Family considering getting a parrot. So many questions. Help!

[riddick07]

Haha yeah the hyacinth is his own special kind of loud Jeannes baby is a hyacinth macaw who has adopted me as his girlfriend but seriously the guy is way too noisy at times! She has about 12 other macaws in the room with him but boy can he be heard very distinctly even when they are all going off.

You can teach a macaw to loosen his grip on your arm! My mothers macaw Max has learned that a tap on the foot means he needs to loosen up on the grip.

 

[EAI]

I do like their raspy and deeper vocalization but that's only when they're on YouTube! I yet have to meet the Hyacinth at a pet store. I love the shade of blue.

I think that the grip the B&G had on me was because of my twig-like arms xD.

 

[SilverSage]

I find that most birds when perched on a stranger have a much tighter grip than when they are perched on their own family, simply because they are less relaxed. A ny bird can blow your ear drums, my Pionus and GCCs are known for being "quieter" parrots, and boy when they want to be heard they can bring down the house! But again, it all comes down to training and socialization.

I wanted to add that personally I LOVE to see my baby birds go home to families with children. There is a wild enthusiasm for life in children and parrots that most adults cannot match, as well as an innocence and compassion not yet marred by life in the world. I am so happy for whatever bird you bring home that they will be growing up with your daughters.

 

[faeryphoebe1]

I have to agree with EAI, in regard to larger parrots having much larger, powerful beaks that can remove a finger or send you to the ER for stitches, especially with small children.

Smaller beaks can leave painful bruises and draw blood (breaking up a fight between my Sun and my Green Cheek, using my hand as a barrier, for example), but the danger is definitely brought down several notches.

Sun conures are wonderful, little clowns. Their screams can make your ears ring, but a happy Sun can be taught that screaming= being ignored.

There will still be screaming for morning and evening calls or alarm calls (postman, someone at the door, a car pulling up the driveway, mommy getting home from work).

Birds have delicate respiratory systems, so we got rid of all teflon, candles, air fresheners, many cleaning products, and Lysol spray. I use water and vinegar to clean bathrooms, kitchen, mop floors.

We bought ceramic cookware, my daughter uses nail polish and nail polish remover outdoors. We don't use hairspray or colognes/perfumes. Some hair dryers have teflon that when heated will kill parrots. We have a ceramic hair straightener.

Probably seems WAY over the top, but for all the love these guys give you, it's worth it.

Also, they need fresh fruits & veggies daily. Most parrots need pellets in their diet.

I bake birdie breads and healthy pasta for mine. They don't eat seeds. Occasionally, millet is offered to mine as a treat.

 

[EAI]

If you look up "Macaw bites" it really is terrifying.
I really hope none of us are trying to discourage you from a Macaw but we want you to keep that in mind. I personally think that if your'e really set on a Macaw and are able to meet all the requirements the smaller ones would be a great match. Or the mini Macaws-Sun Conures!

Good luck finding your perfect match!

 

[Mango121913]

Check out my breeder in Huntington wv. Above the rainbow aviary. He's on birdbreeders.com. And Facebook. You will be impressed.

 

[thekarens]

Go with the one (or both) that you want and assume that your kids will eventually loose interest as they grow. Life happens and pets tend to fall to the background for kids.

My personal opinion is no child should be holding a bird without supervision. Don't be fooled, a conure could easily permanently damage an eye, cut a lip or take a chunk out of someone's ear. If you go with a baby a conure will be sexually mature before a mac.

Personally, I'd trust my mac with children more than my sennies that are a similar size and I'd much rather hear my mac yell than a sun, but both are very loud.

 

[faeryphoebe1]

I'd much rather hear my mac yell than a sun, but both are very loud.

^^^ I've heard other people also say that they'd prefer a Mac scream to a Sunny, lol.

 

[faeryphoebe1]

The Karens is right. Conures could inflict damage to soft skin as well, and children should be supervised with any parrot.

My kids are teens with ADHD. They are loud and boisterous. Pretty much the opposite of me because I'm quiet.

They learned early on, though, that we're scary predators who need to be aware of how we approach the birds, how rapidly we make movements and to keep an eye on parrot body language if they don't want to get chomped on.

They also learned that you can't discipline a parrot as you would a dog or a cat for unwanted behaviors. Parrots are complex creatures.

