Posted by stonefly on March 10, 2003 at 20:25:22:
In Reply to: Thinking of purchasing a macaw.. advice? posted by BAZ on March 08, 2003 at 23:18:15:
Hi Baz!
I'm formerly of the reptile world - the birds took over LOL!
I have 2 macaws - a 1.5 year old greenwing i got when he was 4 months old and a 5 year old blue and gold who showed up at my doorstep as her 5 owner. I also have 2 quakers and 1 sun conure and that rounds up the feathered flock.
Anyway, I work from home so I can see what these hellians do all day.
Frankly, the blue and gold prefers either her cage or the greenwings cage. Although I've only had her since November, she and Kendall the greenwing are already great friends.
If I take him into another room - they scream for each other. And birds do that - call to the flock. Often they call to me but we've learned to "speak" instead of "scream" so they yell hello or something and i yell hello back or whistle.
Birds in general - at least mine - are rather messy. They require lots of wood to chew to keep their beaks in shape and the macaws especially require "activities" so i have smart toys where they have to figure out how to find their treats, i leave the tv on for them when i'm not around and talk to them like they are people.
But then, i talk to all the creatures in my house like that lol!
We go through some food too. They love fresh veggies and work out on bell peppers, yellow crook neck squash, zuccini squash, corn, grits (i'm in alabama) oatmeal, rice, plus a mix with dried fruit, seeds, nuts, and pellets.
Everyone answers the phone when it rings - often when it is on tv too.
If we sit down to watch tv, well, best not to sit in their range of vision because they want to be with us! And won't stop talking! And again, that's all the birds, 3 out of 5 were rehomed with us so i don't think it's me!!!
Kendall the greenwing is a master mechanic. While he does not break out of his cage which probably retails in the neighborhood of $1200; he can and does disassemble the blue and golds economy cage which is basically the same size but value priced at $250. I list prices so you'll have an idea of what's out there! Kendall also disassembles the play perches.
In addition to their cages, they have several play perches which i move about the house.
I know of a girl whose blue and gold sleeps in the closet she converted for him. He has a cage as well.
Mine go from their cages to their play perches when I'm home supervising. When not paying attention, Kendall got into some serious trouble and very likely could have bled to death while i was home! i didn't hear a thing! He is a bird on the move to be sure.
A recent article on macaws said something like....if you're working on a project, greenwings will help you and blue and golds will watch. that's true with my 2.
I also know many folks who work full-time and keep macaws. Their birds are just fine as the owners make time for them daily.
As for the mess, they are messy, but my dogs make it worse as they scavenge in the drop trays and drag the dropped food - and there is always a lot of that - across the house. The sun conure even bombs the dogs with food. It's a riot - stands at the edge of his play perch, gets a bite of something, hurls it off the side, then leans over to see what he hit LOL
Mine do not scream excessively. All birds have normal vocalizing habits - usually dawn and dusk. This in addition to the call of the flock.
I could go on :) and on and on. But w/ill stop for now !
Hope it helped!
Stonefly
