A new adventure on the horizon

[taxidermynerd]

IL is the first state I've lived in where one has to get a village sticker to be able to have a car and drive it in the village w/o getting fined. Cops will actually check out cars in driveways for village stickers.

Holy cow, you mean not every state does this? I was brought up that it was normal! We just started our second row of village stickers on our minivan!
Then again, whenever we go over to IN and someone asks what county we're out of, and we respond with Cook, they always say sorry...It makes me think of when we were at The Field Museum and I bought something, the guy asked if we wanted a bag and said it would be 7 cents. My dad thought he was joking! But nope, of course, there's a bag tax. Thanks, Chicago! Soon there will be a breathing tax and an existing tax..!

But yeah, make sure you have a way to protect yourself! And good luck! St. Pete seems like a nice place

 

[Genie]

so I remedied that with a makeshift "copilot perch" (basically a stick that a secure to the top of the driver and passenger seats, shoulder height). This way, he can see out the windows...a 360 view. He likes to "fly" when we first start moving...he stand dead center of the perch, leans forward a little, and spreads his wings. No flapping, just gliding along, lol.

That is a great solution. I made a tray with a perch, that fits over the console between the bucket seats of my Dodge pickup, Genie really loves it.
It also goes well on the dash of our motorhome. Both conditions lets him feel like he is with us, instead of being caged. He drives too !! LOL
Good luck on your trip.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

Sorry to throw the cold water of a safety observation into the discussion, but I hate to imagine what the deployment of an airbag would do to an unprotected bird. I always put my bird in a carrier and belt it in a back seat.

 

[Familyof12]

I would do the same as @Laurul Feather Cat too on drives to the vet as my pets don't leave the house. On a long drive with such a character, I cannot imagine he would be okay being caged the whole time and being let out on quick stops. I can see myself giving in for this one life changing occasion if she wanted to. I hope you have a lot of fun and let us know how it goes!

 

[SeverelySweet]

Holy cow, you mean not every state does this? I was brought up that it was normal! We just started our second row of village stickers on our minivan!
Then again, whenever we go over to IN and someone asks what county we're out of, and we respond with Cook, they always say sorry...It makes me think of when we were at The Field Museum and I bought something, the guy asked if we wanted a bag and said it would be 7 cents. My dad thought he was joking! But nope, of course, there's a bag tax. Thanks, Chicago! Soon there will be a breathing tax and an existing tax..!

But yeah, make sure you have a way to protect yourself! And good luck! St. Pete seems like a nice place

LA County charges 10 cents a bag....ya either have to bring your own, or pat for each bag. Definitely not gonna miss that!

 

[SeverelySweet]

Sorry to throw the cold water of a safety observation into the discussion, but I hate to imagine what the deployment of an airbag would do to an unprotected bird. I always put my bird in a carrier and belt it in a back seat.

I actually have both driver snd passenger airbags completely disabled. I originally did this because...well, because airbags are dangerous! And also, because there's been a recall on them for my vehicle. As soon as I got the notice, I pulled the fuse and the relay switch...now I have an airbag warning light on my dash, but I prefer it to the alternative!

 

[SeverelySweet]

I would do the same as @Laurul Feather Cat too on drives to the vet as my pets don't leave the house. On a long drive with such a character, I cannot imagine he would be okay being caged the whole time and being let out on quick stops. I can see myself giving in for this one life changing occasion if she wanted to. I hope you have a lot of fun and let us know how it goes!

Yeah, there's no way he will be OK with being in a teeny cage for 4 days worth of driving! On short trips to the vet snd such, he (unwillingly) dealt with carrier transport, but that won't happen on this trip....lol.

I am going to try keeping him confined as much as possible though...for his safety, as well as my own!

 

[Sarah31408]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to all this and couldn't figure out how to post my own thread so I hope it's ok if I crash this one for a moment. I have a question about my B and G Macaw's behavior. A little background first...

I have never owned a Macaw and thought I did enough research. I was wrong. I have owned parrots. Eclectus', mini Macaw's, a red cheeked parrot etc. I wanted to rescue a macaw bc all of my birds growing up we're rescued. I rescued a 10 year old (so I'm told) male b and g. I know he was kept in the basement of a hoarders house for many years. She had I believe 10 macaws in her basement. His "cell" mate, as I like to call it, plucked him but his feathers are growing back nicely. From what I'm told he got little to no attention since she was trying to breed all of these birds (very unsuccessful). The lady who rescued her told me he was very sweet and that he had never tried to bite anyone. He was shipped here yesterday. I know it had to be stressful for him but he was so sweet came of out the carrier, stepped up, got head scratches etc. I put him in his new cage (it's huge) and he just hid in the corner for awhile and eventually came out and went on top. He was not agressive. He let me pet him he stepped up at the end of the day I put him in the cafe. This morning I opened his cage he wanted tons of head scratches. I gave him food and water. He's terrified of my little Weiner dogs so I've been keeping them downstairs. We had been doing some hammering through out the day upstairs so I wanted to get him bag in the cage. He bit me decently hard so I just left him up there. I went to get him in the cage as it's night time and he's now doing this thing where he is laying his head down sideways on the cage, looking up at me and raising his wings and pulsing them.. not flapping like his whole body is pulsing. He only seems to do this for me. He doesn't seem to care for my fiance at all. Anyone know what this means?

