advice

I know a couple who "think" they want a Macaw. I am not sure they are prepared for all that entales. They each have a small child (around 6 or 7 I would guess) and as far as I know neither of them have owned a parrot before. The guy has handled one at a local pet shop but that's it. I am afraid they really don't know what they are thinking about doing.

Any websites I can pass along?
Rosey

I don't know about websites, I'm sure that others here can help with that. But if they have their hearts set on having a macaw, steer them towards a baby red-fronted macaw. These medium sized macaws have wonderful personalities and might well be able to intergrate into their family. They are imo easier to handle than the big boys, but have less volital personalities than most mini macaws. And stress to them that they should wait for a baby.

I'm curious why they think they want a Macaw. Quite frankly before I got Auggie I had no interest in birds. Sure they were pretty and nice to look at, but if these are someone's reasons they most certainly shouldn't get one.

In my case I worked where Auggie was, and every time I walked by his cage he ran right up to me and rubbed up against the cage. He didnt do that to anyone else, just me. Then I started taking him out and playing with him.... and the lil jerk got me hooked. I missed him when I came home. So the next month I took him home.

Now I am learning to understand and appreciate parrots. Now I am hooked. But without some initial experience to get someone "hooked" what motivation is there to seek out a bird?

On that, what drove all of you to get your first?

RS Rosey,

Hubby & I "thought" about a Blue & Gold Macaw for over a span of years...Commitment? Not the right time, dog was ill, etc. But, somehow, the time was right, she came along & clicked...and is doing well.

You just have to find a good time in your life to add another kid to your world.

Allison

I think the thing that probably peaked my interest was a show with parrots...then the research..then meeting and handling different parrots. (but this was over a stretch of about 11 years).
Rhonda

my dh works with him and I don't know if he ever mentioned why he wants a Macaw. I have not talked to them personally yet, they want to come see my Blanch so i am hoping feel them out a little more then. I am also hoping to steer them away from getting a large parrot if they seem to have no idea what it takes or why they want one.
Rhonda

I had no interest in birds- nor did I want one. But my dad had conures- I had bought him one as a present, so he now had 2 conures. He let me name him too- I named him Toby. Well, then my dad got married, and he had to get rid of one of the birds, so since I had given that one as a present- he asked me to take him. So I thought, what the heck, why not. He showed me how to handle him and it took some fighting- but he finally got on my hand. He was still kinda mean though- but then my roomate let him out- took 3 days to catch him- and after that a changed bird- he would even fly to me when I called his name. Then one weekend I was gone and my friend went in to feed him and he was dead so about a month later, I saw this Macaw in the pet store and fell in love. Cosmo was my first Macaw (My only one actually )) And that's my story I would start small too- then go up.

Do you think they might want a Macaw as a "status" bird? Kind of like 'Check out this big, beautiful bird I have that's a great focal point in my living room and a great icebreaker when I'm hosting parties'?

The best thing (IMO) is to arm them with all the information you can and just hope they make the best decision for them and their potential companion.

Maybe somthing like that. I just really worry when I hear someone say a"oh I would love to have a Macaw" But then talk to them and they have no clue what it would involve. Like they are automatically sweet and will always be that way...no work required. I haven't had a chance to talk to them yet but they go through things like crazy, cars...stereos...so just another buy me thing. I will wait til I talk to them to see for sure what they know. Maybe see if they can handle blanch and how they would avoid problems with the kids.
RHonda

Follow this equation:

(inexperienced handler [or one that wants a macaw as decoration] + a macaw that runs the house + kids)(.90) = Rehomed Macaw ...

(for those who are "math dumb" this reads, 90% of the time macaws get rehomed because people are dumb!)

:50:

are we getting quizzed on this later?.... I better get my calculator.

From someone who has had a macaw for a month and has no children, I obviously have no business replying to this thread, but here goes...

Look after the kids first. As they grow older, their interests will expand and you'll be shuffling them all over the place. The bird will eventually be ignored. THAT makes an unhappy bird. To paraphrase Tex, unhappy birds are rehomed birds.

Tell that person to get a cat from a shelter - here in OH, we have many cats that had to be given up due to foreclosed homes. Perfect, well-mannered, litterbox trained - but through no fault of their own, they're up for adoption.

Well a lot of uninformed people see pictures of macaws and think WOW I would love to have one of those, they are so pretty.

I know because I was one of those people. I did some research but not enough.

I don't believe in a "beginner Bird."

I don't object to a first time bird person getting a macaw (I know this goes against the norm) however I also don't think everyone should get one either.

Ask the people to volunteer at a rescue for a while so they can get first hand experience and get real facts and information before making that HUGE commitment.

Adopting a bird is like having a kid, only this kid NEVER grows up and NEVER moves out.

Ask them questions like, what if the bird bites their kids finger off, are they gonna get rid of the bird. IF YES, THEN DON"T GET ONE because the chances are high that a child and adult WIL get bit.

Do they like cooking and making frresh veggies EVERYDAY only to throw them out, if the answer is no, then don't get a bird.

Are they prepared to have the sound of 727 jet plane go off in their living room (not kidding either)

Ask if they are prepared to get rid of ALL non stick cookware, candles, scented plugins, air fresheners, most cleaning chemicals ETC. ETC.

Are they willing to spend $200.00+ a year for AVIAN certifed vet visits (and thats if the bird is healthy)

I could go on and on....

Here are some wesites to check out.
http://www.macawlanding.org/index.shtml
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww45e.htm
http://charlieandpeggy.com/behaviorcompatibility.htm
http://thetrueparrot.homestead.com/index.html
http://www.chopperstoys.com/CatalogArticlesBirdWise.html

Good Luck

rockinseattle said:

I don't believe in a "beginner Bird."

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I agree, and disagree at the same time. I do think that there are "beginner birds" in the concept that there are birds that are easier to handle for the first time owner. We all know that the more confident you are handling your bird the better the result will be with the behavior you are trying to obtain. But do I think that there are exceptions to the rule ... but those are few and far between, unless you are a 'bird whisperer'

rockinseattle said:

Ask the people to volunteer at a rescue for a while so they can get first hand experience and get real facts and information before making that HUGE commitment.

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Awesome idea rocks ... hopefully they have one in their area that they can do this with ... I know that I don't have any in my immediate area because I have looked into volunteering ...

rockinseattle said:

Are they prepared to have the sound of 727 jet plane go off in their living room (not kidding either)

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That's being nice to the Mac ... I think it's more like a Concorde Jet breaking the sound barrier! :18:


Great info Rocks, and those links are very, very good too! Thanks for the info ...

Clarifying - By beginner bird I mean one that a person starts out with then sells, moves up to the next one and so on and so on. NOT GOOD.

rockinseattle said:

Clarifying - By beginner bird I mean one that a person starts out with then sells, moves up to the next one and so on and so on. NOT GOOD.

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100% agreed!