 

[Phlox]

I really think you are missing out by ignoring the Amazons... Considering the situation and your plans, I think a Macaw is actually better than a sun conure however. I've had a sun and while she was a lovely bird, she wasn't an "office" bird. She was too flighty and even with training, hanging out wasn't really her thing.

Macaws (and Amazons really) are a lot more content with that. That proximity but hands-off loving is actually perfect for an Amazon whereas macaws tend to be way more hands-on (and conures too, which are essentially flighty little macaws in a lot of ways.)

However, my real advice? Take your time and don't let our biases turn you towards one or the other. Choose the right individual bird for you and then learn all you can about them before bringing the birdy home.

 

[Cambios]

LOUDNESS: Is it weird that I am not super worried about this? Am I being ignorant? We have a pretty big house. I feel like if this is a problem we will move them to a different location in the house for "timeout" then they are loud. That's the proper way to handle that, right?

Maybe because I am a loud guy and I talk a lot, and I stomp around the house like a rhino (so my wife says!), this doesn't worry me too much.


INJURIES/BITING/ETC: I think this might be my biggest concern. Our children have been around many types of animals, including exotic and wild animals, and are always respectful and cautious. But we are cautious parents and want to be smart and safe. Our children are 12 and 8. The macaw is a female. The sun conure we do not know. Is the real time to be concerned when the macaw is somewhere in the 7-12 age range and goes through puberty? If so, our youngest will be 15-20 years old then with 7 years experience with birds. Is that enough to feel reasonably safe? Knowing that these are still animals and you never know for sure what can happen.

I understand that any animal presents risks and dangers. I just want to make sure I am being wise with the evaluation of risk, planning for it, and doing what we can to minimize that risk.


DESTRUCTIVENESS: How bad is this? What do we need to prepare for? We will most likely not have the birds out unattended. Because of our kids, our dog, and our own fear of accidentally bumping into/stepping on them, we don't want to let them just roam free without us attending them. At the office they will be more free though we will probably have a carrier we use in the car that we could put them in for timeout if they are bad at the office.


MESSINESS: I have now heard opposing opinions here and from people in our area. Some say the macaw will be messier than the conure, and some say the opposite. What do we need to be ready for here and how to we do the best we can here?


TOO MUCH ATTENTION: riddick07 raised a concern we might be planning to give them too much attention. They'll be in their cages when we sleep, and at home if we are doing other things and can't be watching them. We may not take them to the office every single day, and some days we may only take one or the other. Running your own business when you have kids with tons of activities is crazy sometimes: we don't have a 100% consistent schedule. Does this sound ok?


ADULT BIRDS: We have interacted with some adults as well. Though admittedly owned by the lady who owns that same wonderful pet shop and all her birds are just amazingly well behaved.

Our plan is to maintain a relationship with the shop, benefit from her advice raising birds, and keep talking to bird owners to stay educated on how to properly train them. We want them to be happy and connected members of the family. The more we are in tune with each other, able to communicate, etc. I think we will all be happier.


KIDS LOSING INTEREST: This is one thing I am not worried about. Our kids have never lost interest in any of our pets. Dog. Hedgehog. Turtle. Fish. Years go by and they love them just as much if not more.

 

[EAI]

1. Thats based off of you, however your partner and children might not be fond of the screaming. Also, you can train a bird to quiet down but can never fully have them be "quiet".
2. Birds are always unpredictable, just when you think you know a bird, they'll strike for no reason. However, when getting any bird it's important to learn the body language so you're prepared for any biting.
3. Macaws especially can destroy furnitures and walls but if you keep a watch on them they should be okay. Make sure they can't drag anything towards the cage.
4. Cleaning the surrounding daily should be good. When they eat food they tend to throw things, and they can throw food 15 feet away.
5. Your bird should be introduced to changes when they are young, as they get older they should be kept on a routine.
6. Do they have a support system? This is really helpful if you have any behavioral issues where they can help you out.
7. Sunnies and Macaws can live from 30-100 years (Macaws tend to live human years). It is a really big commitment. Though your kids will never get bored, people could get fed up with the constant screaming.

Sorry, having to keep this short since I'm typing this during class (shh...)

