Am I too young or in a bad situation to get a macaw?

[Telethia]

Hi all!

I have been considering getting a larger bird for many months, and I have narrowed it down to either blue and gold macaw or eclectus, and I think I would rather a blue and gold macaw. I have done my research and have been talking with many different breeders and sellers, and I think I have found the one. I have the space available for the bird, a room in the house and an aviary outside, and I should hopefully the time for it as well. I am graduating from high school this month and sitting exams soon, and I will have the time available and I will be prepared for a macaw after the exams are done. The seller I am talking with said they would hold the macaw until that time too.

I am convinced that I will remain dedicated and committed to this new bird as I have with my current ones (cockatiels, quails and pigeons) but my family makes me doubt myself. They are fine with a macaw and will let me get one if I wish, but they doubt that I will have the time to take care of it. I am planning on going to university next year while living at the same house for the next few years, but then I can't imagine my life after that, and I know macaws are a big, life-long commitment. I know I will always care for my birds the best I can, and I wonder that if my best will be enough for the macaw?

So in summary, I wonder if I will be able to handle a macaw while going to uni. I'm not the type to go out with friends all the time (especially not now with COVID) so I spend my free time by myself or with my birds. Money shouldn't be a big problem.

What do you think? Is it responsible to have a macaw as a student? Responses very much appreciated.

 

[Shezbug]

I think with Uni coming up you should wait but then I do not know you personally and what you are like as a person, some younger ones want nothing more than to hang out with animals instead of people and stay home rather than go out partying and travelling then you have the others who want to experience everything there is in life and in the world.

You need to remember that no matter what personal life and growth phases you are going through your macaw will always need a secure, routined, somewhat predictable life. That can be hard for settled boring adults who are sure of where they are going in life and know that their available time and also their finances are going to remain steady.

No one knows you like you do so really I believe you are the only one who can really honestly answer this question you are asking.

If you think you could honestly juggle the complete needs of an infant and do it really well and stress free while also starting Uni then I do not see too much hassle with you introducing a macaw into the mix of your life- the responsibility is about the same but the chances of finding suitable sitters for a macaw when needed seem to be somewhat harder than they are for finding them for children.

I know a few of our friends thought the idea of having a macaw was brilliant and they were considering it until they stayed a week- I deliberately showed them the difference between my macaw when he is my main focus in life to putting him last on my priority list and half loosing his routine (he did not really loose his place of importance/ priority, I planned to change up his routine)- he still got what he needed but at the wrong time or in the wrong order I did things like move one chair from its spot close to Burt's sleep time, I was late with meals, cage free time and other things he usually gets, I was too busy coffeeing and chatting with said friends to promptly call back to Burt or I stayed on a phone call where he could hear me but not see me and he screamed and screamed about it, he was generally no longer the amazing pleasurable sweet engaging being he was before I was (deliberately) too busy to be following the routine he was used to and needs .... I am a stickler for routine and I really dislike change and cope very very poorly with it so I kinda get why the birds have a hard time with it lol. I have been told that having a bird is very much like raising an autistic child..... I do believe it is fairly similar when I think back.

You will get support from members here to help you along the way if you choose to bring a big bird home but ask yourself if you really need the extra pressure to spread your time around just now. Lots of life experiences you will either have to miss out on or choose to neglect your macaw to be able to enjoy the opportunity..... neglect or unhappy life for a bird means plucking, screaming, biting and many other unpleasant unhealthy behaviour issues which then makes them harder to rehome if needed and even if they do find a home they are still left with the poor behaviour issue or the mental damage from incorrect relationships and care from a human- it is a really big responsibility.

 

[finchly]

@tka

 

[Love My Zons]

If you can think ahead as in where you might go career wise will help answer the later in life question.

Job, time, and as we see oftentimes, living situations. Living alone, renting possibly with a large bird can be challenging or hard to mamage.

 

[Telethia]

Thank you all. I think I won't get a macaw at this point in my life, but may reconsider maybe 5 years ahead in time again. I will continue to take care of my current birds and maybe get some more lower maintenance birds.

 

[Shezbug]

Thank you all. I think I won't get a macaw at this point in my life, but may reconsider maybe 5 years ahead in time again. I will continue to take care of my current birds and maybe get some more lower maintenance birds.

