Parrots

[swmorse]

Specifically Macaws

I searched but posts are very old

I’ll be getting my late sister’s Macaw in a few months. She passed about 12 years ago and the bird’s been with my brother and his family since then. They are not animal people but I won’t get into that

As I said he’ll be living with me in a couple months

I don’t really know much about birds so hoping someone here can give me some guidance about care. Just got a book called’My parrot, my friend’ for some basic info. Looking for more info

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks

[swmorse]

This is Rio

[Xanthoria]

Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all of his carpenter friends… talk about signing up for one of the most noisy, destructive and demanding parrots out there. The only bigger commitment I can imagine would be a large cockatoo…

I say this with love of course, as having worked with parrots they are certainly one of the most intelligent pets a person can have, and I’m sure glad you’re educating yourself so with a bit of luck you’ll make it work.

But as you probably by now know this parrot can easily live 60 years and is so smart and highly social that it requires (as in NEEDS) a significant amount of 1 on 1 attention every day. Not just hanging out in the same room, but actively interacting with it. Like a 2 year old child. With a pair of tin snips on it’s face. And a voice that’s over 100 decibels.

I wish you all the luck. Please, others chime in and tell her I’m being overly dramatic.

[mommy_peanut]

I don’t know much about anything when it comes to (non-eating) birds.
However a friend of mine is brilliant about them & has YEARS of hands on experience/ownership.

If you’d be interested, I can reach out to her & ask if it’s ok to share her contact info with you.

[beowulf]

You likely know this already but if you don’t, make sure your cook-ware is all teflon free. Birds have fragile respiratory systems and do not tolerate things like air fresheners or candles well - same goes for teflon in your cooking pans.

Teflon Poisoning in Birds | Causes, Signs, Symptoms & Treatment

I agree that macaws might just be one of the more noisy birds out there. You are a wonderful person to take on this commitment. They are also the most intelligent, but of all the birds I have seen they tend to bond to one person, so I am sure they mourned your sister and became isolated after her passing.

It may take this bird some time to become attached to you. Find their favorite (safe) food and be prepared to coax them to come out of their cage and/or interact with you. Take it slow like you would a feral horse.

Macaws are wonderfully intelligent. They enjoy having something to do: Xanthoria is right you will need to have as much one on one attention with this bird.

See about building them a large bird enclosure; some kits are available online, but you can also do an at home version if you are handy. A friend of mine has a mobile one that is a reformatted large dog kennel. Her birds love the enrichment of her being able to move it around the yard.

Good luck, and if you have not already, join Parrot Forums. I have found it is very similar to COTH in the knowledgable voices there, and have had many questions answered over the years:
https://www.parrotforums.com/

P.S sorry to hear of your sister’s passing.

[chestnutmarebeware]

There’s a great book called “Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot” by Mattie Sue Athan. I strongly recommend it for any new parrot owner.

She’s got a great reputation as a parrot behavioralist.

[swmorse]

Thank you all so very much. I did not know about Teflon toxicity. Read that article tho and will move his cage when I cook. I don’t use those pans on high heat or leave them unattended when I cook. I’ll look into that more tho

I think Rio is in his 20’s now. My brother’s had him probably for around 15 years. They live in south Florida (as did my sister) but they leave him on the screened in back area (because his wife is a POS and yanno, can’t have her house ruined by a bird; I don’t like her if you haven’t figured that out).

I’m retired, live alone, and have plenty of time to be with him. That’s why I want some direction as to how to interact with him.

I stayed with my brother and his wife from December of last year till mid-June this year lost the lease on a farm, had to give away my horses and have been licking my wounds. His wife, after I’d been there for about 2 weeks said ‘you should take Rio’. I’d planned on talking to him about doing that because they really don’t care for him the way I think they should.

Anyway, it’s a 10 hour drive to get him here (I’m in Tryon now). So I’m thinking I’ll have a smaller cage sent to him and ask him to let Rio out quite a bit so he can get used to the new cage and go into it. Then I’ll head down in October and transport him up here in the smaller cage

I was going to leave the cage they have him in there and get a new cage. I’m thinking it might be better to bring that cage so he’s got a familiar place when he gets here. It’s a big cage I’d just like him to have a bigger, better one. I have a pickup so it’s not a problem bringing it

Ok, I have to stop now, but I wanted to thank you all for the advice and give you a little more background

[swmorse]

@mommy_peanut. I would be very grateful for any help your friend could give me. I won’t be getting him until sometime in October

[swmorse]

@beowulf. I’ve been looking for parrot forums. I’ll join that one. Thanks

[swmorse]

@Xanthoria. You crazy girl!