 

[faeryphoebe1]

I love, love, love my Sunny and my Green Cheek. The noise doesn't bother me. Sometimes it will irritate someone trying to watch tv, but I adore these birds, so all is good.

They can bite hard. Sunny bites less than Trixie. He will give a nip with a loud squawk if he doesn't want to do something.

He doesn't draw blood or leave bruises. It hurts a bit if he means business or if he gets too rough with play.

He loves to play and makes "kiss" sounds at us whenever we approach his cage. He hangs upside down and swings from his toys while flapping his wings (bat-bird)!

Hiding under blankets is another fun pass time for Sunny.

If Sunny is game, we can cuddle him gently. He smells so good...like sunshine and honey.

Trixie bites more frequently and for many reasons. Some of it is just gently mouthing our fingers through the cage bars.

She will run across the cage floor and lunge at us if we mess with the things in her cage (feeding, changing water, cleaning cage, touching toys).

If you raise a hand over her head to pet her...bite!
Trixie prefers her scritches from under her face.

If you wear red or have nail polish...bite! She hates the color red and will not eat red pellets, either.

If you try to get her to step up when someone else is shouldering her...bite!

If someone has truly offended her sensibilities, she'll clamp down and won't let go until you gently pry that tiny beak open.

She doesn't draw blood (unless it's a stranger or someone she hates) but she can leave tiny bruises.

To me that's just the green cheek- mini macaw attitude, lol.

Why keep such an ornery, little thing? Trixie's family, for one. Also, she has a magnetic personality that's irresistible!

She calls the kids by name, she cackles whenever we laugh. She asks, "what?" whenever we call her.

She hangs upside down to talk to us and she's a snuggly little thing in the evenings.

If one of us is sick, she will stand vigil, giving that person little face kisses and whispering in birdie talk while trying to soothe them.

Conures are great birds! Of course that's my personal, biased opinion.

 

[SilverSage]

I would disagree with excessive biting being a common GCC trait that you just have to learn to live with. Some birds may never change, but mine are sweet and not biters. Flick was a biter when we got her, but with a lot of patience and hard effort to figure out why she was biting and how she was thinking, we were able to teach her not to bite us.

 

[faeryphoebe1]

I apologize, Silversage. I didn't mean to imply that all green cheeks bite, but rather that you get a whole lot of parrot in a tiny package (and mine happens to like using her beak a lot).

Cute, smart and brazen are just a few qualities of the Green Cheeked conures. Of course, each birdie has their own, unique personality.

 

[Cambios]

We are going to the breeder/shop again today to see the Sun Conure and Blue and Gold Macaw again.

Every member of our family has been talking about them, reading, researching, like crazy.

We are taking this decision very seriously and cautiously. I feel like we've found two really great birds that fit our family, but I'm trying really hard to hold back and make sure we are making the right decision.

 

[Birdman666]

she absolutely adores birds. She is obsessed with them. She draws them. Talks about them. Notices them everywhere in the world.

We have been considering a bird for about a year. We went to our local independent pet shop recently to look and learn more, and nearly came home with an extremely friendly Panama Amazon that fell in love with our older daughter. It perched on her for 2 solid hours and even nuzzled into the crook of her arm to take a nap.

THAT IS CALLED THE "AMAZON CRUSH." EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE, FOR NO REAL REASON, A ZON WILL PICK A PERSON, AND IMMEDIATELY FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM OR HER. THAT PERSON CAN SEEMINGLY DO NO WRONG...

SHE WAS "PICKED." THAT IS THE BEST SIGN OF ALL...

WE DON'T KNOW WHY IT HAPPENS... BUT HAVING BEEN ON THE RECEIVING END OF THIS ONE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE RELATIONSHIP WITH "THOSE BIRDS" IS SPECIAL...

MY MOST BONDED BIRD EVER WAS MY 38 YEAR OLD BFA...

PANAMA'S TEND TO BE AMONG THE SWEETEST OF THE BUNCH...

Questions:

1) With all that ton of information, what do you think? Are we looking at the right kind of bird for our family? We are heavily looking at the Amazons because of their size, personality, intelligence, and speaking ability.

LEARN ABOUT AMAZON BODY LANGUAGE.

2) Are the prices we are seeing reasonable? We are in Kentucky, so I would expect things would be cheaper than NY, California, Texas, Florida, etc.

