Good morning! Red fronted macaw and blue and gold question

[Tinax]

New to posting on any forum, been reading posts and just haven’t made one. My name is Tina and I have a red fronted macaw named littlefoot she’s amazing and just over a year. She is very much a one person bird and my little boy, 6, very much likes her but she’s not a fan of him. I’ve been told red fronts are very much like scarlets and don’t really interact too well with children. I’m thinking of getting a baby blue and gold to be her little sister. Does anyone have both birds and can tell me how they will interact together?
Thanks Tina

 

[chris-md]

Hello and welcome! Would love some pictures of your red front. They are such an understated species!

The answer is you’re looking at it wrong. If you are going to get a second bird, you get it because YOU want it, not because you want a companion for another bird. Truth is you never know if two birds will get along. If they don’t, then youve wasted a couple thousand dollars since they blew your reason for getting a second bird right out the water.

 

[wrench13]

I am not aware of any parrot that is more partial to small children then another. HIgh pitched voices and quick darty movements typical of kids get parrots nervous. I would suggest you first teach your son how to behave around Littlefoot, and then find a favorite treat Littlefoot loves, and your son be the only one to offer it to him. I've read many accounts of people being raised around big parrots, with fond memories. Your son may get nipped, and he needs to know that, but if he is the giver of the treat that the bird LOVES, the chances are better that he will look forward to interactions with him. My 3 kids were raised around a Yellow Nape , and yeah they got their little fingers nipped but not badly. If you get a second Macaw, remember its 2x the cost, time and mess. And they could hate each other, love each others company or anything in between. Will Littlefoot gladly give up 1/2 his time with you? You cant tell.

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums, Tina!

Your intentions are admirable, but as previously posted, the likelihood of Littlefoot befriending a bird of any species is unknown. Should you desire another bird, please calibrate your expectations to needing a separate cage and sharing your available time. At least with two macaws of roughly equivalent size, they are not as likely to have issues of dominance with one having undue physical advantage.

 

[LordTriggs]

much like everyone else here I would suggest to only get one if you want one. If things are fine as they are then don't fix what isn't broken

If you decide you would like another parrot then prepare for a worst case scenario, if you prepare for that then things can only go better than expected

Would love to see some pictures, never heard of a red front before

 

[Tinax]

Good morning! Thank you all for the reply’s. Yes I am the one that really wants another macaw. I have spent time, prior to and after littlefoot with a lot of other birds and macaws are, to me, unlike any other. I love them so much! They have the most amazing personality. I guess I didn’t explain too well at first. It’s not that littlefoot is aggressive with my little boy just that she doesn’t really like him. She just likes me. She was socialized a ton from birth and she still just really likes me. She tolerates other people, but just isn’t fond of any children. My cousin has a blue and gold he’s had for 18 years and he’s great with children. I know every bird is an individual but from what I’ve read green wings and blue and golds are the best for family pets. I would be too nervous of the size difference. The way I look at it is we have 3 birds already, I got my little boy two love birds. He absolutely loves them and wouldn’t trade them for the world but he still wants something bigger and more interactive. He sees me play with littlefoot and he wants to do that too but his are too small and littlefoot will only sit on his arm. She won’t interact and will only stay if I sit next to her. She’s never bitten him hard but she does bully him. He gives her treats which has helped him get more comfortable with her. But she still doesn’t care for him. The point being that if we get another bird, which I really want, they are kind of like potato chips lol, I want it to be able to play with littlefoot. I know she doesn’t need the interaction as she has me but I think it would be great if she could play with another bird, like siblings. At this point I’ve said four is the max for birds as we have two dogs and six pets is a lot lol. I just wanted to know if anyone has both a red fronted and blue and gold and could tell me a little of what it’s like.

I’m not sure how to add pics

 

[LordTriggs]

I know you say you want the bird yourself but it sounds a little like subconsciously you want another for your son to be friends with which is a disaster in the making (not meaning any judgement)

I'd say that he would need to wait until he is at the age to care for a macaw to bring one into his life to get that same bond. There's nothing wrong with interacting with the lovebirds. He needs to give them time to enjoy him instead of expecting it.

It sounds like your home works well as is so I would keep it at that.

Saying that considering the affinity of Macaws and the thought of your son enjoying a bird what about Conures? They're just mini macaws really so have all the personality just without that big beak to chomp with! Plus they have the same odds of getting on with your red front as a B&G would. Once again I'm reminded of the image of a YC2 with a lovebird sat on his back

 

[Tinax]

I would just be worried littlefoot would hurt it not meaning to. She plays so rough. I know it only takes a split second for someone to be injured playing

 

[clark_conure]

"Once again I'm reminded of the image of a YC2 with a lovebird sat on his back"

I think I saw this before.....LINK???? PLEASE!


