mikester
Checking out the neighborhood
- Joined
- 5/27/21
- Messages
- 2
- Real Name
- Mike
Greetings, new here though not new to parrots. Have had in past Jenday conure and 2 cockatiels. Currently, have a 37yo CAG I've had since she was a baby. Sadly, she has early kidney disease so not sure how much longer she will be with me.
Have always wanted a larger macaw and had recently narrowed to BTM or RFM. BTM are becoming super hard to find, though at least I'm in a state (TX) that does see babies every so often. So was more looking at RFMs, though they are not that common either. Been on a notify list when I got the message that breeder had eggs finally. Was 2 eggs but only one turned out fertile. So committed to that one. Should hatch next week and after weaning, would be coming to me around October. Won't know male or female until DNA sexing takes place in a couple months, so will have to brainstorm both great male and female names (whew!) as breeder said once sexing is confirmed, with name, she can start calling it by its name so it can start adjusting already before coming to me. If I had my wish, I'd probably prefer female as Ive heard hormonal period is not quite as bad as with males but not sure that is true. My CAGs hormonal issues have been confined to her seeing me as her mate and one time years ago, laying some eggs for me. Thank goodness never happened again. I've also been blessed that in her 37yrs she only once bit me and that was only because I went to retrieve her from cage with long sleeve shirt and jacket on. And I should have know better because it was already evident she has to see arm/hand skin or she gets worked up. Other than that, she only tries to bite any females, which she despises.
Anyways, have done a ton of research on RFMs, which led to me narrowing down to them. I would have gone with one of the bigger large macaws but was worried about "external" noise. Have large house but was still worried about decibel of noise carrying into other houses. with RFM from what I've seen/heard, I'm expecting conure quantity of noise in the house and a bit louder so by time it gets into neighbor homes, it will still be heard but not at extreme levels. My CAG when she gets into a high pitched shrieking frenzy can be heard by neighbors but since its more treble than bass, doesn't seem to carry much into other homes.
My baby will come flighted and my house has 30ft ceiling from foyer to living room so will be nice to watch her/him practice flying. Sadly, by time I moved here, my CAG had decided she doesn't care to fly much anymore; she much prefers to chase the dogs across the floor instead.
And in case anyone is thinking CAG <--> RFM, yes I'm aware and discussed with my avian vet. the RFM will be housed upstairs while the CAG lives in dedicated pet room with door closed when she is not out with me.
So looking for insights from other RFM owners: what if anything surprised you about them? Did you have any particular challenge(s) with them and how did you manage? Is there anything you know now, that you wish you knew when you first got an RFM and would have done differently?
Have always wanted a larger macaw and had recently narrowed to BTM or RFM. BTM are becoming super hard to find, though at least I'm in a state (TX) that does see babies every so often. So was more looking at RFMs, though they are not that common either. Been on a notify list when I got the message that breeder had eggs finally. Was 2 eggs but only one turned out fertile. So committed to that one. Should hatch next week and after weaning, would be coming to me around October. Won't know male or female until DNA sexing takes place in a couple months, so will have to brainstorm both great male and female names (whew!) as breeder said once sexing is confirmed, with name, she can start calling it by its name so it can start adjusting already before coming to me. If I had my wish, I'd probably prefer female as Ive heard hormonal period is not quite as bad as with males but not sure that is true. My CAGs hormonal issues have been confined to her seeing me as her mate and one time years ago, laying some eggs for me. Thank goodness never happened again. I've also been blessed that in her 37yrs she only once bit me and that was only because I went to retrieve her from cage with long sleeve shirt and jacket on. And I should have know better because it was already evident she has to see arm/hand skin or she gets worked up. Other than that, she only tries to bite any females, which she despises.
Anyways, have done a ton of research on RFMs, which led to me narrowing down to them. I would have gone with one of the bigger large macaws but was worried about "external" noise. Have large house but was still worried about decibel of noise carrying into other houses. with RFM from what I've seen/heard, I'm expecting conure quantity of noise in the house and a bit louder so by time it gets into neighbor homes, it will still be heard but not at extreme levels. My CAG when she gets into a high pitched shrieking frenzy can be heard by neighbors but since its more treble than bass, doesn't seem to carry much into other homes.
My baby will come flighted and my house has 30ft ceiling from foyer to living room so will be nice to watch her/him practice flying. Sadly, by time I moved here, my CAG had decided she doesn't care to fly much anymore; she much prefers to chase the dogs across the floor instead.
And in case anyone is thinking CAG <--> RFM, yes I'm aware and discussed with my avian vet. the RFM will be housed upstairs while the CAG lives in dedicated pet room with door closed when she is not out with me.
So looking for insights from other RFM owners: what if anything surprised you about them? Did you have any particular challenge(s) with them and how did you manage? Is there anything you know now, that you wish you knew when you first got an RFM and would have done differently?