Looking for macaw help

[hannahbird]

I also recommend visiting a rescue. Cus jumping from a parakeet to a macaw or grey is a huge jump! So going to a rescue would give you a chance to interact with many different species. The more experience the better! And you may find that you make a connection with a parrot species that you havent considered yet. Have you looked into a pionus? The poinus is affectionate, quieter than most parrots, attentive, and sweet. And they are about the size of an amazon. But anyway, visiting a rescue would introduce you to many different species.

 

[Jessie.D]

i hope to visit a rescue soon when i learn more - as for my experiance with domestic and non domestic animals, i have lots... i grew up on a farm for one example, horses, they are a flight animal, trust is everything to them, if your not confident and kind and consistent, you will be nothing to them. if you loose a horses trust it is gon for a very long time. cats, ive delt with feral and domestic... cats are different then most domestic species, they domesticated themselvs and have lost none of their wild instincts (as much as some beg to differ) - ive delt with strange dogs showing up in my yard, endless wild cats. and countless farm chickens and turkies (turkies being my favorite with the most personality of the two poltry) on the farm we used to have 3 turkies, one was a pet, and he was awesome and would hang out with me whenever i was outside, i could pet him and he didnt care a bit.

i understand that macaws and parrots are a whol new ball game but you have to start somewhere and i take what life throws at me, im persistant and stuborn but animas are always going to be a part of my life and i want to make a inteligent bird apart of my life, of all animals i respect them the most, over every preditor and elegant beast to move across the land. and yeah one day i will have a kid and that will be another obstical of life. but we cant control everything that happens, just go with the flow.

 

[NikkiCat]

Thank you all for your information and wisdom. Very informative thread.

 

[Ziggymon]

I agree with you that cats are much closer to the wild than most domesticated species. I too grew up observing and interacting with both tame and completely feral cats, and they have been a large part of my life for as long as I can remember. Take waht you know to be the difference between a dog and a truly feral cat (not a discarded former pet) and multiply that difference by a factor of ten, and you'll approach the difference between a cat and a parrot.

If you have gained the confidence of a truly feral cat (the kind that does its best to stay out of human sight and comes out only at night), then you will understand some degree of the patience and insight required to come to some understanding of the large parrots.

 

[Jessie.D]

Thank you all for your information and wisdom. Very informative thread.

thats all im trying to do is get information on what macaw (or bird in general) would be best for our life, to maybe help this out i will state ---

yes in the future i plan on having kids
we have the money and means to take care of it
we both have days off and the bird will be with people daily
we have the space
we have the paitentce to work with an animal with a childs mentality
we plan on take any curve ball thrown at us
we understand that it is a life time comitment

we have dicided on other a macaw or an african grey, but i still want to know more what you think would be best and so far everyone has been very helpfull!

 

[Annamacaw]

hello everyone im new to the site as well as birds, ive only ever owned budgies but now im interested in something a little bigger. ive always liked birds and have always wanted a large colourful companyon. i have been looking at macaws, the different breeds and personalities but there is only so much the internet can tell a person. with all the resurch i have done i still want to know more, the birds i have fallen in love with include the blue and gold, the hyacinth macaw and the rare blue throated macaw.

i would love to learn more on these kinds of birds befor my better half and i decide to get any bird. if anyone could give their own personal experiances in first getting into birds that would be amazing, i want to know troubles you have had and triumphs. - i would also like to get some advice as to what i should look out for and expect, i know each bird is an individual and so their personalities may not meet the specific breed profile.

any information would be helpful on both getting started, the breeds i have listed, as well as choosing a bird in general.

thank you so much in advance!

Jessie.D

You are very wise to gather your information before you get your bird...

 

[Jessie.D]

You are very wise to gather your information before you get your bird...

thank you!

 

[Leza]

thats all im trying to do is get information on what macaw (or bird in general) would be best for our life, to maybe help this out i will state ---

yes in the future i plan on having kids
we have the money and means to take care of it
we both have days off and the bird will be with people daily
we have the space
we have the paitentce to work with an animal with a childs mentality
we plan on take any curve ball thrown at us
we understand that it is a life time comitment

we have dicided on other a macaw or an african grey, but i still want to know more what you think would be best and so far everyone has been very helpfull!

I too commend you for doing research before jumping into getting a bird. I hope no one is scaring you away from parrot ownership. The relationship I get to share with my macaw is very special, and unlike any of the other parrots I have. It is an amazing connection.

I never really knew exactly what kind of macaw I wanted before, but I just knew I wanted one. I was offered a blue & gold once, and turned her down( I was still living with my parents, and it was not going to happen with them) and I fostered a harlequin. he was ALOT of bird, and I'm glad I was just helping him out and not keeping him to be honest.

The reason why I ended up with scooter is because we clicked. There was something there from the moment we met. You can't explain it, it's just something you have to experience on your own.

