Haha! Too many boys...
Egg binding is when a female bird can't pass a egg, if it breaks inside her or if she can't pass it, she dies. I've lost 3 females to egg binding in the past 15 years. One of the girls I have now almost died from egg binding 3 months ago and I was able to save her just in time. You have to be gentle in helping them pass the egg, there's different methods.
Hi, I have a female umbrella cockatoo that is 16 years old for the last 10 years, and a female amazon....both do not have mates and they think that I am their mate and even though they sit and cluck and do the mating clucking and shaking behavior neither has ever laid an egg. Isn't egg binding mainly a problem for female birds that have a male bird and a nest and are trying to lay eggs? I also have an amazon couple that lay eggs every year and have never had any egg binding. I always give her a calcium block during breeding season, don't know if it helps to prevent the egg binding? I have found that my female birds are not as aggressive as the males but are more likely to pluck a little. I only have six parrots so I know this is not enough to make a judgement call about the behavior of a specific sex. I would wait until the bird is older nearly weaned so that you can choose the one with the most compatible personality for you.
Why are you so set on getting the bird before weaning? Also, I think making a cage out of acrylic is a bad idea because birds that are cage bound like to climb on the bars and need circulation. The acrylic for a big cage is going to have to be thick and will be very expensive. Big birds don't want to be in acrylic, it is not a fish! Also be careful because baby parrots cannot move away from the heating lamp or pad if it gets too hot and can be burned. You also have to worry about the temperature of the formula because if too hot it can cause crop burn, too cold and it moves too slowly through the digestive track. Not the proper amount of water in the formula for the age of the bird they get dehydrated, get food down the wrong hole and food in their wind pipe and they aspirate and can die. Better to let someone who does it for a living do it. When they are 6 weeks old you need to feed every 4 hours. What if you need to go somewhere for the day. Also, small children are not safe with a large Macaw. A big macaw can injure a baby or a small child, they can bite off a small finger. Why don't you wait until your youngest child is 9 or 10 years old? This is just my opinion, I know that it is very opinionated and maybe not what you want to hear, but this is what I believe after being around large parrots for the last 20 years. I hand fed my male moluccan cockatoo when he was down to 2 feedings a day and was about 3 months old. Used a syringe and a soft rubber tube down the crop. The breeder showed me once and I hand feed him with out problems, but I had a book on hand feeding and I am a quick study because I am a nurse in a hospital. I am used to putting tubes in humans so the bird feeding was easy for me. He was fully feathered when I got him so I just put him in a large cage with clean towels on the bottom of the cage. Kept the room at 75 and he did not need extra heat. Had to teach him how to eat and swallow too after tube feeding.
I was talking about this post to my husband and he said "I feel sorry for the bird". How are you going to take care of two infant humans and a 5 year old, keep up the house, take the babies to their doctors, shop for food, change diapers, toys, feed everybody, go to nursing school and give attention to your husband and feed the cat, the dog, and now a large parrot? My husband and I think that this is not fair to the bird. We have a new Harlequin macaw female named Marley. She takes a lot of attention and time to train her. We both have jobs but don't have any children and are past the age to have kids. When you get your nursing training and go to work?? Are you thinking of the future? Why are you not really into your human babies enough to fill your needs for love and taking care of something. Why don't you wait until your children are older. Have you thought of how much more time and energy are going to be needed for your new infant baby on the way???
I think that it is great that you want a parrot, and I hope that you get one some day, but it would be better to wait until your human nest is empty so that you can devote your time and money to the kids, and your time to your schooling and your children's schooling. Our new Macaw goes through at least a hundred dollars worth of toys in a month because they chuck wood all day long for entertainment. Better to save all your money, love and attention for your children at this stage in your life. You have too much on your plate now. Lesley
