Cages vs. Play stands?

[Ajax4289]

I heard that an owner(a Macaw owner) uses a very large Manzita branch playstand as a "cage" for their Macaw. He doesn't come off of it unless the owners take him off. He sleeps and eats there.

 

I've been wanting to get a Macaw for awhile now. Problem is not ONLY does the bird cost $1000-1400 but then you have to buy a $400-800 cage(plus food, I have plenty of toys Ajax doesn't use.)

 

CAN a playstand such as this be a "cage"? My CAG Ajax doesn't fly off the top of his cage(or perch) and he doesn't climb down. I am home A LOT but when I'm not home can they get into terrible trouble? Can it be safe if a bird is trained and use to it as a cage? Thoughts?

[brianlinkles]

No, I do not believe that you can use a big branch as a cage. A bird can get into horrible, dangerous trouble. I don't even like leaving mine alone on their tree when I leave the room. I would wait until you can afford the bird, cage, toys etc. Remember the cost of the bird is not just the bird. They are expensive! Especially a macaw, they go through toys like crazy!

[katana600]

We have acquaintences who had a macaw and would leave him out more than in his cage and would even leave the house without putting him in the cage. They had him for years and had gotten to know him really well and trusted him and didn't have other animals in the house. There was a time when they returned home to find their kitchen cabinets "remodeled". I don't have any up close and personal experience with a macaw, but if you did get one and left it out, even if the expense of the cage was no issue, do you think Ajax would object if he was caged and the new bird was free? I am home most of the time, leave my birds out all day, but there are times when I am doing something dangerous like making hard candy with really high temperatures, or even just making dinner when I might be distracted, so I close the door to the cages and can't imagine not having the cage for each them. Plus, you really need to have a travel cage in case of an emergency. There are days when they haven't been in the cage all day and I daydream about how much more space we would have in the living room without two huge cages, but then I clean that cage and think how much I appreciate the mess being "contained". As for the toys you have that Ajax doesn't use, our supplier has a few racks of the acrylic toys and wooden toys for most birds, then he has about five times as many of the really big toys for the macaws and they are shockingly expensive. I do agree with Brian that the initial cost isn't the only consideration of expense. We had a sick bird and his vet bills were more than his original cost for a two day hospitalization.

[Eshana]

All the points raised are valid!

 

Another one I might like to add is that a bird needs to exercise their feet, and having a cage with lots of different types of perches allows them to move around. Having one type of perch must hurt after a while!

 

Macaws are very, very smart birds. The smarter a creature is, the more curious they are going to be! "This wall is blue, what happens when I bite into it?" "the carpet looks fun to pull!" "oooh, what is that VERY EXPENSIVE shiny thing sitting on the table?" They can chew wires, get into the knife drawer...heck; even my caged birds manage to get into trouble!

[Ray P]

Each bird comes at a cost and the larger the bird the larger the cost.

I read on anouther forum from a person that had many birds. He said " If you can`t afford to pay full price for your bird, than you can`t afford to keep them "

I think there is alot of truth here because when you by your parrot that cost is only the start to a long list expenses.

Edited November 3, 2011 by Ray P

[Doug]

I heard that an owner(a Macaw owner) uses a very large Manzita branch playstand as a "cage" for their Macaw. He doesn't come off of it unless the owners take him off. He sleeps and eats there.

 

I've been wanting to get a Macaw for awhile now. Problem is not ONLY does the bird cost $1000-1400 but then you have to buy a $400-800 cage(plus food, I have plenty of toys Ajax doesn't use.)

 

CAN a playstand such as this be a "cage"? My CAG Ajax doesn't fly off the top of his cage(or perch) and he doesn't climb down. I am home A LOT but when I'm not home can they get into terrible trouble? Can it be safe if a bird is trained and use to it as a cage? Thoughts?

 

I'd have to wonder if a smart bird, like a macaw, that spent the entire day on a perch could stay mentally healthy. A lack of mental stimulation can do wonky things to any critter...

 

Early in my career, when I used to go to Asia a lot, I enjoyed visiting the local zoos. Until I was in a zoo in Hong Kong and watched a orangutan slowly, methodically, beat his head against a support beam. Once a minute, like clockwork. I went through the rest of the zoo, came back and saw him still doing it. I felt nauseous and have rarely been to a zoo since. (I also remember a big cat - tiger? - walking exactly the same path around the enclosure over and over and over - no variations, including each time stepping half up on a stump, backing off and continuing...)

[Talon]

How sad Doug......I agree with you in the fact that birds need a variety of stimulation to be healthy (mentally)