Your macaws Information
The main species of parrots are:
Large-sized Parrots:
Amazon parrots - medium to large in size. They are mainly green colored with patches of yellow, red, and blue on their tail, wings, and head. They often chatter when there are strangers around and possess very loud voices. The older male Amazons like the hawk-headed parrots can be aggressive.
Cockatoos - compared to Amazons - most of these are big. They are extremely intelligent, sensitive, and nervous birds. They possess erect crests that is lowered and raised at will. They may look cuddly and cute, but adult cockatoos can inflict painful bites if they are not properly trained. Cockatoos demand and require constant attention and are difficult to take care of.
African Gray Parrots are medium to large in size. They are overly sensitive but very intelligent birds. When strangers are around, they are very quiet, however, they can be extremely loud but do not create noise nuisance. Hand-reared parrots are very prone to feather plucking.
Macaws are the largest sized parrot species. The smaller macaws, like Hahn's and the yellow-collared, make good pets, but are noisy. They are active, inquisitive and often very mischievous parrots. They can learn to talk and can be very chatty. Their powerful beaks can damage many items around the house, including furniture and can even crush nuts. They are not very suitable for homes with young children. Large Macaws may also require more space instead of just a bird cage.
If you have large birds, such as the above-mentioned as pets, one should go for a large
parrot cage. This should have a bar spacing of one or more inches as inappropriate spacing can result in injury to the bird.
Medium sized Parrots:
Conures are found in South Africa and are very confident and active birds. Sun yellow and bright orange conures, and blue-crowned and Patagonian conures have very loud and piercing voices. They are extremely curious, but very entertaining too. They can talk but possess squeaky thin voices when they try to emulate human speech. Conures are happy to sleep in roosting boxes placed inside the bird cage.
If you have these medium-sized birds, as pets, you should go for
parrot cages which have a bar spacing of a half-inch to 5/8 inch.
Small-sized Parrots:
Parakeets are mostly found in Australia and Asia and are leaf-green colored, and are ground-feeders, and spend most of the time on the bird cage floor. Unlike other parrot species, they are quiet birds, although they are very active and social creatures. They live in a large flock and are usually kept as a flock in an aviary. Parakeets are independent birds and do not mix or bond well with humans. They respond to training but are poor mimics and imitators of human voices and speech.
Lovebirds are active and small parrots with short tails and come from Africa. They are usually kept as pets in pairs, as they rarely bond with human beings as many other parrot species do. They emit shrill sounds and can voice calls at a high volume, but they are unable to copy or imitate human speech. Lovebirds are mostly kept in an aviary, or as a pair in a bird cage, instead of in the company of other birds.
Cockatiels and budgies are the commonest parrot-like birds, and they are from Australia. Budgies are bright green in color with a fine scale-like pattern of white and black markings, but now they come in a variety of myriad colors due to selective breeding over generations. Budgies are easy to keep as pets, but require lots of attention and time with its owner/keeper if they are kept alone. They can talk and learn many phrases and words and make sounds in small, squeaky voices. Budgies are very busy and active birds. Cockatiels are large birds and they are good pets. They are naturally gray with some white on their wings, and orange-yellow patches on their head. They can learn to talk but are loud with harsh voices. They are highly busy and active birds and can be easily taught to obey some commands and requests.
If you have a small parrot such as one of the above-mentioned, you probably require one of the medium sized
parrot cages having a half-inch or less bar spacing. One should always get as big a
parrot cage as possible as long as he takes care of choosing one with an appropiate bar spacing and orientation.
As with most other birds, parrots enjoy
bird toys as they are not just fun but neccessary for all species of parrots, large or small. These toys help keep their minds challenged, their beaks busy and keep them entertained. So make sure to purchase an array of different
bird toys for your parrot to enjoy.
Shop and buy small, medium, or a large
bird cage for you pet parrot and pet birds. All types and sizes of parrot cages and bird toys for your pet birds - http://www.birdcagesrepublic.com/
Article author: Sunil Punjabi
Parrot cages should not be round and must have corners for the birds to feel comfortable. Inside the cages there should be enough bird toys to keep the birds active and happy. Parrots are of many sizes. The size of cages you will need to keep your pet will depend on the size of the parrot or parrots. To make the birds happy, make the cages as big as possible and fill it up with toys.
Even small parakeets must have parrot cages which are at least 18" x 14" x 22", where 18 is width, 14 is depth, and 22 is the height. That, of course, is the minimum requirement. Even small parrots like lories will be happier in cages double that size. Birds should be able to flap their wings, and fly around, and hop from perch to perch within their cages and larger the cages are, the healthier the captive birds would be.
