new blue and gold macaw owner

[klwehe]

hi everyone, well i joined this site to see if theres any advice or tips any of you would feel to be helpful for me. me and my fiance just purchased our first blue and gold macaw although we cant go get him or her until the beginning of february because he wont be old enough until then. so my question is this, this is my first time big bird, my fiances second so he knows what hes doing and i dont. but he works a full time job so i am going to be the one home with the bird. im not scared of the bird and i have tryed to read every book i can possibly find to learn as much as i can but i feel that any advice or tips are good ones so im looking for as many comments as possible. thank you!

 

[Hochimama]

B&G macaw can be quite loud sometimes .. you need to make sure that your neighbor is able to understand .. they need toys and a lot of attention ..

Good luck ~~ looking forward to see more pictures ~~ ^^

and Welcome to ParrotForum ~~ ^^

 

[pawsfoot]

Be firm from the start. Set boundaries for this bird fromt he beginning and you will have a happy home. Spoiling this bird will only prove a problem for you both in the long run. I foster a B&G Macaw now that has some serious behavioral problems from being allowed to do anything he wanted when he was a baby bird.

 

[MikeyTN]

Like what others are saying. You must be stern with him from the start. Their beak is very strong and can be very dangerous if your not careful!!! By the time he reach his hormone stage, that's another set of issues you wont have to deal with for awhile. Mine turned 10 this year going full hormone, he's dangerous even to me whom he loved for the past 8 years...as long as your stern you can over power him when he's out of control. Which is what I do now with mine since I have no choice but its the hormones right now so I don't blame him.

 

[arando]

i also have a baby b & g macaw - please explain about spoiling them? not sure if i am spoiling him at the moment, he is 10 weeks old

 

[klwehe]

MikeyTN-
thank you so much for your advice. as far as spoiling them are you referring to things like food wise or maybe being out of the cage too much? what things should i watch out for as far as spoiling them because honestly i hadn't even considered that. i have heard about spoiling a bird turning into a bad thing just not certain on what spoiling intails with a bird? and with the hormone stage, i understand that wont happen for a while but i do have to ask, is this a stage that passes and my bird will be loving once again or is it pretty much a deal breaker my bird is going to hate me for the rest of their life lol. thank you for all of your information sorry for all of the questions just looking for someone with alot of experience to communicate with for advice seeing as this will be my first bird.

 

[MikeyTN]

You can spoil all you want, but don't let him run over you. When you say no, it means no. That means no nipping, or screaming none stop until you take him out of the cage. Provide plenty of toys for him to destroy, but he needs to learn to have some alone time. I personally don't ever allow mine to go on my shoulders, but some people do. All it take is just one mistake for them to hurt you pretty good. You must be the head of the flock, not a follower, that's the type of stuff you must teach. They're like children that never grows up. I've heard many stories of people's macaw disfigure their face pretty good, a friend of mine here locally had it happen to him with a B&G and he will not get close to another one since, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that he is the issue not the bird....Cause he's got Moluccan Cockatoos that's always on his shoulders....I'm not saying that you never can have any on your shoulders, you must understand your bird quite well. BUT accidents do happen!

 

[have24paws]

you have received a lot of very good advice. maggie is 12 now and has never ever been a screamer, nor has she ever bitten anyone. however one rule i follow very strictly with her and with any bird i handle or bird sit for. they are never ever allowed to be above my eye and in contact with me. hope i explained that correctly, if maggie is on the top of her cage on her play perch, i will not just reach up. being that much higher than me, she is now dominant. i will get a chair and stand on it, putting myself higher than her. she will very obediently hop up. but she will hack at me, not bit me but she will not easily hop up if i try to reach up. i have birdsat the sweetest birds, but a lot of them will nail you if they are dominant (higher up) than you. and she never is allowed to perch on my shoulder or on my head. good luck and enjoy your new baby!