How to Care for a Macaw

Buy an appropriately sized cage. The size of the cage should be at least 45cm x 60cm x 60cm, but if possible, buy the largest cage. The horizontal measurement is preferred because parakeets often fly sideways rather than up and down. ^[3]

Choose stainless steel or non-galvanized cages. The birdcage must be made of stainless steel. Unfortunately, many other metals such as zinc, brass or lead can be toxic to parakeets, and you should never use a birdcage that has rust or peeling paint. You should also never buy a round birdcage, as it doesn’t have enough space for the birds to fly, and the macaw’s small paws are easily injured by the clumping bars near the top of the cage. ^{[4] [5]}

Choose a cage with horizontal parallels. Parakeets love to climb, so you should choose a cage with horizontal bars that they can cling to and jump on. The distance between the bars should be less than 1.2 cm, otherwise the bird can put its head in and risk getting caught between the bars. ^[6]

Lining the bottom of the cage to keep it clean. You can line the bottom of the cage with paper towels or printing paper, both of which are better than newspaper. When the paper is dirty or stained with bird droppings, throw it away and replace it with a new one. ^[7]

Attach the food bowl and water bottle. Birds need food bowls and water bottles. You can attach these two items to the bars in the cage, raising them above the bottom of the cage to prevent spills and contamination with bird droppings. ^[8]

• If you have multiple macaws in one cage, you should provide each one with a food bowl so that the dominant bird can’t compete and don’t feed the others. ^[9]

Equip branches for bird cages. It is best to use wooden branches of natural fruit trees. Ideally, the branches should be wide enough in diameter so the bird’s toes don’t get wrapped around and overlap, about 1cm should be enough. Branches of fruit trees such as apples, plums, pears, or cherries are safe for birds to peck at, and can also accommodate the bird’s habit of grinding its toenails. ^[10]

• Most of the twigs attached to bird cages are often designed not to be suitable for birds. The diameter of these branches is so small that the birds cannot cling comfortably and do not sharpen their nails. ^[11]

Provide bird toys. Parakeets are hyperactive, curious and need a lot of mental stimulation. Put some toys in the birdcage so they have something to play with. Toys that parakeets especially like are mirrors, bells, or ladders to climb up and down. ^[12]

• Essential toys to keep birds healthy and happy. If bored birds may chirp.

Place the birdcage in a room where you usually stay to satisfy your parrot’s love of companionship. Parakeets feel safe when they have a place to retreat to, so placing the cage against the wall is a good idea (so the bird doesn’t feel exposed on all sides). Avoid placing the birdcage next to a window or door because it can be exposed to direct sunlight or wind, as birds are very sensitive to temperature. ^[13]

• Never leave a birdcage in the kitchen. ^[14] Vapors from cooking oil – and even the coating of some frying pans – are toxic to macaws and can make them very sick. ^[15]

Clean the entire birdcage. Just changing the paper on the bottom of the cage is not enough. You should wash the bars of the birdcage with soap and water regularly, especially if you have food attached to them.

Feed the birds with a diet consisting mainly of pellets. Although nuts are a very common food for macaws in the wild, this food is also a source of bacterial contamination and can be harmful to the health and shortening of the bird’s lifespan. Bacteria can build up and eventually make the bird sick. You should consider switching your bird’s diet to 60-70% pellets. Birds adapt to varying degrees to pellets, and may at first be vehemently rejected. However, about 90% of macaws will adapt within 2 weeks when you do the following:

• Only feed the parrot seeds within 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour at night.
• The rest of the time feed the parrot with pellets.
• In general, 10% of parrots that failed to switch to a diet within 2 weeks would switch after a short period of time back to a nut diet.

Feed your parrot a mix of nuts, fresh fruits, and vegetables. In addition to nuts, feed your parrot a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables such as kale, beets, beans, carrots, parsley, cooked sweet potatoes, sliced apples, oranges, tangerines, and other citrus fruits. tangerine. If you feed your parrot a variety of foods, never give your parrot the same food two days in a row. This is to prevent the parrot from consuming too much of a substance through one type of food. ^[16]

• Try attaching pieces of apple or carrot to the bars of the cage for the birds to peck. For larger fruits and vegetables, you can chop them up and put them in a bird feeder.
• Most fresh fruits and vegetables are safe for macaws, EXCEPT avocado, eggplant, apple seeds, rhubarb, tomato leaves, potato leaves. You should also never feed your parrot foods with caffeine, chocpate, or alcohp. ^[17]

Change food and water bowls every day. To let your parrot get used to you and your surroundings, you should do nothing but take care of food and water and clean the cage before training the bird to land on your finger.

Parrot treat. The millet branch is a parrot’s favorite, but you should not overfeed it (only about 1.3cm per day), as it causes fat like fast foods. Avoid sweet foods or too much oats, both of which are fattening.

• The millet branch is also one of the most effective ways to train a parakeet to land on your finger.

Communicating with parrots. Parakeets need company, so you should be willing to spend at least 90 minutes each day talking or socializing with birds – though not constantly. You can also train your macaws with a clicker, which is a fun way to mentally stimulate your bird and encourage it to bond with you.

• Without adequate attention, macaws will lose interest in human interaction. A pair of parrots are usually attached to each other (regardless of gender) and are not interested in people, but you can become part of a parrot colony by interacting with them.
• One way to interact with the parrot is to sing along with the bird, bathe the bird, and if it drops a toy, you pick it up. It could be that it is trying to play a game with you.
• Parakeets sometimes feel lonely too. One way to cheer up a bird is to talk to it.
• To train your parrot to climb on your finger, give it something to eat and say, “Step up.” If you keep saying that, the parrot will imitate it, and will “step on” your finger every time it speaks, and often say the same when climbing the stairs.

Occasionally remove the parrot from the cage. Although birds can fly in a cage, it’s also a good idea to take your parrot out once a day to make it more comfortable. Of course you have to watch out for things that harm birds, close windows and doors, turn off candles and the like. Clicker training is a good way to get your parrot to listen to commands when it’s time to return to the cage.

• There are many things you may not immediately realize are dangerous for parakeets. Before taking your parrot out of the cage, remember not only to close the window, but also to put away all potentially dangerous bright objects such as knives in the kitchen, turn off the fan, and keep the parrot out of the playground around children. and other pets, etc… The safer the environment for birds, the better.

Create conditions for birds to have a good sleep. Parakeets sleep for about 10 hours a day, mostly at night, but they can take occasional naps during the day. When your parrot is sleeping, try not to make any noise, but music or the TV is low.

• At night, parrots like the safety of being covered, so cover the cage with a towel or pillowcase.

Keep the right temperature. Macaws are sensitive to large changes in temperature. They do well in moderate indoor temperatures, but you should make sure the cage has a hidden spot where they can retreat and try not to let the temperature exceed 27°C. Do not place the cage in a place exposed to direct sunlight.