Macaw bonding/friend advice needed!

[BlueandGold]

Macaw bonding/friend advice needed!!

Hello,

I have two year old female Blue and Gold Macaw. My family has had her since she was 5 weeks old and she is hand fed. She loves the whole family and we give her hours of attention daily. My parents are retired so they are able to give her a lot, a lot of attention.

My fear is that eventually we will be unable to give her the level of attention she currently receives. We have a lot of land and are able to build her an aviary. However, I would not want to put her in one by herself. I want her o have a friend/companion to keep her busy since she feels lonely so quickly.

I would like to get her a mate, but I know nothing about the process or the rates of success. I have books, and read online and I have not found lot of information. I am scared I will get a male, they will not get along, and now I have to care for two macaws, which is a lot of work. She has been with us from such a young age I am scared since she may rebuff another macaw since she thinks she is a human.

Also, if all I want for her is a friend, could I get her another female, would this work and keep her company?

Please share any experiences. We have had a double yellow head and tried bonding but I understand that macaws are very different than amazons. Any advice on Macaws(especially blue and gold is greatly greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

 

[JJones1719]

Hello B&G,
It's true that Macaws need lots of attn and getting more then one is 2 times the work. Just because you may keep them in the same cage, the care for each one will be double the work.
If you have your mind set that getting another macaw is in your future, you have to do your homework here. Before purchasing the 2nd Macaw, bring your macaw around them to see if they will get along. If your Macaw is female, then you should get another female. In the winld the females hang out together and males hang out together. Once a set of Macaw bond with eachother, normally they will not want anything to do with you when they are male and female.
They will grow to be hard to handle.
I would advise you to start slow, keeping them in seperate cages and only let them outside their cage when you are around to let them get the chance the know one another.
if you see that they are getting along, then you can place them outside in an aviary together.
Bird flock together so your chances of them getting along is very strong.
I have a 6 year old male Eclectus and 5 year old GW Macaw who get along just fine. in fact the Eclectus rules the roost and keeps my GW in line.
Best of luck on what choice you make. Joe

 

[BlueandGold]

Thank you. I think getting a female is a right choice. We have had a double yellow head for 25+ years but she is scared of our large macaw.
I understand it will be more work, but in the long run I think it will serve as a good companion for our macaw.
Thank you for the information about the females in the wild!

 

[WharfRat]

we never let our Macs out with the Zon's.........accident waiting to happen with our birds. Both Zon's are male & GW's are female. Zon's ain't scared but I know what will happen.

 

[BlueandGold]

I keep my double yellow head separate. However, how do you keep your two GWs since you say that their interactions are unpredictable? Thanks!

 

[RescueMe]

I know how fun it is to get another bird, but is there a specific reason that you want to add to your flock? It sounds like your girl has an ideal home and it is entirely possible that bringing in another bird could alter your relationship with her forever.

 

[WharfRat]

when I let them loose, the GW's get the living room/bird area and the Zon's come in the office. The Hahn's we only let out by herself with time split in both areas.