How much time to spend with a macaw?

[Dessert Eagle]

Hello, I'd like to get a macaw in the future so I'm researching if my lifestyle would be suitable to own one. I can't really find anything more concrete about the attention a macaw needs daily so I've come to ask. Currently, for four days a week I would have about two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening I could give. One day I could take to work if it was comfortable with that (work on that specific day is different and would allow that), then two days off and I don't really do much on those days.

I'm concerned that the four hours, four days a week isn't enough time for a bird that may need more attention than that, and if a macaw isn't suitable for this lifestyle then I could find a different bird or animal that would be better fitted.

 

[wrench13]

Really any parrot needs more time then I think you have available. Will SOME parrots be OK with that? Maybe. But these are flock animals at heart and they need to be with their flock. A lack of attention can bring out all sorts of psychological behavior, like plucking , screaming, biting, that will only be to the parrots detriment. Sorry, but I dont wee you as an ideal candidate, at least with your current life style.

 

[Dessert Eagle]

Really any parrot needs more time then I think you have available. Will SOME parrots be OK with that? Maybe. But these are flock animals at heart and they need to be with their flock. A lack of attention can bring out all sorts of psychological behavior, like plucking , screaming, biting, that will only be to the parrots detriment. Sorry, but I dont wee you as an ideal candidate, at least with your current life style.

Thank you for your opinion. I think really you are right as much as I’d like to get one, it would be neglectful of the animals welfare.

Realistically, how much time daily do you think a macaw or really any parrot requires from their owner? Not just the minimum but for it to stay healthy.

 

[Macawdamia Nut]

Thank you for your opinion. I think really you are right as much as I’d like to get one, it would be neglectful of the animals welfare.

Realistically, how much time daily do you think a macaw or really any parrot requires from their owner? Not just the minimum but for it to stay healthy.

You are going to get different answers. It depends on the bird. Mine is out of the cage whenever I am home. That doesn’t mean I am paying 100% of my time focused on him. He likes his “me time.” I just live my life and my bird joins in. He likes to sit on the perch on top of his cage. He likes to hang out on the stair bannister and survey his domain (we have a 2-story living room). He waddles around and watches me do laundry or iron. He climbs the stairs to find me in my sewing room and watches me sew or paint or do crafts. He sits on his stool in the kitchen and watches me cook. He often begs to sit in his outdoor cage and is as happy as a clam eating, preening, chewing toys or chilling out for hours and hours on end until I have to convince him it is getting dark and it is time to come in.

We have one-on-one “love sessions” in the morning and evening and whenever I pass him and cannot resist touching him and telling him how thankful I am that he is my macaw. That is when I am 100% focused on him. I have never added up how much time I dedicate to one-on-one interaction, but it is not 4 hours a day.

TL;DR: It depends on the bird (mine is self-entertaining and not needy) and just live your life and let your bird join in on the action.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I think it depends on whether you're home most of the time and letting him out to entertain himself between play sessions or just him staying alone in his cage for 8 + hour stretches at a time. Long stretches of time with no human company days in a row isn't good for their psycho-social development and encourages cage aggression which can be very unpleasant with a large parrot. You want to become your parrots companion not your parrot becoming your plaything. You need to be present in his life for that to happen. Later on he may become more self entertaining as @Macawdamia Nut describes.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I'm also not sure that taking a Macaw to work with you wouldn't be too stressful for a new bird. He will need to be transported in a large carrier both directiond and some birds really hate that. Eventually, after you two have really bonded and the weather isn't a concern it may be okay but right after adopting- I don't think so. I don't know what environment you work in but a Macaw can let out some ear piercing screams that may make working difficult.

 

[rheashard2]

I agree with much of above. Some parrots irregardless of breed are more tolerant of being left alone then others. I worked full time 12 hour shifts with OT, on call, as RN. My CAG had no problems. Granted I had to give plenty of cuddles when home. He had lots of toys, puzzles etc with TV on with channel changes daily. Taking bird to work may not be wise. There's a chance someone may not listen and get bit. Also too many parrots have their own people preferences; love/hate beards, glasses, certain colors etc. The hate can trigger screaming and attack mode.

 

[Dessert Eagle]

Thanks for all the responses. I will leave this idea for now and perhaps in a few years my situation would allow for a bird, but it also might not. I'm not gonna get a bird to leave it neglected if I can't take care of it properly.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Well... as a totally muddy response...
I'll tell you my story. *MASS GROAN FROM ALL PFF BUDDIES WHO'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE!*
Glean from my odd tale what you will.

