Red Fronted Macaw in a Pet Friendly Condo?

[acortes20]

Hey Avian Avenue!

I have a species specific question about owning a red fronted macaw in a pet friendly condo. Our whole building is dog/cat friendly and all tenants understand this is a pet friendly building. The leasing office is aware I have a Senegal Parrot and have never had any complaints. That being said, Senegals tend to be way more quite than other birds. I work from home so I am here 6-8 hr per day aside from when I'm out running errands. My Senegal spends 4-6 hr outside of his cage and we have a routine. He rarely screams unless its because I'm in another room and left him for a long time. lol

I am attracted to the RFM because of its personality and size for a mini-macaw.

Anyway, my questions:

Do you own a RFM and if so, how often do they screech and have you had success with them in a pet friendly apartment/condo setting?

How did you work with your RFM to keep screeching to a minimum?

I don't mind the chatter and talking. My issue would be during episodes of screeching as I want to minimize noise complaints. I would obviously be working with the RFM daily as I do with my Senegal to establish a routine and training etc.

Thank you for your help!

-Allan

 

[Shezbug]

Welcome to the Avenue Allan

I don’t have any experience with RFMacaws but I am sure someone here will I cant think off the top of my head who here has one though so I will tag @Mizzely and keep my fingers crossed she knows.

I have found my budgie finds more need to be constantly noisy than my macaw- the budgie chatters non stop but my macaw has the odd few screams that may span over a five minute period but it’s not constant screaming.... just a yell here and there. I find the more I ignore the louder sounds and respond positively to the noises he makes that are not so neighbour unfriendly the less he wants to yell just for the sake of it.
When he’s bored he will scream a lot more (actually, he will find any reason to do so!) and that is an obvious signal to me that I haven’t switched his toys out enough or given him enough foraging and other activities to do.

 

[Nikomania]

While I don't have a RFM, I will say that macaws in general have vocalizations that will carry up to a mile away. They have their very loud moments, so unless all your neighbors are on board, I wouldn't get one.
I have a neighbor from hell, and know firsthand just how miserable one can make your life if they hate the sound of your bird(s).

 

[Mizzely]

I don't know of any active members off the top of my head, sadly.

One thing to consider too.. there is a rather large size difference between a Red Front and Senegal. Often birds that are of different sizes need to be kept separate for safety reasons. This can make things difficult for you as you need to juggle their individual needs, but it Can also be very difficult for the resident bird to adjust to a change in their attention and freedom. Just another factor to think about

 

[Fia Baby]

Check out this link - he may have some videos of his birds singing. Merlin, The Red Fronted Macaw

I don't think they scream a lot, but they can be a bit loud when they play and sing. His link has a lot of good information in general, which you might find useful. Macaws, in general, can be very loud, but aren't generally very "noisy."

 

[aooratrix]

RFMs are the smallest large macaw, and they can be loud! It would depend on the bird, so you wouldn't know how noisy and loud it was until it was too late my rule of thumb is no large macaws in apartments Go to avalonaviary.com to see what she has to say about them Susanne is a respected breeder

 

[Hankmacaw]

@Holiday

 

[MommyBird]

RFMs are the smallest large macaw, and they can be loud! It would depend on the bird, so you wouldn't know how noisy and loud it was until it was too late my rule of thumb is no large macaws in apartments Go to avalonaviary.com to see what she has to say about them Susanne is a respected breeder

I met the RFM babies at Avalon one year (while visiting my Hahns baby) and really loved them. Susanne is a good breeder and really knows her birds.
She knows whereof she speaks Avalon Aviary Bird Store

 

[BrianB]

I have a breeding pair of them and they are loud. I’ve also worked with babies at a local bird store. They are quieter than the bigger macaws, but it’s all relative. They are still macaws after all.

 

[acortes20]

Welcome to the Avenue Allan

I don’t have any experience with RFMacaws but I am sure someone here will I cant think off the top of my head who here has one though so I will tag @Mizzely and keep my fingers crossed she knows.

