Yellow Collared Macaw Info?

Hi everyone, there's a chance that for my birthday, I will get permission to get another parrot. Its not final, but we'll see. Until then, I'm figuring out what bird I would like. I already have a nanday conure, black jack, who doesn't have a mean bone in his body (but he can be a real brat around strangers :roll eyes. He has to be the most tolerant, sweet, affectionate, and silly parrot I know. This time around, I would like a more challenging bird. I'm looking to gain experience with training and learning how to juggle two parrots. I think I'm ready for a mini macaw, but I'm not taking this lightly. My birthday is in November, so I have until then to save up and learn more. I can take a bite, so beak size isn't a big concern. There are places I can socialize him, and black jack is learning to get along with other birds . if anyone has any info or experience with yellow collared macaws please share!

I have a Hahns macaw. He still young but he has never bitten me so far. To be honest I find him calmer and even more affection then the green cheek conures I had. I guess one difference would be you will be ordering nuts (unless your conure eats nuts in his diet). I know macaws need nuts as part of their diet. Here is a thread talking about yellow collard macaws http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/29064-does-anyone-own-yellow-collard-macaw.html

Captain jack is adorable! I was on the fence between a hahns or noble, or a ycm. I'll check out that thread

If I were to get a mini macaw, I'd probably be torn between a noble, a yellow collared, or an illigers!

Hahns are about the same size as a nanday, while the rest are bigger. This means that you'll need a larger cage for a larger parrot, and maybe even different food.

Whichever species you decide on, I would suggest making sure you can interact with some first hand to gauge just how big they are and determine if you have the room for a larger cage for the bird!

MonicaMc said:

If I were to get a mini macaw, I'd probably be torn between a noble, a yellow collared, or an illigers!

Hahns are about the same size as a nanday, while the rest are bigger. This means that you'll need a larger cage for a larger parrot, and maybe even different food.

Whichever species you decide on, I would suggest making sure you can interact with some first hand to gauge just how big they are and determine if you have the room for a larger cage for the bird!

Click to expand...

If I was to get another macaw I probably get a yellow collard macaw or a Illigers macaw. The breeder had a Illigers macaw left but the price was 1000 dollars. Plus I did not know if a Illigers macaw would be the best first time macaw.

Illigers are so beautiful! A lot of people think they have "drab" colors, but I think they are gorgeous :O. I think they are harder to find. My local bird store has all sorts of exotic parrots like lead beaters cockatoos and a hawk headed parrot. They even had a black palm cockatoo!!! However, I can't find illigers macaws. I love the ycm personality, and I've spent sometime with the babies. They have three babies. I almost melted when I saw one of them do the classic baby macaw wing flap/head bob, and in the most squeaky nasal voice yelled what sounded like a "hello!". I was sold .
@monicaMc I definitely have the space for a big cage, and am picking out food brands. My room has become "the bird room" lol.

I had an Illiger's macaw named Diego. I flew out to California in Sept. 2002 to get him and the breeder opened her home to me and I stayed with her for a few days. I got to learn so much about husbandry and how/what she fed, types of cages and we ended up becoming such good friends. I loved my Illiger's very very much and miss him every day.

From what I have been reading about YCM they do remind me a lot of the Illiger's macaw. I debated getting a YCM for almost 6 months but after the RFM came home and now that I know how much a handful this naughty mischievous parrot can be I have changed my mind and now feel a Panama amazon will make a better fit here.

Back in 2002 I paid $1000 for Diego my Illiger's macaw. It is interesting the price has not changed much for them in all this time. I really had a very good bond with Diego and he was my companion. I just can't bring myself to get another Illiger's. If you have parrot experience and are looking for a mini macaw I really do recommend an Illiger's macaw. You know you have the heart of the Illiger's when they "cuddle wrestle" with you. It is easy to win them over with food.





I don't think the Illliger's macaw colors are drab at all.

Abigal i too have a Hahns and also find them sweet ampnd calm. How old s your baby? My Hahnna is just about 12 weeks.

Buzz2537 said:

Abigal i too have a Hahns and also find them sweet ampnd calm. How old s your baby? My Hahnna is just about 12 weeks.

Click to expand...

Captain Jack is around four months old. He is very sweet. I did a lot of research on mini macaws before ever buying one. Info led me to a Hahns macaw and to be honest noblemacaw's touching story of her noble macaw Mihijo made me certain I was making the correct choice.

noblemacaw said:

I had an Illiger's macaw named Diego. I flew out to California in Sept. 2002 to get him and the breeder opened her home to me and I stayed with her for a few days. I got to learn so much about husbandry and how/what she fed, types of cages and we ended up becoming such good friends. I loved my Illiger's very very much and miss him every day.

From what I have been reading about YCM they do remind me a lot of the Illiger's macaw. I debated getting a YCM for almost 6 months but after the RFM came home and now that I know how much a handful this naughty mischievous parrot can be I have changed my mind and now feel a Panama amazon will make a better fit here.