I just want to state, Don't ask what bird is right for you, only YOU know that. If it is a macaw you want, you need to find some of that kind(maybe you even have to drive 2 or 3 hours to visit some) and find a bird that picks you. That is my only suggestion.

 

[Julsiebean]

Few things irritate me more then people handing out advice or thinking they know what having kids is like before they have them. URGH. Babysitting, nannying, nieces nephews, little sblings etc is NOT even close to having kids. EVERYTHING changes.

Have you ever owned a bird before? Please forgive me if I overlooked where you mentioned if you had.

 

[applejack]

Few things irritate me more then people handing out advice or thinking they know what having kids is like before they have them. URGH. Babysitting, nannying, nieces nephews, little sblings etc is NOT even close to having kids. EVERYTHING changes.

Have you ever owned a bird before? Please forgive me if I overlooked where you mentioned if you had.

I agree with this. Having my daughter was unlike anything I expected and all the plans and expectations I thought I had were gone. You really never can appreciate all that comes with having children until you have one (not trying to attack or insult people who do not have kids or choose not to have them, but the original poster mentioned she does want children so I just wanted to second what julsiebean said)

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

 

[Sparky04]

I just wanna say, my family jumped from budgies to an African Grey. I was only 8 years old when we got Afie. I didn't have a good relationship with her, I could talk to her, but not hold her. I now have a good relationship with her. Afie is NOT cuddly, not even with my mom (who is her favorite person). Afie is a lot of work, but she's a great bird.

 

[Macaw Lover]

I agree with Melissa, try to find a Red Front in Canada. From the sounds of it, you are being aware of the pit falls and know you need to work through them. That is the type of attitude every Macaw owner needs. It is the people that just turn around and dump a bird that people on here worry about.

 

[Bokkapooh]

How possible is it to find red fronts? I think red fronts and many species of parrots are very hard to find over there.

 

[melissasparrots]

Oh, somehow I missed this was in Canada. I know I've read Doris complain that RF are not available there. In that case, as someone pointed out, blue and golds and green wings are pretty cool too. There have been a few members of each that would have come home with me if I had the room. Personally, I think in many cases the females are easier at maturity, but of course there are a lot of exceptions. Blue and golds and Green wings are just a little more of everything macaw than a red front is likely to be. Learning body language and good basic handling might be a little more important than with most red fronts.
Melissa

 

[waterfaller1]

My friend will ship redfronts, but you have to be willing to put the bird through the qt there. Some are just not willing to put a bird through that. I have no idea what that entails.

 

[GlassOnion]

It's a min. 30 day qt at the border, I wouldn't put any bird through that.

 

[Bokkapooh]

What kind of conditions does Quarantine involve? Vet office?

 

[Arachloroptera]

I bought my first macaw when I was 23. I was and still am married but at the time we didn't have any children. I bought a B&G macaw baby after being totally thrashed by a Sun Conure he was 5 years old and turns out hates men. He now resides with my aunt and is the love of her life (25 years old now.) My B&G changed my life forever... I now have 15 macaws 6 of which are breeders that I can't interact with yet but I'm working on changing that. After twenty years of breeding I've decided that I want all my birds to spend at least 6 months a year out of their breeding flights. Right now I spend every single day of my life prepping food, cleaning cages, bird flights, garden habitat, fixing perches, replacing bowls, exterminating mice and rats, handfeeding babies, buying fruits, nuts, ect... and it all started with one Blue and Gold. I am different than your average pet bird person as obviously I decided to take on all this responsibility but; I am very much just like most on this forum who are crazy about birds, especially macaws. My life grew around birds and I shaped it to accommodate their company. Problems develop when one trys to make a parrots life accommodate changes that are not conducive to having a parrot. To respond to your question "which kind should I get?" I would say get the "macaw", species wont matter as much as your desire to make it work.

 

[Jessie.D]

Few things irritate me more then people handing out advice or thinking they know what having kids is like before they have them. URGH. Babysitting, nannying, nieces nephews, little sblings etc is NOT even close to having kids. EVERYTHING changes.

Have you ever owned a bird before? Please forgive me if I overlooked where you mentioned if you had.

i have owned two budgies. -i dont thing anyone was giving out advice about kids, i think personal opinions were being stated and thats fine, i understand that all thoes things like babysitting etc are nothing like having your own kid, but for you to vent this here is not respectful, im sorry for saying this, but i dont care. im just wanting to know more about what to consider and do about a bird im considering getting, and yes kids were at one point a topic here to consider thinking about when deciding to get a bird. im sorry if i sound disrespectful.

 

[Jessie.D]

i dont think i would ever QT a bird or any animal, if im going to get a bird ill get one from within canada, who knows what could happen to the animal if it has to be in Qt for a month. i know i would go crazy. haha