My story...
I got him in 1984.
When I walked into a bird store in New Mexico 33 years ago, the Rickeybird (a 3-month-old chick) flapped and flew and scrambled into my arms, turned on his back, and grabbed my fingers with his feet. He seemed glued to me. It was a perfect storm of my impulsiveness, his instant adoration, and the fact that I had just gotten paid by my college work-study job... I took him home. The cage was to be delivered the next day, so I sat on the livingroom floor, all night, propped against a wall, with him in my lap.
Using his band, I eventually traced his breeder. We exchanged photos and letters (this was pre-'net, y'all!)... and she could have been my sister! We were both tall, thin, with long red hair and Poindexter glasses, long faces and big toothy smiles. The Rb thought his mommy (or close enough) had walked in to rescue him. And that was that.
I had a few parrot-owning friends who helped me learn how to care for him. I was fearing getting evicted due to his noise, and my family at the time HATED him. I recall struggling to make a decision, sitting on the floor of my townhouse, watching him race and skip and frolic around on the tile floor, and then run to me GRINNING, so proud to be showing off for me. I would just stare at him and be amazed: imagine --- a real parrot in my house, and it loved me! I felt so guilty and inadequate and afraid at one point that I had him in his travel cage and was planning to take him back to the bird store. I opened the front door and couldn't go through. Closed it. Sat down. Took my little love out and promised him we would stay together.
I didn't really believe it, but I wanted to. Eventually, I did. I was in college back then, and at least I could spend a lot of time with him.
Then there were years (about 25 of them) when 5-6 days a week, I was gone at 7:30-ish and back at 6-ish.
Some did and will consider me wrong and think I should have re-homed him. My husband at that time detested the bird. My current ol' man tolerates him with good humor. No, the bird wasn't responsible for the first marriage's ending!
Anyway, here is what I think made it work.
I moved and got new jobs maybe 5 times or so. BUT...
Every morning, he had at least ten minutes, and every evening, he had 20 or so. I have always kept him on a natural light schedule, in a separate room, so sometimes those times together were in the dark. During the day, he had a big window looking out on something interesting, a television on one of his favorite channels (music channels, shopping channels), a biggg cage, lots of fun foods, and a few toys that I changed out regularly).
He KNEW he could count on those two crummy sessions a day. Somehow we both made it.
I kept him pretty well socialized until we moved up North to Ohio... then, one thing led to another, and I failed him, really. He is now a one-person bird, sadly. In my defense, since he became a rooster at about 4 years of age, he really has been a little Genghis Khan. Genghis Conure, my vet calls him.
I'm now retired and times are good again. Side-note... when I first started being able to spend much more time, he was strangely aggressive and jumpy. Eventually we settled down.
I don't know if I am doing a service or a dis-service in even suggesting you keep a bird while working. I do know I can't imagine life without mine at this point.
Good luck to you in making a decision. And welcome to the Forum... you'll get lots of empathy and advice here.

 

[rheashard2]

Well... as a totally muddy response...
I'll tell you my story. *MASS GROAN FROM ALL PFF BUDDIES WHO'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE!*
Glean from my odd tale what you will.

My story...
I got him in 1984.
When I walked into a bird store in New Mexico 33 years ago, the Rickeybird (a 3-month-old chick) flapped and flew and scrambled into my arms, turned on his back, and grabbed my fingers with his feet. He seemed glued to me. It was a perfect storm of my impulsiveness, his instant adoration, and the fact that I had just gotten paid by my college work-study job... I took him home. The cage was to be delivered the next day, so I sat on the livingroom floor, all night, propped against a wall, with him in my lap.
Using his band, I eventually traced his breeder. We exchanged photos and letters (this was pre-'net, y'all!)... and she could have been my sister! We were both tall, thin, with long red hair and Poindexter glasses, long faces and big toothy smiles. The Rb thought his mommy (or close enough) had walked in to rescue him. And that was that.
I had a few parrot-owning friends who helped me learn how to care for him. I was fearing getting evicted due to his noise, and my family at the time HATED him. I recall struggling to make a decision, sitting on the floor of my townhouse, watching him race and skip and frolic around on the tile floor, and then run to me GRINNING, so proud to be showing off for me. I would just stare at him and be amazed: imagine --- a real parrot in my house, and it loved me! I felt so guilty and inadequate and afraid at one point that I had him in his travel cage and was planning to take him back to the bird store. I opened the front door and couldn't go through. Closed it. Sat down. Took my little love out and promised him we would stay together.
I didn't really believe it, but I wanted to. Eventually, I did. I was in college back then, and at least I could spend a lot of time with him.
Then there were years (about 25 of them) when 5-6 days a week, I was gone at 7:30-ish and back at 6-ish.
Some did and will consider me wrong and think I should have re-homed him. My husband at that time detested the bird. My current ol' man tolerates him with good humor. No, the bird wasn't responsible for the first marriage's ending!
Anyway, here is what I think made it work.
I moved and got new jobs maybe 5 times or so. BUT...
Every morning, he had at least ten minutes, and every evening, he had 20 or so. I have always kept him on a natural light schedule, in a separate room, so sometimes those times together were in the dark. During the day, he had a big window looking out on something interesting, a television on one of his favorite channels (music channels, shopping channels), a biggg cage, lots of fun foods, and a few toys that I changed out regularly).
He KNEW he could count on those two crummy sessions a day. Somehow we both made it.
I kept him pretty well socialized until we moved up North to Ohio... then, one thing led to another, and I failed him, really. He is now a one-person bird, sadly. In my defense, since he became a rooster at about 4 years of age, he really has been a little Genghis Khan. Genghis Conure, my vet calls him.
I'm now retired and times are good again. Side-note... when I first started being able to spend much more time, he was strangely aggressive and jumpy. Eventually we settled down.
I don't know if I am doing a service or a dis-service in even suggesting you keep a bird while working. I do know I can't imagine life without mine at this point.
Good luck to you in making a decision. And welcome to the Forum... you'll get lots of empathy and advice here.

I empathize. When a pet clicks with you, it's like a compliment to your soul! They understand and somehow do the right thing to cheer you up. Then do the equally right thing to make you consider a stiff drink with parrot pie.

 

[TiredOldMan]

I empathize. When a pet clicks with you, it's like a compliment to your soul! They understand and somehow do the right thing to cheer you up. Then do the equally right thing to make you consider a stiff drink with parrot pie.

Absolute Truth
Thanks for the laugh. I needed that!