Green Wing Macaw or Galah, What will it be?

[2birds]

I've been thinking for a while that I would like to add one more bird to the flock. I was thinking either a Galah or a Green Wing Macaw. I know, two completely different birds but I like them both. The Galah is so dang cute with their little voices and they are so playful. I haven't had much interaction with the green wings but I have met a couple of them and they seem to be very lovely birds. Not much experience with such a large bird though. I have a friend who raises them and he has offered me one. The thing with this offer is he wants to give me one that is not fully weaned. He would be there every step of the way to help me (he's only five minutes away) If I were to take him up on this offer the galah would be out because I don't want any more than three.
Also, weaning a bird is such a large undertaking. I'm pretty confident that I could do it but just a little apprehensive about it. He said he would give it to me if I wanted one when it was on two hand feedings per day. He estimates about five or six months old.
The other thing that I have thought about is that I am 49 yrs. old. A green wing would most surely outlive me so I would have to line up a new home for him/her eventually.

I'm not really asking anyone to decide for me but any thoughts on this with the pros and cons would be appreciated. thanks Lori

[Grey]

If you've never hand fed a baby, a macaw is not the best place to start even with help 5 minutes away. A lot can happen in 5 minutes. Talk to your friend and ask if he will keep the baby at his place and you feed it there under his supervision. Weaning a macaw is also no easy task. The GW is a relatively calm bird, but it does have a very big voice which it does use when it feels like it. Also keep in mind that cockatoo dust is not good for macaws (something my vet mentioned, can't remember the specifics). Since you already have a cockatoo, I would go with the RB2 after researching the particular needs of the species and how it would fit into your lifestyle.

[2birds]

Haven't really considered the dust but the birds can be housed in separate rooms if need be. As far as noise, There isn't really anyone around for the noise to bother except for me and I really don't care. If it was screaming all of the time that would be a different story and to me would mean that I'm doing something wrong. I have done a lot of research on both but just don't have any real life experience. The galah seems to have a similar personality traits to the Goffins which I already have. Also, an outside aviary is in the near future plans. I'm sure that I would be able to finish weaning the bird at his place if I wanted to.

[Mare]

No advice, here! I gather that you aren't away from the house a lot of the day? Weaning a macaw sounds like a scary adventure, to me, but darn near impossible if you can't be there most of the time. I would love to own a macaw (have one own me) :). There was a time when I could have had one but my life took a turn and it didn't work out. I was warned, all over the place on a different forum, that there was NO way I could mix cockatoos with a macaw in the same house. Being a more seasoned member of bird ownership and forums, I understand that it can work and can work well :)

[Pinkbirdy]

Aside from the weaning thing .I have both species [ the dust is not a problem]. Keeping up with their bathes works fine for me. I see you have a Goffin [I have one too]. Ive had 2 Rb2s and they are easier than my Goffin . [love their pink puffy cheeks ] . My male can really talk and likes everyone at my house :) I see a lot of similar things between my 2 female Macaws [and their different species]. If I was choosing this myself . Hands down I would get a Macaw . Theirs nothing like a bonded Macaw :)

[2birds]

Yes Mare, it seems like a scary adventure to me too. I am home a lot but not all of the time. I do work. Pinkbirdy, It's nice to know that the RBtoo's are easier than the goffins. My Goffins is a complicated little fellow. What are the similar things that you notice in your macaws? I was thinking the same, that bonding with a macaw would be pretty awesome. Still working on my goffins, he still likes everyone but me. My Alex is pretty uncomplicated.

[Turquoise]

I have 3 macaws Lori. I didn't wean any of them myself. I chose to let the breeder whom both ladies had long time many years of experience doing. One of my macaws is a Green Wing, my Ruby Jewel and she took til she was 8 1/2months to wean. It is not unusual for the GWs to take up to a year, they are really slower to mature in most ways than the smaller macaws. The main thing I know of that can happen with hand feeding that scares me the most is aspiration. It can happen in a split second if the food goes into the lungs. My breeder of my Catalina macaws lost her only Rose Breasted Too she was hand feeding to aspiration last year and I was just about to contact her about getting it when I read on her FB page it had died.

I always wanted macaws, especially a Green Wing. And since I have gotten mine I have never regretted one single minute of it. As a friend of mine who also has 3 macaws said recently, "They are like having monkeys with wings". LOL My Green Wing is much more calmer in most ways than my Catalinas which are hybrid crosses between a Scarlet and a B&G. I've yet to have her lunge at me like Roscoe and Angel does. And both of them love me dearly, it is just in their personality.

