Post #65394 by Kailuageoff on Wed, Dec 17, 2003 9:04 PM

Everything Pele said about parrots is accurate as far as I know.
We have had our Scarlet Macaw for three years. We bought him from a very reputable shop in Orlando that provides wonderful support to bird owners.
When we first brought him home we had to hand feed him every six hours for a month or so. If you can do this and remain a cheerful bird owner, you'll probably do fine with the rest of the work they entail. Also, handfeeding really helps a bird form a bond with its owners.
"Mango" is one of the most challenging and rewarding pets I've ever had. The only other animal I've had that comes close in terms of intelligence and personality is a Border Collie.
When you think about it, many of the traits that parrots have and people complain about are easily explained. They chew because their beaks continue to grow all the time and need to be worn down. That's why it is crucial to always provide chewable toys.
They bite because they use their beak as a method of grasping and steadying themselves, as well as for defense. They also sense much of their environment with their tongue.
Mango "bites" my finger all the time without hurting me. Mostly, he is just steadying himself or allowing me to carry him.
Parrots usuaully squawk the most in the morning and in the evening. Parrot breeders say this is because they flock in the wild and these are the times they would normally call other birds.
Of course birds need time out of their cage and they want to interact with you. So would a dog or a cat. If you left your dog in a crate all day and night, it would probably go crazy as well.
Parrots don't like some people. They especially don't like people that are obvioulsy afraid of them. I don't know why this is so, but I've known dogs that could sense fear and would attack people who appeared frightened or who would run from them.
Birds don't like to soil their nest/cage and Mango usually holds it until we take him to his outside perch in the morning. He still messes in his cage or on his stand, but he prefers to have his major movements outside.
We've taught Mango to say "aloha","surf's up" and "time for a luau". Other bird owners are really amazed to hear him speak "Hawaiian".
Actually, this was pretty easy because we associate these terms with greeting him, letting him out of his cage, and feeding him.
The bottomline is that Macaws, their cages, perches, food, etc. cost a great deal of money and are very time consuming, but are very rewarding. Marian and I love Mango and we would never part with him. For us, he's one of the family.

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2003-12-17 21:09 ]