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY AMAZONS (I'VE HAD 8) HAVE BEEN RESCUES. I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT PRICE.

3) Does it sound like we are looking at the right places to get a bird? I am wary of online places even though their prices are about half what we are seeing locally. I am worried they aren't putting a high priority on the health and early development of their birds, but that's just my assumption.

4) Is it a problem that we have a dog? She is insanely friendly and won't even chase wild bunnies outside if I call her to stay with me. She is very submissive and treats all people and animals as if they are her friend.

DEPENDS ON THE BIRD, THE DOG, AND THE TRAINING THEY BOTH RECEIVE.

MY BIRDS, INCLUDING MY ZONS ARE SOCIALIZED AROUND DOGS. DOGS DON'T BOTHER THEM. IN FACT, MY MACAW TALKS TO THEM, BARKS BACK, AND TRIES TO PREEN THEM IF THEY ARE CALM...

5) Is it a problem that we have a hedgehog?

A BUDDY OF MINE HAS ONE. HE ALSO HAS AN AVIARY WITH 8 BIRDS, INCLUDING TWO AMAZONS. NEVER HAD A PROBLEM.

 

[Birdman666]

Blue and Gold Macaw: Before today, my wife and I both thought "well whatever we do, we don't want one of those big macaws." Well, I guess this is why you do your research and actually go see some birds. I had no idea how sweet and gentle and cuddly these birds are. This macaw was so gentle I couldn't believe it. It just loved to sit in my lap and be stroked.

MACAWS, IF HANDLED AND PROPERLY SOCIALIZED ARE LAP BIRDS. IF YOU LOCK THEM UP AND DON'T INTERACT WITH THEM?! THEY GET MAD.... MACAWS ARE THE MOST TODDLER LIKE OF THE BUNCH, AND YOU ARE BASICALLY DEALING WITH "A TODDLER WITH FEATHERS."

I am worried about how I read they are especially messy, loud, and since they are big can be particularly destructive. I think of those issues, the loudness isn't a big concern. We live in a house and well.... I'm kinda loud myself! haha. But super messy and destructive would be concerns.

ALL BIRDS CAN BE MESSY AND DESTRUCTIVE.

Sun Conure: This little cutie was super friendly as well and loved to be held and climb all over us. It was also very beautiful. Our youngest daughter really loved this one a lot and held it a bunch.

HONEY, I SHRUNK THE MACAW. CONURES ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO MACAWS. TAKE A BIG UN, AND SHRINK IT, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'VE GOT. THEY AREN'T GREAT TALKERS, BUT THEY ARE GREAT TRICK BIRDS.


1) Which one! . All four of us like both birds, but the macaw is probably the favorite of me and my older daughter. The conure is the favorite of my wife and our younger daughter.

I like that the macaw is so affectionate and so intelligent. The fact that they can learn so many things (talking, communicating, tricks, games, etc) seems like it would be amazing.

THEY ARE... I'VE GOT TWO OF THEM!!!

The conure is smaller and sweet and probably a little easier of an adjustment for everyone (especially our youngest daughter). It is also less expensive all around (to buy, feed, supplies, cage, etc). It also seems very affectionate and will likely love snuggling up on people.

BOTH ARE CUDDLE BIRDS.

2) We were originally afraid to get a big bird like the macaw. We were worried about noise, mess, destructiveness, all sorts of things like that. The owner said the blue and golds are better about a lot of these things, though she did not discount the fact that they are loud and big and all that entails.

3) How insane is it to get two birds? This seems crazy, but maybe it is the best answer for us? The two birds grew up together. They actually eat out of the same bowl and have been friends since they were babies.

I WOULDN'T KNOW ANYMORE. I HAVE FIVE. BEFORE THAT I HAD 11, AND WORKED WITH 350 MORE DOWN AT THE RESCUE.

I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT "ONLY TWO" FELT LIKE.

PARROT ADDICTION... IT'S CATCHY!

 

[Birdman666]

loudness: Is it weird that i am not super worried about this? Am i being ignorant? We have a pretty big house. I feel like if this is a problem we will move them to a different location in the house for "timeout" then they are loud. That's the proper way to handle that, right?