Back in 2002 I paid $1000 for Diego my Illiger's macaw. It is interesting the price has not changed much for them in all this time. I really had a very good bond with Diego and he was my companion. I just can't bring myself to get another Illiger's. If you have parrot experience and are looking for a mini macaw I really do recommend an Illiger's macaw. You know you have the heart of the Illiger's when they "cuddle wrestle" with you. It is easy to win them over with food.

I don't think the Illliger's macaw colors are drab at all.

Click to expand...

While Captain Jack and I are still on a long journey together I think I am starting to love macaws every passing day. I always thought they were beautiful but after having Captain Jack over a month I will say I love his sweet, spunky personality. Thank you for sharing your stories about your macaws. How big of a cage is recommend for a YCM or Illigers macaw? I bought this cage for Captain Jack Prevue Pet

I remember talking to Diego's breeder about cages. "Get him the biggest you can afford and have room for Illiger's are very busy parrots." I ended up with a SS Kings 406. This cage is HUGE and weighs 210 pounds. Throughout Diego's life people would make fun of how large the cage was compared to the little mini macaw. Diego used EVERY INCH of his giant cage. I also didn't have cage bound issues when I had to leave him for two weeks and he would not come out for my sister. She was afraid of his hard black beak.

This is the cage my RFM lives in now. Valentino is a very playful parrot and like Diego he plays in the whole cage not just the top half. I know most people would think my 406 is overkill but because both my parrots were/are happy in that cage I don't regret the decision to buy such a large cage.

Depending on the room or what you can afford get the biggest you can afford. If and when you begin to work with the breeder of the mini macaw you want talk to them and find out what kind of cage their mini's are happy in.

Here is a side view to try to reference size of the Kings 406 SS cage I bought back in 2002 before I flew out to California to get Diego. This would work for the larger Mini macaws on up but not past a RFM in my opinion. I sometimes fell it is on the small side for Valentino but his breeder uses these same cages for her RFM's pet parrots.

@noblemacaw---thanks for the beautiful pictures and great cage suggestion! Diego sounds wonderful, he must have had a great life with you. honestly, I'm starting to seriously consider an illigers macaw. last night i had a dream i was playing with one at my favorite pet store. at first it was a normal baby macaw, but then his beak was suddenly bigger than his head! it was a weird dream, i was in an Egyptian water park ...
@Abigale---i think i know what you mean, even though i don't have a macaw yet, I'm already in love with them! if you love him this much now, and you've had him for a over a month, imagine how close you two will be in a year!

Ann, I am sure you would love and do great with either YCM or Illigers macaw.

Noblemacaw thanks for the cage info. You might find this interesting but a macaw lover on youtube has both a Illigers macaw and a Red Front Macaw. Here is the link [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JQolg8nnlk&feature=c4-overview&list=UUNs312i6aLThPBNDqPAlpAg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JQolg8nnlk&feature=c4-overview&list=UUNs312i6aLThPBNDqPAlpAg[/ame]

After I lost Diego to the stroke I didn't handle his death well. I spend HOURS watching youtube video's of Illiger's macaws and I saw a bunch of video's from this person's two macaws. I loved them and watched them a LOT.

Mihijo my Noble Macaw was now alone and was our only parrot. He became very withdrawn and grieved the loss of Diego. It was so sudden because he was fine that day until he had the stroke. Within 45 mins. of having the stroke he was gone. Dr. Blair did everything she could to save him and while my sister was rushing us to the clinic my beak to mouth resuscitation kept him alive until I could get to the clinic but he didn't make it.

I went into a severe depression and Mihjo because depressed as well. I had to seek help from the VA for the depression and I also realized I needed to help Mihijo. Over time he got better as I did but I knew I needed to at least get another parrot for both of us. I know parrots do best in flocks because of how social they are. With watching video's of other people's Illiger's I just could not find it in me to purchase another one. I still can't because Diego had my heart. It took a while for me to decide on another parrot and that is when Valentino began to come into the picture.

After a lot of soul searching and work though Diego's death we decided to get a RFM as our last parrot. Mihijo and Valentino were suppose to be it for us and everything was going to be okay.

We lost Mihijo to a heart attack that October, two months before Valentino was weaned and ready to come home.

I went two long months without any parrots. The house was too quiet and these were very dark days. It was very hard on me because I work at home while Lupe got to escape and go to work outside the home. I wrote a lot of stories about my boys and watch a lot of videos. I do not have ONE video of Diego or Mihijo.

A few months after Valentino came home and we settled in on a nice routine I realize that being the only parrot was not healthy for my RFM so I began to consider one more parrot. After all I have that nice SS cage I bought for my Mihijo back in 2001 and although the next day I cleaned and detailed it, broke it down, and put it in storage I knew deep down I had to get another parrot.

That is the main reason we got Julio. To give this parrot a forever home. He needed us and we needed him.

