Too big of a jump ?

[Turk]

My Amazon has been the best pet ever giving 30+ years of great companionship, however some believe they are too ahhh.. "unpredictable" to be considered good pets in general.

 

[Abigal7]

Sometimes, "starter birds" are horrible pets to get! Not because they are "bad" birds, but simply because it's not what you really wanted. Once you do get the bird that you want, what happens to the "starter" bird? Will it still receive interaction? Or will it be "put aside" because you now own the bird you truly wanted?

If you have the space, time and money for the bird that you want, and you've done the research, then by all means, get the bird you want! If you don't, then you need to do some rethinking.

That is the reason I hate the word starter bird. All birds require care. Yes, a budgie and a hahns macaw will be different. They are both in the parrot family but will require different care. The only thing I will say is a budgie or cockatiel can make a good bird for someone in middle school or high school due to their personality, no 24 hour need for attention, ect. I had a budgie and cockatiel as a child. I spent time with them when I came home from school. But they were not plucking themselves or screaming when I was at school.

 

[Jennd5184]

When I was younger, in high school, I owned two budgies and then after high school, I had a cockatiel. From there, the only other bird I had owned was a sun conure, which was one of the noisiest birds I have ever seen. When looking for a bird a month or so ago, I wanted to go with something like a green cheek, which is on the smaller side, but my husband had always wanted a macaw. I was kind of nervous on the giant beak and the noise, but so far, my experience has been wonderful. We have a Camelot macaw, which is a cross between a catalina and a scarlet. She can be beaky but most of the time it's bluffing, and we're working on saying no, with the word gentle afterwards. She can be noisey at times, especially in the evening, but most of the time, I never hear her. I was nervous about going from such a small bird, like the sun conure, to a full-size macaw, but as long as you do your research and know what to do for them, I say go for it. I can't imagine having such a small bird now.

 

[Abigal7]

I have to agree with what everyone is saying. I do not know if you live in an apartment or not, if you are young and still going to school, or what direction you want your life to go. For the most part I would recommend you research, volunter and learn as much about bird species to determine what you would want. I have a green cheek conure who is sweet. But I can tell you from the one I had as a child they can be fearless and spunky. I plan on getting a hahns macaw. Will I ever get a large macaw? Probably not since I think it would be unfair to get a bird that will most likely outlive me (and I am not old). However, if fate had me in the position to get a large Macaw I would consider it.

 

[MonicaMc]

That is the reason I hate the word starter bird. All birds require care. Yes, a budgie and a hahns macaw will be different. They are both in the parrot family but will require different care. The only thing I will say is a budgie or cockatiel can make a good bird for someone in middle school or high school due to their personality, no 24 hour need for attention, ect. I had a budgie and cockatiel as a child. I spent time with them when I came home from school. But they were not plucking themselves or screaming when I was at school.

I was 12 years old when I started with budgies. By the time I was 13 (well, a few months before I turned 14) I also had a cockatiel and a cherry headed conure.

Fast forward nearly 13 years later, I still have my first cockatiel! I no longer have budgies, and my first conure passed away a few years ago. He was an older bird with health problems to begin with (also mutilated his stomach, an issue he came with), and the older he got, the worse he became. I now have another conure, also an older bird, without the health problems (minus missing half his beak), which I had acquired before my first conure passed away. I also have a few other cockatiels and a bourke parakeet, all birds that were older when I got them!


I love and enjoy the little guys! And I kind of agree with you about the larger parrots! I'll have had Casey, my first tiel, for 12 years this November. I think she is my youngest bird, and will be 12 in a few months. The second longest bird I've had is my bourke paraket. I've had her for 11 years this past January, and she's supposed to be 16-18 years old this year.

 

[noblemacaw]

I look back on when I first got started with my love of parrots. All my life I have loved birds but having them as a pet was not really feasible for me until I got out of the Navy and bought my first home.

My first parrot was a Cockatiel and I use to be heavily involved with my local bird club. It was though the club I gained experience and learned a lot about different parrots. My next parrot was purchase 4 years later as a collage graduation present to myself. I had decided that the Hahn's Macaw would be the perfect parrot for someone like me. Back then it was very HARD to find one. A club member told me about how he had a Noble macaw pair that just laid two eggs. He told me how the Noble macaw is like a Hahn's macaw but a little bit bigger. They invited me to come visit them and after meeting the Noble macaw parents I was so impressed with how even though they were set up for breeding they were so friendly and tame they let me, a stranger, handle and play with them. I never regretted my decision to get a Noble macaw baby and until this past October when Mihijo my Noble macaw died of a heart attack I enjoyed almost 18 years with my little green friend.

If I could find another noble macaw breeder or a noble macaw I would get another parrot in a heartbeat. Mihijo had the most stable and calm temperament I ever seen in a parrot. He was so smart and funny, he charmed everyone he came in contact with. People loved him and wanted a bird just like him.

A Hahn's macaw will need a lot of hands on attention. This is not the type of parrot than can sit in a cage and be a background pet. My Noble macaw was part of my day to day life activities. He showered with me, ate with me, watched TV with me. I took him on errands with me (he was small enough to sneak in most places. I have long hair and I would hide him in my hair) Mihijo was suppose to outlive me or at least follow me into old age. Unfortunately that was not to be and I miss my little green friend every day.

Valentino if a RFM and the largest parrot I ever owned. I have handled large macaws but they seem too big and heavy for me to comfortably handle. I had to be sitting down with them and could never tolerate their weight on my shoulders (I don't think I could ever have the nerve to have that big a bird up there anyway) Valentino is still small enough for me to handle comfortable and have a good time with. I was considering a BTM as my second and final parrot but have since changed my mind on that one. I think having two larger very hands on parrots would be my downfall. I don't think they would share me nicely.

I don't think it is that much of a stretch for you to have a Hahn's macaw. However they are very hand on kind of pet and very very different from budgies.