Reddit Reddit reviews Delta Parrot Cage Macaw Cockatoo African Grey Bird Cage Q24-2822 - Black Vein

We found 1 Reddit comments about Delta Parrot Cage Macaw Cockatoo African Grey Bird Cage Q24-2822 - Black Vein. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Delta Parrot Cage Macaw Cockatoo African Grey Bird Cage Q24-2822 - Black Vein
Overall Dimensions: 62" H x 35.25" W x 29.5" D(With Seed Skirt and Playgym))WROUGHT IRON POWDER COATED CAGEInterior Dimensions without stand: 28"Wx22"Dx50"H
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1 Reddit comment about Delta Parrot Cage Macaw Cockatoo African Grey Bird Cage Q24-2822 - Black Vein:

u/Haltus_Kain ยท 3 pointsr/subnautica

Gonna pick this apart bit by bit:

> my girlfriend and I

Who you share a living space with is the first important factor in this decision - is it just you two (any kids/pets?)? And is your relationship pretty low-drama and stable enough that separating wouldn't feasibly be on the table? Reasons there are noise and bonds: noisy environments (crying kid, barking dog, arguing couple etc) are super stressful for a bird, which can lead to (expensive) health problems with it. Your bird will also reciprocate that noise with its own squawks, which makes those situations all the more maddening. Regarding the bond - if you only get one bird, it will bond to you and your GF. If the two of you then separate, your bird will essentially lose a third of it's flock, which they tend not to handle very well (queue the stress/health problems).

> looking to get a cockatiel. ... it's the kind bird we enjoy a lot. So we're kinda set on those already.

Different species have very different personalities - what is it you like a cockatiels? While those generally are recommended as a somewhat more forgiving species for inexperienced owners (they're a good option), there might be better options for you specifically, depending on what you're looking for in a bird.

> We want one because we'd like to have it chat with us ... and be able to talk back to it.

Cockatiels aren't great talkers. Something like this is about the best talking I've seen a cockatiel do. They kind of warble moreso than talk - they get the syllables right, but the annunciation is only really good enough to tell what they're trying to say. Mostly cockatiels just whistle - they can do that pretty well!

Also, if you're going for speech, you'll want to make sure you get a male. Female cockatiels are much quieter, and don't do near as much mimicking. You might get the occasional whistle out of a female, but they generally just chirp or stay silent. That said, birds are very much individuals - you could end up with a quiet male or noisy female, but in general, you'll want a male for chatting. (to my knowledge, that applies to parrots in general, not just 'tiels).

Also, talking generally takes a lot of time to develop. For conures, which are a bit smarter than 'tiels, they don't generally start talking until they're around 4 years old, so 'tiels might take even longer.

I had three cockatiels growing up - two females that only ever chirped; and a male who'd never shut the hell up (he'd wolf whistle. all. day. long.) ...all three were rescues though, so no idea how old they were.

If you want a parrot that talks, the larger ones are the way to go - African Greys, or Macaws, for example, can develop actual vocabularies -- i.e., they can learn what "food" means, and actually ask for it when they're hungry; whereas most parrots can learn to say the word "food" but it's just mimicry (they have no clue what they're actually saying). Buuuut I definitely DO NOT recommend getting one of those as a starting bird. Train those wrong and it could cost you a finger. Speaking for myself (having spent my entire life around small to medium sized parrots) even I wouldn't feel comfortable getting a Grey or Macaw without a lot of supervision from a professional breeder or trainer.

> and get used to us enough so we can have it sit on our shoulder

Just about any bird can be trained to do that. Generally the larger the bird, the more intelligent (and therefore trainable) it is. Even parakeets/budgies (the smallest [and dumbest] species of parrot) can be fairly easily trained to do that. Hell I've even seen finches (not parrots, but basically a standard cotton ball with feet and a beak) do that.


> I don't think we'll be permitted to keep one in this apartment.

In my experience, apartments are really inconsistent when it comes to birds. Some places (even if they accept cats and dogs) will outright refuse to permit a bird; others couldn't care less, and don't even consider it a 'pet' when it comes to monthly pet fees. Others will allow them, but charge a ridiculous fee for it. Definitely check with your landlord.

> we're looking to get a single bird. ... Will it get lonely? We'll be working about 6 to 8 hours a workday but elsewise we're usually home.

It will. You can offset that with a good cage setup and making sure to keep some music or something on when you're gone to keep it entertained.

Regarding the cage, beware of bullshit. I've heard MANY pet stores recommend "two times its wingspan" is the standard to shoot for with size. THAT IS NOT ENOUGH SPACE! It needs to be able to actually fly a bit within the cage.

I'd recommend something like this as a minimum. Or something like this this if you really want to give it a mansion (bugs me that the second one says says it's suitable for a macaw. that's way too small for a macaw.).

Keep plenty of toys in the cage, but not so many that it doesn't have room to fly. Also make sure perch size is suitable for its feet; but that the perches vary in size a bit so it's not always grabbing the same diameter (can lead to health issues).

Make a habit of opening the cage as soon as one of you gets home. Let the bird decide when it wants to chill out in it vs on your shoulder (once it gets to know you, it will prefer your shoulder 99% of the time), but the only time it should be locked in is when no one's home to supervise it, or overnight, etc.

> Thirdly (is that a word?), what is the right thing to do in the beginning when we have the space and permission? Do we contact the first and foremost store, or do we contact private breeders? We'd like a young one, preferably as young as legally able, since I think it's easier to make it get used to us, but is that correct?

Couple approaches here, and I'll start with the one you didn't mention, which is finding a rescue (parrot that was previously owned by someone else, and for whatever reason needs a new home). This can be risky, since you don't know how the previous owner treated/trained it, but if you can find one that was brought up well (if it's sociable and not aggressive/bitey) then that can be a great option, since the bird needs a home anyway, and you won't have to train it from scratch. Just make sure you have an opportunity to get to know the bird (and it you!) before committing to it: training away bad behavior that's been set in for years is almost impossible. Check with your local humane society and vet clinics to get insight on local options for parrot rescues.

Next up is a breeder. You're correct that the younger you can get a bird, the better - it'll have a much stronger bond/trust with you the closer you can get it from the egg. Baby birds require a lot of specialty care though, you you'll probably need to wait until its "weened" before the breeder is willing to send it home with you (infact if they don't require that, they're a shitty breeder - find another). During the weening process, they'll probably permit you to visit the bird - if you do this a couple times a week, it'll be used to you before you bring it home, which makes the transition MUCH easier for it.

Now-a-days, a lot of breeders have deals set up with specialty pet stores, so you might have a hard time finding a breeder; so another option is to buy from those specialty stores. If you happen to live near Virginia Beach, there's a local option I'd highly recommend called "Pet Paradise". If you don't live near Virginia Beach, thumb through the photos in that link and you'll get a good idea of the kind of store you're looking for. Open 'pens' (as opposed to closed cages) help a ton with getting the bird socialized with humans, and shows that the folks who run the store actually know how to handle parrots. Additionally, places like this often provide free services (nail trims and such) following purchase of one of their birds.

Places you DO NOT want to get a bird from are generic pet stores like PetCo. They pretty much just pick up a haul of birds from the lowest bidder, throw them in a cage with like 20 other birds, and leave them there with no human interaction until a customer comes to purchase one. Socializing those birds, and establishing a bond/trust with it can be VERY difficult, and take months or more.

 

(hit the character limit - breaking post in half)