I understand why he bit me. My mom randomly showed up at my house unannounced as I was trying to get him to step up and the dogs started barking but I don't understand what this pulsing thing is. I've only ever seen this when a bird really loved someone and was excited but I don't think this is the case... Any help?

 

[finchly]

Any recommendations for an older (60's) couple with 2 adult sons we're leaving behind in IL and a (34+) flock of birds?

I thought you'd come down to Punta Gorda!

 

[Clueless]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to all this and couldn't figure out how to post my own thread so I hope it's ok if I crash this one for a moment. I have a question about my B and G Macaw's behavior. A little background first...

I have never owned a Macaw and thought I did enough research. I was wrong. I have owned parrots. Eclectus', mini Macaw's, a red cheeked parrot etc. I wanted to rescue a macaw bc all of my birds growing up we're rescued. I rescued a 10 year old (so I'm told) male b and g. I know he was kept in the basement of a hoarders house for many years. She had I believe 10 macaws in her basement. His "cell" mate, as I like to call it, plucked him but his feathers are growing back nicely. From what I'm told he got little to no attention since she was trying to breed all of these birds (very unsuccessful). The lady who rescued her told me he was very sweet and that he had never tried to bite anyone. He was shipped here yesterday. I know it had to be stressful for him but he was so sweet came of out the carrier, stepped up, got head scratches etc. I put him in his new cage (it's huge) and he just hid in the corner for awhile and eventually came out and went on top. He was not agressive. He let me pet him he stepped up at the end of the day I put him in the cafe. This morning I opened his cage he wanted tons of head scratches. I gave him food and water. He's terrified of my little Weiner dogs so I've been keeping them downstairs. We had been doing some hammering through out the day upstairs so I wanted to get him bag in the cage. He bit me decently hard so I just left him up there. I went to get him in the cage as it's night time and he's now doing this thing where he is laying his head down sideways on the cage, looking up at me and raising his wings and pulsing them.. not flapping like his whole body is pulsing. He only seems to do this for me. He doesn't seem to care for my fiance at all. Anyone know what this means?

I understand why he bit me. My mom randomly showed up at my house unannounced as I was trying to get him to step up and the dogs started barking but I don't understand what this pulsing thing is. I've only ever seen this when a bird really loved someone and was excited but I don't think this is the case... Any help?

@Sarah31408
There's a spot on forums that explains things for us. I know nothing about macaws but there are a lot of owners so post your question by a thread in the macaw section. See if this link helps you to find instructions.
How-To Junction | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[Genie]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to all this and couldn't figure out how to post my own thread so I hope it's ok if I crash this one for a moment. I have a question about my B and G Macaw's behavior. A little background first...

I have never owned a Macaw and thought I did enough research. I was wrong. I have owned parrots. Eclectus', mini Macaw's, a red cheeked parrot etc. I wanted to rescue a macaw bc all of my birds growing up we're rescued. I rescued a 10 year old (so I'm told) male b and g. I know he was kept in the basement of a hoarders house for many years. She had I believe 10 macaws in her basement. His "cell" mate, as I like to call it, plucked him but his feathers are growing back nicely. From what I'm told he got little to no attention since she was trying to breed all of these birds (very unsuccessful). The lady who rescued her told me he was very sweet and that he had never tried to bite anyone. He was shipped here yesterday. I know it had to be stressful for him but he was so sweet came of out the carrier, stepped up, got head scratches etc. I put him in his new cage (it's huge) and he just hid in the corner for awhile and eventually came out and went on top. He was not agressive. He let me pet him he stepped up at the end of the day I put him in the cafe. This morning I opened his cage he wanted tons of head scratches. I gave him food and water. He's terrified of my little Weiner dogs so I've been keeping them downstairs. We had been doing some hammering through out the day upstairs so I wanted to get him bag in the cage. He bit me decently hard so I just left him up there. I went to get him in the cage as it's night time and he's now doing this thing where he is laying his head down sideways on the cage, looking up at me and raising his wings and pulsing them.. not flapping like his whole body is pulsing. He only seems to do this for me. He doesn't seem to care for my fiance at all. Anyone know what this means?

