Military Macaw Questions

My fiance and i have been wanting to adopt a macaw after reading about them and meeting a couple that were amazingly good (i know probably rare). After a lot of reading on here i originally had my heart set on a B&G(due to the personality). But recently was offered a green wing (that unfortunately fell through) and after reading about them they sounded even better due to their personality. But i have an oppurtunity to take in a female military macaw that was captive bred but hasnt been handled in a long while. the owner had to give her up do to illness. From what i have read it sound like these guys arent as cuddily as the GW or B&G and a bit more nippy. I love my grey but she isnt much of a cuddler and does not like be held or go on shoulders and such (which i am fine with she loves to sit on the couch and be petted like a cat). But we were really hoping to take in a bird that could go around the house with us and be more of a cuddler. My other concern is finding a species that is more apt to be good around kids(and yes kids would be taught how to act, my grey is more likely to bite with unexpected movements)

So curious on thoughts, should i go for it or should i wait till a B&G or GW come up? keeping in mind training is no problem and the Bird is fine where she is probably doesnt get as much attention as it would like but there is no rush.

I appreciate any feedback/insight good or bad

...because blue and golds never bite, and are always cuddly?!

Uuummm.... I've seen some pretty high strung B&G's from time to time. Especially the young and excitable ones that don't have established boundaries yet.

They are cuddly if you work with them. That goes for ALL of them. My girlfriend had the calmest Scarlet you ever met. (She knew how to train them.)

They all have their individual personalities. Generalizations are just that.

My advice to anyone in that situation is to go and interact with the bird and see how the bird responds to you.

If the bird hasn't been handled in a long time, it is probably cage bound...

But Maggie, my GW hadn't been handled in 8 years when I got her, and she's been my best buddy since day four...

BUT There is work involved. Sometimes a significant amount of work to turn around a bird. But that depends entirely on the condition of the bird, how it was trained, and what it has been through.

i definitely realize any bird is likely to bite given the right conditions (or moods) and its really dependent on personality like you said. from what i have read there seemed to be more good things about B&G's and GW's than bad.
i should also add i fully expect no matter what bird i wind up with i'll have to do at least some work with (if not a lot of work).

i'm really trying to determine if their are any aspects of the birds that tend to hold true for the majority, such as even tempered or generally more agressive etc.

i also really do understand that i should interact with the bird as well but i've always learned with animals (and its a point already made mention of) their personality and interaction isnt going to be who they really are when they are unhappy or meeting a stranger. All of my animals have been rescues that for the most part have had major personality changes once they settled in. The macaw just changed homes 4 months ago so its likely very much on edge so i doubt i'd get an accurate gauge of how it will settle in.

If you are able to give it a good home that will love it even if it isn't cuddly, then I would say go for it. Militaries are generally more prone to be a bit more nippy and beak oriented than GW or B&G's. That said, its just a generality and not a rule. My young B&G isn't much of a cuddle bug day to day, but he has his moments. With time and trust building activities, the military could come to trust you and allow you to mess with it. I'd also suggest spending some time with the bird. Militaries tend to be very head strong and it sounds older, so trust building would be difficult. Though, if you feel like you could live with it the potential beakiness and possibility that it may not be a cuddle bug, go for it.

It does sound like you'd be the most happy with bringing in another bird who is a cuddler, and not what sounds like an un/under-socialized older bird of a generally more challenging species. If it were me, there wouldn't even be a question about it, I'd pass. But then that's my personal opinion of what I'd do.

If you long for an additional bird with certain personality characteristics, I think a more laid back (and already socialized and tame) bird would be your best bet. An adult where you know the personality characteristics of the individual already, where you've met the bird and it shows affection or at least some interest towards you and your fiancé, and is accustomed to being petted/handled. Are there an rescue organizations near you?
Or, you can try for a baby from a breeder or store, but even then there's no guarantee what personality type you'll end up with. Still would probably be a better bet than this Military you're thinking about.

It's of course up to you, but if you choose this military, you'll at least go into it knowing that you might end up with yet another bird who is not quite the type of companion you're really yearning for.

I'd have to agree with everything Julie (RavensGryf) said. Militaries can be challenging. They can be great pets, but if you're looking for cuddly I'd find a bird that's already cuddly, whatever the species.

thekarens said:

I'd have to agree with everything Julie (RavensGryf) said. Militaries can be challenging. They can be great pets, but if you're looking for cuddly I'd find a bird that's already cuddly, whatever the species.

Click to expand...

Yeah, when a militaries face turns red, it generally means the exact opposite of when your little BTM's face turns red...

But at least they are easy birds to read.

Thank you all for all the responses. i think i am going to see about getting some more info from on the bird before i make any final decisions. the macaw is currently with my aunt who takes in birds in need, so its no big deal either way. Honestly if its not a cuddly bird i'd fine with it, its more of a hope then a must have.

The biggest thing with Militaries in my opinion, is that they do tend to overbond and be one person birds, more so than a lot of the other species... (Those guys and the severes really do tend to have a tendency to have one person pair bond issues.)

Which of course, in my book, only means do more socialization training work to prevent it from becoming a problem.

And secondly, they are a little on the beaky side, but not quite as bad as a Scarlet or a Buffons.

So as an update i'm even more torn with this bird, i spoke with my aunt the bird was captive bred macaw that the previous owner did spend a lot of time with. Since the bird has been moved to a new home she has become territorial of the cage and has been trying to bite. but i am told she is an impressive talker and not very loud. while i am debating on the military i happened on a rescue in RI that has a B&G that actually prefers children to adults but will warm up to adults. i actually am waiting to hear back about it since the B&G would be prefect as my fiancee and i are expecting our first child in march.

