Macaw Adventures 2023

[BrianB]

We were able to visit with Enzo for a while today. Bo was his sister, but he's 2 months older. He was a bit standoffish with us but I'm ok with that. He hasn't seen us since December of last year and his bond with his owners is very strong. Just what I wanted to see. He wouldn't let us hold him, but he did play with some toys with us. The family also has Ivy, one of our red-fronted macaws from last year. She has a large and in-charge personality. Sometimes she will get to be too much, as red-fronted macaws can be, and Enzo will put her in her place. She does the same to him when he gets to be overbearing. They make a nice balance for each other and it was great to see them.

 

[zoo mom]

They are beautiful.

 

[howdymjm]

We were able to visit with Enzo for a while today. Bo was his sister, but he's 2 months older. He was a bit standoffish with us but I'm ok with that. He hasn't seen us since December of last year and his bond with his owners is very strong. Just what I wanted to see. He wouldn't let us hold him, but he did play with some toys with us. The family also has Ivy, one of our red-fronted macaws from last year. She has a large and in-charge personality. Sometimes she will get to be too much, as red-fronted macaws can be, and Enzo will put her in her place. She does the same to him when he gets to be overbearing. They make a nice balance for each other and it was great to see them.

what's the secret on getting them to be friends with one another? being raised together? also any fear of size difference?

 

[BrianB]

what's the secret on getting them to be friends with one another? being raised together? also any fear of size difference?

It may be a matter of circumstance and personality. If I have clutches of different species that hatch close together, I keep them in the same brooder until the size difference becomes an issue. In 2022 I had 1 baby greenwings, 4 baby red-fronted macaws, and 4 African greys that hatched within a short period of time, and then another greenwing that came along about 7 weeks later. They stayed together until the greenwing, Enzo, grew big enough that I thought it might be a safety issue for the smaller chicks. I wasn't concerned that he would be aggressive, but his size in comparison was enough that he might hurt a smaller chick accidentally. I separated them, but let the macaws have supervised play time together when we fed them. The red-fronted wean in 90 - 100 days but green wings take around 6 months to wean. Ivy went home sometime in September, but Enzo didn't leave until December. I think it gave her time to settle and establish her own routine before Enzo arrived but when he did it was like reconnecting old friends. Sometimes birds just get along really well from the moment they meet and other times it takes a while for them to build a relationship.

Juda, one of the other red-fronted we had last year was raised with a blue-throated macaw and they get along pretty well too. Juda's momo said they are like two little boys. Sometimes they are very sweet with each other and sometimes they agitate each other and drive her crazy. They are beautiful together.

 

[howdymjm]

It may be a matter of circumstance and personality. If I have clutches of different species that hatch close together, I keep them in the same brooder until the size difference becomes an issue. In 2022 I had 1 baby greenwings, 4 baby red-fronted macaws, and 4 African greys that hatched within a short period of time, and then another greenwing that came along about 7 weeks later. They stayed together until the greenwing, Enzo, grew big enough that I thought it might be a safety issue for the smaller chicks. I wasn't concerned that he would be aggressive, but his size in comparison was enough that he might hurt a smaller chick accidentally. I separated them, but let the macaws have supervised play time together when we fed them. The red-fronted wean in 90 - 100 days but green wings take around 6 months to wean. Ivy went home sometime in September, but Enzo didn't leave until December. I think it gave her time to settle and establish her own routine before Enzo arrived but when he did it was like reconnecting old friends. Sometimes birds just get along really well from the moment they meet and other times it takes a while for them to build a relationship.

Juda, one of the other red-fronted we had last year was raised with a blue-throated macaw and they get along pretty well too. Juda's momo said they are like two little boys. Sometimes they are very sweet with each other and sometimes they agitate each other and drive her crazy. They are beautiful together.

View attachment 435309

thanks for response. great photo, too.

 

[BrianB]

Chewy was being silly last night and tonight. I managed to capture him trying to intimidate himself in the mirror and blowing kisses to me.

RAAAAA!


KISS!

