keeping parrots (merged)

Tojo_Ralph

juno wrote:

My parrot's hardly ever in his cage. He thinks going in it (apart from for sleeping or eating) is a punishment! Is that cruel?

You are offering your possession the choice between a tiny cage size box and a marginally bigger room size box ..... Now..... given that a parrot should be free to cover acre upon acre of open sky, I'd suggest that it is indeed very cruel, cruelty in degrees.

gravitytolls

Well, I guess a freely roaming bird in the house is one thing, he has you for companionship, and vice versa, can't see anything more wrong with that than having a cat or dog. But, I really hate to see caged birds.

RacyRed

Tojo_Ralph wrote:

As for a hand reared bird not native to these shores or its climate not lasting two minutes in the wild if released, that is of course a given.

A hand reared bird maybe wouldn't survive, but ring-necked parakeets have been on the British Bird list (birds established in the UK) since 1855, I've seen the flocks of these [STRIKE]noisy little bu..[/STRIKE] sweet little green parrots flying around the place :rolleyes:

Wild is best in my view, but given the life expectancy of parrots we should remember that a good many of the birds currently in captivity are totally climatised to it and would be stressed if their circumstances were changed.

But if people's desire to keep any animal means that the wild stock is depleted further to boost the captive gene pool or simply out of greed then maybe we need to think a lot harder before obtaining such creatures, no matter what it is.

Sort of topic but if anyone is interested here is the Red List for parrots.

viatcove

I have for the last 15 years been buying my parrots seed from Haiths,but I have been a bit disappointed in the last 2 deliveries.I have a mix of 3 parrots from small amazon to large macaw,the seed I got this time seems the sunflowers are very small as a result my macaw wastes so much.Anybody know where else I can try for a parrot premium mix,I have tried googling but they all want you to change to dried pelleted food which my birds dont get as they get a lot of fruit and veg and the seed is only at bedtime.

many thanks

juno

I haven't bought seed, but I've bought other stuff from here and they're good

viatcove

:hello: hi everyone,
does anyone here have parrots and a dog,if so how do they get on?I have 3 parrots and one of them is a macaw.I would love a small dog as we always had a dog till our last one died 7 years ago,I feel I am now ready to give another one a home,but have to be sure they will get on or at least ignore one another.My parrots have a conservatory to themselves and get out of their cages most of the day,the dog would be with us most of the time ,would this arrangement work. Vi.

http://parrotfun.mysite.orange.co.uk/index.jhtml

I_love_Airedales

Hello, my mum and dad had a parrot, a mealy amazon, whenever I went to visit my dog came too. The dog was a lab. The parrot used to 'groom' the dog while the dog was lying on the floor sleeping they got on very well.
Mum and dad had a cat the parrot and cat used to share the cat food they would both eat out of the dish at the same time.
I think parrots must be curious and trusting creatures.
I admit to being nervous of the parrot biting the dog then being worried in case the dog retaliated but there was never a problem.
HTH, ILA

debsy42

My dad has an African Grey Parrot and a Jack Russell Dog and they get on famously. The parrot lets the dog groom him and shouts and whistles the dog. I spend most of my time laughing at them together, don't need a TV when they are on form....

viatcove

thanks for the replies.I remember when we had our old dog my grey used to preen my old dog too,but my macaw is so big it was because of her size cause she has some size of beak,she really is the only one I was really worried about.I will need to do a bit more research before I finally decide.thanks again folks

viatcove

I have got my premier parrot mix seed from haiths for the last 12 years,but I have been really disappointed in the rubbish I have been gettin,I:mad: wrote and complained last year never even got a reply,thinking it was a one off I gave them the benefit of a doubt and ordered more it was real rubbish more waste than they were eating,apart from rob harveys(too expensive),can anyone point me to a supplier I have tried googling but not getting anywhere.
I was thinking in getting a greyhound,as they seem very laid back pets how would it react with my parrots,I have 3 and one is a huge macaw,they have a conservatory to themselves so would'nt have to share the room with them,but will see them daily.