Macaw Questions

[Parrotlover20]

I got a Cockatiel yesterday and its my first parrot and she is adorable and bonding with me quickly. I got her in about alittle over 2-3 weeks ago and i went in this week end and the owner of the store let me hold her while he clipped her wings and then he let me hold her and walk around the store with her on my shoulder. And she started to like me. She tryed to bite the store owner because she didn't wanna come off me. But yeah i bought her the next day after i parrot proofed my room.

But anyways here is my question i know macaws have a more tendency to bite than other parrots. At first i wanted to adopt a bigger parrot but then i was like no because my grandmother doesn't like birds and i don't know anything about birds yet so ill go with a smaller one, and figuring they bite alot is pretty much asking for trouble as a beginner. And you know i was also like maybe i might not ever get a macaw because they bite and can scar you. but then i saw all these videos on youtube. And the pet store owner has one at the store not for sale but just to be there. And i love their personality. And it very well feels like it matches my personality and i think i may want one some years from now when i can live in my own house and be able to let it walk around freely.

What are the pro's and cons of macaws other than biting alot?

 

[JerseyWendy]

I really don't know why you think all Macaws bite all the time. Neither one of mine do. Yes, they can be ornery, but they don't outright chomp down on me.

Niko, my Blue & Gold has become quite the snuggle bug now that he's past his terrible twos. Ripley, my Green Wing is a gentle giant. Yes, I get the occasional pinch, but I don't have a single scar or permanent damage from either of them.

Living with a large Macaw is like permanently living with a 5 year old child. It's a lot of fun, but it's also a HUGE committment.

 

[Grinder]

JerseyWendy is correct. There is no reason to believe that Macaws bite more than other parrots. They may seem more intimidating with their large powerful beaks, but I find my Macaw to be the gentlest of all my parrots. I do think it's good that you are taking things slowly and not considering one right away (not to say it's the wrong decision if you did).

There is so much you can learn about all the species of birds, but some of the biggest reason people rehome their Macaws is the amount of time you must give them each day, the fact that it costs quite a bit to own one - a single toy can cost from $20 to $60 and they need A LOT of them. Most people say that the rehomed Macaw is 'troubled', but really it's due to the owner having too small a cage, not enough toys, bad diets and too little attention given to the Macaw. If you feel you can overcome these primary 'cons', then you are in for an endless list of 'pros'.

 

[Parrotlover20]

I really don't know why you think all Macaws bite all the time. Neither one of mine do. Yes, they can be ornery, but they don't outright chomp down on me.

Niko, my Blue & Gold has become quite the snuggle bug now that he's past his terrible twos. Ripley, my Green Wing is a gentle giant. Yes, I get the occasional pinch, but I don't have a single scar or permanent damage from either of them.

Living with a large Macaw is like permanently living with a 5 year old child. It's a lot of fun, but it's also a HUGE committment.

I don't know, someone on another forum made it seem like they bite alot and everytime i go to a pet store that has macaws i always see signs that say don't put fingers in cage "I Bite". I wouldn't just put my fingers in a cage to begin with but i just figured they were biters because of that. But then i was like whatever no animal is perfect.

The owner at my local pet store has one for a pet. Its pretty cool! He says he loves to play and play dead but he really hates his nails clipped lol. So its a huge hassle to get him out of the cage even just to play cause he thinks his nails are being clipped when its time to come out. He said it screams so loud you would think he is getting murdered. But its a smart bird he said it knows how to unlock it cage and get out and he does it when nobody is around and when he hears people coming and goes back in and shuts it. He said he caught him one time. But his bird can count, not vocally but today the owner showed me and he banged on the glass 7 times and then asked his macaw how many and he tapped his beak that many times.

But i believe you. Maybe is should find a shelter that has them and try to volunteer and help work with them or something. Not sure if its possible though. But i think macaws would most likely fit my personality. I seen the stuff they do and the tricks they can do and it looks so amazing. Despite them acting 5 years old 24/7 seems really rewarding in the end when you can have alot of fun with them.

 

[Chesphoto]

As someone that just adopted a scarlet, I thought I would join the discussion.

Volunteering at a shelter is a great way to go. I was able to see every good and bad traits that parrots species had. There were things that I loved about them all. However, there were negatives that were just deal breakers for me and I would never have known unless I spent time with them.

As far as biting, I don't think macaws are worst than other parrots. I tend to follow Barbara Heidenreich's advice that if you don't want to get bit, don't try to force the parrot to do something that it doesn't want to do. Great advice but not so easy to follow when you need to get the parrot in a travel crate or put the bird in its cage for sleep.

I loved macaws, but was really afraid of the beaks. I just took a slow approach and let the parrots warm up to me. It may take a while, but I still have ten fingers.

 

[Turquoise]

I have 3 macaws & not a one of them is a 'purpose biter'. Meaning they don't just purposely come after you with the intent to bite. Roscoe is beginning to go into his terrible twos, so yes he does get the impish gleam in his eye (not the same thing as the eye pinning) and likes to pinch my arm at times. That is not a true bite from a macaw and he doesn't do it constantly.

Macaws are wonderful parrots to own. They are loud when they feel like it and messy, but what parrot isn't no matter how large or small it may be. Their food is expensive, but not bank account breaking. And they love attention, but they also love to spend time by themselves just being the 'Winged Monkeys' they were meant to be. My Roscoe is the clown of the flock. He is the busiest parrot I have ever owned whether he is in his enclosure or out on his play perch.

When you are ready, you will know if a macaw is right for you. I had wanted a Green Wing macaw from the first time I saw a photo of one many yrs ago. I always loved everything I read or saw about macaws. I knew they were the parrot for me & I have not regretted a single day of being owned by my feathered darlings.

