Feral Macaw

[CluelessinFL]

First of all, my bird experience is limited to chickens, ducks, and turkeys. However, we are those people who seem to have every lost animal show up on our doorstep, be it pigs, dogs, chickens, cats, horses, and now, parrots. Yes, a blue and gold Macaw seems to have taken up residency on our 5 acre farm in South Florida. He has been here for a couple of days now and seems to favor my husband. He won't get too close to us, but gets a little closer every day, even follows my husband around in the evenings when he is taking care of our other animals.

I posted him on Facebook and was in touch with local animal services the first day he showed up. One person had reported a missing Macaw over 2 months ago, he came by this morning and said he doesn't think it is his and if he is, is too wild now anyway. Animal services came by yesterday and catching this guy doesn't seem to be in his plan, but the general consensus is that he is a very good flier... He does not appear to be wearing a leg band.

So where do I go from here? I really don't mind if he just lives here, he seems like a cool guy to have hanging around the farm, but it seems like someone would be missing him, I know they aren't exactly cheap birds. Do birds that fly away return home on their own? Should I not feed him? Should I feed him to entice him to stay here in case his owner does surface? Any common bird terms that anyone can share to see if he has had any kind of training at some point? Suggestions on where to put food we Do leave for him? Anyone else have any stories of birds they encounter on the fly? Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome glad you found us. Yes I would feed him, if you can keep doing so even if he is never recaptured. I would put up a platform feeder on a pole, divide the feeder down the middle and put veggies out at the same time every day and remove after a couple of hours best to put out when he see you, you can use a whistle or a call that is always the same when you do, on the other side you can put walnuts Brazilian nuts and some seeds. Talk to him when ever you see him, I am sure he was a pet at some point and a lot if birds favor men or women they can tell the difference. You can also build a t stand near the feeder maybe four or five feet tall to make it attractive for him to visit and hang out, you can attach a plastic or stainless steel cup to it and put some yummy nuts in there when you see him useing the same call as you do so. As for the veggies you can put put a hunk of broccoli, calliflower, pumpkin, sweet potato, squash, zucchini, romaine lettuce, hot peppers, or bell peppers, just put a small amount and vary what you offer tell he starts come to it. I hope you help this fellow, and maybe make a pet of him if owner can't be found. No macaws don't have a homing instict, he won't likely find his previous home on his own. He could easily be fifty or more miles from home... Others here will have good advice for you. We have many macaw posters .

 

[CluelessinFL]

Thank you for your input, our property used to be a tree farm, so we have a couple hundred trees including oaks, queen palms, and cabbage palms, plus plenty of other plants, which may be why he is hanging around. He may become a problem if he is still here in the spring as we have several hundred blueberry plants, but we were planning to put a cloth up this year anyway. There is also a pond on the property and we are a good mile away from other traffic, yet fairly busy here all day. I will get my husband to throw together some kind of feeding platform for him for fruits and veggies. Is it possible to re-gentle them gradually? Also, I am calling it a him, but how do you determine gender?

 

[Laurasea]

You can't tell sex, for pets we do a DNA test for sex. Sometimes makes have a bigger head and larger beak. Lol I can't get my quakers or green cheeck to eat blue berries. I don't think (he) will be a big problem to them but he might I guess.. the fact that he has shown himself and hung out near you makes me think he would like to be friends and humans as part of his flock. These are highly intelligent and social birds, I think he wants company. I think it is very likely he could be socialized, as when the barbaric abd unethical practice of taking these beauties from nature, some went into be loving pets. You could put out a water bowl on your t stand as well, even though he can drink from the lake he is very vulnerable to coyotes and foxes ad he does so, since no flock mates will be keeping watch for him! Since he was likely a pet you could make some parrot toys out of colorful plastic kitchen utensils or kids toys and hang it might help draw him in and remind him of when he was pet. Do not feed Avacado do not feed onion don't feed mushrooms. There are bug lists of parrot safe veggies and greens. I don't know how far you want to go with this, maybe your husband can build a small outdoor Avairy and you could start feeding him in that... As more members check in they will have great ideas as well!!!! Poor lost baby I hope you can help him out.

 

[ChristaNL]

Oh this is great!


(I do not understand the possible ex-owner... like a bird would forget after 2 months about the person he/she was bonded to, even if you had to catch him first. )
My B&G has not seen her ex-owners in almost 10 months, but there is no doubt in my mind she would recognize them and even go back tot he interaction she has had with them. (She was their bird for nine years, if the stories are correct.)
Japies previous people have visited twice - and they were like nothing had passed (after 4 months here and some time later)- he just went to the mother and daughter like always.


B&G's are great for living outdoors as long as there is food, shelter and safety.
LOL, leave the door/ a window open at night and he might even decide to join you.


I agree with the 'leave some food out for it'- that way you'll see if more assistance is needed or not.
A macaw inside the house is really not furniture-friendly, so maybe you guys want to keep him a free-range-chicken?

 

[EllenD]

Aren't there flocks of wild Macaws in Florida? There are plenty in southern California, and I know there are tons of other wild parrots in Florida...He may be a wild-born Macaw, rather than a captive-bred bird...Or, he may have been a breeder-bird that escaped or was purposely released by the breeder because he was no longer producing (sad, but it happens all the time)...Or, he could simply be a neglected pet that someone either lost or let loose purposely because they no longer wanted him, though I doubt that because most people know that they can sell Macaws, tame or not, for a lot of money, specifically to breeders who don't care whether they are tame or not. So you may never know where he came from...

I would also feed him if you can, because if he is a captive-bred bird who got loose, then he doesn't know anything about living out in the wild, and may have issues finding food. If you feed him he'll probably stick around on your property, so as long as you don't mind him, then you'd be doing a great thing by helping him out...

I would also keep a "Found Parrot" ad up on all of your local Craigslist pages, just in-case someone is looking for him...Like I said, he may have been a breeder and not a pet, which would explain his non-tame nature...Although if that's the case, his life is already much better than the one that he had living in a breeding-cage 24/7...

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. The other safety issue will be birds of prey such as hawks and owls. If the macaw is fed at the same time every day, he is liable to attract either kind of BoP. Feeding station should be covered, becasue it will prevent either type of BoP from swooping down on the macaw. Just a roof over the perch the macaw will stand on to feed. google outdoor wild bird feeders, to get ideas on how to build it. If you provide the big 3, water, food and shelter, chances are the mac will stick around. Good Luck.

 

[RavensGryf]

Aren't there flocks of wild Macaws in Florida? There are plenty in Southern California...

Really?! I must be blind then :18: I’ve lived here all my life and haven’t seen a single Macaw flying overhead . Wild Amazons and Conures here yes, but not Macaws lol.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Here is a "search protocol" that I have seen offered here quite a bit...

Search Protocol
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B78...ew?usp=sharing
Online Resources
https://www.facebook.com/groups/911parrotalertofficial/about/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/173723186536299/about/

Thank you for caring, and reaching out!

If there is no owner to be found, I can't help but hope that he decides to "move in" with you!

If so, stay tuned. This is a great place to share and learn about all things PARROT!