Negative Nellies

Thingamagigs · Nov 19, 2012

I just sold my lovely corner cage on ebay, they lady who came to pick it up intends on using it as a night cage for a sulfur crested cockatoo

While she was here, she asked me repeatedly why I wanted to get a corella... it was getting a bit irritating. "Why a corella? They are so noisy! You would have been better off with a galah" etc. (When she owns arguably the loudest of the aussie cockatoos lol)

I am getting pretty sick of constantly hearing negative comments any time I mention I am getting a Corella.

I take others opinions to heart as well. Constant negative comments are really getting me down. I have noticed this is a real problem with anything to do with cockatoos! People jump on the negative comments bandwagon. Its getting to the point I can't be excited about my new baby coming, not a living soul is supportive or has something positive to say!
Its causing me to become ridiculously nervous, regardless of the fact I have spent a lot of time in research and watching youtube videos to get the best feel for the species that I can. Regardless of the fact they fly freely in the area and I am familiar with their call.

I am excessively nervous about my new baby, it takes a long time to handrear them and I get no updates from the breeder regarding my baby... I feel like my heads going to implode! I just want to be happy about my new family member, but I cant be, no one shares my enthusiasm.

I just wanted to have a vent... I wish people could be more positive or at least give a balanced point of view!

Mikayla · Nov 19, 2012

Awww don't be upset, you do what's right for you. Some people like to put their two cents in just to hear themselves talk. Have you seen Harold on YouTube...... Defiantly go with your pick, I think they are amazing <3

kc_y0 · Nov 19, 2012

People will always try to give you unwanted advice, they assume that you don't know anything! Don't let them get to you, I love corella's!! They are adorable, and you'll love yours!

tab_xo · Nov 19, 2012

Dont worry about them! people always think they know whats better for you when they have no idea! and that lady doesn't own a corella, so how can she judge

Your baby will be adorable !
You have done all the research and chosen what you think is best and what know what you are capable of, and you know what their call and sounds are

And all us on the forum shares your enthusiasm

I have read so many times that you should have many years of bird experience before you get a macaw, or you shouldn't be "young", but i knew what i was capable of and didn't worry about them

Aims · Nov 19, 2012

Go with your heart. Ignore the negative people. You have done the research and like TAB said YOU know what YOU are capable of. You'll be 'right.

Thingamagigs · Nov 20, 2012

Yeah I have seen Harold... I LOVE Harold

He is so incredibly naughty! LOL
And absolutely full of character.

Tab... you prove them wrong! I think its lovely that you are so young, Fargo will literally be a buddy for life and you may not even have to especially worry about where he goes after you are gone... you'll age gracefully together

Thanks for the support guys... actually, I think I might go watch Harold right now for some reassurance!! The story with Harold goes that he was too naughty and destructive for his owners, so they let him go and advertised in the paper that anyone who found him could keep him. I cant understand people... their destructive nature means I get to make funky wooden toys and creative ways of play or foraging... being a creative person that appeals so much to me!

You've cheered me up! YAY!

tab_xo · Nov 20, 2012

i havnt seen harold? whos harold

When are you getting your baby??

did you end up getting a corner cage?

MikeyTN · Nov 20, 2012

Any bird can be problematic, closer to the top of the list are Cockatoos. That's why people have negative things to say about them. Yes I usually discourage people from getting a Cockatoo without experience, BUT you already had a Galah at one point so you know what your getting into. It's mainly the bigger Cockatoos I discourage people from, the smaller ones aren't really that bad, but with some handling experience and understanding of Cockatoos, they're just fine to have around.

Tab, People try to discourage you from a Macaw is they can be quite dangerous. Is yours a baby? There comes a time when Fargo gets older, he may change so you need to understand. When Willie my B&G Macaw reaches his 10th hatch day, he became very mean towards me as he become fully hormonal and tore my skin open like a banana peel as I was doing what I've always done to bring him out to play as I did not notice his behavior until it was too late. That is usually the reason why some gets re-homed. I've known several people did that and they had them for awhile but couldn't put up with it any longer. Plus they have a tendency being a one person bird, IF you ever have a partner in your life and Fargo decides he likes him better. You might of lost your bird for good. It took me awhile before I was able to handle Willie again and now he's going through his hormonal period, he's getting aggressive again.....

lene1949 · Nov 20, 2012

Corellas, along with galahs are the best parrots of the 'too family... I have both... They were both rehomes, due to 'perceived' biting, but they have never bitten me...

