 My name is Marlene Wacoen, and this is Rocky, my Harlequin macaw, and we want to welcome you to Parrot Tip Tuesday. Today, Rocky is much more interested in dancing than he is being in this video, right Rocky? Can you whisper for everyone? Rocky likes whispering much more than he likes a lot of excitement. Are you waving? Can anybody see you wave? Are you waving to the camera? Well, as you've probably already guessed, and since I have already done a Parrot Tip Tuesday on all of my other birds, today we are going to talk about what it is like to own a macaw. Now before we get into talking about Rocky, let's choose our Engage Knot Cage bird of the day. In honor of Rocky being in this video, I thought it would be cool if we chose a macaw. So today's Engage Knot Cage superstar is none other than Loki the Rainbow Chicken. What an amazing macaw. You have got to follow this bird on Instagram. If you follow Loki the Rainbow Chicken, you will see why this bird gets to do everything with his companion Justin and is just having an amazing life. I mean, look how cute he is. How can you not? So go follow Loki the Rainbow Chicken. I will put the information below. Now I didn't even realize somehow I missed this, but Harry is joining us today, right Harry? Harry's here. He likes to follow Rocky around actually. Harry does not trust Rocky, so Harry wants to see what Rocky is doing at all times because Rocky has a history of aggression. If you guys don't know the story of Rocky, you can watch one of my original videos. But long story short, Rocky was locked in a cage for 10 years. So he was really aggressive when he got in and he still has some issues with aggression towards new people. He really wants to be friends with people, but he kind of doesn't have the right approach to go about doing it. Sometimes Rocky has that problem. If you've been following Rocky, you know that he's like that. If you guys are interested in learning anything about parrot behavior, what he's doing right now is saying that he doesn't want to be here. He wants to be outside hanging out on his railing and he wants me to be singing songs to him, right Rocky? So I'm just kind of petting him to keep him happy and he loves when I whisper to him. Now getting a macaw is not a great starter bird. I know that a lot of people hate the term starter bird because obviously you could get a macaw and bond with one and be the hero for each other and be great with your bird. But I want to explain to you guys once again and I do this in a lot of videos. The only reason people mention starter birds is because sometimes people are not prepared for the amount of work that it takes to put into a bird. It's like having a small child or a two year old that needs a lot of attention, a lot of love, a lot of care and not only that, a lot of awareness to make sure they're not getting into things. That's a lot easier with a smaller bird. So if you're considering getting a macaw, here are some things that you should know. What do you think they should know Rocky? Macaws are obviously large birds. You can see that. So they need a large amount of space. The cage for a macaw should be huge. They should have enough room in their cage to lift their wings, to spread their wings and to hang out. It's also a good idea to have a second cage for a macaw so that it can hang out in the sun and get some vitamin D and really enjoy himself and enjoy the outdoors. So it's a great idea always for any bird you have to have two cages or two ways for them to hang out outside. You can also get a harness for your bird and take him outside on walks. That's always a beautiful option for birds. Rocky loves to be outside. That's a huge part of his daily routine. Rocky gets to hang outside every single day. So macaws need a ton of space. That is something to consider into the expenses when getting a macaw. That's really important, right Rocky? What? You want to get a tonguey? Oh, just because I put this here. Look. Talk about Rocky. Rocky is really specific about his schedule. If you include him in something and he likes it, then the next thing he will show up and let you know that that's what he wants to do. Let's talk a little bit about Rocky's schedule, right Rocky? When Rocky wakes up in the morning, he wants to obviously hang out a little bit and after he hangs out a little bit and shares some breakfast and gets some exciting fruits and vegetables, Rocky loves mangoes, right? Rocky loves mangoes. He loves apples. He does not like carrots. If you give Rocky a carrot though, he will throw it back at you. He gets offended if you give him something he doesn't like. When we first tried to feed him other things, he would immediately throw it back at us because he wasn't aware that he was going to like things so much. So I would always try again. So if you have a parrot that is not seemingly interested in food, it always helps to try again. I like to try again until I've seen them eat it and not like it. Now let me tell you what happens if Rocky likes something. If you give Rocky something to eat and he likes it, he will put it in his mouth, pause. Then he will take a few seconds and he will raise his head one, two, three. His eyes will pin and he'll say, uh-huh. Like you gave me the right thing. I approve of this. So I live to give him foods and wait for him to go, uh-huh. Like I did a good job. Yeah. Thank you. You've done right. You have given me what I am waiting for. Now what does Rocky eat? You guys know you've seen in videos Rocky loves pellets, which is amazing. His