Hello fellow bird people! I have been contacted about possibly taking in a macaw that is being surrendered because of divorce. He is a Catalina, hand fed and healthy, and I get the impression that he is young but not under a year. I have yet to meet him or sign any papers, but I want to be ready in case this goes through. I've been told he has no behavioral issues except a "screaming problem." From what I've heard, they had a special needs child in the home who went through a screaming phase, and that was when the bird picked up the habit. They said it would "definitely need to be worked on."
I live in the country, so noise isn't an issue in terms of neighbors. However, if I adopt this bird I will have it for a looong time, and I don't want to be listening to excessive screaming until after I'm retired. I fostered an umbrella too who would scream literally for hours at a time - I didn't have time to really work on it before he was placed. But lord, was I relieved!
What I'd like to know is, has anyone successfully improved a screamer? Also, how would you describe a macaw's vocalization as compared to a U2 or a sun conure, both of which I have experience with? I'll be reading through the threads here to find some good information for first time macaw owners, but if you have something to add to that as well I would love to hear. I want to be as prepared as possible.
Thanks in advance!
I live in the country, so noise isn't an issue in terms of neighbors. However, if I adopt this bird I will have it for a looong time, and I don't want to be listening to excessive screaming until after I'm retired. I fostered an umbrella too who would scream literally for hours at a time - I didn't have time to really work on it before he was placed. But lord, was I relieved!
What I'd like to know is, has anyone successfully improved a screamer? Also, how would you describe a macaw's vocalization as compared to a U2 or a sun conure, both of which I have experience with? I'll be reading through the threads here to find some good information for first time macaw owners, but if you have something to add to that as well I would love to hear. I want to be as prepared as possible.
Thanks in advance!