Or am I?

[2DogsFarm]

@Xanthoria

Like a 2 year old child. With a pair of tin snips on it’s face. And a voice that’s over 100 decibels.

Never owned one myself.
Closest I came was a preteen childhood succession of parakeets
As a young adult, a friend had a pair of Macaws - 1 Scarlet, 1 Hyacinth.
They’d get to squawking, which became earsplitting.
To shut them up he had 2 squirtguns.
1 filled with water, the other with diluted ammonia. Different colors.
When the chorus started he’d show them the water-filled gun & if they continued, squirt it at their feet.
If this failed, he’d show them the other gun.
Almost always this shut them up.
If not, he’d squirt the bottom of their very large flight cage. Never squirt the birds.
That always worked, they’d take it down to muttering level.
So, yeah, they’re smart.
Smart enough to know the difference between the guns.
And smart enough to push the envelope.

[OnAMission]

I’ve considered starting a “big bird” post on here a few times over the last year or so…

We have my DIL’s macaw and goffin’s cockatoo (and curmudgeon of a green cheeked conure) for another year and a half while they are stationed overseas. It’s been a learning curve! Our macaw is Savannah (came with the name from the rescue DIL got her from) (it doesn’t suite her, her name should be Madge or something like that). She is about 25 if the provenance is correct, was owned by a retired veterinarian, ended up at the rescue for some reason and DIL got her.

Ours isn’t particularily loud unless she’s 1) very happy or 2) feeling left out. She likes me ok b/c I’m the one that feeds her and understands her but she loves DH b/c he takes her out and about and tolerates her chewing on him occasionally. Not a bite but enough of a chew that he has to scold her. She’s never drawn blood or really hurt us but she sure as heck could! She screams sometimes when we leave or if she thinks something is going on. It’s loud for sure but we understand her I guess so it doesn’t bother me too much. She will scream if she wants some of whatever food we have and we don’t share. Hint-she doesn’t want salad. Ever.

They were stationed in TX when they had to bring them to us in MT in February. I hate to think back how stressful that was for DIL. They rented an RV and had them in small cages and Savannah was pretty cramped, she hates for anything to touch her tail and it was unavoidable during the day when they were driving.

They did bring their big cages for all the birds though, Savannah’s is pretty big, 4 by 4 and 3 feet deep maybe? and has a roost above, if we’re home she’s up on top. I would keep the same cage at first, it really is their safe place. When Rio adjusts you can figure out a bigger one or maybe a top roost for more variety. A variety of perch widths/textures/sizes, good for their feet. Savannah likes to tear up wood; DH cuts up branches of safe woods to give her. They love to be out as much as possible. And they are messy. We have a sheet of 5 by 5 linoleum under her cage to spare the floor and a broom handy to clean up the rejected food/shells.

I never use airborne chemicals in the house… no spray fly stuff, no febreeze, no oven cleaner, etc. When we’ve had to paint I do it when I can open all the windows, etc. Get conscious of things in your air. I use bleach in the wash and watered down cleaner on the floors/walls but leave the bathroom doors shut for a while to air out after I clean in there. There is a product called Poop Gone or somesuch that really helps clean up the poopy cages. Or floors. Or walls…or couch. or table.

Keep the food the same at first. Ours are very picky eaters and they love junk food. Google the NEVERs, chocolate, avocado, onion, garlic… ours do get some things like chips, pizza crust, etc occasionally and apparently they live for it. I hope for your sake Rio likes pellets. Ours hate them so I’m constantly trying to sneak them in. I make them cookies with wheatflour, berries and the dreaded pellets and they do like those. I give them some fresh veg and fruit every blooming day and they throw most of it on the floor but I keep trying. If there is ranch on it they love it but not plain lol I try to keep the seed mixes to a minimum but it’s their true love. I have had the big version of the “our feathered friends” mix but also bought the Zupreem or Higgins mixes. I think the last stuff I got for them was Volkman and they like it just fine b/c it’s full of SEEDS and NUTS. I cut it with pellets and healthy stuff as much as I can. hard boiled eggs, chicken, cooked grains…they will eat a huge variety. Nuts in the shell are premium treats for them but peanuts can have an exterior mildew they shouldn’t have. I have a huge expensive bag of nuts in the shell that Savannah gets as treats.

