Hello =)

[Cecilia]

Hello,
My name is Cecilia. I have been thinking of purchasing a macaw for some time now. I am a full time college student. Soon to be a stay at home mother again. I am 34 weeks pregnant with another boy. My first son is 4yrs old. I have previously had many different types of birds through animal rescuing... but never owned my own macaw, not even actually handled one on my own unless it was a baby still being hand fed. I know many people say having a macaw as your first large bird isn't exactly the smartest thing, but I have a lot of free time and am willing to do what it takes to make a bond with the bird and have it become a forever part of the family.

 

[madparrotwoman]

Hello Cecillia and welcome to the forum.

My honest opinion is that this is not a good time to introduce a macaw into your family. Not only are they a whole lotta bird but with a new baby on the way? Your new baby is gonna have you busy 24/7 in the coming months, not to mention your other 4 year old son. As you have had rescues before for sure you must know a bit about what you are doing but a macaw is a whole different ballgame. Why not wait a bit, at least until you are though those dreaded night feeds and feel more able to cope.

Whatever you decide, we are here to help you in any way we can and we will support you whichever decision you make. Good luck.

 

[Bobby34231]

Hi Cecilia and welcome to the forum, as you may have already been told, and will probably be again, macaws can be a handful, it would be really great if you could have some first hand experiece with an adult macaw before you purchase one, a suggestion would be is to search out in your area a local bird club or avian society, most welcome new folks to attend a couple of meetings before joining, and there you can meet with like minded bird people, who can give you some good info and possibly you'll find someone there owned by a macaw that will allow you to interact one on one with it, in doing this it will be a lot easier to know whether a macaw is right for you instead of spending big $$$ to find out you've made a big mistake, then there will be the even bigger problem of what to do next with the bird that didn't work out, the one thing that stands out to me is that you have a young child with another on the way, having a macaw is very much like having another child, dependant on you, loud at times, messy and demanding of your time and attention, the basic difference is that your children will grow up, with macaws they stay perpetual 2 year olds for 60 plus years , along with that the safety issues of little fingers around a macaws cage is also something to be considered, not trying to talk you out of becoming owned by a macaw, just giving you a few things to consider before taking the final step, I'm sure many others will weigh in with their opinions as well...i wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide

 

[Spiritbird]

Hi There and welcome to our forum. There are many wise and wonderful bird people here. I have to say I do agree with what has been said. To take on a new baby and new large parrot at the same time would be difficult at best. I can understand the desire for a bird. Could it be put on the back burner until your baby is a few years old? These birds have very large beaks. With that said there are those who do make it work with birds and babies. Whatever you decide I wish you the best.

 

[antoinette]

Welcome to a wonderful friendly forum. Members will assist whenever possible as you have witnessed first hand. I would personally wait a while before becoming a guardian, especially to a Macaw. I second what the above members have mentioned.
Good luck with your decision, we will always be here to assist you.

 

[Cecilia]

I went to the closest pet store that I knew could have blue and gold macaw's and sure enough they had a 3 mo old b&g macaw. It was beautiful. (I say "it" b/c they do not DNA test any of their birds) I asked the guy many questions about the upkeep and such of the specific type of bird. I handled it for about 15 mins. He was quite the handful. My hands are so small LOL that I had a hard time holding him on my fingers. He even snipped at my finger and crunched down. It didn't hurt b/c I'm positive he didn't go full force but the guy said the bird was going to test me. i learned quite a bit from my visit today. I decided on the way home that I will wait for another year or two before I introduce a bird of that size into the family household. I know I will most likely eventually get one in the future, but now is not the right time.

 

[Bobby34231]

I'm glad you found a place to experience first hand the enjoyment of spending some time with one of our larger feathered friends, I'm also happy that you took the time to think over and come to the conclusion that waiting a bit would be best, not sure that I'll be around when your ready, but if I am let me know and I'll put you in touch with some good breeders here in Florida instead of spending the big bucks at the pet store, just because you won't be getting a bird right away doesn't mean you should leave the forum, stick around, learn and ask questions and you'll be truely ready when the time comes, I warn you though, you'll probably change your mind a hundred times between now and then about what type of bird to get as pretty much we all have.....lol

 

[Cecilia]

