Adopting a 19 Year Old Green Wing Macaw

Thinking About Adopting a 19 Year Old Green Wing Macaw. Please read!!

I currently own an African grey parrot. I have had him for 13 years. He tends to be a bitter but I've managed to deal with it for all these years and have learned ways to avoid being bitten. But all in all we've had a good relationship. Unfortunately no one else handles him but me.

With that being said, I have an opportunity to adopt a green wing macaw. This bird is 19 years old. He has had the same owner all his life. She is getting older and just doesn't have time to spend with him anymore. She has never gotten him out of his cage on her hand, except on a stick and once he is out he will get on her arm. She says she has never been bitten but no one else can hold him. She says he likes to spend time in his cage and prefers to do that then come out. It sounds like she hasn't been spending much time with him for a long time. How many years I don't quite know.

Obviously I have concerns here. The fact that he seems cage bound is a big concern. Is it possible for a 19 year old bird to learn new behaviors and bond with someone else at this point.

My plan of action if I do adopt him, is to give him time to adjust to his surroundings. Talk to him, give him treats and spend time in the room with him. Let him get used to our family. Take it one day at a time and gradually move forward to having him trust me and step up for me.

I do know there will be some major challenges I have to face. I would like to get him to the vet to be checked out and clipped. So that will be an undertaking in itself. Plus, just dealing with the emotions the bird will have coming to a new home.

Does anyone have any advice? Do's, Dont's or recommendations? I just want to know if it is possible for us to have a normal friendship with this bird and that 19 years of "I don't know what" will cause him to be set in his ways. It sounds like the woman took good care of him. It's just the fear of the unknown that makes me wonder if this will be worth the effort. I know that nothing important in life comes easy. If I commit to this bird, I want to do the best I can to give him a loving and caring home.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

GW's are wonderful. The only advice I can give is go to her home and watch her interact with the bird. See if she can indeed handle it.

Remington was with his original owner and was 13 when we got him, yes it is possible~
I just wish I could have spent more time with the previuos owner, but he was 5 hours away

Considering a macaw lives to 60 or more years, I think this is still a young bird who can adapt to new experiences.

Have you seen the bird at all and witnessed the interaction between him and the owner? By doing so, you will have a better idea of the potential the bird has and what you are getting yourself into.

I have read many great things about Green Wings. I am going there on Tuesday to meet Sinbad (Female) and to see how she interacts with her owner. Thanks so much. I feel more encouraged that this is possible to do. Meeting her of course will tell us more and if she is for us! I will keep you posted. Thank you everyone for the feedback!

i may be adopting a 20 year old gw also, i'm just waiting for the lady to call me back so i can go meet him. we will definitely be learning together. hopefully we could share what is working for us on certain situations. his person can't keep him any more because she has a upper respiratory illness, and can't handle the bird dander anymore. and she also has been his only person. his name is shamus and what i have been told is that he's a really sweet guy. and like you i have not once read any bad stories about the gw's, nor have i watched any you tube videos of aggressive ones. not saying they aren't out there but i wish people would share those stories too, so newbies like us can learn from it. i have been around parrots pretty much most of my life, but only had acquaintances a few times with some b&g's. keeping my fingers crossed for you that it works out fine.

Heather,

We should definitely keep in touch and share our experiences with each other. It would be great to have someone go through this with me! I'm excited and nervous at the same time! I go to meet her on Tuesday. Let me know when your visit is and we will try to keep in touch. Do you own any birds right now? I'm hoping it works out for you as well. Thanks!

i share the same feelings of being exited and nervous at the same time! because i really want for him to take a liking to me, just hope i'm his type of person. i used to have a pair of soloman island eclectus, i was 16 when they arrived. i unfortunately had to rehome them because i was living on my own at the age of 17, and by the time i was 19 i was working two jobs just so i could pay rent. my lesson learned was an animal of this magnitude is probably best for somebody who is settled down in life and know their schedule isn't going to affect a birds. i wasn't able to give them the time that they soooo much deserved. i miss them terribly, but i did what i thought was best for them because they didn't deserve to sit in their houses 12 + hours a day. now that my routine has slowed down alot, i feel right now would be the time to be a parront again. but my visit with shamus should be sometime this weekend or monday or tuesday, i'm waiting on his owner to call me. she had family visiting over the week for easter and she only gets to see them a few times a year. and keeping in touch with each other is a fantastic idea, plus there are a bunch of macaw owners in the forums that are more than willing to help us out if we need an extra mind for opinion.

I just adopted a green wing almost 4 weeks ago that's about 15-20 years old (unsure of the exact age.)

Jeeves is a love bug but has some health issues we're working through. I don't know his history, only that he was incredibly thin, had a nasty, filthy but very large cage and no toys to play with.

He readily steps up and loves to have his head scratched. He loves to play on his playstand and destroy his toys.

I also have two Congo African Grays and another Macaw, but this Green Wing really stole my heart very quickly.