previous owner had him on an excellent diet. So that was great for me because he was already really into the pellets. So I didn't have to do any work to get him into them. Pellets are really important to your bird's diet, but of course you can't just give your birds pellets. You have to give your birds fruits and vegetables like Rocky likes. But Rocky also loves large nuts. He likes walnuts and hazelnuts and almonds. What's really good about nuts like that is it gives them a little bit of foraging. Foraging for macaws is really important. Something to crack open, something rather than just eat a pellet. It gives them an activity, a way to eat their food. So I love to make sure that Rocky has a lot of things like that to eat throughout the day. Right, Rocky? Now Rocky is a really sweet bird. He loves love. He loves dancing. He loves music. And he loves girls. But he loves girls in a very interesting way, kind of the way Jersey likes guys. When a female comes to the house, Rocky comes down and he raises his wings. And when you say proud bird, he raises his wings. Let's do it. That's what Rocky does when a lady comes to the house that he should like. However he trusts men more. Rocky is actually bonded to George. So he loves to hang out with George and chase George all around the house. A lot of times he loves to be included in everything that I'm doing. But Rocky is not great with the other birds. So that's always something to consider. I don't really take chances with Rocky and the other birds. Because obviously I have Picasso, he's a very small bird, which is another reason I love Picasso to be flighted. But what's very interesting about all my birds is they know not to land on Rocky's cage when they fly around. I don't know if that's due to the fear I might have instilled in them. But when I was given Rocky, I was told to not trust him around other birds. And with our birds, guys, we do not take chances. Now I have seen him hang out and hang out close to the other parrots. For example, there's been times that him and Vinny have been in the shower with me right next to each other. And I'll put certain things in the way to block just so they kind of know not to go into each other's territory. And they're pretty chill, but at the same time you always got to be aware. Where are you leaving? Oh, I'm sorry, did you have a mind of your own? I came all the way here for you. No, that's my phone. Now after Rocky has his breakfast, he lets us know that he wants to go outside. Show us how you do that, Rocky. Show us how you do it. Exactly. Like that. Rocky lets us know by doing that that he wants to go outside and hang out. Hanging outside is amazing for your bird, but you have to take very specific precautions. So how do you prepare your bird for being outside? Well, one, you could take your bird outside with a harness and hang out with him. That's always a great safe way. Rocky goes outside and hangs out in his cage and I never let him out without the dogs because the dogs will not let a raccoon, a mouse, a cat or anyone on the property or next to Rocky's cage. Raccoons try to get into birds cages by ganging up. The bird will get scared and go to one side and then another raccoon will come and their claws can kill your bird. So that's something to be aware of. There's also hawks. So it's always a good idea to make sure your bird is under an awning. You always want to take the appropriate precautions when you're outside with your bird. You want to make sure that he's caged up, protected by dogs. If you have them and awning for hawks on a harness or leash, anything that can protect your bird, you got to be aware. And if your bird is going to be out of the cage unlocked, you should be out there supervising with your bird. Rocky likes to hang out outside until he wants to come in. And sometimes if he's hanging out with somebody and somebody's in the house, he will literally walk up to the door and we have to let Rocky in like we're letting a dog in. It's really cute. Later on in the day, Rocky wants to watch his TV show. Now about Rocky's schedule, he's screaming right now as you guys can hear. This is him telling me that he wants to go downstairs and watch TV. And I'm glad he's doing this right now because if you've heard his voice, I'm not sure how loud it sounds over there, but he is loud. This is how Rocky communicates. This is how Rocky tells me what he wants. No matter what I would be doing right now, even though I'm kind of interfering with his schedule because he wants to do something. If I was working, if I'm studying or relaxing, this is what I hear when Rocky wants something. So that's something to consider before getting a macaw because there are smaller birds that make much less noise. Is this something that you want to have in your house all the time? This is why a lot of macaws get re-homed. And I'm telling you guys, look at him right now. He knows what he wants. And the best thing for me to do is to give it to him because that's what he's scheduled and birds are very routine. And he is not going to let me get away with it. I promise you that. That's what he wants to do now. That's what he's telling me. You guys have to really consider this when getting a macaw. Not that he'll want to watch a TV show that whatever he wants, this is what he's going to sound like when he communicates with you. Rocky's pretty quiet for the most part, except he really wants what he wants and he doesn't ask for much. So as long as you're giving him what he wants, he's going to be right