Buffon's Macaw

[Hankmacaw]

That.'s just right - all of the silliness is gone. My Hank was 18/19 when I got him and he had been abused for 10 years before. After a long time of getting to know each other and sorting out our problems, he was the best buddy anyone could wish for. He was also a wild caught. He was a silly bird and loved to play tricks on me.

 

[BrianB]

I went to visit the GW today. She's was nervous as I expected her to be, but she did take a few treats from my fingers. She also stepped up twice. It will be a slow process to see if she likes me enough to come home with me, but I see a lot of potential.

 

[aooratrix]

Sounds promising. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[BrianB]

Another visit with the GW tomorrow. We've agreed to take her but want to wait until next week before we bring her home. We're moving our bird room from a small bedroom into a larger one. The house is in disarray at the moment and I need to get that under control before we bring her home. I like things to be calm and clean. At the moment they just aren't. I'll have order restored by the middle of next week and that will be a good time for her to come home.

 

[BrianB]

Our visit went well. She was a little more receptive to interaction and she let me take her out of her cage. She's a bit nippy, but she still doesn't know me and it wasn't unexpected. We did get to sit together for a while and she started preening herself while I held her. I'll take that as progress. We plan to bring her home next week. Our new bird room is done and now the move from one to another starts. I hope to get the majority of that done by the time she arrives so the house won't be in chaos. It will be a hard transition for her, so I hope I can do my part to make it as smooth as possible.

 

[aooratrix]

As you know, she was just expressing some nervousness. I think you’re off to a great start and will do great by her.

 

[BrianB]

Our beautiful girl comes home tomorrow. We moved our bird room into a larger room and while I was at it, I moved a few birds between cages. My red-fronted female was in the largest cage, but that cage was better suited for the buffons. I had originally purchased that cage from some friends, but they had stored it outside. There was some very minor rust on the bottom, but nothing significant, or so I thought. When I disassembled it to move it, I discovered the damage was so extensive that the cage wasn't salvageable and I had to scrap it. I had to buy a new cage for the buffons. He's not really sure what to make of it. Everything is the same inside, but it has a dome top instead of a flat top. He's been moving back and forth between the cage and play stand, so he doesn't seem stressed by the change. My mission for today is to find another cage of the same size for the scarlet and get it in place by tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Hankmacaw]

@BrianB - She is a beauty - but of course I'm not the least bit biased.

Too bad about the buffon's cage - they don't give those things away.

 

[BrianB]

She's home. For the moment she's in the Buffons cage. I'll be picking up a temporary cage for her in a few hours. I know that the buffons will stay on his play stand, but with her being new in the house and the fact she's fully flighted, I thought it would be safer for her to be in the cage for the time being. I don't want to take the chance of her wandering around in a place she doesn't know. It's only for the next 2 hours or so.

The big boy is very curious and keeps looking back and forth between us.

 

[aooratrix]

Scarlet? I thought you were getting a GW.

 

[BrianB]

Scarlet? I thought you were getting a GW.

No, she’s a Greenwing.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Are you back home? Do you have a house left after two hours of freedom of the Big Boy.

That's what you get with @aooratrix . You know he's a creative writing teacher - must come from correcting all of those papers.

 

[Shezbug]

She is beautiful!!

 

[BrianB]

Are you back home? Do you have a house left after two hours of freedom of the Big Boy.

That's what you get with @aooratrix . You know he's a creative writing teacher - must come from correcting all of those papers.

the big boy is ok when he’s home alone. He’s not a chewer. He sits on top of his cage and he’s right next to sliding wooden shutters that cover the sliding glass door. He’s never put his beak on it. He tried to climb up on top of it but I told him no and he never tried again. The new girl is a chewer. I put her in the temp cage and she attacked the wooden toy I brought home with her. We’ve had good interaction so far. She sat on my leg for a while and let me stroke her beak but not touch her head.

The big boy was on top of his cage and the girl jump from her cage to the top of his. I’m not ready for them to share space yet even though he is very curious about her. I had to grab her and pull her away from him. It didn’t seem like they were going to fight but i wasn’t going to take the chance. So far so good. As I did with bringing him home it’s just one day at a time and things will go at her pace. At least she wasn’t abused by her previous owner. It’s just a transition of homes and not a rehabilitation effort. I’m hoping that he will see positive interactions with her and be more receptive to interaction himself.

 

[Hankmacaw]

I'm sure he will. Hank was about 1/2 after having him for three years beast before I got Jasper (who is the gentlest macaw I've ever known). He started coming along and got gentler pretty quickly after watching her get all of the petting and snuggling and attention. He never totally got over the abuse he had gone through for the 10 years before I got him, but he became my best buddy. I think your Big Boy will do the same - but not instantly.

 

[Big Blues]

A big change for both of your large winged additions, but they have something in common, a caring caretaker. With our buddies, slow decisions and determining their emotions for each other and for us helped us to make a choice of future changes.

 

[aooratrix]

Simon learned that carriers are okay by watching Harry go into one calmly. Before he observed that, he was afraid. It was remarkable.

 

[aooratrix]

Glad you're off to a good start with your GW.

 

[BrianB]

Here is a better picture of her sitting on my leg. You can see the big boy in the background in his new cage. She will have one just like it when the vendor can get one out of their warehouse. She's got a spot on the top of her wing that she started to worry at when her previous owner passed away. It's never gotten any bigger so she isn't doing any extensive plucking or feather destruction. He hasn't been gone a year yet, but his wife and son believe she will leave it alone as she starts to form a bond with me. I'm going to distract her with a ton of new toys and a lot of attention.

The cat was terrified with Yuri arrived. This time he made it clear that he is not impressed.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Simon learned that carriers are okay by watching Harry go into one calmly. Before he observed that, he was afraid. It was remarkable.

They are reasoning and very intelligent.