Texas

[Heidisgran]

Quote: I too had a crow from the baby coop...not sure which one....hubby was standing there and couldn't tell me...oh well he was trying!
got skunked this morning! caught it in the trap! even though I carried a tarp in front of me and covered it enough oil must have been floating I can still smell it!! I keep bleaching body parts lol and I used hubby's strong manly soap too!!

 

[bnjrob]

I too had a crow from the baby coop...not sure which one....hubby was standing there and couldn't tell me...oh well he was trying!
got skunked this morning! caught it in the trap! even though I carried a tarp in front of me and covered it enough oil must have been floating I can still smell it!! I keep bleaching body parts lol and I used hubby's strong manly soap too!!

Time to break out the tomato juice and peroxide. Blech. Sorry for you.

 

[RachaelS]

Captivity is really, really hard on parrots.

I agree, I really wanted a Cockatoo, even put $200 non-refundable payment down, read as much as I could read, and then calmly walked away from $200, knowing that was the best $200 walk away I have ever done. Some people can do it, but it takes a really special person. At the age of 22 (a LONG time ago, LOL), I was not that special of a person. The $200 went to a rehab place so over all it was a good thing for us both.

 

[TammyTX]

I feel really sad for parrots now!

Do people eat parrots in other parts of the world?

 

[tesaba]

Well thank you that is sweet. Just for that I will go take a pic of the others for you. The light woke them up so i guess they stood up??

So do you really think a wooden mop handle is wide enough for the roost? Or since the "kids" don't arrive till Sunday I should use a 2x2 instead or wider even? And what kind of Roof clearance is optimal?

 

[TammyTX]

A broom handle would be okay for younger birds but it may be too slick. A wider roost, like the 2x2, will allow them to rest their breast on the board at night and help keep their feet warm in the winter. If you plan on eating your birds, a wider roost can also produce "blisters" or rough places on the skin.

I think that the roof height will depend on your breeds. I have about a 2 foot space between roost/roof for my large fowl breeds and areas in between the boards under the roof eaves that are open to allow for circulation.

Just make sure that there is plenty of circulation space around the birds in the HOT summer months.

 

[TammyTX]

I feel really sad for parrots now!

Do people eat parrots in other parts of the world?

To answer my own question, I Googled. I didn't see any parrot BIRD recipes but I came across lots of parrot FISH recipes and even a parrot eating a roasted chicken!

It seems like I DO remember people in the Amazon eating parrot. Where's JungleExplorer he knows everything, heck HE may have even eaten it !!!

 

[LBejaran]

Well, if you want to buy a parrot, I can help.  If you want a baby parrot, you need to find a breeder, not a pet store.  You should be able to get an older bird for free--there are too many languishing in rescues, but rescues tend to be bird hoarders, so you never know.  A couple of years ago I gave a rare Blue-Throated Macaw (only 250 left in the wild, and no, that is not a typo, only 250 left, the rarest macaw in the wild) to the guy who runs the bird show in Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.  I even paid to ship the bird from the Caribbean to Florida.  He also does the Texas State Fair.  If you ever go to the Texas State Fair, do watch the bird show--it is spectacular.  I had three young female Macaws and they were starting to bond into a pair.  I would have had an odd bird that the bonded pair would have eventually started attacking.  It was either get rid of a macaw or get a fourth and I didn't want another bird.  I sent  her to Florida, where I know how she will be cared since I've spent two weeks at the facility for training workshops and I know his philosophy.  (And, if he no longer needs her, she comes back to me.)  He's also involved in their conservation and has a breeding program for reintroducing them back to their native habitat.

Now, as far as pricing of parrots, they shouldn't be as expensive as you were being quoted.  I can't remember what I paid for my Blue Throat, a captive bred bird, but I think it was around $2500 for a weaned baby bird from one of the best breeders in North America.