Just be prepared for a bit of noise, their screams are LOUD when they do it. Jeeves will let off a few occasionally and it HURTS my ears. Also, his toys and food cost alone are much more expensive than my two Grays. He eats more and will destroy a 30 dollar wood toy in about a day or two But I love seeing him enjoy it.

Heather,

I went through some of the same things with my African Grey. When I adopted him I was single. Then just 3 years later I met my husband then had kids and I am also self employed. So making time for him was difficult. Some days would be terrible and others I made an effort to give him some time. My kids are 6 and 3 now and we now take him to the store with us. He loves it. He's come along way with me and has tolerated a LOT of change. I think you did the right thing with your parrots and you are smart to wait until now when you know you have the time for the bird.

I've always wanted a macaw but didn't want to do it until life did settle down. I knew that the next bird might not be so adaptable. I think now is a great time with my kids being older and my business being well established. We are at my store most of the day so it feels like a second home to ALL of my family and I am hopeful it will for Sinbad as well. I think since he is not used to a lot of interaction and being around people alot I will have him get used to home first and be sure to spend lots of time with him when we are home, then bring him into the store when I know he is ready. I may even take sometime off of work. It's a slower time of year for me. Anyway, I look forward to chatting some more. I am so glad I found this forum!

i have been working up a stock pile of supplies to make my own toys, so buying them won't be so horrendous. not saying i wouldn't buy some nifty toys, but knowing how to make your own helps out with the wallet, i'm sure. how is jeeves by the way, i hope his vet visit did alright. and i hope he gets well soon.

Safira,

Thank you so much for your story and thank you for the warnings on noise and cost of food and toys! I can only imagine right now! But like you said. I think it will all be worth it. I'm hoping our visit on Tuesday goes well and he is the one for us!

Heather - I was thinking about doing the same thing. Get a few store bought but make some as well. I hear Macaw's are MAJOR chewers! I'm thinking that the futon in my dinning room is going to be moved to another room. I think it would look like a great chew toy to a Macaw!

Oh gosh, the toys... I have 2 greys and I can't keep up with them! I make a shredder toy twice the length of their body and they destroy it in 6 hours. I HIGHLY recommend hard wood blocks and leather pieces as toys, they take much less time to chew through. I know macaws particularly are destructive and needs lots of toys to chew. Maybe some foraging as well to keep him busy while you resupply!

A miter saw and drill press is a great investment.

birdbrainzz4me said:

i have been working up a stock pile of supplies to make my own toys, so buying them won't be so horrendous. not saying i wouldn't buy some nifty toys, but knowing how to make your own helps out with the wallet, i'm sure. how is jeeves by the way, i hope his vet visit did alright. and i hope he gets well soon.

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I have a stock pile of wood I'm getting ready to start cutting and making toys with myself!! I'm going to hopefully make a home-made play stand on top of a table. We'll see. I have playstands but I want a super-duper large one for my office. My dream is one day having both my macaws on it, but for now.. baby steps.

Anyways, Jeeves is doing good. Blood tests came back the other day, white cell count is elevated but he has an infection so expected that.

Culture came back today, waiting on the vet to get back to me. I missed his earlier phone call. It's taken a full week to get that back so I'm anxious. I hope it has an answer on what exactly is wrong with him.

Safira - Be sure to keep us posted on how the bloods come out.

Karigan & chasroth - Thanks for the tips.

sorry it took me a while to respond, i am in the middle of some home improvements as well. i'm trying to hurry and get it done so my house is put back together, incase i do bring shamus home. but thank you blancaej for understanding my story with the ekkies. i too have also imagined what it would be like to own a macaw ever since i was just a kid, but they were too huge and expensive for my mom and dad. so now that i am an adult, i wanted to go big or go home! i usually do with anything, i always gotta think big. you know what they say bigger is better, well for me anyways.
safira, i am glad to hear the good news on jeeves. i work in a vet clinic myself, it's a complicated type thing, husband and wife clinic, wife breeds bichon frise's. i take care of the dogs that stay at the clinic. i think that's the easiest way to explain it. but anyways i am glad that it was something curable. i see alot of sad things there but i also see alot of happy ones too. unfortunately the dr doesn't do avian's or else i could have gotten myself discounts on bird care. that would have been awesome to have.

Heather - No worries, we all get busy! That is for sure. I think going big is great and I am looking forward to giving this a shot, too!

Safira - I read your post on your other thread. Hope you get more answers with the xray. But at least you are finding out some answers. Good luck and keep us posted!

Just wanted to pipe in; Grey's are dusty birds and Macaws have sensitive respiratory systems (more than normal for birdies!) and so I'd just advise to invest in a air filter system thingy, or ensure you're really cleaning the room on a daily basis to avoid the GW having any troubles.

I'm sure people with Macaws/Too's/Grey's could give more input on how they deal with their bird combination in regards to cleaning. Some macaws have no issues, but it's just something you might want to think about before getting him!