New Friend in August!!

Having been given the all clear on health our little Eclectus will have a Macaw buddy joining him in August!!

I must be mad but have agreed a deposit, even before the eggs have arrived!!

I've made the decision to choose a baby from a very well regarded UK breeder, the choice will be between a B&G or a Greening. Either work for me but any additional insight you guys can give would be hugely appreciated

We need our new friend to be confident, happy around different people and accepting of dogs, cat, pigs, tortoise and Harry (our Eclectus) I believe either breed of Macaw mentioned above would fit the bill, but do shout if you feel otherwise

All very exciting and still plenty of time for Harry, to blossom and grow, he's two and suffered a very poor start in life but gradually coming out of himself and looking marginally better, although still very poor plumage sadly

Congrats on your decision to get a large macaw! I can't wait to read about further decision making of which type you end up bringing home. I currently have a RFM which is the biggest parrot I ever had. When Valentino is relaxing on my shoulder I tend to get a bit sore. He is about 450 grams right now and should gain maybe 50 more before he is done.

Harry is looking really good for such a rough start. I can see a bit of shine in his plumage so that tells me he is recovering from what ever diet or stress he was under. His beak is looking really nice too. Here is a picture of my Solomon Island Eclectus Joaquin ten days before he passed. He was in perfect feather and had his diet down really nice. I actually took this picture to send a thank you card to our vet for all the hard work she was doing with him. I wanted to show her how well he was doing.

Congrats ! Started making plans for the cage ?

GREAT news, and congrats on your deposit on your future baby. I have both a B&G and a GW, and I love them both with a passion. VASTLY different in termperament, but both are tons of fun.

Niko (my B&G) is 3, and FULL of energy. He rarely sits still, is always climbing, hanging on one toe, swinging, causing a ruckus, being mischieveous and often downright ornery. Of course he can be REALLY snuggly and loving, too, when he's in the right mood.

Ripley (my GW) is a little over 1.5, and has only been with me for about a month. He is SO sweet, loves to chew wood like there's no tomorrow, snuggles, and flaps his heart out every opportunity he gets. He climbs, too, but instead of climbing around, he HOPS around, taking giant leaps from one branch to the next.

I don't think you can go wrong with either bird.

PS. I can't offer any advice regarding pigs & tortoises, but I do have 2 BIG dogs, and none of my birds care or worry about the dogs. On the contrary, they'd be happy to nip them in the nose if they had the opportunity, which I won't allow, of course.

One "little" hint: Start making toys....LOTS of them. It's much cheaper to make them than constantly having to buy them. I know this is WAY down the road, but once your Mac starts making toothpicks out of wood, there will be no stopping him/her. :54:

Have you thought of a name yet?

Congrats on your future macaw! I have 2 hybrids that are part B&G. My Roscoe is every bit like Wendy's Niko in always being busy & clownish. Pretty much he has more of a B&G personality. He is a riot to have around, one minute hanging & swinging on his ropes. Then the next min. he wants to cuddle & act like a baby again.

I don't currently have experience with Green Wings, but I do own one. My baby GW is still being hand fed. All that I have read in books, & on forums tell me that I am going to greatly enjoy being owned by a GW. My girl's breeder says she is extremely cuddly & sweet, she is 5 1/2 months old at present.

So, I know this is not much help since I am in favor of both choices wholeheartedly. I also have a female SI ekkie & she loves to listen to the macaw boys, then she tries to repeat what they say. Hers is not nearly as clear, but she is young & still learning. Of course they are never allowed to be in the same cage or play perch together. I would not be too happy to find Roscoe had turned Leyla Belle into a new chew toy.

Thanks all for the warm replies, much appreciated

Noblemacaw - so sorry to hear about your Ekkie, very sad and he looked great in the photo.

Just checking on the largest size of cage we can accommodate

I'm hoping as the Macaw is the baby and the Ekkie the older, they will eventually be able to be out together and share the Jave tree, I'd be interested in what you feel around this?

I need the whole flock to live in harmony, which they currently do, so would readily re think if its unlikely the birds could share play space (not cage space) when out - which would be most days for as long as required, excluding dog walk time

Fleabane said:

I'm hoping as the Macaw is the baby and the Ekkie the older, they will eventually be able to be out together and share the Jave tree, I'd be interested in what you feel around this?

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I have 2 Amazons as well, and I NEVER allow them on the Java tree when the Macs are on there. It would surely have catastrophic results. Niko is VERY jealous of my Amazons, and he would not hesitate to attack either one of them. Since my Amazons are considerably smaller than my big Macs, the Amazons wouldn't stand a chance. They could easily lose a limb, and even their lives.

I'm not saying your Ekki and future Mac will never get along. I'm only saying to be VERY very careful.