Macaws In an Apartment? Good or Bad Idea?

Ebrahim4real said:

Hi,

My name is Ebrahim Mohamedali. It has been a life long dream of mine to own a macaw parrot. However, I am 100% aware of how noisy they can get. So, let me jump straight to it.

Have any of you ever owned a macaw in an apartment?
Is there any thing I can do to keep the noise levels down?

Thats all for now. Hoping for the replies.
Cheers.

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Kiwibird said:

Even if you did magically manage to get a macaw back to Kenya from China with only a few hours you have to find one, buy it, make international shipping arrangements etc... have you even asked your landlord if it's ok to have an exotic pet in your apartment? Even if the bird was the mythical "quiet one" (and it 99% won't be a quiet bird because big parrots make BIG noises and vocalizing is part of their normal behavior) many apartments don't allow pets or only allow dogs and cats.

PLEASE do not buy a macaw right now. Prepare beforehand. Make sure you can have the bird where you live and that you make proper preparations to import a bird or buy one from within your own country (which would be ideal, but I'm unsure if they are available where you are).

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Kentuckienne said:

Most parrots are not good for apartment life. Remember - parrots are not domesticated in the way that dogs or cats are. Dogs and cats have lived with humans for tens of thousands of years, and in all that time humans have influenced the breed. So, dogs are evolved to like people and want to please them, to protect, and to be trainable among other things. Cats are good hunters, and while they don't care as much about pleasing humans, they are trainable to be good house companions. They aren't loud, they like to be petted and are reasonably friendly.

Parrots are not domesticated like this - they are merely tame. They can be taught some tricks. They are very intelligent, and are motivated to work for what they want. But there are some wild behaviors that can't be trained out of them. For example, much of a parrot's ability to survive in the wild depends on yelling. They must be able to call to find the rest of the flock, to let the flock know where they are, to relay information about food and predators, and to communicate in many other ways. Parrots in particular evolved in large forests, in flocks, and tend to range over large spaces so their calls must be loud in order to reach over these large spaces.

They will make the same call in your apartment. When the parrot wants to know where you are because it can't see you, it will call. It doesn't have an "inside voice" and an "outside voice" - it has one voice, the "be heard two miles away" voice. If you don't answer - maybe because you aren't home - the call will be repeated, louder and louder. Parrots in the wild MUST be able to find their flocks or they will be eaten by predators, so being alone is truly frightening for a parrot. They instinctively know that something is wrong.

Even the small parrots can have very loud voices. Small sun conures make some of the loudest noises of any parrot! Large cockatoos and macaws have the ability to deafen you. If you are in an apartment, the neighbors are going to hear the bird, and since the birds live for many decades, probably someone is going to get tired of it and complain. Parrots tend to call in the early morning, and they don't care if people are trying to sleep in on the week end.

If I lived in an apartment, I would have a parakeet or budgie. I would like one of them even though I don't live in an apartment, if I could have one. They are true parrots, just very tiny. They can learn to speak very well. They can learn to do tricks. If you have just one budgie, preferably a male, you might be surprised at how wonderful this tiny companion can be. If you can access YouTube, search for "Disco the parakeet" to see many videos of this amazing talking, singing parrot! And there are videos of parrots doing little tricks like riding skateboards! You won't be disappointed, and a bird like this can steal your heart.

Macaws are not just loud, they can BITE. I love our macaw, but I have several scars from surprise bites. He's not my parrot, and he is a rescue bird with some issues, but it's something to think about. Online you only see the good videos of macaws talking and playing and cuddling, but they aren't all like that. Not even one raised from a baby is guaranteed to turn out like that.

You are doing the right thing by asking questions. Keep asking! You might try looking at the forums for individual parrot species and reading posts to get a feel for what it's like to own that bird. Some birds have complicated diets, health issues, noise issues, anger issues, etc. and you will get a feel for what kind of bird will be harmonious in your life.

I always, always advise people to look for rescue birds, or birds in need of homes. There are always people who get parrots, not knowing what is involved, and then they want to get rid of them. Maybe the parrot has learned some bad habits in that home, but most of these bad habits can be un-learned with time and patience, and you will be saving the life of an animal that did not ever deserve to be in a cage instead of flying free in the forest.

Welcome, keep posting and asking, we love to help!

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Ebrahim4real said:

Kiwibird said:

Even if you did magically manage to get a macaw back to Kenya from China with only a few hours you have to find one, buy it, make international shipping arrangements etc... have you even asked your landlord if it's ok to have an exotic pet in your apartment? Even if the bird was the mythical "quiet one" (and it 99% won't be a quiet bird because big parrots make BIG noises and vocalizing is part of their normal behavior) many apartments don't allow pets or only allow dogs and cats.

PLEASE do not buy a macaw right now. Prepare beforehand. Make sure you can have the bird where you live and that you make proper preparations to import a bird or buy one from within your own country (which would be ideal, but I'm unsure if they are available where you are).

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Hi, Thanks a lot for the reply. Actually currently, I live in a pretty big mansion, which we own. So any screams would be heard by probably nobody. Also, I am merely just inquiring about China and Blue and Golds. If it is not possible for me to bring a blue and gold back here, especially without legal documents, I most definately will not.

On the other hand, I was just inquiring about the apartments, since next year, I will be moving to Australia, and I would probably stay in an apartment.

But thanks A lot for the feedback. For now I think I will go for something quieter, maybe a cockatiel or a budgie.

Thanks A lot.

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Ebrahim4real said:

Hi, Thanks a lot for the reply. Actually currently, I live in a pretty big mansion, which we own. So any screams would be heard by probably nobody. Also, I am merely just inquiring about China and Blue and Golds. If it is not possible for me to bring a blue and gold back here, especially without legal documents, I most definately will not.

On the other hand, I was just inquiring about the apartments, since next year, I will be moving to Australia, and I would probably stay in an apartment.

But thanks A lot for the feedback. For now I think I will go for something quieter, maybe a cockatiel or a budgie.

Thanks A lot.

Click to expand...