I also agree with Becca. I would imagine that if a person were spending $1500 on a bird compared to $20 on a bird, they would, at least initially, spend a little more on a cage, toys, vet, etc. You come home with your new baby macaw...you go in for your "well baby check-up." You come home from Petco with your new baby budgie...you put it in the too small cage with the seeds you bought there as well. (Not saying that everyone who buys a budgie from there does this, but I've witnessed parents buy a parakeet just to appease their children and actually say outloud to other shoppers "Oh, it won't be alive in two weeks!")
With my birds, my keets have had a case of mites which has been easily cured. One of my budgies died a few months ago from an undetermined respitory issue...multiple vet visits, tests, antibiotics, none of it worked and he was too fragile for surgery. And Patty, my PF Lovie came to me with Lovebird Pox which cost about $500 over the course of 4 or 5 months with complete quarantine, to heal properly. The only problems I've had with my macaws are a little dry skin and projectile pooping
And of course all the wood in my house keeps disappearing, but what can you do
I do think the longevity of the larger birds gives them more opportunity for illnesses. Their size also allows for surgery and other procedures (hence, more problems found) to be done that can not always be completed on a smaller bird. I've found that my larger birds are much more open to trying new foods, toys, etc. than my little ones ever are. All I have to do is pretend to eat it myself and they are all over it. The little ones could care less. They just push it to the side.
As far as the differences in keeping them in good health, I really don't do much different with them. They each get pellets for their size, a clean seed mix, appropriately sized nuts, cheerios, oatmeal, pasta, and featheriffic in their food bowls everyday. They all get a variety of veggies and fruits every day, which I cut into appropriately sized pieces. When one gets spaghetti, they all get spaghetti! They all get the types of toys that they enjoy and they all get one on one attention in whatever fashion they like it (some of mine would rather you just talk to them, some want to cuddle on their backs in your lap). They all see a highly qualified avian vet. We seem to run a pretty Equal Opportunity household around here
I think with the larger birds, it tends to have at least something to do with their breeders and how well they were taken care of as babies. Some are hand fed, some are parent fed, some are just not taken care of in general. At least around our area, most smaller birds like budgies and cockatiels are parent raised, at least for the first few weeks. That may also have something to do with it.
I just hope that you're not asking this question because you're considering not getting another Amazon or 'big bird' because of Chilli's illness
I really think all species have their pros and cons and you have to research both the bird and the breeder before you make a specific decision. I could tell you that my (insert bird type here) is the healthiest thing ever, and my nextdoor neighbor could get one and it not make it. There are always possibilities, I guess my approach is to keep learning and take care of them the best that I can, no matter what size