Noisy? Yeah.. maybe, but only at sunup and sundown... If you have a couple of budgies inside, you won't be able to even watch/hear TV... They chatter all day long... lol

tab_xo · Nov 20, 2012

I own massive horses, and have been kicked and bitten by them, hence i have no fear of a macaw and getting bitten and yes i have seen pictures..

fargo is 10 months old and i understand that he will get hormonal, i just think its rude for people to judge when they have no idea what your lifestyle is like..
many macaw owners on here are in their 40's or so and i am so far further in fargos training than them, because i spend so much time with him, so i think its unfair to say a 17 year old cant look after a macaw rather than a older person....

There are no rehomed macaws in australia because of their price and people know what they are getting into when they pay for them and i have all the help from the breeders if i ever have troubles with him..
He came to me not very friendly, and he has turned into the most affectionate boy, and we solved his biting in a day or 2, nor does he scream... so i think thats an accomplishment when people older than me are having these troubles

oh and before i got fargo i read every single book on macaws, so i 'understand' their hormonal stages and that he might change

MikeyTN · Nov 20, 2012

tab_xo said:
I own massive horses, and have been kicked and bitten by them, hence i have no fear of a macaw of getting bitten and yes i have seen pictures.. fargo is 10 months old and i understand that he will get hormonal, i just think its rude for people to judge when they have no idea what your lifestyle is like..
many macaw owners on here are in their 40's or so and i am so far further in fargos training than them, because i spend so much time with him, so i think its unfair to say a 17 year old cant look after a macaw rather than a older person....

There are no rehomed macaws in australia because of their price and people know what they are getting into when they pay for them and i have all the help from the breeders if i ever have troubles with him..
He came to me not very friendly, and he has turned into the most affectionate boy, and we solved his biting in a day or 2, nor does he scream... so i think thats an accomplishment when people older than me are having these troubles

Having a big parrot as your first bird sometimes can be problematic. Shouldn't get discouraged as they're only watching out the welfare of the bird. Since yours is still a baby at 10 months, it's soooooo much easier to get attached and train. We've had Willie for about 9 years and he's a lot different then when we first got him. I actually never had a problem with him when I first picked him up from his previous owners. As Willie came to me on his own, the owners were shocked as he never allows anyone to pick him up other then the lady that reared him. I was able to pick him up with in minutes after arriving. Just few days ago he was being soooooo sweet towards me, came to me for love and all. Today he was being super evil and screamed constantly and started shredding paper he fetched from underneath his grate trying to nest. Soon he'll be humping his toys like he did last year during this time....I love him dearly so I just put up with it until the season is over, I do not bring him out at all during this period because I am not able to even hold him. He'll bite me even IF I do get him out as he did last fall when he chump down on my arm while he was on me.

tab_xo · Nov 20, 2012

Oh im not discouraged at all, i honestly dont care at all what people think, not one person on the forum has said im doing a bad job in training him

yes but there are other baby macaws or birds in general who's owners are having troubles teaching and training? so i wouldnt say that babies are so much easier to train when obviously people have difficulties

So during this season he doesnt come out of his cage at all?

Thingamagigs · Nov 20, 2012

Here is harold!!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pisrT_qfZgg]Harold the Corella - YouTube[/ame]

I guess Tab will deal with the whole partner thing when it comes. I was heartbroken when my conure fell in love with a guy I was casually dating and then decided I was the enemy. My partner had no interest in her what so ever and was actually rather cruel to her (I caught him smacking the cage once to get her to stop squarking).
I just think with a bird like this, there is no real better time, better person, better age, better place... it just takes someone with the right passion and determination. Having dealt with horses and other livestock... even the biggest macaw has nothing on a big cranky horse LOL I think having horse experience puts you in a unique category... horses have VERY subtle body language, compared to other "common" pets... if you can read a horses body language, you have the skills there to pick up on the subtle mood changes your large bird might display.

I wouldn't normally advocate young people having large long lived parrot species but Tab is very mature and grounded for her age. And in this very circumstance, she is probably the most ideal candidate for a macaw. If you have ever attempted to control and/or train a horse in a bad mood or a cheeky young gelding... you'll understand why tab will do so well with training her macaw

JerseyWendy · Nov 20, 2012

Thingamagigs said:
I wouldn't normally advocate young people having large long lived parrot species but Tab is very mature and grounded for her age. And in this very circumstance, she is probably the most ideal candidate for a macaw. If you have ever attempted to control and/or train a horse in a bad mood or a cheeky young gelding... you'll understand why tab will do so well with training her macaw

AMEN to that! Couldn't have said it better myself.

I'd like to add that everybody, regardless of age, will be a first time Macaw parront at one time. We don't all start out as experts. And as soon as you bring your Mac home the learning starts - for both parront & bird.

