safe to leave quaker parrot outside?

[piercedsoul]

the last few days I've been leaving my quaker parrot chuckles outside in a double macaw cage. the macaw cage used to house my cockatoos but they're now in an aviary so he sits in this giant cage.

i know the bar spacing is bigger than ideal, but aside from that i was wondering what his safety is like from other birds. the cage is under cover and i have 2 dogs who are useless in terms of guard dogs. (the dogs leave him alone)

i spoke with someone this morning who said they had a budgie killed by starlings and also mentioned "butcher birds" (no idea what these are) as a threat.

i live in campbelltown, south west sydney. should i look at keeping him inside or using a cage with smaller gaps, or someohow using netting or mesh to cover the cage?

[avinet]

I would be a bit concerned at having a Quaker in a macaw cage - the bar spacing might be too wide and there could be a danger of either the Quaker getting his head through the bars and getting stuck, or being vulnerable to attack. Butcher birds are killers of small birds and quite capable of getting hold of a Quaker and doing serious damage. Google "Butcher bird" to see lots of images of them.

I am very strongly of the opinion that a single bird should be around those it considers to be part of it's flock - the people it lives with. So while letting the bird spend some time outside is a good change of environment it should basically live inside and only go out for a few hours during the day if someone is around to keep an eye on it and make sure there are no dangers threatening.

So my suggestion is to let the bird spend time outside during the day if someone is home to keep an eye on things, and the weather is fine, but have him inside overnight and if the weather is bad or nobody is around to supervise. And that presupposes the bar spacing of the cage is safe for a Quaker

cheers,

Mike

[piercedsoul]

I've brought him back inside today. the bar spacing is somehting i have been wary of as well. i've set his cage up in the kitchen (it's a small parrot cage bars are much better and he's been in it for about 4-5 months previously). he usually lives inside and spends most of his out of cage time with me

[flossy]

Yep I agree with Mike 100%. Those butcher birds are horrible and will stop at nothing to kill/injure an easy target!!