Ajilon

WOW this is exciting! Congratulations! I can't wait to see pictures. We have a local online classifieds here and they're constantly trying to scam people with Greys. Ironically, Greys are the only species they try it with. I've never seen anyone trying to scam a macaw or an amazon yet. They always have them listed for $300 - $400. Unreal. I hate people that try to take advantage of others like that. they need to get jobs.

I'll be there. I'll be bringing Filet of Macaw, Garlic roasted African Grey stuffed with seasoned potatoes and vegetables, and Amazon cheese soup.

I know it's not on your list, but I have an amazon as a companion for my grey. They chatter together all day and seem to get along fine. It did take a while to establish who was boss between them. Consider a rescue? With a rescue, you can have the birds meet face to face and see how they get along.

*sigh* he's 2, and not quite the brightest bulb in the pack. I'm certain he got shocked from eating the cord. I heard him make this really weird scream. The only other time I've ever heard him scream like that is when he was chewing on his perch and both of them hit the bottom of the cage. He sat there for a while looking confused and bewildered as to what happened. I could write a book on some of the weird things Ty does. I think his former owner must have painted a room or something with him in it. He's missing quite a few brain cells.

I put Ty on a playstand yesterday that I thought I had pulled far enough away from my fish tank. I guess I didn't. Somehow he'd gotten ahold of the cord to my brand new $450 powerhead and chewed it. I *think* my husband can fix it, but WOW was I ever mad! If I put him on the other playstand, he eats my drapes. I have more vent holes in my drapes than my window screens! Grrr! I need a bigger house! SO.....Anyone got any good macaw recipes? Are they better baked or fried? LOL

I looked at the cage you posted from ebay. I wouldn't get it. I bought a similar cage from the same seller 6 months ago. I've already had to replace it. It was the worst quality cage I've ever seen, was damaged and I had to fight the seller for a partial refund. The bars weren't very thick at all and bent very easily. The welds looked like a 3 year old welded them and broke without any effort. I've learned the hard way, you get what you pay for. A $100 cage isn't going to last you. Keep your eyes peeled on CL. You can pick up some great second hand cages for a fraction of the cost. However, for a macaw, don't settle for less than thick bars and a heavy cage. You'll regret it when the bird eats your house from having escaped. As for size, at least 60" high, 40 wide and no less than 36" deep. Bigger if you can find it. A baby macaw is ACTIVE and will use every centimeter of space. Good luck and keep us posted.

I did get a great deal and I absolutely LOVE it!!!! here's LOTS of pictures with details. Her cage looks SO empty! I didn't get a chance to bolt the dome top back on yet, but you can kinda see in the pictures where it bolts together now. Most of the weld joints are undetectable. I have a few more I need to sand but I'm kinda tired. My hands hurt. Joey HATES the cage. She's never had so much space in her life and she's been snapping and biting all day. The only thing I don't like about it is the limitation on placing her toys where I want them. I need to find a way to rig up her swing so it's not too far or too close to the bars. She's used to grabbing the bars to make it swing and she can't now. It's just too deep. I thought about putting it diagonally so she can grab the corner at least. You can see how wide the door is. In time, she'll appreciate that I can put her back in her cage without beating her tail. She has more room than ever. I was in the cage with her last night trying to calm her down and getting used to it. It's a big adjustment for such a little girl. Everything is so detailed. You can ALMOST see a macaw in here. It'll give you an idea of how deep it is. She's sitting on her swing, which is hanging from the first of 3 sections. of the dome: Here's the seed skirt. I opted not to put it on. I never did think they were very useful. Just something extra to clean. The food bowls are one handed and spring loaded. you slide them into the slot and they pop up in place automaticaly. There's 4 of them in total and from what I gather, quite costly to replace, though being stainless, I don't see where you'd ever have to replace them. More details: Even the catch pan has their imprint on it. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to use this with walnut shell though. It's textured and raised. I never did like using newspaper, but I might have to unless someone else has some ideas. I was thinking of cutting a piece of plexiglass. The tray is pretty thick ABS plastic and fairly deep. It's easy to clean, but who wants to pull the tray and clean it every day? I liked the walnut seed I was using. All of these cages have their own serial number. Though, I can't imagine anyone stealing this out of my house. It takes 2 men to lift it. Here's where I cut the frame. I haven't gotten to sanding that yet, but plan to and I'm going to put end caps in the holes so the seam comes together nicer. God I hated doing this! I still can't believe I cut up a $3000 cage! My friend Candi almost had a stroke when I started cutting it. This is her dream cage. These are the bolts that I used to reassemble it. I thought they looked nice and not at all a whack together job. I didn't want to take away any of the beauty of the cage.

