Anyone have a macaw parrot?

Considering getting one. My barber's dad had one inthe barbershop 20+ years ago and it's still alive today. I'd love to get one too. Just curious how much care they need? Are they aggressive in any way?

Thanks.

 

Taking care of a macaw is very time consuming. They are very intelligent and require stimulation. If you just leave them in the cage you'll have an unhappy bird.

Highly suggest getting a hand raised one. If you buy a wild one from the rain forest you are contributing to a horrible business.

A hand raised one will be much much less prone to bite. That being said even the best bird will nip at times- if they are scared, grouchy/tired out, threatened, etc.
Yes the bites can hurt but they aren't fatal. The worst one i had was a cockatoo that i met who was very friendly. Very handily ripped my fingernail off when i wasn't paying attention.

Getting a macaw is a big step. They can easily live to be 50-70 years old in captivity. Many pets are in their owner's will because they will likely outlive their owner.

Also the most common cause of macaw going to a new home- small children. If you have or might have a kid this should be considered.

 

Be sure you are ready for the noise. They can speak and squawk and scream at all hours of the day and night. If it learned a word or obscene phrase somewhere, you might hear it unexpectedly from now on.

 

StewF has one. It bites.

I say 2 hours at 350 degrees and the biting should stop.

 

You Tube training video for potential parrot owners....................I will never own one after hearing the last 10 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWvbfFJZ248

 

Thanks for the post, I am also considering getting one. I think they are wonderfull birds!!

 

I bought one for my ex gf 8 years ago. Was never a bird person but raised it from 3months and it was absolutely hilarious, very intellegent much smarter than dogs or cats, you could see the bird blush when angry such as if it didn't get its way for something, she didn't clip its wings and it would fly around and land on your hand or shoulder, you need to be very careful with items such as teflon pans which you can't use and such as they can die easily from various gasses , they definately need a lot of attention. Hers was a medium size blue and gold so not too loud the large Amazon types are very loud in comparison.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bWXC4BpXb8&feature=related

This is a good video!!!

 

One of those birds sounded like a damn dinosaur.

Is that a British accent I'm hearing?

 

very messy !!!!!!!!!!!!!! be prepared to clean the cage every other day and believe me !!!!!!! they are messy !!!!!!! when they squawk its frigin loud !!!!!!!!!!
be prepared for alot of work !!! and hope that he doesnt ever bite.......

 

I had an African Grey. When my son first came home he freaked, ripped all his own feathers out and never came out of his cage. Bummer too cause I really liked him. We ended up giving him away to our neighbors who treated him like a son. He even sleeps with them.

 

I never owned one but I worked for a few years at a place that raised and sold them.

1. They are a lifelong commitment. They will probably outlive you. As mentioned, they can live 50+ years. Not like a cat or dog where it's gone in 10.

2. They are VERY loud.

3. They require lots of attention. You can't just put it in a cage and let it sit there.

4. They attach to one person. This is usually whoever pays most attention to them. Whoever they attach to gets to keep their fingers. Everyone elses digits are fair game.

5. Blue & Gold Macaws seem to be the less noisy (still loud as hell), and the most friendly of the family.


If I was to get one, I would get a Blue and Gold.

 

A Severe Macaw can become a very affectionate and well trained pet. The effort to maintain them will be very rewarding, and those rewards will be shown to you by your feathered friend. Warning though, the bird may become 'attached' to one person so, make sure you let it have interaction with other people!

 

They smell like crap and are loud as hell. If you want to be woken up in the middle of the night by loud screams the I definately suggest one.

 

A Grey here as well. Very intelligent, personable.

In answer to the the question "Should I get one".
To properly take care of one consider it the same as adopting a 3 year old human and all of the responsibility that goes with it.
They need attention and interaction with things going on in the house everyday but are also able to entertain themselves for periods of time.
The bird HAS TO BE in the main part of the house where all of the activity is for their own psychological health. Birds that locked locked away or ignored go insane, LITERALLY.
They can be messy but no real smells to speak of, nothing even approaching a frigging cat litter box.
As far as noise goes, MaCaws are LOUD. My Grey can be loud too but I can tell her when it's time to pipe down and she'll do it. I have heard that MaCaws can be trained to do the same though not always successfully.
MaCaws crap like Labradors. Be prepared to clean up regularly.

Oh, and they messy eaters!
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We have 9 macaws right now. 1 Green Wing, and 8 Hyacinths (we breed these), so if you want to know about macaws, you came to the right place.

Absolutely, you want a hand fed bird, no question about that.

Cages need to be cleaned at least once a week, twice is ideal.

They are very smart, and they do like attention. I take my Green Wing out at least a couple of times a week. I might just have him sitting on my shoulder, or on a tree stand that we have for him. Sometimes I'll lay on the couch watching TV, and I'll just have him sitting on my chest. When you do take him out, never leave him alone. Otherwise, it can upset them and they start shrieking, which can be very loud. When they are taken out, they expect you to pay attention to them, otherwise you may as well leave them in the cage. If they don't feel like coming out, they will let you know it. Don't assume they want to come out every time you want to take them out.

I highly recommend having his wings clipped, and you'll also have to have his nails clipped. This only need to be done every few months.