I understand why he bit me. My mom randomly showed up at my house unannounced as I was trying to get him to step up and the dogs started barking but I don't understand what this pulsing thing is. I've only ever seen this when a bird really loved someone and was excited but I don't think this is the case... Any help?

You are blessed !!! We rescued a 27 y.o. b&g macaw, 15 years ago, he is now 42 y.o. He came with many issues & took almost a year to gain his confidence, I have previously owned a b&g macaw, so I am used to handling them.
He is in a new & strange place, give him a little time, from what you have said, I think he will adjust rapidly. This morning I opened his cage he wanted tons of head scratches this is a great sign that he is already accepting you. That bite was because he was nervous, too much was going on at once. Also, it seems he does not like women, as it was a women that mistreated him. These parrots are much smarter than we give them credit for. You will find this out, soon !!
Give him lots of attention, fresh fruits & veggies. Try a lot of stuff & find out what he likes. Just like us, the path to his heart is thru attention & his food.
I think you will have a great friend !

 

[Genie]

Sorry to throw the cold water of a safety observation into the discussion, but I hate to imagine what the deployment of an airbag would do to an unprotected bird. I always put my bird in a carrier and belt it in a back seat.

You are entitled to your opinion.
My opinion is that it is more important for our Genie to enjoy life, with it's perils, as to be kept protected at all times, is to me, equal to being in prison.
You might think that sounds harsh, but would you like to be kept in a cage while travelling on roads with all the shaking, acceleration, deceleration, twisting & turning, not knowing what the h--- is going on ?
Once your bird experiences free travel, you will see a big difference in it's desire to go out & about.

"Security is a ship in the harbor, but that is not what ships were built for". JMHO

SeverelySweet has a GREAT solution, it allows for all the best conditions for travel.

I actually have both driver snd passenger airbags completely disabled. I originally did this because...well, because airbags are dangerous! And also, because there's been a recall on them for my vehicle. As soon as I got the notice, I pulled the fuse and the relay switch...now I have an airbag warning light on my dash, but I prefer it to the alternative!

 

[Hankmacaw]

The only reason that I had the cage in the motorhome for the birds is because there was only one of me and two of them and I had to drive. Additionally, when I had to go out without them - to the store etc. - the cage protected the motorhome from their buzzsaw beaks.

 

[Genie]

The only reason that I had the cage in the motorhome for the birds is because there was only one of me and two of them and I had to drive. Additionally, when I had to go out without them - to the store etc. - the cage protected the motorhome from their buzzsaw beaks.

You bet !! They can do great damage in short order !
Genie gets locked up when we leave the motorhome without him, for the same reason.

 

[finchly]

So, after this and some other threads I am starting to grasp that Macaws don't really fly away out the car door like some other fids? (ahem.... *Skittles*...cough cough....) I even lost some finches once when their door rattled open and I didn't know it; I opened the hatch and away they went.

Even my 2 guys that I harness, I don't think I could release them totally in the car? So are there others you can trust for safe travel, like cockatoos?

@SeverelySweet @Hankmacaw

 

[Genie]

So, after this and some other threads I am starting to grasp that Macaws don't really fly away out the car door like some other fids? (ahem.... *Skittles*...cough cough....) I even lost some finches once when their door rattled open and I didn't know it; I opened the hatch and away they went.

Even my 2 guys that I harness, I don't think I could release them totally in the car? So are there others you can trust for safe travel, like cockatoos?

@SeverelySweet @Hankmacaw

I would not trust any bird to not fly away, until you have severely bonded. Even then, be cautious for a while.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Macaws and Cockatoos fly away too. My birds were very bonded to their easy life, if not me. First there were just two of them and they each got an inordinate amount of attention together and individually. Neither could fly very well because of health issues and injuries. They had lots of practice at home staying on their perches and I was always within 10 feet of them. I was/am always very cautious.

Smaller birds may be more skittish, not being the size of a macaw. It also helped a lot that neither is/was a very excitable bird. They took everything with a grain of salt.

 

[SandraK]

I thought you'd come down to Punta Gorda!

The funny part of your post is that I lived in Punta Gorda, Uruguay, for 7 years as a child. To go back to a Punta Gorda would be so ironic because I loved living there.

 

[finchly]

That is just crazy!

 

[SandraK]

Punta Gorda, Uruguay

Punta Gorda, Montevideo - Wikipedia

We lived on Avenida Coimbra, half a block left of Avenida Jose Maria Paz. The first little yellow patch to the left was a very small beach called Playa de los Ingleses and the next one over was Playa Brava. The road that ran parallel to the coast was known as the Rambla - we never used the O'Higgins part of the name.

You can't see it from this view but more or less where the statue is there is a cliff side which my brother and I would climb up and down (without our parents knowledge). We lived in Punta Gorda from when I was 7 until I was 14.

My first real school

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