In all honesty, I would wait on the macaw until the child is a little older.

You really don't want to deal with curious little fingers, and macaw beaks. Too much potential for bad things to happen...

Not to mention the fact that macaws do tend to be jealous of attention paid to anything other than themselves... when babies get the majority of the attention in the house.

And then there's that whole loud macaw waking the baby when you haven't slept yourself in days... PLEASE GOD NO!!! I JUST WANT TO SLEEP!!!

I honestly wouldn't....

I think Sarah was six before I brought home a big mac. And trust me - I wanted them before she was ever even conceived. But it wasn't the right time.

Trust me on this one. I've been through it. And there aren't many people who love big macs more than I do. But big macs and babies?! That's a lot to deal with at the same time.

Having a new baby in the house is often a reason macaws get re-homed. "We love our macaw, but we didn't expect it to be like this."

(Stop me if you've heard this one before.)

Just my opinion. It's your decision, but I think it would be smarter to wait until the kids are out of diapers and are old enough to interact with and enjoy the bird safely, too.

Surfincr said:

While i am debating on the military i happened on a rescue in RI that has a B&G that actually prefers children to adults but will warm up to adults. i actually am waiting to hear back about it since the B&G would be prefect as my fiancee and i are expecting our first child in march.

Click to expand...

I know people with young children and large birds, and its quite difficult to balance the needs of the child with the neediness of a macaw. It is possible though, it just takes that much more effort. And if you do bring the bird in with a young one, please, take extra special time to condition the bird and child to proper touches. I have a friend with a young child (4) who can sit with thier macaw in her lap and read books to it. She has always been around the bird and knows not to push its buttons, and they pay very close attention to thier interaction. If the birds starts to get worked up, they remove the bird from the situation before something bad happens. I would hate to hear about a child losing a finger or a macaw getting surrendered to a shelter because of a misunderstanding or under preperation.

Young child, yes, but a NEWBORN?! My knee jerk reaction to that one is "are you out of your mind?! Or do you just not realize how much work that human baby is going to be?"

And just about the time you finally get the baby to sleep, that great big bird will have had just about enough of not getting attention... AAAAAHHHHHKKKKK-GGAAKKK-GAAAAKKK!!!

WAAAHHHHH!!! AAAAAHHHHKKK!!! WAAAHHHH!!! AAAAAHHHHKKK!!! AAAHHHKKK!!! AAAHHHKKK!!! WAAAHHHH! WAAAHHH!!!

Sleep disruption will be an issue!!! (It's going to be an issue anyway, but a game of who can scream louder - the baby or the bird - is not my idea of a good time, when I am already worn down to my very last nerve. I JUST WANT PEACE AND QUIET!!!)

My daughter was 4-5 when she first began handling tame macaws, under close supervision, down at the rescue.

She was 6 when Sweepea came home. By then she had pretty much handled every type of bird there was.

Honey I shrunk the macaw:



"Killer" Amazons:



And the larger variety:



By this age, she had already played with my friend's Hy-Hys, and was, in fact, a full blown Hyacinth and Cockatoo addict...

The "macaw gene" runs in the family:




Hard to believe, but she's going to be 18 in about a month! Goes by fast...

Good points, its also one of the main reasons i am not rushing out to do anything. With Ziggy we already know we are in for trouble since she LOVES to imitate interesting sounds i can only imagine what she is going to pick up.

the good part about our household is there is only 18 hours per week that no one is home, so there will be a lot of time the macaw can be out.

as far as kids interacting with animals, any child that comes over is always taught and watched while interacting with animals. i was raised to be very careful around animals and what to watch out for. my kid will be reaised the same way.

i really appreciate all of the responses. we are weighing out everything to make sure we might the right decision for the bird and for us.

I can GUARANTEE that your CAG will do the baby crying, and will do it so well, in fact, that you won't know if it's the actual baby crying, or if it's the dang bird messing with your head... just to see if you'll get up and go check on the baby!

That is just their nature!

Speaking for me: My daughter was a climber. And baby gates were a sport...

I'd wait on the big mac. I'd still get one, but 4-5 is about right. Old enough for the kid to follow instructions, and interact safely.

Most things happen when you look away for just a fraction of a second. Like, answering the telephone, for example, and walking back in the room to find your 18 month old has (once again) hopped the baby gate and navigated the shelves on the wall unit - and is standing on top of an 8 foot wall unit. "Daddy! Look at me!"

Now imagine the wall unit is a macaw cage... and the birdie is NOT HAPPY about sharing her cage with a little person...

I'm just saying!

I personally would wait until your child is a bit older as Mark suggested before bringing home a macaw.

Being a first-time parent with a newborn can be physically, emotionally, and mentally tasking and then throw on the responsibility of caring for a big mac as well would essentially be like having twins. And then there's your CAG...so now you have triplets. Lol [emoji33]

I have a 2.5 yr old little boy who is busy busy busy!!! He would absolutely love to play with my galah because he adores her, but it's not gonna happen- at least not for another couple years.

I agree and take if from someone that just re-homed a bird about a month ago. Until it is in your home you have no idea how the bird will react to you or how long it will take to gain his trust. I don't like to think of it as training . Sorry I know a lot will disagree with me but to me it's trust , respect and friendship... OMG I think i am learning lol
The people who posted on this thread love nothing more than to see a bird gain a new home so if they say wait. I would wait .