Someone offered us a blue-headed macaw to finish hand feeding. A friend of mine had a breeding pair. They were beautiful but very loud. They would not breed for him even though they were proven to be fertile. He sold them before he moved out of state and as soon as they arrived in the new place they got busy and started laying.

 

[expressmailtome]

Chewy was being silly last night and tonight. I managed to capture him trying to intimidate himself in the mirror and blowing kisses to me.

RAAAAA!


KISS!

Someone offered us a blue-headed macaw to finish hand feeding. A friend of mine had a breeding pair. They were beautiful but very loud. They would not breed for him even though they were proven to be fertile. He sold them before he moved out of state and as soon as they arrived in the new place they got busy and started laying.

I saw a few at an AFA convention years ago. They are absolutely stunning in person, although I do prefer the appearance of juveniles to adults.

 

[BrianB]

I saw a few at an AFA convention years ago. They are absolutely stunning in person, although I do prefer the appearance of juveniles to adults.

Same here. The adults I've seen always look ragged. I think it's the beak changing colors as they mature. The black beak of the juvenile looks so much better and the colors are amazing. Once they grow they look rough.

 

[BrianB]

I don't even know what to do with this one because yelling at someone I don't know isn't really an option. Or maybe it is.

A few weeks ago I got a call from someone who has a male blue & gold. He was lonely so they decided to get him a companion. A female companion. People do this with the best of intentions but never really understand the consequences. Their male went from being a sweet boy to an aggressive monster who now has a mate. They aren't caged and the female lays eggs under the cage on what appears to be a carpet that they have torn to pieces. I gave some advice on diet and maybe getting them to use a nest box and they asked if maybe I would be interested in taking them if they can't handle them. Here we are now that they want to give them both up, but have all these restrictions on how they can be kept once they are sold. I have a 4 x 4 x 6 flight cage they can go in for the time being until something bigger opens up, and it has a nest box on it. Two uncaged macaws in my house are just not an option. After multiple messages back and forth they may want to keep the male and just sell the female. They want to know if their sweet boy will come back. Maybe, maybe not. You never know and you'll have to deal with a grieving macaw who lost his mate in the meantime. Then perhaps they want to get another male to keep him company. They don't want him to be lonely when they go on vacation - AND leave him home alone for a week with no house sitter or someone to come by and give him fresh food and water each day. I guess they just leave food and water bowls scattered around the place. So many horrible things can go wrong here. I want to tell them to give up both birds and get a stuffed parrot at Walmart. I might slam my head in the door a few times as well.

 

[expressmailtome]

I don't even know what to do with this one because yelling at someone I don't know isn't really an option. Or maybe it is.

A few weeks ago I got a call from someone who has a male blue & gold. He was lonely so they decided to get him a companion. A female companion. People do this with the best of intentions but never really understand the consequences. Their male went from being a sweet boy to an aggressive monster who now has a mate. They aren't caged and the female lays eggs under the cage on what appears to be a carpet that they have torn to pieces. I gave some advice on diet and maybe getting them to use a nest box and they asked if maybe I would be interested in taking them if they can't handle them. Here we are now that they want to give them both up, but have all these restrictions on how they can be kept once they are sold. I have a 4 x 4 x 6 flight cage they can go in for the time being until something bigger opens up, and it has a nest box on it. Two uncaged macaws in my house are just not an option. After multiple messages back and forth they may want to keep the male and just sell the female. They want to know if their sweet boy will come back. Maybe, maybe not. You never know and you'll have to deal with a grieving macaw who lost his mate in the meantime. Then perhaps they want to get another male to keep him company. They don't want him to be lonely when they go on vacation - AND leave him home alone for a week with no house sitter or someone to come by and give him fresh food and water each day. I guess they just leave food and water bowls scattered around the place. So many horrible things can go wrong here. I want to tell them to give up both birds and get a stuffed parrot at Walmart. I might slam my head in the door a few times as well.

Unfortunately, people have joined this forum over the years seeking validation of, and tips on, doing the same thing.

 

[BrianB]

Unfortunately, people have joined this forum over the years seeking validation of, and tips on, doing the same thing.

Indeed