Julio has never adjusted to the large cage he is in now and I have to consider getting him a different cage with a higher grate. I know this is the right thing to do to help Julio be more secure and happy.

This leaves my Deltona available again. Julio and Valentino are right next to each other but I do not see much interaction and Valentino does not display flock behavior and Julio prefers humans over any parrot. They are a flock but not really.

Now I am considering a third and final flock member. With a lot of research and speaking to many people we have figured out a Panama amazon will make the best fit for our family.

The Panama amazon will join our family next year. I will be returning to the workforce later in the year and will be working outside the home. I know this decision to add the Panama, our final flock member, will be a good decision.

It was a long and hard journey to get here. When I lost Joaquin, my Eclectus to cancer in 05 Diego and Mihijo were suppose to be our parrots and live many many years. I was suppose to die before they did but God seemed to have other plans. I almost gave up on parrots for companions but realized with those two long months of not having parrots I could not live without feathered companions.

Valentino helps heal my heart. Even though he told me the other day that I stunk I do love this parrot very much. He helps retain my sense of humor and reminds me of patience, love and affection.

What ever type mini macaw you decide to get for your companion you cannot go wrong with either species. You are doing your research and learning all you can about them so I believe your decision will be a sound one. Please keep us updated with what you decide because I for one have been following your journey.

noblemacaw, I've been wondering how Julio has been doing!!! I've been wanting to ask for several days now, just haven't gotten around to it... also because I *still* haven't caught up on several posts that I've missed for a couple of months...

Short of raising the grate for Julio, you may be right about a smaller cage. Raising the grate, if possible, you could maybe line the bottom with felt? I might be wrong but I think that's the cloth that's considered safe? And just cut a bunch of pieces to size so when one gets dirty, you could take it out and put another one in?



(really needs to catch up on posts!!! sorry if this takes the post OT)

I know what you mean! Sometimes I forget to follow up on posts and they build up lol. I like the felt idea, it would also make it easier to monitor droppings. Sometimes I think newspaper can make it hard to clearly see droppings.

Ann. I have a baby Hahns Macaw. My prior experience with Parrots was with a wonderful Cockatoo that I hand raised, but sadly developed severe asthma to. I did A LOT of research on the mini macaws as they were recommended to me, because one they carry no powder which is what caused the asthma and two they are big birds in a small body. The two I researched the most were the Noble and the Hahns. I read a bit on the yellow collar, but read quite a bit of negative which is not to say i is true. The Hahns and Noble are relatively the same. The Noble is slightly bigger in size and I read less nippy. Although honestly my Hahnna is not the least nit nippy but she is also young, so I guess I will see. What I read said in order to prevent it. They need to be handled a lot and socialized with a lot of different people, but I think that hoes for any parrot species. What I also read and have seen through youtube (I googled the Hahns to see them in action) is that they are very good talkers, even better then the bigger Macaws and they are very interactive. What I saw on youtube kind of backed that up, although that does not mean that YOUR bird will talk. Hahnna, is 10 weeks and she is already saying step up, what's up, and a lot of jibber jabber I cannot understand. Her words are not super clear but I understand her and occasionally they are very clear. My understanding is they have kind of like a comic voice. I guess the other difference between a Noble and a Hahns is that the Nobles seem to be harder to find, so my guess would be if you did find one they would be more expensive. The Hahns seems to run between $750-$900 here in NJ. They too are not that easy to find. Not sure why but I do not see a lot of breeders breeding them around my area. Oh and I was also told that they do bot always like having another bird on their turf, but not sure how true that is. Maybe since your Black Jack was there first it may be different. I do know my Hahnna is an attention hog. If I am on the phone and she is with me or I am talking to someone and she is with me, she tries to talk louder because she is not getting the attention. LOL. They are also suppose to be relatively quiet and n,y scream / call when they are really distressed but I have heard from others that that is not true. What I read is the best way to prevent the screaming is to teach them to talk. Hahnna has also taken to the Aviator harness and lets me put it on and off of her with no issue and we had a great walk through the park. Where she was nice and calm on my shoulder. I have also had her through the bird store where the birds were loose and screaming and she showed no interest and remained on me as I shopped, and drove an hour on my shoulder in the car, so at least my Hahns appears to be relatively calm and confident. Hope this helps.

Thanks buzz! Hahns macaws are some of the cutest birds around, especially the babies! I'm sorry about your cockatoo, but congrats on your new bird .
Recently, I have become very interested in the illigers macaw. If it came down to it, I would pick the illigers, but its very difficult to find one! I'll see if my local pet store will have any soon. I figured instead of asking my dad if I can get one, I'll ask "if I was to get another bird, hypothetically, what would I have to do to convince you ?"

Im receiving a 2.5 yo Yellow Collard Macaw this Sunday (For Free). the cage and toys are included. I need advice on the proper care of Rio.

I just found out she in 12, not 2.5 yo. I was worried that she is trying lay an egg at a young age. Now I need to find a male to breed her sometime in the future.