researching for a gw companion

[birdbrainzz4me]

thank you so much joe! every thing that you just said, it is truly reassuring and a boost to my confidence. not that i wasn't confident enough before hand i just wanted to make sure that a gw was what i wanted to get into. of all the species out there it can be a hard decision to make. but thinking about the black palm i worked with made me realize how much i would like a large bird. a black palm is my ultimate dream bird, but price is way out of my range. that's what got me searching into the larger guys. and with the laid back temperament of a gw, i knew this might be the bird for me, for starting off. the mixed breeds im not too sure about because they could inherit some different personality traits, like the nippiness of the scarlets and so fourth. i just wasn't too sure just because i grew up with cag's and previously owning two ekkies if that was considered enough experience to jump into a large breed. some people might not think it would be , and consider me to hang out with some macaws for a little just to make sure it's what i really wanted. which is not a bad idea, but i only know one person who has a b&g , but he needs alot of work, cage aggressive and doesn't like men AT ALL! yes i only plan on having one bird, i don't know if i could handle two gw's, not knowing how destructive my future baby will get. but i am prepared for a hulk of a bird. that is why i plan on stocking up on as much toys as i possibly can, and making a bunch as well. with untreated wood of course. i even seen on a you tube video a jungle gym that was made out of pvc pipes and bandage wrap so they don't slip on it. it was huge! that is another idea im thinking of doing, hopefully they won't ruin that and just play with their toys. but you never know until the situation arises. all i can say is this bird is going to be a spoiled little big chick. but not too spoiled , he/she needs to know who runs this nest.

 

[noblemacaw]

I can understand having a parrot shipped to you is daunting and just very stressful to think about. I never had a parrot shipped to me until I got Valentino my RFM. I worked with a very reputable breeder so as not to get ripped off but she stepped me though the whole process so I could feel more at ease with it.

When I got my Illiger's macaw Diego I flew out to California to get him then took him home with me. It took 3 weeks for Diego to forgive me for the trauma of ripping him from all he knew to having to be shoved into quarantine and had to spend time alone.

Receiving Valentino by flight was stressful for me because I had never had a bird shipped to me before. After he was unloaded and I went to pick him up I peaked into the carrier and said his name (breeder had been calling him Valentino since his DNA results came back male) and since he recognized his name he squawked so loud and settled down quickly. On the way home I sat next to the carrier and sang to him and he didn't seem stressed out at all. I personally thought that was odd since he had been in that carrier for almost 8 hours and all that stress of travel.

After I got him home and liberated him from the carrier I was amazed of how calm and unstressed he presented. He was very friendly and loved to be held and petted. It was almost like I had "rescued" him from that horrible situation and he loved me for it. Wendy raises such confident and well socialized parrots that even at his vet visit he charmed everyone and never once stressed from the exam or blood draw.

This was taken after several moments of me taking him out of his crate. You can see the crate on the table with bits of his food on the bottom. Valentino fluffed his head for me and I was crying because I was overwhelmed of him finally arriving. I had wanted a RFM since 1997 so his homecoming was very much anticipated.

With the right breeder I would not hesitate to have a parrot shipped if I cannot find one locally. I would recommend Wendy for you but she now only breeds the RFM, Blue throat macaw and Congo African Greys.

 

[Turquoise]

Thought I'd let you know birdbrainzz4me that I am getting the baby GW I mentioned to you in my previous post. Ruby Jewel won't be ready to come home for a couple more months. She will be shipped to the Dallas Lovefield airport which is the closest to me that will accept live birds. I am going to have to just sit on my hands & not worry about that as I am not able to drive up to Washington state to get her any time soon.

I am still planning on getting one from the breeder in my state when they become available next year. You will do great being owned by your GW when you get one. I have not regretted one minute of having macaws in my life. They are awesome feathered kids!

 

[birdbrainzz4me]

thank you both noblemacaw, and turquoise! i will be doing more reasearch on the breeders the one that is about 10-15 minutes away from me has a website, i really had to dig for it. but as far as info on what they are all about, they are lacking in that area. so if i find one out of state i will have to check with you guys to see if it seems like a good breeder. or what do i look for to know that they are reputable. there is many websites but how do i know that they are legit?

 

[JJones1719]

I would find a better product then PVC pipe, when chewed, it is very dangerous for birds. I would advise you to look into Java Trees. The wood is bird safe, very hard, and you can make a very nice Aviary out of it. GW are great chewers and their beaks are powerful. PVC pipe is not the best choice.
black palm are amazing birds too but I agree, they are very over priced, before I would get one, I would purchase a HY first. I met a HY Macaw at a pet store in NJ that I just fell in love with. I held him for 2 hours and he was the best little baby. He was a bit dirty and his feathers were not very good but his little personality was wonderful and reminded me of my GW when he was a baby. The HY was $13,000.00 and if my Visa card would have allowed it, he would be home with me right now. Yikes.
Shipping birds within the U S is a very easy process but you really need to research the breeders so you do not get into a fraud issue. My Va Breeder ships many Macaws and other birds alike from VA to CA and has never had an issue. She has been in the business for a very long time and everytime I visit her home, the baby and breeder birds she has are all in great feather and very heathly and just sweet birds. Please keep us posted to let us know if you find your baby GW and would love to see pictures. Thanks again Joe

 

[birdbrainzz4me]

yeah. i kinda thought the same thing about the pvc piping myself as far as sturdiness goes. i just saw it some were and thought maybe it could work, but with a macaw i the odds were probably slim. but i had no idea that it could harm the bird. .... well maybe if they chewed on it and ate the plastic i didn't even think of that until now. soooo exmay on the pvc pipesay.