To cut apart a $2700 stainless steel cage? I found an ad a weeks ago in my local classifieds for a stainless steel macaw cage made by Animal Environments. It retails for $2690 on their website and is absolutely fabulous! The guy that owned it moved and couldn't find a spot for it in his house. He needed somehting smaller, so reluctantly he was letting this one go. His original ad started out asking $800 (which was still a reasonable price) but I just couldn't swing that right now. I kept watching it and slowly the price kept dropping until it he'd finally listed it again for $380. I couldn't let that go. We tried diligently to work out schedules for me to pick up the cage. When it came time, he explained that he needed a cage for his macaw and wanted to know if I had one I wasn't planning to use anymore. He stressed that he didn't want to let it go until he at least had something to put his bird in, even though the cage wasn't in use at the moment and the bird was just perched. I did have a cage and was planning to pass it down to one of my other macaws, but admittedly, I was never happy with the quality of it. It was just cheaply made compared to my Kings cages. I I offered him that one as a trade and emailed him pictures of mine. I was shocked when he called me back and offered to take $100 off the price of his cage in exchange for mine. It didn't take long before I was there with mine to swap! $280 + a cheap cage for a stainless steel cage worth almost $3000!!! I get it home and guess what? It doesn't fit! It's way too big and fully welded! I didn't know what to do but I was determined to get this thing cleaned up and in my house. It took until 3 am but we did it. I cut the dome top off and made it completely detachable. This meant cutting through some of the frame. Then I cut and sanded all the weld joints on the side, front and back, drilled holes into the frame and reassembled it with stainless steel bolts. It's gorgeous!!! I cannot believe I have this thing in my house. It's HUGE. The cage measures H73" x W44" x D28". The inside dimensions are H58" x W44" x D28". My macaw looks like a parakeet. And she's furious! She wants her little cage back. I could have fit 2 of hers in this one! I'll have to get pictures for you guys later today. Gina

I have 2 B&G's and a harliquen. I can tell you with no terms of uncertainty that the "double macaw cages" are not big enough for a macaw. Especially a young, very active boy like my Ty. He's living in a cage that's 52" wide x 38" deep x 70" high and uses every bit of it. I've often though about the double cages just to save space in my house. It's just not a good idea for several reasons. 2 of my birds used to get along fine. Now, for some reason that I don't understand, they hate each other. If they were sharing a cage, there would certainly be trouble. However, if you took the divider out, it would be perfect for a single macaw.

all of my birds except my CAG are rehomes. And yes, some of them can be rather difficult. You need to become the good guy in his life now and he needs to learn to trust you. Don't worry about getting bit. It's inevitable. Just don't react when he does bite you. Sit next to his cage every day. Read a book to him, talk softly to him, treat him like he's a 3 year old child who's been traumatized. When he calms down a bit and starts to show interest, open the cage door and let him decide to come out. Don't worry about how you'll get him back in. He'll go back eventually on his own. Try to resist the urge for physical contact for a few days. He'll let you know when he's ready. Give him the opportunity to come to you. When he does, try scratching his head a little and telling him he's a good boy in a soft voice. You want to keep your voice and movements as animated at possible. Sudden moves may frighten him. Keep us posted on your progress and let us know how things are going.

I plan to have a few on hand of each. I don't want people to wait more than necessary. Everything will ship the next day after payment is received, if not the same day. I have an embroidery business that I've owned and operated for about 6 years now. From that, I've learned to be very customer service oriented.

LOL I'm currently watching her to see if she grows any pin feathers. I hope not. I don't want to have to preen her. Preening a 17 year old can be scary. She bites harder than any macaw I've ever handled.

I made the muffins like that for the birds. I'll make a batch of 12, cut them in half and freeze them. Any time I cook for the birds, I make a big batch of whatever I'm making and freeze some for later so I'm not cooking just for them every day. They were cooling on the counter and my daughter sniped one. I don't think she'll do that again!

I figured it out! store your Zupreem in a tupperware cereal keeper next to the real cereal. It takes about 2 bites to realize that what they're eating isn't Trix! I wasn't thinking when I put the container in the cupboard instead of my pet cabinet. I swear I injured myself laughing! The look on my daughters face was priceless!! Last week I made blueberry muffins for breakfast. My daughter came to me asking me what I did to the muffins, they tasted different. I didn't have the heart to tell her how I ground up walnuts, almonds, so pieces of freeze dried papaya, granola, parrot seed, and zupreem and placed in the batter with some flax oil before baking.

My husband is working on designing a website for me. I make and do so much for my birds, between the toys to playgyms to custom embroidered cage covers that it would be selfish not to share! We've decided that not only are we going to sell the stuff I do, but we're going take a portion of the proceeds to help out avian rescue. I live just across the street from the president of my local avian society, so I see and hear all the that the rescue birds need. I already make them alot of toys and I always wish I could do more. I can't foster because I'm already full with my own birds. Maybe this way I can help offset the cost of vet bills and cages. Thank you all for your encouragement. It means alot to me. We've already selected and registered our domain name. It's just a matter of getting the website done and live now.

I have them temporarily hanging on my playstand. My grey and amazon have already checked out every single one of them. Most of them have at least one bite taken out of the wood. When I put them together, I designed them with a variety of chunks and pieces. Some of the pieces will break apart fairly easily and some will take longer for them to chew apart. It gives them some sort of sense of accomplishment. I have more that I did that I haven't posted pictures of yet. My playstands look like a toy paradise right now!

