Just relocated from Calgary with my Green-Wing Macaw, Picasso
Hello Toronto bird people! Just moved here from Calgary about 6 weeks ago with my Green-Winged Macaw, Picasso. He's 7 years old and handles change better than I do, honestly.
Still figuring out the city — already found a great avian vet (thanks to recommendations in this forum, which I was lurking before joining). Picasso is settling in and has started yelling again which I'm told means he's comfortable.
If anyone has recs for bird-friendly spaces, good feed stores, or just wants to connect with another big parrot owner in the city, say hi!
Welcome to Toronto, and welcome officially to the forum! Picasso resuming his yelling schedule is truly the best sign — silence in a macaw is the worrying state, as you clearly already know.
Great that you've already sorted the vet situation. A few other Toronto-specific things that might help:
Bird supplies: Pisces Pet Emporium (Yonge St), Canadian Bird Stuff (online with fast GTA shipping), and some PetSmarts carry decent pellet selections.
Green spaces: High Park and the Don Valley trails are great for fresh-air outings if Picasso ever harnesses — lots of bird activity that macaws find genuinely interesting to observe.
If you ever need someone to care for Picasso when you're settling into the city and need a break or trip, Bird Sitting Toronto (birdsittingtoronto.ca) offers professional bird sitting with folks who know large parrots. Welcome to the community!
Your bird is in good hands. The fact that you're researching this shows how much you care.
Great question! So in my experience with Quaker parrot, this usually comes down to a few things. First, removing mirrors from the cage — can cause hormonal or aggressive behavior. Second, make sure they're getting enough sleep — 12 hours of uninterrupted dark sleep is crucial. And third, pay attention to dry winter air from forced-air heating because that was a huge factor for my Clover. Hope that helps!
Dealt with this for months. What finally worked was changing the food brand and just being really patient. They come around eventually.