Any advice from owners of Blue & Gold Macaws?

colmranger

Hi,
I recently lost my pet Black-Headed Caique after just 4 happy years.

I have two young boys aged 7 and 8yrs who miss him deeply. I think he was taken by either a thief or else a Bird of Prey.

Anyway i have always dreamt of some day owning either an African Grey (2nd choice) or a Blue & Gold (1st choice).

Just wondering is there anyone out there who owns a Blue & Gold Macaw who could advise me?

I have heard of some horror stories where Macaws have bitten childrens fingers and ears straight off :eek:

Any input appreciated.

P.S. My next parrot will have a large secure aviary.

Our man in Havana

I dont keep macaws yet - my godfather used to have a scarlet macaw that hated kids.

I have plans for a pair of green wings - I keep african greys I have a pair in an avairy & 1 who is my baby shes only 6 months old.

Your boys are very young & macaws are hard work & they can do a lot of damage.

tallus

Buy a Macaw if you want to annoy all of your neighbours, I dont think there is a louder parrot. They are EXTREMLY loud. Never kept one myself but I have kept Greys. If you live in a built up area get the Grey, far better parrot imo, I always thought the new world species are so much louder than old world. I know a guy owns a pet shop and used to have a Macaw and it could be heard from a good distance away.

FranknFurter

From the little I've gathered over the years about the larger parrots, I would say a African Grey would be the way to go.
Extremely intelligent and can be very loving, without all the problems associated with a Macaw.

B

Nala

From what I've heard an African Grey is the best. They're nowhere near as beautiful as the macaws but are brilliant talkers.

Sigma Force

African greys/macaws and other parrots are very hard work and need loads of space and can have all sorts of behavioural problems if not kept correctly. Some places will try and sell you birds cheap because of this.
Also watch out for dodgy breeders and avoid a certain place near Hollywood area.

How was the last bird caught by a bird of prey..was the aviary damaged?
If you suspect it was a thief I would avoid getting any birds for the time being because those kind of people will come back again and again.
Is the avairy heated?
Also avairys for diff birds require different strenghts of wire, if you have standard aviary wire it will not be strong enough to keep a grey of Macaw in.

Rethink your aviary layout and see what bird suits it, if you have to make modifications then do all that before you get the bird, also a double door system is very important, the more intelligent the bird the more they will figure out how to get out of it.

Tbh I would avoid a Macaw for now until the children are older, you can get just as much from a friendly cockatiel or similar bird esp. if they get enough attention.

If anyone gets a whiff you have a Macaw or other large parrot (and they will hear him) they may think of stealing the bird so security is a must, eg lights cctv etc.

Don't forget they will also live a looong time so wether thinking of a grey or Macaw or something like that keep that in mind. I would say mabey it's best to start with something similar to what you had before and then mabey work your way up to a larger parrot eventually.

But as said if there is a thief about they are such chancers they will try again esp. if they can hear the bird. Not saying don't get one but just be careful with security be it a wild bird/fox etc or a thief.

bobbysands81

colmranger wrote:

Hi,
I recently lost my pet Black-Headed Caique after just 4 happy years.

I have two young boys aged 7 and 8yrs who miss him deeply. I think he was taken by either a thief or else a Bird of Prey.

Anyway i have always dreamt of some day owning either an African Grey (2nd choice) or a Blue & Gold (1st choice).

Just wondering is there anyone out there who owns a Blue & Gold Macaw who could advise me?

I have heard of some horror stories where Macaws have bitten childrens fingers and ears straight off :eek:

Any input appreciated.

P.S. My next parrot will have a large secure aviary.

Mate, I have an African Grey and I keep hom not only in the house but in the sitting room. I too would love a Macaw but I need to be realistic about it, they take a lot of work, as do Greys, but if you get one prone to biting people they can do some damage!

My Grey is now 17 months old and has not yet bitten in anger though he is starting to show some aggression at times, but not to me, he knows I'm the boss of him and is terrified of me when he knows that he's done something wrong.

I don't think it would be fair to keep a Grey in an aviary unless it had another bird to keep it company, but then I'm no expert. It might prove quite hard to socialise a Grey that is not around people all the time. I have no behaviour problems with my fella but even though there is no-one in the house all day he has plenty of company at night and so far all is working well.

He does get loud and annoying at times but nowhere near the noise that a Macaw makes. On rare occassions I put him out in the kitchen when he's too noisy and that shuts him up! He has a huge cage in the sitting room which actually looks well there. He says a good few words and dances on command, I'm trying to teach him a few other tricks as well though!

If I can be of anymore help please give me a shout.

FranknFurter

African Grey Parrots & Macaws are highly social birds.
Keeping one lone bird in an aviary would really be unfair on the bird, if they are to be kept alone, in a house for example, they need TONNES of human interaction. This is not a bird for someone with children IMHO (I know Ill be slated for that!) but to my mind, if you have children you will very likely not have enough time for a bird of this type.
These birds are on a whole other level to most, and need your full attention, and if they dont get it, they will demand it! If they still dont get it, they will get ill and depressed.

"Their intelligence makes the African Grey a very demanding pet, however. You must absolutely be prepared to spend lots of time with an African Grey, providing social contact as well as mental stimulation. Grey's have been described as being the emotional equivalent of a two year old human, with the intelligence of a five year old. This means they need a lot of attention and patience, along with a good deal of guidance to acceptable behavior. And, they can, and will like a child, be a real challenge to deal with at times!" -Parrot Behavior. P-Press, 2006

The above is even more true of a Macaw, and yes, there have been many cases of their beaks causing bad injuries with children AND adults. All it takes is one bad day.
I have seen a Macaw actually break a wooden sweeping brush handle in half in one go!

B

FranknFurter

If you (anyone) decide you do want to buy a larger parrot, I seriously encourage you to go through this info sheet before you do somthing you might regret in 0-80 years time!.
http://www.parrotsr4ever.org/Pre_aquire.aspx

If what you read above (click each link), is something you are prepared to take on, then at least you know what to expect!

B