Thank you kindly. Yes, when I decide to get a macaw which should be around a year and a half two years, when I purchase my home, I will have my entire patio set up for him to roam with toys for about 1-2 hours a day while I'm out there with him. I would rather the children have a supervised interaction than not. =) Safety first! I have big plans and it takes time. =) I was hoping to get one around 9weeks of age... I have experience in hand feeding and such. I have interacted with mustache parakeets, nanday conures, love birds, Indian ring necks sun conures, etc... So having a bird is not new to me, just the size of the bird.. LOL not to mention breed. I will be more than happy to stick around and read others questions and the answers and continue to research. Although I have surely decided I'd like to have a Blue and Gold, just not at this point in my family's life. So what part of FL are you located in?

 

[Bobby34231]

I'm in Sarasota, between Tampa and Ft Myers on the west coast.....

 

[Cecilia]

I'm in Rockledge, FL. I believe that's about 2 1/2 hours from Sarasota. Quincy is beautiful! I am interested in one with Dark blue wing feathers (rather than turquoise) =) I was nervous holding him b/c he wasn't my bird, so I felt liable If it were my bird I'd be much more calm and willing to work with the bird. Also the reason I wanted the bird at 9weeks is to build that bond with it early so I am not intimidated by it.

 

[Bobby34231]

Yeah my Quincy is a handsome boy, and I love him to death, he's not a macaw that you see often, he's a bit smaller than a blue & gold and the blue is a bit different shade, I have a couple of pics of him in my photo album section that look better than my avitar pic, I'd love to have another one but I'd have to sell my truck and get a second mortgage on the house to do it....lol

 

[Cecilia]

LOL why? that expensive?

 

[Bobby34231]

depends on what you consider expensive.....lol, Blue throated macaws are about $2500 from a breeder, I can only imagine what they would cost if you ever saw one in a pet store.......

 

[Cecilia]

Woah! That is expensive! What about blue and gold?

 

[Bobby34231]

Right now B&G's are about $650 unweaned, $800 weaned from a breeder, $1500-$1800 or higher in the pet stores.....

 

[Cecilia]

Right now B&G's are about $650 unweaned, $800 weaned from a breeder, $1500-$1800 or higher in the pet stores.....

Yeah, That's what I've seen. Curious as to how expensive the upkeep of the ... I noticed many breeders going as low as 475 on their . Not sure I'd trust that price for a healthy bird. When they are not weaned are they at least off the formula and on the bread thingys the guy in the pet store said they go from formula to some bread cluster things you heat up and then to regular food... so at what age would they baby go onto the bread things?

 

[Cecilia]

Okay it's been some time now since I first came to these wonderful forums. I have been speaking with some members and getting a lot of assistance and guidance from many on Macaws. My husband and I have decided to get one. We are in no rush and we are looking for the "right" one. The one that you just KNOW is the one. Well, my hsuabnd and I are going to build the cage for it. It will be 5ft tall, 4ft x 3ft. (or 4ft x 4ft) It will be made of 1/4" Clear Acrylic (like my 55g fishy tank). I just browsed and saw a few books to help guild me on the right path to being an amazing Parrot owner to such a large bird. Here is a list of books I just purchased

"Macaws" - Roger G Sweeney
"Parrots for Dummies" - Nikki Moustaki
"The Parrot Problem Solver" - Barbara Heidenreich
"The Healthy Bird Cookbook: A lifesaving Nutritional Guide and Recipe Collection" - Robin Deutsch

I'm sure there are many books out there that are useful but these 4 are the ones which really sparked my eye. The "Parrots for Dummies" has a lot of useful information on it that I cannot wait to sink my head into, although I have never been found of any of the books with the words "For Dummies" BUT After looking through it there was way to much useful info that I couldn't resist. I'm waiting for Amazon.com to ship them. Any advise on cage preference and ect. I do have young children... As you all know. My oldest son will be 5 July 26. youngest son is now 7mo and my daughter isn't due till Aug 8th. SO yes I do know I have my hands full but I also know what I can handle. With my husband by my side and his loving support I can do anything! I am a stay at home mother doing college online and in the evening at school. I am going for my 4yr - RN program. I have been doing animal rescue for going on 7yrs and so I have always been up and down with doing vet. school, so I may go for that just as a cert. in avarian spe******t. Anyhow any thought helpful tips etc?