Future mynah fanatic here,

[Katy]

I've recently started working at an aviary and fallen in love with the Greater Hill Mynah there.

We have a lovely chat every morning as I'm cleaning, usually along the lines of him saying "wowowowowowowowow...glaaaaak!" and me saying "bop!" in the hopes that he'll pick it up and some day I'll hear "bop!" in my own voice from up in the trees. He usually looks at me like I'm crazy after I finish talking to him.

I definatly don't have the money or means to buy and care for a mynah, which is good, because I don't know too much about them. I'd love to hear personal accounts of owning mynahs, don't scimp on the bad stuff, I want to hear it all if you want to tell it all!

I don't really know where to start reading up on them, there's information about mynahs in the wild, but I haven't found much about them in captivity. Can anyone here reccomend a couple good books and/or websites to start at? Also, I'm located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, for future reference, does anyone know of breeders and resources in Southern Ontario?

I love you all,

Katy

 

[RVS]

Mynah are awesome birds. I always wanted one when I was younger.
Aren't they protected now or something :? ? I've never actually seen them offered for sale.

 

[Socrates]

Katy,

Are you working in the aviary in Niagara Falls? We were just there a little over 2 weeks ago.

Anyway, about Mynahs: They are VERY active, VERY messy, EXTREMELY smart, and need a special diet.

Here are a few websites I found for you. I wish you the best of luck finding a young bird, hopefully a breeder near you, but please don't be disappointed if it'll take you a while to locate one, as these birds are somewhat difficult to come by.

---
Wendy
---

http://www.mynahbird.com
http://petcaretips.net/mynah.html

 

[Bedlam]

Hey Katy...I'm not sure about anything in the area (I'm in St. Catharines). I know of a place on Ontario St. that's pretty good and has had a bunch of interesting birds....I drooled over an African Grey they had....but I havn't seen ANYTHING as neat as a Maynah there!

I havn't seen many decent pet stores in the area.

 

[Katy]

Yep, I wouldn't have seen you though because I just started there a little under two weeks ago. Hope you enjoyed it, (The lorikeets are my second favourite, next to the mynah) I was amazed the first time I went there. I'm still learning everything that goes on in a day!

There are books in the staff room but none are recent enough to give me an idea of their CITES status, or how rare they are, and there isn't much info in them, even in the book titled "Mynahs"...go figure.

Well the good things about it taking a while to locate a breeder are
a) It will take me a while to be able to afford one
b) I can be forced to take that time learning as much as possible about the species to provide the best home.
c) Make me decide whether this is the type of bird that will fit well with me.

One of the reasons I'd like one is because they are so intelligent. I'm not real big on birds that are just mindless screechers or never learn anything, I'm interested in animal behaviour and really enjoying learning about handling and teaching birds.

I'd prefer going to a breeder than a pet store partly because pet stores generally don't impress me, and also because I'd like to purchase a younger bird to raise myself rather than buying one that is already attached to or used to someone else.

Thank you so much for the websites, I love the stories about people's mynahs!

Katy

 

[Khaz Rhoz Zek]

If you're interested in an intelligent species of bird, then I heartily recommend an African Grey Parrot. Not only are they one of the most intelligent birds out there, they also live extremely long (50-75 years, if not more) I'm merely making this recommendation because Mynahs do not live long.

 

[wicked]

I had a mynah bird when we were stationed in Germany. His name was Marko and he was the coolest bird I have ever owned, but very very messy. He liked to throw his food at you or against the wall (especially if it was wet squishy fruit) He never talked, but he could mimic the phone, so I was always answering phantom phone calls. He also did a very convincing fire truck siren. He was a character.

I had all my paper work and money for plane tickets ready to bring him to the states, but when I realized how long and stressful the quarantine was for birds, I gave him to a German friend who raises african gray parrots. I sure miss that bird.

 

[Katy]

I do like the African Greys as well, one of them at the aviary sneaks up on me while I'm cleaning a cage next to him and tries to grab my shirt all the time. I notice they're quieter than the Amazons and Macaws by a looong shot.

I don't mind that mynahs won't outlive me, and I kinda like the sounds they make naturally more than the idea of a talking bird. I just think they're a really neat bird, I've never really been into parrots.

Maybe I'll marry a millionaire so I can have a room all for my mynah and his messyness.

Katy

 

[Socrates]

Katy,

I LOVED that aviary. What an awesome place! Congrats on your new job are in order.

I hope you'll get lucky and find a breeder, as I personally would never buy a bird from a pet shop either. All 3 of mine are from breeders, having been raised by hand from the minute they opened their eyes. All 3 are extremely well adjusted and bonded to all of us.

You know, as messy as Mynahs are, there's a way to "contain" the mess. And I'm not talking seed catchers. If you get plexiglass cut to size, and bolt it around three sides of the cage, it'll do an awesome job.

I'll continue to keep my eyes and ears open for you.

---
Wendy
---

 

[Katy]

The plexiglass makes sense, I was kinda thinking along the line of some sort of covering on the walls and floor around the cage, but that's a good idea too, especially if it's easily removed.

Katy

 

[Tleilaxu]

Or just buy an acrylic cage.

 

[Scorpendra]

i wanted one when i was younger, but it just didn't work out; too many factors to dodge. would've made a great testifyer in case we were to go to family court, though.