Probably so. I do enjoy doing it and it's a nice break from my embroidery business. I'm just not sure if I should list them on ebay or create a website. Ebay seems to take all of your money anymore. It's hard to even break even with them lately. Between the ebay fees and the paypal fees, they're sniping more than 75% of my profits. I quit selling on there since then. I also thought about taking them around to my local bird stores too. I'm just not good at door to door selling though!

I'm seriously anal retentive about what I give my babies. Even their cages are being replaced with stainless steel because I'm so paranoid about zinc toxicity. I pick up one of them tomorrow for one of my macaws. It's twice the size she's in now, so she'll think she's moving up in life. Some of the coloring is vitacritter and some is wilton gel food coloring. Both of which are parrot friendly and mixed with 70% rubbing alcohol and white vinegar. All of the hardware is either stainless steel or nickel plated and all of the wood is untreated pine that's been baked in the oven on low heat for 30 minutes to kill anything that might be on it prior to coloring. The rope is either 100% cotton or sisal.

I spent a week cutting, coloring and drilling wood and wood pieces. These are some of the things I've come up with so far. My husband says I should sell these. What do you guys think?

1) There are a few of my birds that don't like me reaching in the cage. They tolerate it anyway. I ask them to step up the first time, tell the the second time with a much more stern voice and the third time I force them by either grabbing them by their feet (gently - we're not out to hurt them, just reinforce what I'm asking them to do) or pushing into their legs with a stick until they step up. Once they do, I praise them like the just hung the moon. They get the idea and don't fight me as much. Of course, the only time I really force them out of the cage is if I need to clean it or it's bath time. With my amazon, I found that making the cage less interesting and the play areas more fun, he's more than grateful to come out for me now. Try removing some of his favorite toys from the cage and putting them on the playstand. 2) Pet on the head and shoulders only. Never anywhere else. You should ease into the idea of being able to handle his wings and occasionally touch other parts of his body just in case you need to evaluate him for an injury though. Work with it and praise him when he doesn't react with his favorite treat. 3)They all have a schedule. I get the screamfest 3 times a day. When one rattles off, they all chime in. Imagine my house with 3 macaws, an amazon and a grey! Thank god Apple invented the ipod! 4) KA little dairy is ok. As in just a taste or 2. I would reserve it as a special treat when he's hit a major milestone in his training. Mine love cheese too, but they're not allowed to have it very often and again, only a taste. 5) Make bathtime fun. Picture yourself with a 3 year old child. Consider getting some plastic bath toys and fill the tub just a few inches with water. Let a couple of toys float around and play as you wash. All but 1 of mine look forward to a bath. My one blue and gold acts like I'm pulling out all her feathers. 6) Zazu will let me carry him upside down by his feet. My amazon lets me, but doesn't exactly appreciate it. My macaws will remove my hand for even thinking about it. It depends on the bird and where his trust and comfort level is with you. Work on your bond before asking him to do something that makes him vulnerable. In time, he'll allow you. Praise him heavily when he does, even if it's just for a second.

The house was clean, the birds and children were fed and my cages had been wiped down. Everything was done, so I decided to take a bit and sit down for some bird toy making. As I got out my supplies and started making my selection, all 5 parrots sat staring at me as though I were handling steak instead of wood. Before I knew it, both Zazu and Cabo (amazon) decided to get off their playstands to "help". Apparently I wasn't doing it right. As I'm stringing blocks on, they're taking them off or chewing them apart. Then Cabo grabbed my rope and ran up my shoulder. I sat there fishing for the end for a few minutes before I realized what he'd done, and then came the game of tug of war to get him to relinquish the end of it. I don't know how, but I managed to put together 10 toys for the birds yesterday. Some of them will be donated to my local rescue. Their birds are always in need of toys. Today, I got to clean up the chips of wood from the party.

The amazon and the grey snipe more of my attention than the macaws do. They're content just being out on their playstands and hanging out where they can see everything. The amazon and the AG are more hold me, touch me, play with me birds. We have a routine and that makes it easier. I get up and get their breakfast ready. After they eat, I put them on their playstands and clean their cages. At the end of the day, they'll go back to their cages for dinner and I clean their playstands. I have 3 roomba vacuums that run while we sleep and that handles most of the mess from seed and pellet. They get cooked foods twice a day, but typically I only cook for them once a week and freeze everything I make for later. In doing this, I can store up meals and have them ready in minutes. I have about 3 months of meals for the birds in my deep freeze.

siobha9 wrote: I guess when you have a harlequin macaw that's the size of a greenwing, every bird looks little! LOL My harlequin's beak is twice the size of Zazu's head. I did post pictures of all of them in the "other birds" section if you want to see.

Do you have a link to that article? I have asthma. I've had it since I was 5 and I'm 37 now. The dust from the birds don't bother me as much as cigarette smoke does. I do bathe my grey 3 times a week and my macaws and amazon twice a week. Perhaps that's why it doesn't bother me?

There's a space between my coat closet and the ceiling. I needed a place for Cabo, my amazon, to play so I got to thinking and built this (including most of the toys) for him to hang out on. He LOVES it up there. He's central to the whole house and sees everything.