Let's face it! There isn't very much information on the net from severe macaw owners and the valuable experiences they have when it comes to living with SEVERE Macaws, hence THIS blog.
I will mainly write about my sweet and ever SO GOOFY severe macaw Mabel. On the occasion, my 2 other parrots, Sachi white capped pionus parrot & Emma my african grey will make special cameo appearances. At times I may even blurb about random topics too. Enjoy your time here!
Definitely if you have parrots, especially if you have a Macaw! The 2 brands that I have are Austin Air and Rabbit Air. Two of the Austins (full fledged Allergy Machines) and one of the latter (BioGS). I enjoy them both for VERY different reasons. As a parrot owner, the Austin Air one is indispensable. As an individual who cares for her well being, I could not be more satisfied with the benefits of the Rabbit Air. Having an air purifier will not only help minimize floating dust in your parrot's environment, it will also offer a MUCH better breathing environment for all of you. Parrots have extremely sensitive respiratory systems. It is my opinion that an air purifier is a must, especially if you have very dusty parrots like african greys, cockatoos, cockatiels, etc. If you also live with a macaw and have any of the dusty parrots, it is even MORE imperative to purchase a high quality air purifier. Macaws tend to be even EXTREMELY sensitive to dust and air borne irritants/pollutants. With that said, having an air purifier does NOT mean you stop dusting, vaccuuming and removing cage papers on a daily basis. It simply means you all enjoy a more comfortable living environment. It truly drives me nuts when I read about parrot owners who think that having an air purifier means it's ok to neglect when it comes to basic sanitation. Ever heard of Pulmonary Hypersensitivity Disease in Macaws? Knowledge is power so I provide you with the following links for more insight.
I'm truly of the opinion that just because your parrot doesn't *appear* to be bothered by the dust... doesn't mean that their respiratory system isn't being aggravated by it. Remember these are creatures of prey and when they finally do display signs of irritation it is usually after they've been suffering for quite some time and have reached a critical point where they can no longer hide their discomfort.
Now back to the air purifiers. Here's what I can tell you about the Austin Air. These air purifiers were originally created in Canada by John Austin and their head office is now in the US (state of New York) headed by Rick and Michael Austin. Their Air purifiers are all american made and offer ALOT of bang for your buck in terms of air purifying quality. I love knowing that this great product is originally Canadian. Once you experience the Austin Air caliber of air purifying power, you won't want to settle for less.
Regarding the Rabbit Air. What I enjoy most is how quiet it is even when on HIGH. I am an extremely light sleeper and my quality of sleep is so much better since having this air purifier. It always remains in my bedroom which happens to be a NO PARROT ZONE. I don't think their machines are made in north america, however their customer service is very good. I orginally purchased the Rabbit Air for my parrots but now it belongs to me. Let them have the Austin Air! They are both great air purifiers but when it comes to being a parrot owner, my first choice would be the Austin Air. Bar None.
Here's where I purchased them. Both provided great service & of course great air purifiers! Both ship all over North America too. No photos of my air purifiers but here's a cute one of my Emma African grey. YOu can bet that she is QUITE dusty!
That would be Coco's Flock! I haven't always been the parrot owner that I am today. I owe thanks to several influences and I like to give credit where credit is due. Coco would be one of those influences. Her flock includes 2 sweet budgies, Charles and Sabrina, and the ever so adorable Lola Cape parrot. Until Lola, I really paid no mind to Cape parrots. She's truly the first one that I've ever felt smitten about and a lot of it has to do with her wonderful Mom. Coco is one of the most dedicated parrot owners you will ever meet or know about. Totally devoted and conscientious about the well being of her feathered babies. She does this on all levels and what is most noticeable is how much she spends on her flock. She's the type of parrot owner who will spend hours and hours researching a product to make sure that it fits her high standards and once she's satisfied she shells out her hard earned money. Her parrots eat organic, live in American made Stainless steel cages and all metal provided to them is only approved Stainless steel. In terms of avian enrichment, Coco provides the most creative and funnest of toys and swings. Doesn't get too much better than that. Now you may wonder how does she do this? She is not a bazillionaire by any means. She earns a modest living by working as a school teacher. We all know how severely underpaid teachers are, especially when you consider the intrinsic value that they provide to our society. My point is that she saves her valuable pennies to purchase high quality products for her feathered babies and I feel that this is incredibly commendable. To learn more about Cape parrots and Budgies. To learn more about how to be a role Model Parrot owner, I urge you to read her wonderfully informative blog. By the way, she happens to be a very nice person too!
