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What do you think?

So....I got my chickens.... My DH has always wanted a macaw. He grew up with a mated pair and has for years said he wanted one. I'm trying to stay WAY the hell out of it, but, he found a military macaw on Craig's list and....... they didn't care for us to meet her before buying....it's 2, so I'm sure it's out of control, but.....I'm so....wary.... A single female is WAY different than a mated pair, don't you think? I have to let him do what he wants, but I am feeling that she will need a boyfriend....???

Adell Mon, 05/25/2009 - 19:33

OMG I would be in 7th heaven if I could get a military macaw!!!! :love

From what I know she will be much different then a mated pair. Needier for sure. I know I have a blind shot for the large birds (ok so just about any birds) but its a really really long life spand on them. Longer then a chicken for sure ;)

critterkeeper Mon, 05/25/2009 - 19:35

Is it too late to run for the hills? If not - get your running shoes ON NOW... :laugh1 Those things are like minis and potato chips, NOBODY can have just one. ~x(

A single bird is never as happy as a mated pair - so when when you go out and buy a mate, it either hates it or it turns out to be the wrong sex. :hammer So you have to get another one, and then you need to find a mate for the original mismatched one (you get the idea)...soon your house is full of Macaws (My sister fell into that trap years ago and now has 6 of them, 2 quaker parrots and 4 cockatiels... :BH Soon you will be just flushing your life down the toilet because you spend all your time taking care of birds (try getting a pet sitter for a nasty tempered parrot/macaw/cockatoo... :flush

Jenks Mon, 05/25/2009 - 20:07

Owe....so...taking one of 2 boys that were abandoned at my friend's office might not be a good idea?

Jodi Mon, 05/25/2009 - 21:20

I havent had a bird cept my geese in yrs but I loved my birds just hated the mess! :BH LOL I think there amazing.....

Heidi Mon, 05/25/2009 - 21:51

I am a pet lover and find nothing wrong with pets in the house.
But I seem to have a big problem with [i]birds[/i] in the house.
Besides being messy and taunting the cats, I greatly dislike chirping birds disturbing my sleep. I would probably try to strangle any bird in my home that was louder than a cricket-chirp. I spent the night at my friend's house once. Her parents had two green/yellow parrots and a cream-y colored one with paler orange/yellow on top, but it looked different than the green/yellow ones. Didn't really matter to me, they were all LOUD. Needless to say, I only slept over ONCE.

Morgan Mon, 05/25/2009 - 22:51

I had parakeet. I loooove them. They are very clean and smart and they do sleep all night :) I had opne that was an acrobat and the next was a talker, lots of fun :)
I want another one but havnt had oportunity yet.

Jenks Tue, 05/26/2009 - 07:37

We're really thinking on it. He absolutely loves them, but they live so long that the big concern is that it will out live him. I think we'll contact a rescue and try fostering maybe? An older one? Or? I don't know. Our cats generally wake us up many times a night so that is not a huge deal. How the cats respond to the bird may be though.....

Adell Tue, 05/26/2009 - 08:00

Keep in mind that birds will be like any other rescued pet, they will come with issues but they will have a really loud yelling voice.

I am the one named in moms will for her two birds. So if they out live her, they will come to me. Same with my donkey and my daugher (I am sure Hazel will live forever!)

Heather Tue, 05/26/2009 - 17:58

I have an african grey and all he does is talk , i like that alot, no squawking at all...jsut talking..I am tired of the mess however ..how many more years?

Jenks Tue, 05/26/2009 - 18:54

[quote="rabbitsfizz"]Free flying Macaws, there's your answer to all the problems!!!
http://birdcinema.com/view_video.php?vi…" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And I have to admit I thought "They have [i]Parrots[/i]in the American Military" :sign[/quote]

Well, that's another thing....my DH is from Miami. He said they put them out on a pine tree branch everyday and they just hung out, flew around and came in at the end of the day.....

This is not Miami, and....how happy could a bird that size be inside?

Maigray Tue, 05/26/2009 - 19:53

Not that happy. You have to devote your whole life to them and..well, I've worked with parrots before, and I had a friend who bred lovebirds, and I learned a lot. And basically what I learned is that the large parrots really should not be pets. There are HUGE, and I mean generally overwhelming, issues with keeping them. Full time jobs are not recommended. No children. They will bond with one person for life and can display rage, jealousy and attack others in the household. They are complex, emotional, incredibly intelligent. I don't think there are any large parrots that are psychologically "okay" in captivity. They're loud, so they need to have their own room where you cannot hear them. But they cannot be isolated. They should not ever be handled unsupervised. They're also endangered, and pet trafficking is a big reason why. There's a huge outlay in cost. You need to have an avian vet in the area. The list goes on and on.

Here's a website, it's' about cockatoos actually, but if you read it, you'll get a sense of what I'm talking about, because most of the issues apply to all large parrots to one degree or another; http://www.mytoos.com/main.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; It's a real eye opener.

Maigray Tue, 05/26/2009 - 19:59

Oh yeah, no teflon - get rid of all your cooking wear with it. No candles, no scented anything, no Febreeze. Houseplants need to be checked. I hope you don't love your furniture.

Jenks Tue, 05/26/2009 - 20:08

Well, the guys that own the military macaw are enraging me enough to want to go get her and find her a better place.

We've discussed this environment and the fact that a single bird would bond to him -or me - and be miserable...he decided that a macaw is not a good idea and a happy pair is doable in zone 10 or 11.

My friend in college had a rescued macaw who'd been captured as an adult. He was quite scary and plucked himself bald having probably been taken away from his mate. The guy did some research but was never able to identify his origin. We dreamed of ways to return him....Big Bird died featherless except for his head.

Sara Tue, 05/26/2009 - 20:09

My coworker got an African Grey. He has no kids, no gf, no other pets. Every day he would come home from work and hang out with her all evening and it wasn't enough. She was eating her own feet so he had to give her to a lady who was home all day.

So, yeah. Pretty animals. Clever. I don't see them as pets though.

Morgan Tue, 05/26/2009 - 20:21

Try parakeets, they are very much like parrots, only smaller and more managable. :) I would hange a cage in the dining room where there was lots of activity and he could see out the window and sometimes I would take him outside in the cage. I let him out in the house when I could, the only "damage" was little keet poops, which clean easy if you get to it right away. They will bond as well but they are not as long lived. If you get a pair they wont bond to you and so wont learn to talk but they are still a lot of fun:D And dont trust the pet shop people on the sexing, they dont know: my first one ended up being a girl named Jonathan :rofl They are easily amused, I've watched them play for hours with the same toy lol. Jon liked rearanging the furniture, every day ain the morning the perches would be thrown around and the toys IN the water dish and she even learned how to disasemble the swing lol. She also liked weaving in and out of her loop of rings, and playing with the dog.The second one, Noel, was a male and a big talker. he would just sit on his perch chittering and singing away with intermittent taps on his bell. He learned the sounds of the telephone, internet and microwave, stirring of a glass, and dog barking to perfection, it could be quite confusing. :rofl