 

[Remy]

My macaw is very even tempered, actually. He's only bitten me if he had a good reason (meaning, I didn't listen the first few times he warned me). His temperament is pretty predictable for a parrot, actually. I'm under the impression that macaws are actually more predictable and less crazy than some other types of parrots, but I am not an expert on other birds.

Did the pet store owner go over all of the do and don'ts of bird ownership? No teflon pans (instant death), avocados (possible death within 24 hours), or chocolate. Make sure they are on high quality pellets for the main food source (Harrison's High Potency Organic Pellets), not seeds, and provide fresh fruits and veggies. If it's a girl, she will need extra calcium when she starts laying eggs, even if she is by herself.

I think the most important piece of behavior advice I was given on her is to "RESPECT THEIR FEELINGS!" That will get you very far.

Definitely take your time, research, visit or volunteer at rescues. If you get one, adopt one that needs a home.

Congratulations on your new baby.

 

[davisn456]

As a former cockatiel owner, and now a macaw owner, I thought I could contribute a few ideas to the discussion. Over a span of around 15 years, I had 3 cockatiels. All 3 had drastically different personalities. One cockatiel wouldn't bite if even when provoked, one bit all the time, and the third was somewhere in the middle. I actually had several bad bites from Sam. He was a pet shop bird and as far as I know he had never been handled much. While he seemed to like to be in the presence of people and enjoyed being talked to, he wasn't a touchy-feely bird. Rocky, the female was much more docile, would never bite, but was also not interested in being handled. I adopted these birds from my cousin who had joined the military and his mother wasn't really interested in keeping them when he left. The 3rd was named Zoot, and I got him much later. After my experience with the first two, I wasn't overly happy being a bird owner because they didn't seem to care much about human interaction. Zoot was a total opposite. He loved to be rubbed, was very affectionate, and wanted to be with people all the time.

I guess my point in all of that is to not generalize too much when dealing with birds. There were 3 examples of the same type of bird and they were totally different from each other.

Now, I have Frankie, a B&G Macaw. She's a somewhat nervous bird, but is very affectionate. Again, it's all about the individual personality. Some Macaws that I've been around have been biters, others are very affectionate and gentle. Frankie can be a little of both. She loves to be around me and is very interested in what I'm doing at any given time. She also loves to have a head rub and loves to play. Other times, she goes back to her cage and sometimes does her own thing. I've noticed most often that she bites when trying to get her to do something she's not interested in, live if I try to pick her up and she doesn't want to go anywhere at that moment. She tends to give a warning first though. She also likes to play a little rough, and I'm trying to work with her to teach her not to bite hard when doing that. I think she doesn't realize sometimes how strong she really is. Birds use their beak like we use our hands, to grasp things, pick things up, climb, etc. Because of that, it can be intimidating when they use their beak to steady themselves when they get on your arm, giving the appearance that they are going to bite. Once you get used to the bird's personality though, and a level of trust is achieved between both of you, you can begin to read their body language very easily.

I'll give you a great example of why the pet shop you mentioned had the "I bite" sign up. Frankie seems to be a little territorial about her cage, at least I thought she was. If I would try to pet her or put a finger through the cage near her, she would lunge at me and get rather aggressive. But, if I reach in the cage through the door, she puts her head down almost immediately for me to pet her (or tries to climb on my hand). My guess is that a former owner, or maybe their kids used to tease her through the cage bars and she doesn't like it when people approach her like that. So, I just don't try that anymore.

I would definitely not recommend a large bird if you're not fairly experienced. The idea of volunteering at a shelter is a great idea though. It would definitely give you a feel for both the positives and negatives. You just have to accept them for what they are, with all that comes with it. My experience so far has been incredibly rewarding. At the end of the day when it's time for me to head home from work, I find myself getting excited thinking about what fun things Frankie and I can do when I get home.

Anyway, congrats on the new cockatiel, and I wish you lots of luck!

 

[emmett518]

Just know what you're getting into, do LOTS of research, and really think about whether you can give the bird a permanent home for the rest of your life. Too many of these birds are adopted by ignorant people who end up dumping their problem birds on others. It's expensive for the original owner, and horrible for the bird. They really suffer due to stupid humans.

They need big heavy-duty cages, require a lot of attention, play, and out of cage time, are messy beyond anything you've seen, scream at top volume (think rock concert), and can destroy furniture, woodwork, and human body parts faster than anything else on the planet.

Having said all of that, I love my two like family. They have great personalities, and are great to wake up to, and come home to after a day away.

Just be sure to go into it with your eyes wide open. For the bird's sake.

 

[Parrotlover20]

Just know what you're getting into, do LOTS of research, and really think about whether you can give the bird a permanent home for the rest of your life. Too many of these birds are adopted by ignorant people who end up dumping their problem birds on others. It's expensive for the original owner, and horrible for the bird. They really suffer due to stupid humans.

They need big heavy-duty cages, require a lot of attention, play, and out of cage time, are messy beyond anything you've seen, scream at top volume (think rock concert), and can destroy furniture, woodwork, and human body parts faster than anything else on the planet.

Having said all of that, I love my two like family. They have great personalities, and are great to wake up to, and come home to after a day away.

Just be sure to go into it with your eyes wide open. For the bird's sake.

Yeah thats actually one of my pet peeves is when people get pets and don't keep them, my cousins side of the family is like that, i cant even remember how many pets they had . Macaws just seem likes they fit my personality i love to laugh alot and joke around and i have adhd and like to interact with things alot. And despite macaws acting childish like their 5. To me that's hilarious. They are like a dog in bird form. The things ive seen them do is amazing and they are smart and funny.

I love all animals and respect them!