Care info on neotropical jays like magpie jays or crested jays

[Silly Myna]

Also whats the avg price of one , are they easy to tame , are they affectionate

 

[Aracorgi]

I have a plush-crested jay (in my profile pic). He's basically like having a flying cat, if your cat is an intelligent and intentionally destructive bum lol. Rico was handfed, but he's definitely not affectionate per se. He comes to hang out once in a while (mostly if I have food), but he spends the vast majority of time outside his cage trying to break into boxes, stealing food, tormenting our dogs, and pushing literally anything he can off of shelves. When he's not doing that, he's trying to torment our other birds or shoving bits of food into any crevice he can find to cache it. All that to say, if you're looking for a cuddly sit on your shoulder and get head pets kind of bird, the jays are probably not it.

The easiest to find handfed jays are the black-throated magpie jays. They usually run anywhere from 1000-1500. I got Rico for $1300, but he was discounted because he has wonky feet. He would have been $1500 otherwise. The other jays are usually sold as breeders only. From what I hear, they'll sort of tame down decently as they get to know their keeper, but mostly in a will take food from your hand and not totally freak out when you walk in the aviary kind of way.

As for care, they're pretty easy in my opinion but I'm one of those weird softbill people lol. I mean.. my first bird ever was an aracari. The jays eat an omnivorous diet, so they can and will eat just about anything you offer them. They especially love live foods and egg, but nuts, fruit and veggies are also quite happily eaten. Rico gets a daily mix of high quality cat kibble, parrot and softbill pellets, nuts, insects (live and dried), and a mix of differents fruits, veggies, and nuts. A few times a week I give him a quail egg or pinkie mouse as a treat. They do require a large setup because they're very active, and their tail feathers are super long for the size of the bird. And a lot of mental stimulation in the form of food puzzles and things they can deconstruct if they're kept in the house as a pet.

 

[expressmailtome]

I have a plush-crested jay (in my profile pic). He's basically like having a flying cat, if your cat is an intelligent and intentionally destructive bum lol. Rico was handfed, but he's definitely not affectionate per se. He comes to hang out once in a while (mostly if I have food), but he spends the vast majority of time outside his cage trying to break into boxes, stealing food, tormenting our dogs, and pushing literally anything he can off of shelves. When he's not doing that, he's trying to torment our other birds or shoving bits of food into any crevice he can find to cache it. All that to say, if you're looking for a cuddly sit on your shoulder and get head pets kind of bird, the jays are probably not it.

The easiest to find handfed jays are the black-throated magpie jays. They usually run anywhere from 1000-1500. I got Rico for $1300, but he was discounted because he has wonky feet. He would have been $1500 otherwise. The other jays are usually sold as breeders only. From what I hear, they'll sort of tame down decently as they get to know their keeper, but mostly in a will take food from your hand and not totally freak out when you walk in the aviary kind of way.

As for care, they're pretty easy in my opinion but I'm one of those weird softbill people lol. I mean.. my first bird ever was an aracari. The jays eat an omnivorous diet, so they can and will eat just about anything you offer them. They especially love live foods and egg, but nuts, fruit and veggies are also quite happily eaten. Rico gets a daily mix of high quality cat kibble, parrot and softbill pellets, nuts, insects (live and dried), and a mix of differents fruits, veggies, and nuts. A few times a week I give him a quail egg or pinkie mouse as a treat. They do require a large setup because they're very active, and their tail feathers are super long for the size of the bird. And a lot of mental stimulation in the form of food puzzles and things they can deconstruct if they're kept in the house as a pet.

Just so you know, this member is from Eastern Europe, so your prices will be very different from theirs.

 

[Aracorgi]

Oh yeah. My bad. So mileage may vary, based on location. But for anyone else reading, that's the ballparks for the US$. Local availability for which corvids are commonly bred may be wildly different across the pond as well.

 

[Silly Myna]

I have a plush-crested jay (in my profile pic). He's basically like having a flying cat, if your cat is an intelligent and intentionally destructive bum lol. Rico was handfed, but he's definitely not affectionate per se. He comes to hang out once in a while (mostly if I have food), but he spends the vast majority of time outside his cage trying to break into boxes, stealing food, tormenting our dogs, and pushing literally anything he can off of shelves. When he's not doing that, he's trying to torment our other birds or shoving bits of food into any crevice he can find to cache it. All that to say, if you're looking for a cuddly sit on your shoulder and get head pets kind of bird, the jays are probably not it.

The easiest to find handfed jays are the black-throated magpie jays. They usually run anywhere from 1000-1500. I got Rico for $1300, but he was discounted because he has wonky feet. He would have been $1500 otherwise. The other jays are usually sold as breeders only. From what I hear, they'll sort of tame down decently as they get to know their keeper, but mostly in a will take food from your hand and not totally freak out when you walk in the aviary kind of way.

As for care, they're pretty easy in my opinion but I'm one of those weird softbill people lol. I mean.. my first bird ever was an aracari. The jays eat an omnivorous diet, so they can and will eat just about anything you offer them. They especially love live foods and egg, but nuts, fruit and veggies are also quite happily eaten. Rico gets a daily mix of high quality cat kibble, parrot and softbill pellets, nuts, insects (live and dried), and a mix of differents fruits, veggies, and nuts. A few times a week I give him a quail egg or pinkie mouse as a treat. They do require a large setup because they're very active, and their tail feathers are super long for the size of the bird. And a lot of mental stimulation in the form of food puzzles and things they can deconstruct if they're kept in the house as a pet.

Sounds like my typa pet , I genuinely want a lil velociraptor living in my house

 

[Silly Myna]

Sounds like my typa pet , I genuinely want a lil velociraptor living in my house

Also srry for late reply