Question: What to expect?

[DoReMi123hay]

Hey Everyone,
So, here is the dealio, my brother's favorite bird is a toucan and, he has recently decided that the newest addition to his flock will be a Toco Toucan. He has done a ton of research, of course, it does help that my Dad has owned a toucan in the past. But, here is the question.

After having done the research, the only thing he has yet to do is talk to a Toucan owner. Of course, the first thing I did was point my fingers this way. So, he has asked me to ask you, what is a Toco, or any Toucan for that matter, like as a pet. Assuming, that it is a handfed baby (we are already in touch with a breeder) what can he expect from this baby. We definitely have the time, space, and love for this bird, so no question he will be one of the most spoilt Toucans on the planet, but, personality wise, what parrot (if there is any) would you compare them to, can I maybe hear some personal stories? All we know are our Dad's stories and we can't be sure if all Toco's are like that (super sweet and cuddly) or if my Dad was just oen of the lucky few. Oh, and don't worry, I will get his butt on Avian Avenue one of these days.

(Typed in a hurry, please ignore the grammar mistakes and run-on sentences)

 

[Bokkapooh]

I have met two Toco Toucans in my life. I have to say they LOVE to HOP HOP HOP and they NEED SPACE. So make sure you get the largest cage for that future baby. I would recommend no smaller than a double macaw cage, but even then that is too small. Honestly an 8ft diameter cage is recommend most. These birds do not climb so its very important that they are not clipped and that they have the space available to them so they can move around.

I have been told that Tocos are very dangerous around other birds of similar size and smaller. They WILL eat them. They will also eat mice and other small animals if they are able to get to them.

Other than that, I dont know too much about Toucans except they need a diet low in Iron and they should have plenty of fresh veggies and fruits available to them and be given grubs (meal worms, wax worms, bugs, etc). The two I met were fed a pinkie mouse daily for protein and a ton of fresh tropical fruits and veggies.

 

[emeraldtoucan]

Toucans in general (assuming hand fed) tend to be very affectionate, and generally toucans are also very playful.
If you haven't all ready I do recommend studying up on their diet a lot, because it is different than that of birds more commonly kept as pets.
I agree, they do need lot of space, to fly and hop around, they are very high energy birds.
I have a lot of information on toucans at my website which is in my signature.

 

[DoReMi123hay]

No worries as far as space goes, we have an aviary we are building for them, during the day, they'll get to spend what time they are not with us, in there. At night, though, they'll be closed into the indoor part of the aviary or maybe put in a large "sleeping cage" Thanks, of course we'll be doing more research, we can't ever be done learning more about these birds. Thanks so much for the link. It's nice you got your birds from Jerry Jennings, he is a family friend from back in my dad's breeding days.

 

[PaisleyAracari]

I had looked into getting a Toco originally, before I learned about aracaris/toucanettes. I agree that a double macaw cage or a "toucan room" would be a good idea for this guy.
Research foods extensively. And I'm sure you guys have read about iron storage disease ... I work for a vet office and I am lucky enough to work with a wonderful exotics specialist who has experience with toucans and iron storage is no joke. Paisley and I had a problem with it when she was a baby, played with some different types of pellets/did lots of bloodwork, etc. and we seem to be in the clear now. There are great feeding charts online that say which fruits are suitable and which ones are not. I will try to find the link for you guys.
Make sure your cage/room is full of perches, they do like to hop hop hop and cannot "hang" on the side of the cage like a hookbill, so they rely on bouncing and flying to get where they're going.
As for integration with other birds ... I started with a congo african grey, sulfur crested cockatoo and a female solomon islands eclectus when I got paisley. As tiny as she was at 8 weeks when I got her ... she soon became head of the pack and would dive bomb my eclectus (and then she started with the others). It was just far too difficult to keep them all apart, so each bird then had to come out of their cage seperately. My friend has an ivory billed who is also extremely aggressive towards other birds.
Just remember that these guys are predatory. It's shocking but they don't seem to be afraid of much, and enjoy "hunting."
Watch some toucans on youtube and you will get an idea of their wonderful playful personalities! Paisley is on youtube: YouTube - megos1286's Channel