now he's not a happy bird. And this is what it sounds like. So this is very important. Also, I shouldn't mention that macaws are pretty heavy. So that's another thing to think of when getting a macaw. But he's extremely sweet, extremely entertaining. I mentioned before he loves to sing and he loves to dance, but he wants what he wants right now. He's letting me know that he wants to go watch his show. How did he find out about TV? How did we discover he likes TV? Well, he loves music. Before he got into TV, he demanded that I sing to him. Right, Rocky? All birds are extremely important to do research on before you get them. But macaws are very important because so many get abandoned and rejected when they go through their hormonal period and people don't realize that their sweet bird becomes a little bit harder to deal with. Now imagine you have a large bird like Rocky turning aggressive. That's why Rocky was locked in a cage for 10 years. This happens all the time, guys, with macaws. They get abandoned. I mean, not just macaws, but all birds. That's why we practice engage, not cage. That's why it's really important to know what you're getting into if you want a macaw. You can't get a macaw because they're beautiful and big and exciting. All birds are exciting. Even the smallest bird is the most personality. But do you want all this personality in a very large bird that can probably bite your finger off if he wanted to? That's why it's not the best to start with a macaw, but it's not impossible to start with a macaw. Rocky likes singing and whispers. He calms down from whispering. These are all really cute things that Rocky likes. Rocky is not behaving right now, but I think this is very important for you guys to see what it's like. He has his things that he's interested in and that's Rocky. Rocky is like, in translation, for you sports fans, it's as if the Super Bowl is on. And he's missing it. That's what it's like for him right now. He loves watching TV because he loves the music and he loves the jokes and he loves when there's pretty women on TV. He would rather watch a bunch of pretty girls than he would rather watch an action film. He's not interested. He will do this throughout an entire action film. If you put something like Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, he'll sit there and enjoy it and laugh. If you put empire, sold. Rocky loves empire. He loves... I got Rocky started on television so I wouldn't have to sing to him every night because I felt like I was so silly standing there doing a performance for him. Of course, sometimes I get really into it and it's really cute of him and how he enjoys it and dances himself to sleep. I've shown some of you guys on Instagram. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll often see this in my story time. Check it out if you wanna see the life of all these birds. Jersey's actually here, by the way. Say hi, Jersey. She's like, wait, I didn't know I was on camera. Gotta go. What is this? Is that the camera? Yes? Oh no. I'm gonna bite you. Rocky's like, you're paying attention to someone else. I'm gonna bite you. Rocky's relationship in the house. Okay, this is it. He loves George. George is his person. He likes me a lot. He likes me to do things for him and he only listens to me when I want him to step on his stand. It's like I understand him. It's like I'm the one that knows what Rocky wants but he loves George more. I'm the one that can get him to come to me and come on the stand and go where he wants. I'm the one that is like, no, now it's television time. Now he wants to be outside. Now he wants this. It's so funny how I'm in tune with him but he just loves George. Now, Rocky's not really as... Rocky's always kind of mad at my sister though because she walks in and says hi to the dogs. But overall, Rocky is an amazing bird. I'm extremely happy that I have him. He's so heavy right now. He knows that he can feel how heavy he is on my hands. He's like, pick me up and take me where I wanna go. Okay, you're not taking me. I don't wanna stand here anymore. You're not stable. There's probably a lot more I could say about the cause but I'm a little bit distracted by the fact that I know he wants something and that's kind of the parent mom that I am. I give them what they want. I don't let them boss me around but I'm able to keep a flock pretty entertained and pretty happy. What baby? Rocky flew away. Anyway, now that Rocky is left, I know that Rocky doesn't wanna be in this video so I'm going to keep it short. Jersey's running back and forth too. She is ready to leave. I gotta listen to my birds. Oh my God, guys, he found the mirror. He's so excited, his eyes are pinning. It's the cutest thing. Rocky's walking around looking into the mirror right now. The first time he saw himself in a mirror, he said hi to himself. He waved and said hi. So that is it. I'm gonna try to catch video for you guys of Rocky. Please subscribe. Follow me on social media, on Instagram. Join our Parrot Station Facebook page if you want me to see your birds. Please comment, like, and share this video. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. I'm sorry that Rocky, Jersey just tripped. I'm sorry that Rocky left us but he's a man with a schedule and I don't think I can argue with him, right, Rocky? Oh, and one more thing. These kind of birds can chew entire walls and cupboards. So that's something to think about. I had to throw that in there. World-class damages. I love you guys. Bye. I'm gonna do the video, okay?