Birds
African Grey Parrot
African Grey's can make excellent pets due to their sociability and intelligence and strong devoted bond for their owner. These same qualities mean that African Grey's require special commitment by their owners including frequent one-on-one interaction and supervised time out of their cage.
African Grey's diet is a very important aspect of their care, a good quality commercial formulated feeds and seed supplement with a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and protein. Feeding your African grey chopped leafy green vegetables like broccoli and Spinach will help supply them with calcium. They also enjoy fruits such as Apples, oranges, pears, apricots and peaches (stone removed), pineapple, passion fruit, bananas, mangos, melon, cantaloupe, papaya, coconut, plums, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries and blackberries are good for your parrot; however you should never feed avocado as it's toxic to African Grey's. Protein is also important to their diet and adding small portions of cooked meat or cooked rice and bean mixture and boils eggs can be beneficial.
African Grey's can be demanding due to their high level of intelligence, they do require a great deal of time from their human companions and plenty of mental stimulation at all times; a good idea would be to have parrot toys attached to their cage when no one around to relieve Boredom. African Greys can be cautious birds so gradual introduction to new environments and new people may required, they do have the capacity to bond relationships with several different people; however African Greys can be susceptible to the moods of their human companions, so it's important to maintain calm relaxed atmosphere around them, otherwise they can become excited or upset. When adjusting an African Grey to a new environment, make sure you let the parrot investigate each room letting them sit on the furniture while reassuring the bird through relaxed talk until the bird feels comfortable with their new environment.
Macaw
Macaws comes from South and Central America and have been widely kept as pets since the beginning of the 20th century. In the Americas they have been kept by the Pueblo Indians since 1100 A.D. The Pueblos especially prized the Scarlet Macaw. They are primarily tree top dwellers, living in the canopies of tropical forests.
The Macaw family consists of four genera containing 17 living species along with quite a few hybrids. All macaws have the same physical characteristics. They have a slender body, long wings, and a long tapered tail. All types of macaws have an oversized head and beak. The beak is adapted to eating large nuts in the wild, such as the various palm nuts. Macaws are typically known to live over 50 years if provided with a proper diet and veterinary care. Macaw cages must be as large as possible; a macaw must be able to fully extend its wings without touching the sides of the cage. These birds are very strong chewers and also good at opening cage doors, so be sure the cage is strong and has escape-proof latches.
Macaws are very social and inquisitive, so the room your parrot must be room frequently visited by family and friends. Place the cage at eye level in a quiet sunny area away from drafts A well socialized macaw is a pet that will be enjoyed in lots of situations, a young macaw should be socialized with as many people as possible and exposed to lots of different situations. It will help the Macaw grow into a well rounded bird and help when the bird is exposed to new situations without becoming frighten. A playpen is ideal for playtime outside of the cage, such as climbing ropes, chains, bells, parrot swings and wooden or other bird toys.
A Macaw diet consisting of a good parrot mix which includes formulated foods, a variety of seeds, dried fruits and nuts. Supplemental foods include all types of fruits and vegetables such as apples, pears, plums, cherries, grapes, oranges, bananas, mangos, papayas, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, dark green leafy veggies. Do not feed avocado as it may be toxic to birds. You can offer nuts as treats, such as macadamias, walnut, pecans, almond and filberts. Additional proteins can also be offered such as sprouted legumes and cooked chicken or meat. Their beak needs to be trimmed if it becomes overgrown or deformed. There are many mineral blocks, lava blocks, and other beak grooming items are good to help keep your bird’s beak in shape. A variety of concrete type perches should be offered to help the keep nails trim, but they should be trimmed if they become overgrown. The personal hygiene of your Macaw includes a regular bath or shower for good plumage and skin condition. One way to accomplish this is with either a hand held shower sprayer or a hose with a fine spray head.