Mabel's latest discovery this week is to climb to the very top of her cage then fly off to land on THE couch. Then she actually squeals aloud with utter delight and buries herself under the cotton sheets. These are the same sheets used to cover the cages at night. This week I happened to place her on the couch for a few seconds in order to keep her out of my way while I removed a perch from her cage, now she's decided that she loves being on it when she is out of her cage. Normally my parrots are forbidden to be on my couch. It is a terribly EXPENSIVE custom made couch and the thought of it being pooped on, ripped up, or blemished makes me cringe. I love this couch and selected every minute detail of it. I purchased it way before I knew what it would really be like to live with a parrot. At the time I only had Sachi (white capped pionus parrot) and she is the most non destructive parrot ever. Anyway, back to the couch. As of this week, Mabel loves the couch and she also loves to pretend she's on a stakeout under the sheets while on the couch. She's adorable to watch and I feel tickled everytime I witness her at play. I will do my best to always supervise when she's on the couch so that it remains poop free. For the love of my perfect couch and for my love for Mabel. Here's a clip from yesterday and another photo of Mabel in all her cuteness.
There is no better way of receiving vitamin D3 for your parrots other than being outdoors. This summer we made alot of effort to make sure that our parrots spent as much time as possible in the outdoors. We brought them out mostly very early in the morning or later on in the evening. For the outdoor cages we use the medium sized Kings Aluminum Travel cages. They are solid, secure and safe. I purchased the cages at Les Jouets Rosie and then I asked Exotic Wood Dreams to build custom willow perches to install inside of them. Here are my 3 parrots. Severe macaw Mabel, White capped pionus parrot Sachi and African grey Emma. I love looking at their outdoor photos!
Mabel is my Severe Macaw and Severe Macaws are the largest of all the mini macaws. I've been a severe macaw owner for just over a year and truly enjoy many things about Mabel.
I love how she communicates with her body language and her eyes. She is very expressive. When I look into her eyes I can sense how she is feeling. I am very close to my other 2 parrots but can't say it's the same type of connection. Being loved by a macaw is indeed very different! I love how she is willing to try anything and everything at least once. Even when she is visibly scared she will still try because she TRUSTS me. I love her intelligence. She is a quick learner and is also very mechanical. I love her appetite for chewing wood. She has a VERY strong beak and relishes her wooden toys. The more challenging the toy, the more determination she demonstrates. I love the fact that she's very open to interaction but can just as easily play quietly on her own. I love that she's adores shower time. She fluffs up her feathers and spreads her wings and lets me spray her with the shower head until she is DRENCHED.
I love her appetite and introducing her to new foods. She samples everything and isn't fussy at all. She eats everything that is offered to her. I love how gentle she can be with me. I taught her how to regulate the pressure of her beak. To my surprise I also love the fact that Mabel really enjoys physical contact. She's loves me to swing her around over my head and between my legs. She loves being flipped around. She loves hiding under shirts and have me pretend I don't know where she is. She loves just sitting on my lap and snuggling closer.
Most of all I love the fact that she was willing to place her trust and life in my hands without knowing me. I chose my two other parrots BUT Mabel chose me. Once my confidence in being a macaw owner started to soar, Mabel's trust in me grew even deeper.
From day one she has adapted very well to the way I manage my flock and this was totally unexpected. She is very agreeable and easy going. With that said severe macaws are extremely intelligent. It is very important to provide them with all kinds of woods with different textures and avian enrichment. Even with my limited experience I would also say that they also need regular physical contact to thrive. Have I mentioned how much I love Mabel? Just because she is SO cute, here's another photo!
