Rafael of Florida

Abu Colo

Member
Oct 28, 2017
60
18
Columbia
Parrots
Colocolo the Kolokolo Bird, Strigops habroptilus subsp. fortasse
Way too many budgerigars
Greetings all. :blue1::green2::blue2:

I am looking to be the proud father of a Blue & Gold macaw. He is 8 years old, talks, domesticated, and is being sold as the seller wanted a female to breed with his Scarlet - and the B&G turns out to be male. C'est la vie.

I have not collected him yet and am posting the two photos I have of him. He seems to have a nip on his wing (probably from the Scarlet), and a broken tail feather - I do not know if either issue is much to worry about. I would be much obliged if anyone spies any issues about which I should be concerned. Otherwise I think he is a healthy, happy bird.

We have a budgie in the house, and previously had a Quaker. The budgie will have his own cage. I am not sure how much interest a macaw and budgie will take in each other.
 
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Scott

Supporting Member
Aug 21, 2010
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Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Welcome to the forums, Rafael!! The B&G looks great at first glance. How does he seem with you? Macaws have the intelligence and temperament of a toddler. They are challenging but the rewards are enormous!

I'd recommend reading through the macaw subforum; it is a wealth of information. A quarantine to protect your budgie for 30 days is a generally accepted precaution. Chances are they will show little interest in each other, though the obvious precautions apply with birds of dissimilar size.

Good luck, let us know how it goes and if you have further questions!
 

wrench13

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Welcome and be welcomed. Raffi looks well cared for , from the 2 pics. You shuld go to the Macaw subforum, and read all the stickies at the top, and ALL posts by Birdman666, our resident Macaw expert. I love B&G macaws, but our house is too small for one of these big guys. It was a close call for us, becasue the weekend we got Salty, the store had just released 2 young B&Bs from the weaning program. Cute, fully feathered and curious, one them almost came home with us instead of Salty. Good luck!
 

smbrds

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Welcome to you. Lots of good info here. Macaws are very majestic and yours is no slouch either. I'd wager to say, the injury will heal up in time and the broken feathers will grow back. I think your budgie would take to a macaw like a T-Rex would be to a velocirapator...!
 

clark_conure

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Jul 14, 2017
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A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 6 budgies, Scuti Jr. (f), yellow (m), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f), Machine (m).
I would be hesitant to even let the budgie get close, if it landed on the Macaws cage the Macaw could easily rip a toe or leg off through the bars. Other than that the bird looks healthy enough to me.
 

LordTriggs

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May 11, 2017
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Rio (Yellow sided conure) sadly no longer with us
I would keep due diligence with both Budgie and Mac. Budgies and other small birds don't seem to realize they're smaller than the big ones!

Fingers crossed they do get on and you end up with something akin to this
8738785691_18030ef945_z.jpg
 

clark_conure

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A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 6 budgies, Scuti Jr. (f), yellow (m), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f), Machine (m).
That it cute......bear in mind that probably to a lot of training OP (Rafael).
 
OP
Abu Colo

Abu Colo

Member
Oct 28, 2017
60
18
Columbia
Parrots
Colocolo the Kolokolo Bird, Strigops habroptilus subsp. fortasse
Way too many budgerigars
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #9
Just updating that the macaw introduction was a dream. The seller had noted that the bird liked me when I picked him up, and he was quiet in the car despite it being a long, long drive. The wings were in worse condition than had been shown in the picture and the seller didn't know if it was the result of plucking or the Scarlet macaw he had been caged with - I'm all but certain it was the Scarlet now. When I was packing up the car the bird asked, Can I help you? And later said Hello during the ride, and asked what I was doing if I had to brake too quickly. When I brought him (to a nearly hysterical foster mother), he had no reluctance perching on either one of us. Later I found that he waves his wing when saying goodbye. After about two days his swaying behavior stopped and he began exploring. We also finally built a proper perch for him. He also got a shower, two showers - he was saturated with feather powder and a little smelly (seller left him in the rain for baths or else hosed him down).

He has not paid too much attention to the budgie except to swat at him for flying too close or trying to land on him. We are not sure if he can fly, and we may teach him that to have flight recall as part of his exercise. After I left I was told that he misinterpreted leaving the room for a shower as a disciplinary walkout for being too loud and he said I'm sorry and I love you to make amends. He also got his beak on a piece of bread and said Mmmmm... Just how smart are these critters?

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we have more or less settled on a new name for him: He is Colocolo (Colo for short) in honor of the Mapuche war leader, Chilean football club, and the Kolokolo bird from Kipling's Just So stories. He seems to like his new name and the Bobby McFerrin song about the Kolokolo bird.
 