Please continue to be a part of our community- we would love to see your other birds

 

[tka]

Speaking as a university lecturer (I think I'm an associate professor in US terms), I woud say absolutely not. As @Shezbug says, this is basically like having a baby - but this baby is going to remain a baby for its entire life, and there are no daycares or nurseries for birds. Birds are also expensive to keep. Appointments and treatment from a specialised avian vet can run into hundreds of dollars which, as a student, you probably won't have. Birds need a large cage, an appropriate diet and toys which they will take great delight in utterly destroying - all of which cost money.

Covid-19 has changed how universities work and how students are expected to behave on campus so I'll outline what usually happens in the hope that, by the time you're ready to enter university, things will have regained some normalcy.

One of the things that hasn't changed much is our teaching - we've shifted to online rather than in-person classes, but you will be expected to attend and participate. At university, you will be timetabled for a certain number of contact hours which will depend on the subject you take. Contact hours are the hours you're actually timetabled for - these may include lectures, seminars and lab hours depending on your subject. However, you will be expected to do a lot of independent study: reading, taking notes, meeting your lecturers to discuss your work, preparing for assessments, perhaps forming a study group and so on. In my discipline, students may only be scheduled for 15 or so contact hours a week, but they're expected to spend the rest of their time on independent study and it really, really shows if they're not putting in the time outside class.

Universities also offer a lot of extracurricular activities. Typically, a university will offer sports teams, clubs for different hobbies and interests, and groups learning new skills or with common interests. Mine offers everything from sports to tending the on-site vegetable garden. I'm currently supporting a student society in developing some socially-distanced activities like online quiz nights, online meet-ups and similar. You are (hopefully!) going to make friends and will want to socialise with them. I hope you'll aloso have the chance to take inpromptu trips and weekends away. There is a lot of freedom to enjoy!

A lot of my students work part-time and often find it very challenging to balance their studies with work. Again, COVID-19 has radically changed this, but previously a lot of them worked in the evenings (generally in restaurants or bars) or at weekends (generally in retail). Sometimes they get the balance wrong and find that work cuts into their studying time which means that they do less well than they could have done in assessments. Adding a bird - who needs several hours out of the cage and your company every day - to this mix will only make it harder to find that balance.

After university, you may want to pursue a career that will require very long hours at work, travel or something else incompatible with caring for a bird. Many careers involve toughing out a few years of instability before you get more established. You may be working long hours or irregular shifts, need to do additional training or gain additional qualifications, or need to move city, region or country for work.

The next ten years will bring a lot of changes, some of which you won't be able to predict. You've got to think about what's fair on both you and a potential bird. It's not fair on a bird if you're unable to spend time with it or can't afford vet treatment. Equally, it's not fair on you to miss out on rewarding, enjoyable and/or valuable things or potential careers because you're responsible for a being with toddler level needs. You will be a better human for your bird if you are balanced, fulfilled and aren't worrying about what you're missing out on.

 

[JLcribber]

Standard answer for all young people wanting a parrot

You're very well spoken for such young person. You're no doubt very intelligent but one thing you do not have and can not have at your age is life experience. You can't possibly know how bumpy and twisted that road is until you've travelled on it for quite a while and that's once "you" are driving and not just along for the ride.

You have many, many years ahead of you to fulfill all kinds of dreams. You are but a child that is thinking of getting another child. Imagine if you were to get pregnant now or get a girl pregnant now (sorry I don't know if you are a boy or girl?) and had to become a parent at your age. It would be overwhelming and something you will need to deal with for the rest of your life. On top of that the "child" you are thinking of getting is never going to grow past the age of 3 and is "never" going to move out. This child is going to need as much space, time and enrichment as you do. Not just a cage.

Live some of your life first and get those all important experiences under your belt. Become independent, stable and have a much more defined path before you make this life time commitment. You are going to want to meet and share your life with a special person also. This bird will be a factor in that even happening. There is no rush to do this because you are so young.

You just don't know what you don't know until you know. A lot of us old farts do know because we've been there, done that.

You sound like a very committed person but there is no rush.

 

[Love My Zons]

By all means, stick around! You are a bird owner, lover and this community is a great place. I hope that someday you can fulfill your desire for a Mac.