PARROT TIPS:
1. Blue and Gold Macaws are one of the largest birds in the parrot family averaging 37 inches at maturity. They are wonderful pets, but they are not a pet to go into lightly.They require alot of attention, and can be quite expensive. They are constant chewers and unlike the smaller parrots their beaks are strong enough to snap small branches in half making it more difficult to hand make their toys. Parrot proof toys can be very expensive.
2. Macaws must be housed in sturdy 4 foot by 3 foot cages and be given a large variety of food and toys. Macaws can live up to seventy - years. which makes it necessary to have a back -up plan should you be unable to keep it or if it should out live you.
3. Macaws are very intellgent and loving birds. If properly handled they can be taught to understand and obey simple comands or to perform tricks. A wonderful thing about Macaws is they actually blush when they are happy or excited.
When given the right amount of love and attention they make great pets.
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Matrix, is a 2 year blue and gold macaw one of the largest of the parrot family. Matrix was hand-fed and came to live with us at four months old.Today he is very tame, but he is prone to moodiness at times. He loves the whole family, but he has chosen to bond the closest to me. He loves to say and play peek a boo, hi- five, shake hands, play catch the fish, hide and seek and he loves to dance. He has about a 250 word vocabulary, which includes singing Jesus loves you. It's really amazing how he manages to put sentences together and say them in the correct context just by listening to his family. He understands No, get off the couch, go to your cage, stop that, step- up and bath time.
It's very important to get Macaws as young as possible in order to develop the best relationship.Macaws require a lot of attention and need to be handled daily in order to maintain your bond with them. They make wonderful pets, but they are still wild animals and can be very dangerous if mishandled. |
CONURES
Sun Conure and Green-Cheeked Conures are not only a part of the parrot family they are just two of the many varieties of conures. The Sun Conure is one of the rarer conures seen in captivaty, but because of it's beauty one of the most popular of the conures. The Sun Conure has a tendacy to scream especially when it wants attention. It can also be one of the more honery of the conures if not put in it's place right from the beginning. It grows to about 11 1/2 inches allowing it to be housed in a cage as small as 18 x 18 in., The Green Cheek Conure although in the same family is a very different bird then the Sun Conure it is one of the most docile and least noisey of the conures. The Green-cheek is a wonderful acrobate it loves to hang up side down and do summersaults in it's cage. The great thing about this conure is that it can be content playing with it's toys while your away, but it's happiest riding on your shoulder. This conure is about 10 inches and can be housed in an 18 x 18 in cage as well.
Above: Rainbow ( Sun Conure ) and Elmo ( Green-Cheeked Conure)
Rainbow is 3 years old and has been with us since he was 3 months old. He says hello, good morning unfortunatly he's a little stubborn about it and will only say it to me. My husband thinks i'm hearing things. Ha! Ha! He will however perform his turnabout and hang man tricks in front of company. Rainbow is a hugh hit at the rest homes where we do pet therapy. He does well with all the cats and dogs in our house. His favoite game is being real quiet and then the minute my husband enters the room letting out a scream so my husband will flash the laser light for Rainbow to dodge. It's hillarious.
Elmo is a rescue that came to us about six months ago after being found in a closet with mildew and cockroaches in his cage. After researching his background and changing his name from ramone to Elmo we believe him to be about 3 yrs old. He was very happy to become a part of our family and gets along with the whole clan. Since moving in he has learned to play dead, show off his wings, rock the baby and he will lay perfectly still on his and allow me to demonstrate the techniques of wing and toenail clipping.
Elmo has done so well in his new enviroment and has learned so much that he has joined us in our therapy program and has already made several visits.Elmo is a wonderer and you will find him in the oddest places such as in a hat, behind a plant, sleeping with the cat. He's quite a charater.
Parakeets: Parakeets or budgies as thier often called are the smallest of the parrot family. They are about 6 inches and live about 12 to 15 years. Parakeets are great for a first bird, but they can be biters especially the females. Parakeets can be housed in a 12 x 12 cage and can be eaisly entertained with hand made or house hold products such as an empty toilet paper rolls.
They very frequently learn to talk and perform many tricks. The males have the best whistles and the females seem to scream more. It is best to only keep one if you want it to remain tame, because parakeets have a tendacy to break their bonds with their human friends when given a friend from their own species.
If you must get two parakeets purchase them separately after you have completely bonded with the first bird. After purchasing the second bird keep it in a separate cage and away from the first bird until it is completely tame. After you have completely bonded with both birds you can bring them together, but you must remember to spend at least 15 minutes three times a week with each bird separately.
