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Hi,
I am considering (or being considered??) to adopt a 10 year old Female Blue and Gold Macaw. From what I understand she is a "man's bird" which is good because I am a man. I have been reading a lot and preparing myself for the new addition. Here are a few questions that I have.

What size cage is best? I am consideing a dome top with an interior size of 40 x 30 x 60 (or so) That should be big enough, especially if she will be out of the cage a good part of the day?

What size carrier is best? To bring her home and to vet vsits and such. And are the plastic dog crates ok or is it better to get the metal crates so she can see better? Again size on that like 22x24x30? should be ok?

Finally... does anyone use parrot harnesses? How do you go about getting a large parrot accustomed to such a thing? I would love to take her outside on sunny days and let her exercise but would be VERY afraid with no harness even if her wings are clipped. I know from experience a clipped bird can still fly well enough to get away. My DYH can fly accross the room and she is trimmed.

I think you need a larger cage, so please keep asking until you get answers from people with B&Gs. I've not had one in a few years and forget the exact size of their cages, but know they were BIG! The travel crate needs to be large enough to accommodate that long tail. Whether plastic or metal depends mostly on how long the bird would be in it. If just for quick vet visits, rigid plastic might work. I would recommend metal for long life though. They're much heavier but much safer.

My prediction is that you could have a real struggle getting a harness onto a 10 year old B&G who isn't used to wearing one. Let that issue wait until you two know and trust each other. If you get that metal travel crate, you can take her outside in it. Or buy a cage you can roll outside for sunning on the patio.

I hope she comes your way!

I agree a bigger cage is better as long as it is a quality cage.

I would try the aviator harness. It comes with a DVD on how to put on, but again wait till the trust is developed.

Hope it works out. Where are u located?

Hi,
Thanks for the advice.
I hope it works out too! I haven't seen her yet and have no idea if she'll be ok with me.

And a harness is a dream but I realize it could take a long while just to get her to let me touch her wings enough even to try to get the harness on her. If in fact I am allowed to have her I will see how it goes and take it day by day. No need to rush things. I have a DYH amazon and I know she would never let me get it on her. I can scratch her head and hold her and she rolls over on her back to wrestle but Not sure I could manipulate her wings through a harness.

Nice to met you all. I have been reading the Forums here for a while but never asked questions. I am in New Jersey and currently live with a DYH amazon that I have had since she was hatched. She is six years old and in LOVE with my wife. I am her primary care giver but I am a second alternative at best

Hi I have a three yr. old B&G hen. I started putting a harness on her as a baby.She doesnt like it and its a strugle to get it on today.So good luck. I agree , get as big a cage as you can, but I like flat top cages so I can put a play pen on top.I have a plastic the biggest dog carrier and I put a perch bar in it. Josie is 33 in long. Its tight but I use it just to go to the vet. So good luck.

The problem with a dome top is when the bird is up there and hanging from it the tail gets nasty due to the curve of the top. If it is a flat top the tail tends not to get messed up as much as both body and tail are at the same angle.

Bigger is always better cage size as you never know when your baby will have to spend more time in there due to schedule change/illness/vacation. 40x30 should be the smallest to consider in my opinion.

Regarding the travel carrier: the purpose of one is to keep the bird confined while driving but also to protect it in the event there is an accident. If the carrier is large the bird will have more room to be thrown around in which increases the chance of injury or death. Here, smaller is better. When I needed another carrier I too considered getting a wire cage but when I call Midwest and was told they use zinc coated wire that was then painted over, that nixed that in the bud for me as zinc is toxic to the birds. I went with the Vari-Kennel Ultra in the medium and located one that was light in color as I figure a bird in not going to want to get into something dark looking. You also want the wire on the side windows over the plastic model as they tend to chew through them. I then went to Menard's and found that hand rails (which have a flat side) could be cut for you in the measurement you give them. With that flat side up (my girls have large feet and grasp it better) I screwed it into the carrier. Use paper towels or a regular hand towel on the bottom to collect the poop. Never put toys in there in the event of an accident as they will become a flying projectile at your bird. If the seat belt is not long enough to secure it into the seat, go to the car dealership and buy an extender which runs about $25.

Hope this helps a little.

Macaw Lover wrote:The problem with a dome top is when the bird is up there and hanging from it the tail gets nasty due to the curve of the top. If it is a flat top the tail tends not to get messed up as much as both body and tail are at the same angle.

Bigger is always better cage size as you never know when your baby will have to spend more time in there due to schedule change/illness/vacation. 40x30 should be the smallest to consider in my opinion.

