Just left a bird rescue

[autum_howard]

We'll it didn't go so well, Gunner (my son) seemed to make him really nervous, and that made me very nervous and uncomfortable, I feel like I'm not so great at reading their body language it kinda crushed my confidence a little lol

 

[autum_howard]

Would also like to add that the owners made me feel like they didn't have time to help me with him, it would have been nice to have someone with their experience give me feedback....sigh

 

[thekarens]

Sorry to hear that

 

[Birdman666]

It's been my experience that macaws are either very skittish of little kids, and keep them at bay, or they really enjoy playing with them, and are super curious about them.

Generally speaking, big beaks and little kids are probably not a good mix.

In my opinion (and I have worked with ALL of the big macs), the best big mac temperments around kids would be: Hyacinths, Greenwings, Red Fronts, and Blue Throats, followed by B&G's (which can be high strung around young children in my experience.)

I would stay away from the beakier species: i.e. militaries, Buffon's, and especially Scarlet's. They tend to be short tempered and communicate with their beaks first.

"Issue Macs" and young children, in my opinion would be something I would be reluctant to recommend.

Frankly, the best macaw breeder in the US right now is probably Wendy Craig, and she socializes her birds to the Nth degree... IF I WERE IN THE MARKET FOR A BIG MAC, THAT WOULD BE THE PERSON TO CALL!

I'm not the first person to suggest that Wendy's the best. Ask around. And she's local here in Texas.

Where are you in relation to San Antonio?

 

[autum_howard]

I have heard a lot about Wendy Craig, and visited her website yesterday, the more I research the more I lean towards a greenwing, I just figured it wouldn't hurt to visit the rescue and see if I clicked with a Mac who needed a home, but you are right, the more I think about it the more I don't think it's a good idea to have one with any type of issues with the kids, especially after how it made me feel earlier, just not knowing what to expect

 

[autum_howard]

I live about 80 miles north of Houston