones on eBay, but I do not like how closed up they are, I am trying to find a good balance between functional, appropriate and attractive. Thanks for the info on the cd.

 

[mickeymoto]

That company makes beautiful cages. You cannot get a better deal on ebay with that type of cage. And I agree with you, the all acrylic cages are awful. A hybrid with three sides open is ideal. You will have a great sight line to see your bird and for your bird to see you, but also bars for climbing for the bird. I have loved their cages for years. This is also a great cage to help contain the bird mess/dander. I am looking forward to seeing pics of your new bird

 

[Carolyn R]

Well, decided to make the haul, hubby worked so my father went on a road trip with me. I got the cage for my daughter. It was a cage on CL in excellent condition. Lady had lovebirds in it, after one passed, she said it was just too much cage for her to keep after. It is clean and pristine, but we will make sure to sanitize/ thoroughly clean and dissenfect it. It is bigger than I wanted, but it is a cage by cages by design ( hybrid cage) with all the bells and whistles. I would have paid the same amount or more for a new base model 36x36x24 without any extra features, not to mention the 6-7 hour assembly time. It is a 48 x48x24 with the hood, lights, feeders, pan, mesh floor, a devider if I wanted to make it into two cages, it's huge, but it is really nice, oh, and they paid to have the upgraded 1/2" mesh rather than the standard 1" that comes with that size, awesome size wire for the hahns macaw. Recovering from the 12 hours in the truck yesterday, 6 there 6 back ( but hey, 6-7 hours of assembly time has been avoided). Was less than 25% if I purchased a model with all these features in new condition.

 

[mickeymoto]

That is a fantastic deal!!! You will be happier with the larger cage and so will your bird. I always say go with the biggest you can manage. Can hardly wait to see pics of your bird when your bring it home