They need a lot of sleep, like 10-12 hours, in total darkness. They don’t do well if they don’t get their sleep. They don’t love being by windows, it stresses them out. Ours is half in front of a window and half not, I can’t tell that it bothers her unless she sees something outside that she doesn’t like.

They need their beaks and nails trimmed. This is terrifying. Google it. Our nearest avian vet is 100 miles away so I have managed to get the cockatoo to let me file her nails b/c she loves attention but Savannah FIGHTS. It’s terrifying. She can crack open a walnut in one shot. Seek an avian vet now for emergencies and hopefully beak/nail trimmings. If Rio is hand tame it’s easier to work on being able to handle their feet gradually. It’s a fear factor for them, in the wild they fight by grabbing the other’s feet so they don’t give them up willingly.

Savannah picks her feathers… not terrible but she’s always a little bald around her chest. I’m constantly trying to figure that out but DIL said she’s done that as long as she’s had her too. That’s something you might see with all the changes. I also give Savannah a little more protein when she’s molting… Rio looks in excellent condition so you’re ahead of me there!

The website mentioned above is a good one; I’ve been on there a lot trying to figure out the feather picking, etc. And get cookie recipes for them lol

Both the cockatoo and macaw are amazing personalities in our lives. Now that son and SIL are expecting a baby I’m not sure that they will take them back and we’re pretty much ok with that for a few more years. We don’t have kids in the house and I’m a home body, DH loves to take Savannah out and about and I take the cockatoo out so we do spend a lot of time with them. They are very intuitive and whenever I’m irritated at something Savannah will drop an F bomb lol (hey she was in the Army) They talk to us constantly and I talk back so naturally I don’t even notice it. They answer my phone before I do, I don’t know why I bother to say “hello?” b/c the birds have already said it for me. One of Savannah’s favorite things to yell is “WHAAAA???” and now I say that in my head often in her voice… ha ha!

Reddit has kind of a fun parrot forum, lots of pictures and people enjoying their birds even though just like on horse forums sometimes I cringe a little. I’m trying to do everything right b/c I’m only caretaking them until DIL gets them back. I’m sure we’re doing some things wrong but really they are all pretty happy and I’m sure trying.

Honorable mention to the cockatoo, she’s the funnest little weirdo imaginable. She loves Only Me and talks to me constantly, loves music, is my best healthy food eater. She was hand raised by DIL and loves to be cuddled but she’s too old for that now (sends mating messages she’s not supposed to be enjoying lol) She was Valentino when she got here b/c her over the top personality seemed like a male to DIL. Now she’s ValentinA b/c she laid an egg this past spring. lol She’s 5 and super fun. If DIL takes her back I might have to get one of my own… She’s never still… swings around her cage and bounces constantly.

I’d love to hear your adventures with Rio… ours are a constant source of entertainment and wth!

[Obsidian_Fire]

Bird owner here. Currently I just have my Senegal, but I’ve had Amazons and Cockatiels and others, and I bird-sat for a breeder.
Everyone above has given you great advice. PLEASE take to heart the behavioral things. It is like a child. You have to set boundaries, and stick with them. They are wicked SMART. And big enough to do some very serious damage. Understand how birds view dominance. Birds love drama. You escalate, they escalate. They can out-scream you, trust me.

My main comment is food. I find Zupreem to be a great pellet for them. You can order it off Chewy or look for it at PetSmart or other. The fruit flavor comes in different shapes and colors, and you can order it in a size large enough for big birds. My Senegal loves it because he can hold it with his foot and dunk it and eat it. It’s not just ‘peck and eat’, it provides some mental stimulation.
Toys. You will need bird toys, ones that can stand up to a Macaw. You will need to change them out every so often.
See if you can find an exotic bird club local to you. I used to belong, and took my birds to shows and other gatherings! It was fun.
And yes, they live a long. damn. time. Hopefully you and this bird click.

[Janet]

No personal experience, but my sister has a greenwing macaw, in his late 20s or early 30 now.

He is LOUD. Our houses are about 1/4 mile apart (as the crow flies) with trees in between, but we frequently hear Pete when he is being noisy.

[Maythehorsebewithme]

Can’t offer much here, but comment on how smart and how dextrous. A neighbor had an African grey that loved the snow peas I grew. I always saved some for him. He would open the pod by somehow pulling the string, then eat the peas, then eat the pod. It was pretty amazing to watch.