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PrimorandMoxi

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May 29, 2015
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Wow Rafael that is amazing.

I have a twenty five year old B&G rescue.
He was essentially neglected his whole life and is a biter and screamer.

please be careful with your budgie.
 

Scott

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Aug 21, 2010
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RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Fantastic, you've got yourself a great bird! Keep in mind there will be a "honeymoon" period, but I'll bet Colocolo will be a terrific companion!!

The damaged feathers may have been caused by the Scarlet, but they are in range of his beak. You'll know soon enough!
 
OP
Abu Colo

Abu Colo

Member
Oct 28, 2017
60
18
Columbia
Parrots
Colocolo the Kolokolo Bird, Strigops habroptilus subsp. fortasse
Way too many budgerigars
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #12
We are going to take him to the vet soon for a check up and to ask about the feathers. He does nip at his wings where the feathers are plucked when he is nervous, but we have yet to notice any plucked feathers since getting him. We are hoping it is just a nervous tick or quirk he picked up after the Scarlet attacked him. We have a video of it. If anyone is interested in checking it out and has 20 seconds, PM me a number or email. Otherwise we are very, very happy - today he is even accepting petting, handling, and grooming.
 

cornybabies2005

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Nov 1, 2017
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What a gorgeous bird, you are very luck to have such quick success with your relationship!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
OP
Abu Colo

Abu Colo

Member
Oct 28, 2017
60
18
Columbia
Parrots
Colocolo the Kolokolo Bird, Strigops habroptilus subsp. fortasse
Way too many budgerigars
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #14
It’s been surprising. After a week of charging at feet in sport, he is settling down and putting his head in laps for petting and scratches. We do not have a proper cage for him but he has taken to sleeping in his carrier cage which has a wooden perch. It is stunning how smart he is and how quickly he picks up new words and sounds. After watching some Game of Thrones clips, he will even spread his wings and scream when we say Dracarys. I would mention that his selling price was less than half what most breeders would ask but that would be close to bragging. Oops.
 
OP
Abu Colo

Abu Colo

Member
Oct 28, 2017
60
18
Columbia
Parrots
Colocolo the Kolokolo Bird, Strigops habroptilus subsp. fortasse
Way too many budgerigars
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #15
Dragon birds and the spoils of war.
 

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Kentuckienne

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Oct 9, 2016
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Roommates include Gus, Blue and gold macaw rescue and Coco, secondhand amazon
Just updating that the macaw introduction was a dream. The seller had noted that the bird liked me when I picked him up, and he was quiet in the car despite it being a long, long drive. The wings were in worse condition than had been shown in the picture and the seller didn't know if it was the result of plucking or the Scarlet macaw he had been caged with - I'm all but certain it was the Scarlet now. When I was packing up the car the bird asked, Can I help you? And later said Hello during the ride, and asked what I was doing if I had to brake too quickly. When I brought him (to a nearly hysterical foster mother), he had no reluctance perching on either one of us. Later I found that he waves his wing when saying goodbye. After about two days his swaying behavior stopped and he began exploring. We also finally built a proper perch for him. He also got a shower, two showers - he was saturated with feather powder and a little smelly (seller left him in the rain for baths or else hosed him down).

He has not paid too much attention to the budgie except to swat at him for flying too close or trying to land on him. We are not sure if he can fly, and we may teach him that to have flight recall as part of his exercise. After I left I was told that he misinterpreted leaving the room for a shower as a disciplinary walkout for being too loud and he said I'm sorry and I love you to make amends. He also got his beak on a piece of bread and said Mmmmm... Just how smart are these critters?

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we have more or less settled on a new name for him: He is Colocolo (Colo for short) in honor of the Mapuche war leader, Chilean football club, and the Kolokolo bird from Kipling's Just So stories. He seems to like his new name and the Bobby McFerrin song about the Kolokolo bird.
What a smart bird! That's genius category! You will want to keep him engaged and learning new things. Congrats on your great luck!
 
OP
Abu Colo

Abu Colo

Member
Oct 28, 2017
60
18
Columbia
Parrots
Colocolo the Kolokolo Bird, Strigops habroptilus subsp. fortasse
Way too many budgerigars
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #17
Still trying to figure out how attachments work: It seems I deleted the original pictures of Colocolo. Sorry!

19767d1510681826-rafael-florida-c18fcfb4-30af-4d8e-a9f3-7cf629b3f09d.jpg
 
Last edited:
OP
Abu Colo

Abu Colo

Member
Oct 28, 2017
60
18
Columbia
Parrots
Colocolo the Kolokolo Bird, Strigops habroptilus subsp. fortasse
Way too many budgerigars
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #19
He is eight years young. :blue1:
 

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