For larger parrots like macaws, the width of the parrot cages should be at least 40" as their wingspan is more than that of parakeets. And the height of the cages should be such that the parrot's tail does not touch the cage bottom when it is on any of the perches. Above the bird there should be enough space to hang the bird toys. Lack of space and lack of toys will suffocate the bird and it might scream and bite and pluck its own feathers.
Parrot cages should ideally be squares, rectangles, or hexagons. Corners are a must for the caged birds to get direction. Within a rounded cage it is said to be difficult for birds to get a point of reference so that they might become confused and frightened. And horizontal bars are better for cages than vertical bars. Horizontal bars will double as extra perches for the bird and they will be more suitable than vertical bars for hanging bird toys.
Jungle life of parrots like lories is full of activity and variety. In their natural habitats they fly from one tree to another in flocks. To ensure that they miss their real home as little as possible, their parrot cages should be full of bird toys and the birds should be allowed to interact with their masters as frequently as possible. Lories feel the face or fingers of the owner with their brush-tipped tongues and it should be given enough opportunities to do that.
Ideal bird toys for small parrots like lories are hanging bells and ropes that can be easily hung inside parrot cages. Plastic, wood, and other natural fibers are ideal toys material. Leather toys are not strongly recommended because it often tends to become sticky and messy with the nectar that these birds are fed. Twigs and wood used, whether for perches within the cages, or for bird toys, should be free of chemicals and pesticides.
Birds get bored with the same toys day in and day out. One way out of this is providing them with small, improvised homemade toys. Lots of things available in the backyard, or leftover things like containers, covers, and water bottles, can be converted into good bird toys with a little innovativeness.
Shop and buy a small, medium, or a large
parrot cages for you pet parrot and pet birds. All types and sizes of bird cages and
bird toys are available for your pet birds.
Article author: Sunil Punjabi
One similarity between caged birds and tiny tots is that both groups are pets of those who care for them. Another similarity is that both need toys as much as they need food and drink.
bird toys may not be of as wide a variety as baby toys, but
bird toys are beautiful, and supplant to a large extent some of the natural toys that birds miss in their caged existence.
Colorful swings, ladders, bead chains, bells, ropes, and merry-go-round like hanging are the common
bird toys to which birds have been seen to instinctively react. In each of these categories, there will be toys of different colors and sizes, made of different materials. Bird ladders may be rope ladders, bamboo ladders, or climbing nets, and could be resting on the cage floor, or may be hanging from above.
Swings are also popular
bird toys, because many birds, especially those in the parrot family like macaws, like to swing. Some of the swings will have a hardwood perch as the swing seat, with chewable toys dangling from the swing chains. Swings may also be circular or triangular rope rings. Where the swing seat is a wooden perch, some birds even sleep on it. Multicolored swings made of plastic discs and beads make excellent
bird toys, which have a high level of aesthetic appeal.
Many
bird toys like ropes and bells are designed to be chewed, and among these chewable toys are some highly innovative toys made of cuttlebone. Cuttlebone, which is the bone of cuttlefish, is rich in calcium and is a necessary nutritional supplement for birds. Some
bird toys manufacturers make perches and bells out of cuttlebone so that when the birds chew it, they would actually be getting all the nutrition that they require.
Foraging
bird toys are also a welcome addition to any bird cage. With foraging toys, birds are trained to search for their food that is kept hidden within the rings or slits or drawers of a multilayered toy. Foraging
bird toys may be in the form of a carousel, or interlinked containers, or sliding rings or in any creative form that manufacturers can think of. Disposable foraging toys can also be made at home if the bird owner has the time and creativeness to think of treasure hunt ideas for the bird using leftover paper cups, containers, fruit rinds, twigs, newspaper bits etc.
And when it comes to the question of doing things oneself, it is not just foraging toys that can be made at home but many other type of
bird toys as well. Those who have access to long varieties of leaves like palm leaf can make any number of disposable woven toys like whistles, diamonds, rings, snakes etc. with it. Broader types of leaves and twigs, stuck together to form boats, or crocheted together to form paddles or ladders, will also make excellent
bird toys.
Homemade or factory-made,
bird toys are a must for bird cages, both from the beautification perspective and utility perspective.
Shop and buy small, medium, or large parrot cages for you pet parrot and pet birds. All types and sizes of bird cages, special parrot cages and
bird toys are available for your pet birds. Visit our site now - http://www.birdcagesrepublic.com/
Article author: Sunil Punjabi