Having a Macaw is like being in a marriage/relationship. You never know what tomorrow "may" bring, and it order for it to work, you have to work at it.

tab_xo · Nov 20, 2012

Thank you both for those kind words!
It's just that people judge without knowing a single thing about you

if you study hard, learn everything you can, expect the worst and know you have the time and money for the bird, which i have all of those things, he has the biggest cage ever, toys, entertainment, he has lots of training which keeps his brain active, and he has the best care he can get, and will go for vet check ups every 6 months.
Some older people just go to a pet shop and buy a bird and know nothing about it and keep it in a tiny cage and feed it seed!! Tell THEM not to buy a bird, not a young girl who has studied hard and has all the right things!

and thingamagigs i know all about those cheeky young geldings

its my job each afternoon to ride a different horse (we have 9

), it turns out the ponies are a lot more cheekier than the bigger ones haha

and as Wendy said, we all have to start somewhere, we aren't going to get a macaw and be experts straight away!
i think when i am 90 years old, i will say i know everything about Fargo, but until then, each day we will be learning

JerseyWendy · Nov 20, 2012

Thingamagigs said:
I just sold my lovely corner cage on ebay, they lady who came to pick it up intends on using it as a night cage for a sulfur crested cockatoo
While she was here, she asked me repeatedly why I wanted to get a corella... it was getting a bit irritating. "Why a corella? They are so noisy! You would have been better off with a galah" etc. (When she owns arguably the loudest of the aussie cockatoos lol)

I am getting pretty sick of constantly hearing negative comments any time I mention I am getting a Corella.
I take others opinions to heart as well. Constant negative comments are really getting me down. I have noticed this is a real problem with anything to do with cockatoos! People jump on the negative comments bandwagon. Its getting to the point I can't be excited about my new baby coming, not a living soul is supportive or has something positive to say!
Its causing me to become ridiculously nervous, regardless of the fact I have spent a lot of time in research and watching youtube videos to get the best feel for the species that I can. Regardless of the fact they fly freely in the area and I am familiar with their call.

I am excessively nervous about my new baby, it takes a long time to handrear them and I get no updates from the breeder regarding my baby... I feel like my heads going to implode! I just want to be happy about my new family member, but I cant be, no one shares my enthusiasm.

I just wanted to have a vent... I wish people could be more positive or at least give a balanced point of view!

Now that I have gotten off subject...sorry about that Thingamagigs, I'd like to say:

YAYYYY for you for getting a Corella! Don't let the negativity of others get to you. I know that that's easier said than done. Try and let it roll off your shoulders.

Your heart is 100% in the right place, how could you possibly second-guessing yourself?

Your Corella baby will be SO lucky to have you!

Thingamagigs · Nov 20, 2012

tab_xo said:
Some older people just go to a pet shop and buy a bird and know nothing about it and keep it in a tiny cage and feed it seed!! Tell THEM not to buy a bird, not a young girl who has studied hard and has all the right things!

One of my friends parents has a galah in a cage which is only about 4 inches bigger than the bird on all sides. I dont think that poor creature has ever been able to stretch its wings or move from the perch.

I have never heard it make a sound and never seen it move. it just sits there, usually fluffed up.

lol I've had a cheeky young gelding attempt to make me a part of the fencing. I swear I could almost hear his internal laughter!

tab_xo · Nov 20, 2012

awwww thats terrible! i dont know how people can let beautiful birds just sit in a cage

haha! they find things like that amusing dont they

after i rode the arab this evening his mouth was all green and slobbery, and he decided it would look lovely on my shirt hehe

sorry for going off topic!
did you end up getting that corner cage?

Thingamagigs · Nov 20, 2012

JerseyWendy said:
Now that I have gotten off subject...sorry about that Thingamagigs, I'd like to say:

YAYYYY for you for getting a Corella! Don't let the negativity of others get to you. I know that that's easier said than done. Try and let it roll off your shoulders.

Your heart is 100% in the right place, how could you possibly second-guessing yourself? Your Corella baby will be SO lucky to have you!

I am glad I ended up venting because you've all definitely made me feel better. If I hadn't I know I would have been sick with doubt. I think your attitude going into pet ownership really does affect the outcome.
Its not helping that I have a man-child at home at the moment

He is in the middle of changing jobs and I swear, he is about as frustrating as a flock of cockatoos all wanting my attention. He'll go back to work soon and I can reclaim my sanity LOL Birds are so much easier! :54:

JerseyWendy · Nov 20, 2012

Thingamagigs said:
..... Birds are so much easier! :54:

Oh yes, they are. AND often smarter, funnier, easier to get along with, more affectionate (heck, my Niko is an expert French kisser), etc etc etc.

Negative Nellies

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hi! ive got a new baby

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