Maybe because i am a loud guy and i talk a lot, and i stomp around the house like a rhino (so my wife says!), this doesn't worry me too much.

If their needs are met, they generally don't scream, unless you inadvertently teach them to scream.

It's easy to teach them to scream. When they scream, and they immediately get what they want, you just taught them to scream until they get what they want.

Don't!!!

Usually screamers don't get enough out time or attention.

Sometimes they get held too much (like holding a baby too much, it cries when you set it down.)

or, screaming gets reinforced.

Otherwise they will vocalize once or twice a day.

My loudest decible wise is my greenwing macaw... Meaning she could shatter glass... But she's also my quietest bird. Almost never happens...



injuries/biting/etc: I think this might be my biggest concern. Our children have been around many types of animals, including exotic and wild animals, and are always respectful and cautious. But we are cautious parents and want to be smart and safe. Our children are 12 and 8. The macaw is a female. The sun conure we do not know. Is the real time to be concerned when the macaw is somewhere in the 7-12 age range and goes through puberty? If so, our youngest will be 15-20 years old then with 7 years experience with birds. Is that enough to feel reasonably safe? Knowing that these are still animals and you never know for sure what can happen.

Bite pressure train them. They have to be trained not to bite, and your kids have to be trained to know how to handle them to avoid getting bit.

My daughter has worked with large macaws since (everything from hahn's to hyacinths) since she was 7 years old... And i worked with "the biters" down at the rescue.

I understand that any animal presents risks and dangers. I just want to make sure i am being wise with the evaluation of risk, planning for it, and doing what we can to minimize that risk.

Teach them safe bird handling techniques. Two fingers on the beak to control it. Don't show fear around a macaw. Don't let a macaw bully you. Handle the bird with confidence. Don't handle the bird when it is upset or displaying. Adult supervision required until you demonstrate proficiency at it...

destructiveness: How bad is this? What do we need to prepare for? We will most likely not have the birds out unattended. Because of our kids, our dog, and our own fear of accidentally bumping into/stepping on them, we don't want to let them just roam free without us attending them. At the office they will be more free though we will probably have a carrier we use in the car that we could put them in for timeout if they are bad at the office.

I have five birds loose in my house at any given time, including two large macaws. My cage doors don't close....

How bad is it? Depends on how well you train your bird... Can be extremely bad. My big mac "plays" with two by fours... Turns them into toothpicks in seconds....

And telephone books turn into confetti...

Oh yes, they can!!!

messiness: I have now heard opposing opinions here and from people in our area. Some say the macaw will be messier than the conure, and some say the opposite. What do we need to be ready for here and how to we do the best we can here?

Mess is a given with either bird. How messy depends on the bird. I clean twice a day, every day. I really scrub once per week.


too much attention: Riddick07 raised a concern we might be planning to give them too much attention. They'll be in their cages when we sleep, and at home if we are doing other things and can't be watching them. We may not take them to the office every single day, and some days we may only take one or the other. Running your own business when you have kids with tons of activities is crazy sometimes: We don't have a 100% consistent schedule. Does this sound ok?


adult birds: We have interacted with some adults as well. Though admittedly owned by the lady who owns that same wonderful pet shop and all her birds are just amazingly well behaved.

Our plan is to maintain a relationship with the shop, benefit from her advice raising birds, and keep talking to bird owners to stay educated on how to properly train them. We want them to be happy and connected members of the family. The more we are in tune with each other, able to communicate, etc. I think we will all be happier.


kids losing interest: This is one thing i am not worried about. Our kids have never lost interest in any of our pets. Dog. Hedgehog. Turtle. Fish. Years go by and they love them just as much if not more.

birds are the most interactive of all of them... And a macaw will not allow you to ignore it... They hate that! They will do something to get your attention...

 

[Birdman666]

I would disagree with excessive biting being a common GCC trait that you just have to learn to live with. Some birds may never change, but mine are sweet and not biters. Flick was a biter when we got her, but with a lot of patience and hard effort to figure out why she was biting and how she was thinking, we were able to teach her not to bite us.

Green cheeks?! Biting?! Really?! I mean conures are feisty and all, but it only takes two fingers to keep a macaw from biting. Two fingers and you get the ENTIRE green cheek beak, upper and lower... how is that hard?!

And green cheeks tend to be the EASIEST conure.