Nope nope nope.
Don't buy it, he's spouting lies and lies and lies.
Sorry to rain on your parade but you CANNOT import birds into New Zealand.
Here is the NZ Government website:
Birds | MPI Biosecurity New Zealand
"
Birds
New Zealand does
NOT allow pet birds from
any country to be imported.
No pet birds of any species from any country have been imported into New Zealand since 1997. Imports were suspended following an avian disease outbreak, and remain in effect due to the risks associated with live bird imports."
They may well have come to 'train' with him - but there are plenty of adequate breeders in NZ for me to not believe this story either.
Reputable breeders will not push ANYBODY to hand feed a bird - with training or not. If someone is not feeling comfortable, they will simply say "Okay, no problem, they'll stay with me, feel free to visit, I'll let you know when he's done weaning." Reputable breeders will only EVER sell an unweaned baby to someone who is very experienced (most likely a bird breeder themselves) in handfeeding.
Please look elsewhere, I'm sorry to be a killjoy but this person is spouting lies and giving you bad information. You say you have an avian vet in the town, which is great. Find another breeder, use that vet. 6 weeks old is incredibly young for a macaw, a lot of birds are weaned around 8 weeks old, but macaws are "pesky little buggers" (as my breeder said) and can take up to 16-20 weeks to wean, just because they will wean and then revert for no reason.
No photos? Does he say why? That usually means the birds are not being kept in top notch condition or is actually a bird mill. Any breeder will be happy to show anyone their beautiful flock, the excellent parents and their lovely healthy chicks (through pictures with chicks because of health reasons, if they don't feel comfortable in person!). They are happy to show you their breeding setup, nest boxes (if they are comfortable disturbing parents), chick pictures from egg to after weaning. I know a fair few breeders and I get to see every little special moment from the parents courting to the chicks being sent off to their new homes.
Please reconsider. He sounds so so shifty and pushy or money and hiding his real motives - money. Would he give you a new macaw free if this one was to die from bad handrearing?
I did not handrear Merlin, neither did my partner Andrew. But you can gaurentee in a room full of people (and Merlin is a VERY sociable bird) that it will always be me and Andrew that he'll come back to, because he sees us as his flock. You can get a bird at 15 years old and still develop a deep bond with them. So if he tries using "bonding" as an excuse, that is also rubbish.
Again, please just find another breeder, visit the bird until he's weaned, take him home and enjoy life together. As Antionette said, every moment of making that bird formula up is terrifying, you'll probably have anxiety attacks - some even have minor nervous breakdowns because they are so uneasy with feeding their own bird. Supervision is all well and good and makes people feel confident, but when you're home alone with this precious new life (that you've just paid an awful lot of money for too!) it's an entirely different ball game.
So: lies about his New Zealand clients, no photos, pushing for handfeeding.
Any one of these reasons would put me off a breeder alone. Nevermind all three.