Regarding the travel carrier: the purpose of one is to keep the bird confined while driving but also to protect it in the event there is an accident. If the carrier is large the bird will have more room to be thrown around in which increases the chance of injury or death. Here, smaller is better. When I needed another carrier I too considered getting a wire cage but when I call Midwest and was told they use zinc coated wire that was then painted over, that nixed that in the bud for me as zinc is toxic to the birds. I went with the Vari-Kennel Ultra in the medium and located one that was light in color as I figure a bird in not going to want to get into something dark looking. You also want the wire on the side windows over the plastic model as they tend to chew through them. I then went to Menard's and found that hand rails (which have a flat side) could be cut for you in the measurement you give them. With that flat side up (my girls have large feet and grasp it better) I screwed it into the carrier. Use paper towels or a regular hand towel on the bottom to collect the poop. Never put toys in there in the event of an accident as they will become a flying projectile at your bird. If the seat belt is not long enough to secure it into the seat, go to the car dealership and buy an extender which runs about $25.

Hope this helps a little.

I like to use a dome top for my Macaws, especially the B&G's. Something about them but they like to hang from the top bars when the cage has a flat top. By using the dome I see far less of this. Even when they are playing on the dome top (outside) they like to lay down on the bars, funny thing eh?

I use a play tree when they are out for extended times (like all day long... lol) hate to have the droppings fall into the food dishes or on the perches below. Also I do not like to use play tops because you either have to put the pan under the top or they have "bombs away" with the cage area so I built a tree with a crushed walnut kind of litter below that. I scoop up the droppings (like one does with a cat) dumped all day long and change out the crushed walnut every few days. This cuts down on the work involved.

Size matters! Check on the size of the cage this B&G is used to right now. Also I would suggest this

http://www.valuecrate.com/pcdt36.html

For 270.00 delivered it is what I use. Remember you have to change out the cage every 5 years max and take your old cage and sell it on craigslist for lets say 150.00 So you are into a cage for 5 years with an investment of 120.00. Unless you drop the big bucks (2500.00+) for the stainless steel version which would last a lifetime.

Just as important get creative with the perches, use only that wood which is safe for your bird. But spend some time studying your bird's habit when they move through the cage. Don't be afraid to change the location of the perches to allow an easy flow and different perch sizes.

I use a wire double breeder (small bird) cage (with the center divider pulled out) for my transport. It has a wire floor with a pull out pan so the birds do not step into poop. There is no perches in there, they just hang onto the walls and top, or stand on the floor. It is only breif but the footholds provide for safe transport. Yes their tails do not lay properly but they are strong and they are use to bending their tails. This is like rear radar for them and they know what size of a box they are in when their tail is bent. There has never been a broken tail feather on these trips. But then again my vet is only 10 miles away. Bigger transport boxes allow for the bird to have greater chance of an accident flying around inside.That is why I use wire, they always have a "good hold."

Good Luck with your newly adopted companion, I wish you all the luck in the world!

Dutch

Bob, my BG, is in a Kings 506 (dome top). It's 6 1/2' tall x 4' wide x 3' deep. He looks so tiny in it!

We don't allow our birds to play on their cages. They come into the play area in the living room or go out into the aviary during play time, so having a dome top is an advantage in that it gives them more head room while they're actually in the cage.

We transport ours to the vet or other local destinations in a rigid plastic dog carrier. For long trips when we travel, which isn't often, they can ride 2 at a time in a medium sized wire dog crate. When we get to the destination, we've got an XL wire dog crate that they can be housed in. We have that folded down during travel, and simply set it up when we arrive.

I started Bob with the harness as a baby. He never got used to it, and hates it with a passion. Now, at age 3, trying to put a harness (Aviator brand) on him is one way to pretty much guarantee you're going to get bitten HARD, as in he'll draw blood, over and over again. As all of my birds are fully flighted, if they must go somewhere, they go in a crate.

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the great advice.
I saw my B&G macaw tonight. She has been with the foster family for around 3 weeks and LOVES the man there. She was very cautious with me but seems like she will warm up to me once she is apart from the foster dad.

The Cage she is in now looks pretty big. I did not measure but she is well cared for and looks GREAT! Her feathers are smooth and shiny. I will get a Vari-kennel medium or there abouts to carry her home and subsequently to vet and bird shop for trims etc. The meduim is around 28 x 21 x 22. Big enough to fit but now so big that she'll get tossed around in an accident (God forbid). I can't wait to see her settle in and become my friend. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks again for the advice. I am sure I'll hae more questions as I go. =o)

PS... how easy is it to teach her a new name? If I REALLY wanted to use a new name for her, would she respond in a short time? Or would that be a bad idea?

It's hard to say about the name thing. Jewel knows her name, but she also knows when we say something like "monkey bird" or "cuddles" or, when she's in trouble "the macaw", she knows we're talking about her.