I am waiting for my baby Rose Breasted Too to be weaned and will come home some time this summer. He will be my very first Cockatoo species. I never thought I could have a Too in my flock due to not having tons of time to devote to their more needy personalities, but I have read so much good things about the RB2 not being as clingy. Terri & Wendy's experience with them has convinced me that one will work with my schedule. I have read and heard that Cockatoos and Greys should not be mixed with non dusty parrots. And I have read much about them being able to coexist with a little preparation of making sure the dust is not allowed to build up. I do have 3 air purifiers I keep on 24 hrs a day already and if I need to I will get another one or a larger one to make sure all of us stay healthy and dust free. Plus the RB2 will not be housed in the same area as the macaws, but will still have to share some of the same area during out time. I don't have a dedicated room for any of my birds, but I do have different areas I keep certain birds.

I think if you have your heart set on a Green Wing, then like me you will never satisfy that urge til you take the plunge and become owned by a gorgeous redhead! :)

[2birds]

The weaning thing is not something that I have to do, it's just something that my friend wanted me to try to do. I can go over there and help with it. I have raised different baby animals and have often had to tube feed, give vaccinations and various other things. Not the same thing I know but still not for the faint of heart. Come to think of it, I've hand fed baby wild birds when I was a kid that had fallen out of the nest. They grew up and flew away. I forgot all about that. lol. Good thing I didn't know that I could have killed them or I wouldn't have even tried and it all worked out. Anyway, the big dilemma for me is the macaw or the 2. I really like them both.
I have a dedicated room now and it's the one that I spend the most time in. Also perches are around the house that they can go to if they want. I'll have to keep thinking on this until I am satisfied with my own answer.

[Pinkbirdy]

I think all bird owners should experience [learning to hand feed] . I thought in the beginning of my bird craze . I wanted to breed Rb2s and tried to learn everything about it . but realized I couldn't. But I was glad I knew what to do .When I got my sunconure . They said was weaned and wasn't . All went well though. also I had to handfeed My macaw when she was sick. On another note .I don't know if you read my thread on how my blue and gold died of sour crop . Which is more commen in handfeeding babies . Maybe you could go help him handfeed and bond with the bird :)

[Turquoise]

I've hand fed wild baby birds too in yrs past when I've found they fell out of their nests and they lived over it. To me not quite the same as the long term dedication of feeding a baby parrot to weaning which takes many more months than the few weeks wild birds take. And yes I too have finished out 3 of my parrots that were weaned, but still needed the once a day feeding for comfort more than sustenance. Often weaned babies regress for a period after the stress of coming to live with a stranger. Still not the same as multiple feedings day & night for a baby that is virtually helpless early on and things go wrong in a hurry sometimes. That kind of hand feedings are the ones I choose to leave to the experts.

[2birds]

Yes Turquoise, I agree . I wouldn't even have time to hand feed a baby that needed to be fed day and night. He told me that a typical 6 month old baby would need to be hand fed two times a day maybe even once. "It all depends on the bird" he said. Does that sound accurate? Pinkbirdy, Helping to feed the bird over there is a option and not a bad one. Actually, I would feel pretty lucky for the opportunity even if I don't get a macaw. Well, still thinking on it and the more I think about it the more I would like to go for it. I'm going to give my self a couple of weeks of thinking. I don't want to commit this to my friend and then go back on it. Whether I help hand feed or not the bird is going to be around for a long time so I have to be 100% sure that I want a macaw.
I did see the thread about your blue and gold. I'm really sorry that happened to your bird. It hurts when you loose something that you hold so dear to you.

[kendrafitz]

Since I have a GW, my vote is for a GW. ;) She is the most amazing, loving, sweet, demanding, frustrating little devil and I adore her. I don't have any other birds and I devote a ton of time to her. As long as you have the time to give, they are wonderful.

Rosie is my first bird and I did bring her home when she was on two feelings a day. I was at the store everyday to bond and the staff taught me. But I was a nervous wreck until she was weaned. The temp has to be just right and with all the different variables, it can end badly. Rosie has never been all that interested in eating, even now. So she wasn't a vigorous eater and she was very calm. But I don't think that is common. I would say that keeping the baby at your friends is probably the wisest decision.

I'm very excited for you and can't wait to hear what you decide. :)