I have found my budgie finds more need to be constantly noisy than my macaw- the budgie chatters non stop but my macaw has the odd few screams that may span over a five minute period but it’s not constant screaming.... just a yell here and there. I find the more I ignore the louder sounds and respond positively to the noises he makes that are not so neighbour unfriendly the less he wants to yell just for the sake of it.
When he’s bored he will scream a lot more (actually, he will find any reason to do so!) and that is an obvious signal to me that I haven’t switched his toys out enough or given him enough foraging and other activities to do.

My Senegal used to scream as soon as I left the room before. I trained him to only get attention when he makes a chirp sound, so I know when he makes a specific sound there's something he needs usually that means I'm hungry or give me some lubbies but aside from that not a peep all day. Sometimes I wonder if he's a parrot haha. My thought process was to do what you mentioned and teach the macaw less noise = attention, more noise = no lubbies. That being said, when you have other birds in your place do they keep each other company which reduces loud calls when you're out of your house?

 

[acortes20]

I have a breeding pair of them and they are loud. I’ve also worked with babies at a local bird store. They are quieter than the bigger macaws, but it’s all relative. They are still macaws after all.

I've read the species gets really loud when they're a breeding pair.

 

[acortes20]

I don't know of any active members off the top of my head, sadly.

One thing to consider too.. there is a rather large size difference between a Red Front and Senegal. Often birds that are of different sizes need to be kept separate for safety reasons. This can make things difficult for you as you need to juggle their individual needs, but it Can also be very difficult for the resident bird to adjust to a change in their attention and freedom. Just another factor to think about

This is a good point! They would be in separate stands/cages all day.

 

[acortes20]

I appreciate everyone's input, surprised how fast and how many responses I got on this topic. This community is awesome!

 

[BrianB]

I've read the species gets really loud when they're a breeding pair.

My pair started mating last year and the first time was before sunrise one morning. It sounded like dragons fighting in the house.

 

[acortes20]

Check out this link - he may have some videos of his birds singing. Merlin, The Red Fronted Macaw

I don't think they scream a lot, but they can be a bit loud when they play and sing. His link has a lot of good information in general, which you might find useful. Macaws, in general, can be very loud, but aren't generally very "noisy."

OMG they sound like little T-Rex's, almost broke my computer audio hahaha

 

[Mitzi]

We have 5 Red Fronted Macaws and can say they are very loud. When I walk the dog I can hear them screaming at least 1/2 mile away. All the neighbors on my 1 mile block said they can hear them with both our window and their windows closed. I have really nice neighbors and not one has complained but then again luckily they are quite at night when people are sleeping.

 

[jh81]

Any bird can be loud, it depends on the birds character as Well! I had 2 senegals who where louder then my amazon. It also depends on how bored they are. Most bird start screaming when they just sit in the cage all day with nothing to do. This seems not the case with you, so you might have a pretty good chance that your mackaw will never be this loud, monstrous beast that some can be still it depends on the bird.

do you have maybe a shelter nearby where you can go to interact? Get a feeling of how mackaws are?

 

[acortes20]

Any bird can be loud, it depends on the birds character as Well! I had 2 senegals who where louder then my amazon. It also depends on how bored they are. Most bird start screaming when they just sit in the cage all day with nothing to do. This seems not the case with you, so you might have a pretty good chance that your mackaw will never be this loud, monstrous beast that some can be still it depends on the bird.

do you have maybe a shelter nearby where you can go to interact? Get a feeling of how mackaws are?

Yes, so I actually visit my local bird store and local rescue to interact with macaws frequently. I found a bird store in LA area that has worked with red fronted macaws for over 20 years so I will be visiting frequently and asking lots of questions to stay informed!

 

[aooratrix]

Parrots Naturally?

 

[Big Blues]

We have a Red Front, she is typically not loud but parrots small or large can be very loud. If they hear a barking dog they can pick it up and bark like a dog. Each bird is different as is their personalities and their behaviors can change over the years and during hormonal seasons as well.