Parrots are not great pets.  They are really intelligent and need more stimulation than most people can give them.  Mine live outside in 20 x 8 x 8 flights.  I also fly the macaws outside.  I keep buddies for them, but they are still not as enriched as they deserve.  In the house, they are incredibly messy.  The big parrots are really destructive.  (They've lately taken to destroying stainless steel quick links--how can a beak bend open a heavy stainless steel quick link????  I wouldn't have been able to do it with two sets of heavy plyers!)  You need to have a cage that is strong enough to withstand a bored macaw trying to either take it apart or breaking the welds.  Some of the smaller parrots are not so destructive, but they get pretty unhappy being in captivity.  Captivity is really, really hard on parrots.

I'm very hesitant to adopt a parrot, even before having read this. Mom was the one who really wanted one, but I knew that I'd end up caring for it (kinda like I ended caring for the dogs, the cats, the chickens, the doves, the other animals that have made their way into our home...).

If we do get one in the future, I really want to build an enclosure for them outdoors. We have a garden area that will be utilized next year that is 30'x50'. We want to enclose it to protect it from birds, but would something like that work for a parrot? Or perhaps building a cage around an oak tree? I don't know, I'm still working out the kinks for future reference.

What would be the appropriate pricing for an adult parrot? Around here, I'd probably have to pay around $500 minimum for a bird and the hoops I'm have to jump through to get it would be completely unnecessary. I'd probably have to drive about 10 hours just to pick him/her up!

 

[jajeanpierre]

I agree, I really wanted a Cockatoo, even put $200 non-refundable payment down, read as much as I could read, and then calmly walked away from $200, knowing that was the best $200 walk away I have ever done. Some people can do it, but it takes a really special person. At the age of 22 (a LONG time ago, LOL), I was not that special of a person. The $200 went to a rehab place so over all it was a good thing for us both.

Cockatoos are a real challenge, especially the males. I wasn't as smart as you. I walked into a pet shop to buy a hamster wheel. I came out with a cockatoo.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I feel really sad for parrots now!

Do people eat parrots in other parts of the world?

Back in the 70s when parrots in the pet trade were all wild caught, a big importer went to Africa on a buying trip. He was eating a meal with the tribe that were capturing the African Greys he was buying. He asked what the meat was. Yup, he was eating African Greys!

I think some of the South American tribes eat parrots, but there is more money in capturing them and selling them on the black market. They used to use them in their ceremonial head dresses. There is a group that tries to send molted feathers to those tribes so they won't hunt the macaws. It is really awful how they capture parrots for the illegal pet trade. For many species, they just cut down the tree that has the nest of babies in it. Parrots nest in cavities, so every tree that gets cut down means there won't be that nest available for many many years (until another tree rots a hole in it).

Capturing the African Greys is pretty awful, too. They set up spring loaded nets around the wet areas the birds flock to. They'll tie a bird to a stick in the middle to act as a decoy. It's awful. I've seen those birds when they were for sale in the bird markets in Saudi Arabia. It was awful. I have African Greys, and I had never heard the noise those wild caughts made. It was a blood curdling growl.

Now you can buy pretty much any parrot that has been captive bred. The trouble is that the breeder birds are wild caughts and they are aging out of production. The captive bred birds haven't been raised with their parrots so they don't know how to breed or raise babies. The big cockatoos have a big problem because the males are killing their mates. Most parrots are pretty psychotic from the stresses of captivity. Oh, don't get me started!

If you ever get a chance to see the bird show put on by Natural Encounters at the Texas State Fair or at Animal Kingdom in Disney Orlando, go. They are really fun shows. I know the staff, I've been to their ranch and I can tell you the owner really treats the birds well, and takes care of their natural instincts. Lots of show birds have a horrible life, but his are well taken care of mentally and physically. He used to work in show business, but he just couldn't agree with the practices that would be demanded of him. For example, has everyone seen the old movie Birdman of Alcatraz? Do you remember the scene where the bird (I think it is a canary) flies to Burt Lancaster's finger? I think that was taught in a couple of days. You take a canary, tie a thread to its leg and drag it over to a person's finger. Over and over again. Finally the bird gives up and flies to the finger. Its a really horrible training method for the animal, but Hollywood demands things be done quickly. The owner of Natural Encounters refuses to work animals that way, so he refuses to work in Hollywood anymore.

Sorry for my rant.