Also to OP green cheek conures and cockatiels are great with kids, read some more on each breed. I had a cockatiel at 7 or so and we were inseparable. I'd say budgies too but they might be seen as a treat to a macaw? I don't know on that one but the size difference would be huge. Also the price is more reasonable...a conure around 400 a cockatiel around 80.

 

[Scott]

Tina, this is a guide to posting pictures! Be advised PhotoBucket has recently changed policy to require a significant yearly charge to host pics. FYI.....

http://www.parrotforums.com/technical-support/6287-how-post-pictures.html

 

[Birdman666]

First of all...

Macaws are pair bond birds. They can and will overbond with one person if allowed to...

Second, Red Fronts are generally the opposite of scarlets. Scarlets are MUCH more beaky. They are one of the harder big macs to work with.

I had another greenwing for about 17 years, and those birds pretty much grew up together, so they were fine. But that is an inexact science....

I have a red front and a young greenwing now. For the most part they get along, BUT my red front also is a very jealous bird at times... and will occasionally act pissy toward a bird that (if she wasn't so sweet and docile) could easily injure her... SO SUPERVISION IS A MUST. (Like sneak up and grab her tail when I'm paying attention to the greenwing and she wants to be picked up sort of thing...)

For the most part all my birds get along well. But big bird/little bird issues almost always end badly for the smaller bird.

As for big macs and children, that takes a significant amount of socialization work, and if the kid moves too fast, or makes the bird nervous, that usually ends badly for the kid's fingers....

Having said that, my daughter has been handling everything from Hyacinths, to large toos, to amazons, to conures... since she was 7 years old. BUT she was trained by some of the best bird handlers down at the rescue, and she grew up with birds... so... that is the exception rather than the rule.

 

[Birdman666]

Hello and welcome! Would love some pictures of your red front. They are such an understated species!

The answer is you’re looking at it wrong. If you are going to get a second bird, you get it because YOU want it, not because you want a companion for another bird. Truth is you never know if two birds will get along. If they don’t, then youve wasted a couple thousand dollars since they blew your reason for getting a second bird right out the water.

Another thing with Pair Bond Birds - LIKE MACAWS - They can decide they like each other, and no longer have a use for their human companion... IT HAS HAPPENED!!! Though if your red front is THAT bonded to you, I'd lay odds on jealous rfm rather than the two of them pairing up and shunning you...

 

[Kiwibird]

It hasn't been brought up yet, but amazons can be good family birds too. Especially some of the smaller, more gentle natured species. Very curious, playful and adaptable birds who like a busy home and aren't typically real timid. They're too big to be a snack for a macaw, generally hold their own well with other species if they don't end up as good buddies and are easier then virtually any other species for children (and adults!) to learn how to read the warning signs the bird is upset or would like to be left alone (i.e. is about to bite). They also, as a rule, seem to like children. I grew up with 2 amazons. They were awesome birds! Enough that I now have an amazon.

 

[Tinax]

Thank you Scott, I don’t know yet how all this works.

 

[Tinax]

Thanks guys, I just read the other posts. I did think about a green wing they are so sweet but also larger. My cousins blue and gold is sweet but still can be a bully, I just think the size of the blue and gold makes me more comfortable with littlefoot. I am planning a ton of individual bird time as well as time together. I have a friend with two amazons and she spends time with both individually and says they are happy together but both still attached to her.

 

[Kiwibird]

A properly socialized amazon may still have a 'favorite' human or other bird (most birds have a favorite, it's in their nature), but will still be more than eager to interact with others too. They are very social parrots.

Also to consider if you're set on another macaw, is a second RFM or one of the smaller and less common macaws. I know there are a few mid-size species besides RFMs. If you can find one, theres blue throat macaws, severe macaws, illigers and I even think some individual military macaws are on the medium side.

 

[Tinax]

I’ve been learning from a retired breeder, I visit him quite often and he has told me as long as I get a baby since little foot is still kind of a baby they will be fine together. I do appreciate and always welcome others feed back as I think it’s best to learn from many experiences. I’m still fairly a new bird parent and always overly cautious. Thanks guys for all of your feed back and ideas.

 

[LordTriggs]

I just noticed little foot is only 1

It may be an idea to wait until they've gone through puberty as that can be a pretty trying time with one parrot let alone to egging each other on

 

[Tinax]

http://www.parrotforums.com/members...738-75f18bb1-270e-4c6b-8d73-11030790e9aa.jpeg

 

[Tinax]

There’s a pic of her if it worked lol. The guy I get all of my parrot knowledge from says now is an ideal time to add a slightly bigger macaw baby. So they will grow up together.