Parrots run amuck

It all started with a blue and gold macaw baby. A 5 week old macaw that stole our hearts and before we knew it, we have 7 baby birds. Maya...The now 2 month old baby blue and gold macaw Mowgli...A 7 month old blue and gold macaw Isabella...A 7 month old green wing macaw Lucinda...An 8 month old white belly caique Alli...A 10 month old bare eyed ****atoo Layla...A 5 month old bronze wing pionus Ziggy...A 6 month old quaker (quite a character) In addition we have purchased cages, perches, toys and who knows what else to take care of them. We will post pictures soon. By the way, the birds are much quieter than the 4 dogs and far less difficult than Sas. Hugz, Ron

Ron! How did you end up with so many parrots? Jay wants a parrot in the worst way. That sounds like a costly proposition not to mention the space needed to house 7 cages! Yikes! You guys must be living in a mansion! 7 birds and 4 dogs! WOW!

Those pretty buggers are really pretty addictive. I had always wanted one since I was a small kiddio but never had the time or a person in my life that shared the care for tropical birds. Every one of them have their own personality and unique characteristics. Believe it or not we did show some discipline because if we had our way we could have easily gotten 7 or 10 more of them. However they need 3 to 4 hours of luving each day so we had to stop at 7.

can't wait to see the pics. and like Mel says.. where do you put them all.. I bet my Katie and Allie wished I would get them some birds.. good to see ya posting again.. you've been missed..

In mighty big cages I might add. For instance the Green Wing Macaw is in a Kings Cage Model 406 which is 30 inches deep, 42 inches wide and 72 inches high. In addition it is stainless steel and weighs about 450 pounds. I won't even get into the cost as it would depress me. These birds will outlive both Cathy and I as they have life spans between 60 and 80 years. We will have them in our wills and hope someone will love them as much as we do down the road. Now we have to teach our children to love animals so they can appreciate nature and all the lessons they can provide. Ron

Okay, Ron, now there is a love for animals then there's a "love" for animals...Do they have a 12 step program for ridding yourself of about 5 birds and 2 dogs? I love dogs and my cat; not most of the other cats, but mine. However, I can only stand 1 dog and 1 cat max in a house. And it's my own bird prejudices that makes me feel there is no reason to have them except at a zoo or an aviary. Other than a chicken, fried or grilled, I usually dislike fowl immensely. But hey, if y'all love 'em, enjoy. Liz

Hi Ron, I'm also owned by 2 parrots........ Chickie...........A 20yr old blue-fronted amazon Clementine.....A 7yr old female Solomon Island Eclectus They are a joy!!! But it's an expensive love for sure. How do you like the Kings Cages? I need to invest in a couple of cages, and there's a warehouse in Chicago that has some decent prices (and some "pick up at warehouse" specials). I have them in California Cages that I bought about 7yrs ago. Any suggestions? take care, Paula

Paula, First let me say that I am new to the world of pet birds. That being stated I have prepared for a long time and have done a lot of homework prior to buying bird one. Everything that I read and heard from folks who have had pet birds for quite some time stated that Kings Cages are durable and built to last. Given that these birds have life spans from 60 to 80 years if properly taken care of I wanted to get cages that would last for a long time. Kings cages are built with high gauge metals and quality craftmenship. I looked at a lot of cages including Avian Adventure, California, etc. and could have bought cheaper but really did feel the quality was worth the extra money. I also like their patented lock mechanism that prevents the birds from getting out of their cages. We purchased Kings Cages Model 406 (3 cages for our macaws). Stainless Steel for the Green Wing Macaw - $1,800.00 purchase price Non stainless - Powder Coated Paint - $710.00 purchase price (Almond) Non stainless - Powder Coated Paint - $684.00 purchase price (White) The Green Wing Macaw has extremely powerful beaks and they can break the welds and chew the paint off an ordinary cage and that is why we purchased a stainless steel cage for her. In addition we purchased 3 Kings Cages, Luxury Models that incorporate style and design to fit our home decor and interior. These smaller cages are for our White Belly Caique, Bronze Wing Pionus and Quaker Parrot. Each luxury cage cost between $350.00 to $400.00 each. Best Regards, Ron

I know birds and anything that goes with birds, I've been in the pet industry for nearly 14 years now. Cali cages are good if you can still find them and alot cheaper than kings. I get discounts from my kings cage rep, I have 2 greys, umbrella ****atoo, at home, and 2 keets that live in my office. The greys(brother and brother from the same clutch that I've hand fed since day 10 are in king's 506's also($995 a piece), umbrella ****atoo that was a drop off, no one wanted him due to his obnoxious screeches, and horrifying biting....that was 14 months ago, and now he loves me and snuggles me, vomits on me, even tries to hump my hand. He is in an Avian Adventure Grande Play pen top for ($1385, and that was 2 years ago.) The parakeets are in Blue Ribbon T series till I found out the bar spacing was too wide, so I moved them down to 2 G series. Some web sites that may help- http://www.calcages.com/ http://www.avianadventures.com/ http://www.kingscages.com/ http://www.blueribbonpet.com/ http://www.bird-cage.com/california-vs-avian-adventures-vs-kings.htm That 4th link will give you the pro's and con's vs all of them. As for food, they eat everything I eat excpt candy and chocolate(chocolate is deadly to birds) They don't eat junk food either, as for caged food, mixture of zupreem, roudybush, pretty bird, and a bulk mixture seed. They are no wear near my kitchen(teflon is deadly), I never move thier cages due to the fear they have of a whole new life of a 360 degree angle. Drafts my husband smokes,absolutely not in the house, birds run on 3 sets of air sacs, not 2 lungs like us. inhale, inhale, exhale....very odd. I fear any of my guys gettin respitory infections or bacteria infections which is very common in birds, I wash cages, and bowls often. I have jungle gyms, ropes going from one end of a room to another end...birdy paradise if you ask me. I've learned that making my own bird toys is much....much cheaper, and going to bulk food stores is much, much cheaper to feed them. Good luck birdie lovers-Again, any questions feel free to ask, and if I don't know, I will find out. ps-I've done work with two avian/exotic vets, one of which is considered one of the best on the east coast, and have volunteered hundreds of hours in at the National Aviary, here in Pittsburgh. http://www.aviary.org/ yeah I'm one of those weirdo's that has cats, dogs, birds runnin around, had rats but once they died off i was not allowed to replenish. Oh yeah, and I strongly dislike horses. Liz

ps-quakers are illegal in the state of Pennsylvania for extinction reasons.