Greetings from Tropical Queensland!

[Alisana]

Hi all,
I'm currently in my early 20s, and I live in North Queensland, Australia =D

My "flock" (or lack thereof) only consists of two budgies who love each other more than me, lol - so I try not to force my company on the little guys. They will occasionally chill with me at my computer, but for the most part, they prefer their cage/each other.

I am planning on getting a Macaw next year, but unsure of which one yet. Blue and Gold or a Greenwing.

I've loved birds since I was young - both my father and grandfather used to breed budgies when I was younger and I was always fascinated with the little guys. I've only recently gotten into the exotics varieties however.

I am greatly looking forward to my new companion and can't wait until next year! I've been reading every night to find out as much as I can, but no matter what, there is always more information, hehe.

Decided to join this forum so that I can talk and interact with other bird owners and get a 'true' perspective of being owned by a bird. haha.

Nice to meet you all!

 

[wenz2712]

hello and welcome to the forum

 

[oled]

Yes this is a great forum to lear about having a big perrot, not always easy but a lot of fun.. Welcome !!

 

[Alisana]

Thank you

It's really great to hear 'real' feedback from people rather than what petstores want you to hear.

 

[wenz2712]

Yes, Pet Stores will tell you what they want you to hear as they want to make a sale! That usually tends to be all they are interested in, without giving much thought to the Welfare of the Bird or any regard for the Customer.. Its very wrong of them really, but sadly most seem to be like this

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

Alisana,
Welcome to the forums. Going from Budgies to a Macaw is a pretty big step but some have done it. I don't know if your living on your own or with mom & dad but either way you want to make sure that those you live with can handle the noise. Macaws can and will be very loud at times so you don't want to live in an apartment. You also want to make sure you are financially stable. A cage for a macaw is not cheap and neither are the toys...and a healthy macaw must have toys! I'm glad you are preparing yourself for this now and not just leaping into the purchase. There are thousands of stories of people who purchase a parrot with the best intentions and a year later are selling it to someone else because its too noisy, too expensive or some other reason prevents them from keeping it. Good luck.

 

[Alisana]

Alisana,
Welcome to the forums. Going from Budgies to a Macaw is a pretty big step but some have done it. I don't know if your living on your own or with mom & dad but either way you want to make sure that those you live with can handle the noise. Macaws can and will be very loud at times so you don't want to live in an apartment. You also want to make sure you are financially stable. A cage for a macaw is not cheap and neither are the toys...and a healthy macaw must have toys! I'm glad you are preparing yourself for this now and not just leaping into the purchase. There are thousands of stories of people who purchase a parrot with the best intentions and a year later are selling it to someone else because its too noisy, too expensive or some other reason prevents them from keeping it. Good luck.

Thanks for your honest comments

I am currently living at home with my parents, however I am going to be looking for a new place with my partner a few months before we get my macaw. We're being very cautious over which property we decide on as we don't want to be wall-to-wall with neighbours, and we want a large yard for a flight aviary. (I'm talking with a local who can build 'break-down' aviaries for easy transport/rental properties that are macaw proof and tested) - These will only be used during the day though. Had a chat with the local council as well - permits are required for large macaws, so I'm getting that organised.

Although the bird will be mine, I'm dragging my partner along this weekend to meet a Greenwing macaw and next week a Blue and Gold so he know's what to expect as well. (Haven't decided on species yet - getting feedback from people in the macaw forum, but need to know reasons why to get one over the other, and personality experience.)

We are planning on setting up a bank account for the macaw and deposit about $30 to $50 a week into it to help cover any emergency vet bills. (Sadly, Australia does not have bird insurance for health - only theft or fire ) All the fruit we get will be organic - we have heaps of fruit trees at my parents place - more than that's possible to eat, but we're fine with purchasing pellets and vegetables.

I travel internationally each year for about 2-3 weeks for conferences, but there are two places that professionally board birds in my state. The other option, which a friend has agreed to, is if my macaw is social-ised (censors the word for some reason) enough with theirs, they can look after it when I'm away. (My partner doesn't always travel with me, but I don't want to leave him with looking after it if he's not comfortable).

I personally don't mind the noise - I found a sun conure worse (no offense to fans) - but my concern was neighbours.

I'm hoping that everything will be OK - hence why I'm here so I can get as much second-hand experience as possible!! I want to know as much as I can.