jzarc17
Sprinting down the street
Hello All,
I'm really conflicted and I just need some honest feedback. I am hoping that in a year and a half I will be moving into a house and and finally be ready to have my dream bird, a GW macaw. There are a couple different ways I am thinking of going about it: ether rescue or get a baby. Honestly, I want to rescue for many reasons. My top 3 reasons are: why not rescue/ adopt an existing bird that needs a home, it would be nice to know what the birds personality is like after they have reached sexual maturity (I've done a TON of reading on hormones- you all have taught me a lot!! LOL) and lastly cost.
Now I know that last one might open me up to interesting comments. Before anyone says it let me say, I am ready and financially prepared for vet bills, even if it means thousands. Also, BTW, I'm lucky because the vet I go to for my two reptiles is also an avian vet that is recommended in my area, so that's a BIG bonus! I'm also not terribly worried about the monthly reoccurring cost for food and all the toys a GW will chew though although I'm sure a GW could rack up a really big monthly toy bill with how much they like to chew!
So here is where I'm conflicted. Cost of adopting vs. getting a baby. There is one heck of a difference in price a baby looks to be around $5000.00 give or take and adopting is in many cases less that $1000.00. Now that by it's self is not the big deal. It's adding on the cost of the walk in stainless steel, aviary cage which I have seen prices at around $2000 to $5000 or so. $10,000 right off the get go gives me some serious anxiety and that's just the bird and the cage, we all know there is a lot more than that, that I will need in a hurry. Am I way off on the whole cage thing? It sounds like GW's really need the stainless steel due the the power of there beaks and I'm thinking due to there size it seems like from what others say, a regular cage would not be large enough? FYI, I do not plan on having the bird in it's cage all the time but I do want the bird to be able to fully spread it's wings and flap them when in the cage. So I'm thinking it would be nice if I can spend less on the bird it's self so I can spend the big dollars on the all the enrichment.
Listen, I don't have any kinds and likely will not. I'm a serious home body and I prefer my to spend my time at home with my animal family. I will basically see this bird as my child and whichever bird I end up choosing is about to come home I am going to be "nesting," and prepping for it like nothing else, it will be ridiculous.
So this all leads me to- how do I adopt a GW macaw when I see most shelters say in the add that macaw experiences is a must. Just wait until I tell them I haven't owned a bird before!! That should squash my dreams right there. The thing is, they don't know that Ive done the research for YEARS, I'm not going to run away crying from the bird when eventually it bites me (well maybe I will cry a bit when I need stitches, but I'll be back! lol) or ditch it when it screams and so on. I'm one of those people that sticks it out when it's not fun and I will take the time to figure out what I'm doing wrong, I have a lot of patients with animals. Also, if I don't get a bird from a shelter then I'm just going to wait longer and save up more for a baby, so in my mind I need to find a way to show them I am a safe adopter that will properly care for a macaw that needs a forever home even though I am not the obvious choice. I'm not sure how I am going to do that.
With all that said and there is so much more I could say, I feel like my dream bird might be out of reach. You all can be honest, it might hurt but I can take it. If a GW is not in the cards or is not the right fit, I still really want bird and I will go for more of a medium size like an amazon that I can buy a more affordable cage for so that if I'm forced to buy a baby the initial cost might not be as bad. There are plenty of other birds that I really like a lot and I could see myself easily with more than one bird so maybe the better answer for me is to start a little smaller, my big thing is that no animal is disposable or should be used only as a stepping stone- that's just not right.
Please tell me- are any of my perceptions really off. Is adopting a GW really far fetched specifically for me? And maybe I need to be more realistic?
I'm really conflicted and I just need some honest feedback. I am hoping that in a year and a half I will be moving into a house and and finally be ready to have my dream bird, a GW macaw. There are a couple different ways I am thinking of going about it: ether rescue or get a baby. Honestly, I want to rescue for many reasons. My top 3 reasons are: why not rescue/ adopt an existing bird that needs a home, it would be nice to know what the birds personality is like after they have reached sexual maturity (I've done a TON of reading on hormones- you all have taught me a lot!! LOL) and lastly cost.
Now I know that last one might open me up to interesting comments. Before anyone says it let me say, I am ready and financially prepared for vet bills, even if it means thousands. Also, BTW, I'm lucky because the vet I go to for my two reptiles is also an avian vet that is recommended in my area, so that's a BIG bonus! I'm also not terribly worried about the monthly reoccurring cost for food and all the toys a GW will chew though although I'm sure a GW could rack up a really big monthly toy bill with how much they like to chew!
So here is where I'm conflicted. Cost of adopting vs. getting a baby. There is one heck of a difference in price a baby looks to be around $5000.00 give or take and adopting is in many cases less that $1000.00. Now that by it's self is not the big deal. It's adding on the cost of the walk in stainless steel, aviary cage which I have seen prices at around $2000 to $5000 or so. $10,000 right off the get go gives me some serious anxiety and that's just the bird and the cage, we all know there is a lot more than that, that I will need in a hurry. Am I way off on the whole cage thing? It sounds like GW's really need the stainless steel due the the power of there beaks and I'm thinking due to there size it seems like from what others say, a regular cage would not be large enough? FYI, I do not plan on having the bird in it's cage all the time but I do want the bird to be able to fully spread it's wings and flap them when in the cage. So I'm thinking it would be nice if I can spend less on the bird it's self so I can spend the big dollars on the all the enrichment.
Listen, I don't have any kinds and likely will not. I'm a serious home body and I prefer my to spend my time at home with my animal family. I will basically see this bird as my child and whichever bird I end up choosing is about to come home I am going to be "nesting," and prepping for it like nothing else, it will be ridiculous.
So this all leads me to- how do I adopt a GW macaw when I see most shelters say in the add that macaw experiences is a must. Just wait until I tell them I haven't owned a bird before!! That should squash my dreams right there. The thing is, they don't know that Ive done the research for YEARS, I'm not going to run away crying from the bird when eventually it bites me (well maybe I will cry a bit when I need stitches, but I'll be back! lol) or ditch it when it screams and so on. I'm one of those people that sticks it out when it's not fun and I will take the time to figure out what I'm doing wrong, I have a lot of patients with animals. Also, if I don't get a bird from a shelter then I'm just going to wait longer and save up more for a baby, so in my mind I need to find a way to show them I am a safe adopter that will properly care for a macaw that needs a forever home even though I am not the obvious choice. I'm not sure how I am going to do that.
With all that said and there is so much more I could say, I feel like my dream bird might be out of reach. You all can be honest, it might hurt but I can take it. If a GW is not in the cards or is not the right fit, I still really want bird and I will go for more of a medium size like an amazon that I can buy a more affordable cage for so that if I'm forced to buy a baby the initial cost might not be as bad. There are plenty of other birds that I really like a lot and I could see myself easily with more than one bird so maybe the better answer for me is to start a little smaller, my big thing is that no animal is disposable or should be used only as a stepping stone- that's just not right.
Please tell me- are any of my perceptions really off. Is adopting a GW really far fetched specifically for me? And maybe I need to be more realistic?