Also, they can start shrieking at certain times during the day, but it never lasts for more than maybe 10 minutes. This can be caused by something going on around them that is abnormal, hormones, or just the time of day. My Hyacinths will make noise when people walk past my house, or around feeding time.

Their food is quite cheap, and all you have to do is make sure there is food in their bowl, and water for them as well. They do like to stick their beaks in the food and stir it around, sometimes causing a lot of it to fall to the floor, so I'll just fill it up half way. They'll also mix their food into their water, so you must change the water daily.

Shrieking at night? Absolutely never. Once it's dark outside and in their room, I do not hear a peep out of them, you'd never know they are there. We've had several birds for over 8 years now, not once have they ever made a noise at night.

They're very different types of pets, and they are not for everyone. I'd recommend visiting a breeder and spending some time with them to see if they are for you. One thing that is very important........if you ever suspect they are ill, for any reason, do not hesitate and get them to a vet immediately. Never assume it is nothing and that it will go away in a day or two. Don't get me wrong, they don't get ill often.....I think I've brought my Green Wing in for illness maybe twice in 8 years.

If you have any more questions, just ask.

 

Wow! Hyacinths are really cool.

How about posting some pictures?

How do they compare to other macaws like scarlet, B&G, or Military? Other then the diet thing- palm nuts only isn't it?

 

Macadamia nuts only, and they're expensive.

They're not much different from the Green Wing in temperament - they're called "Gentle Giants:, and that name suits them. They're very big and beautiful, and they're good talkers.

I've posted some pics on this site before.........I'll try to get some new ones up.

 

had a parrot many years ago. Great pets, TONS of consideration. They make having an infant seem infantile

they are big socializers and require almost IMO constant attention or the squawk like children on roids.

better go to a bird forum and ask .... you'll get an earfull, literally..

 

i've owned many parrots including a macaw. had that for about a week. then i was ready to pay someone to take it away. i've been in the pet biz for 20 years and the only people that own a large parrot for any length of time are "special". If you are normal, i would not recommend. Funny thing is, one guy i know has a pair of scarlets that he leaves outside-even in the winter. They fly around his 30 acres and hang out way up in the trees, they come back to the large outside cage at night and he locks them in so other animals don't get them. they breed like crazy too. pretty neat to see mccaws up in the trees around here. No, he is not a normal person either.

 

ANOTHER VOTE for a Severe Macaw. Different Macaws have different personalities types. The Congo African grey pictured in this thread is a NASTY, one person bird that can constantly talk. A Severe Macaw, when hand-raised, can be a total sweetheart, multi-person bird. Not loud, yet also not overly talkative either. Agree about being careful what you say around a parrot, they can be a 'mirror' in ways that surprised you and very much reflect the owners.

Had a Severe Macaw (Billie) for many years, hand raised it from about 12 weeks onward. Most breeders WILL NOT let a bird go to a new owner this young, yet an very familiar with parrots, work at home, and fed the bird by hand for weeks until it was time to migrate to solid food. A parrot is basically a perpetual 3 year old human child until they get old (think 25+ years old).

They are indeed a commitment, and my Severe Macaw had full range of the house, was raised with good table manners, and said please and thank you at the appropriate times (plus other phrases). This brings up learning words, as imho it is better for them to learn naturally (association) versus those VHS/CD/Tapes that just say words over and over.

Took Billie outside a lot to parks, the bank, walks via a full body harness (and kept its wings clipped). Billie was very social and had a calm demeanor, as is the trait of the Severe Macaw.

You do not need to be a 'nut job; to own a parrot, yet yes various types/breed of parrot have differing personalities. Of course each particular parrot can be various of... and i HIGHLY SUGGEST having YOU hand raise th parrot as early as possible and SPEND TIME very early on to train the parrot (until the age of 2 years especially) what types of behavior are, and are not acceptable.

Sadly, Billie now has new owners as i travel a lot. The new owners love Billie and it gets along great with him, his girlfriend and her kids and his dogs. Billie was raised to be social and a proper family member early on.

As for smell, Billie was clean and even pooped on command, just remember birds need to poop about every 15 minutes or so. Billie was also not loud and rarely screamed, as it learned that was not acceptable behavior early in life plus i never scream and, remember, parrots are mirrors...

And yes, i dearly miss Billie...

 

Every 15 minutes? I would say mine go every 2 - 3 hours. Are you giving them Exlax?

 

You've been around the wrong African Greys my friend. The one pictured above is very sweet and sociable, loves hanging out at the auto parts store or hardware store. Loves people. She will also hush up when I tell her too.
Temperament has a lot to do with how they are raised. I raised mine from pin feathers.

 

I have a 5 year old Eclectus and its a real sociable bird. He loves all types of human food and showers. I was thinking about getting an African Grey, but figured they would be too loud. After some research, I found out the at Eclectus parrots are not as loud. He does squawk every now and then, but not too loud. If you do decide to get a parrot, make sure there are plenty of toys to keep them stimulated.
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LOL, ok maybe every 60 minutes or so... maybe longer. Am just careful when i am out at people's homes or the bank, etc. Having your parrot poop on their floor is not a way to win friends.