Advice/information requested :)

[Dulphinz]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum as well as to the bird world. I'm the proud new owner of Coco an almost 8 month old eclectus male. He has been awesome so far and since I've wanted and Blue and Gold Macaw I've decided to add one last feathered member to our family. He will be weaned mid July and should join our family (3 kiddos 7, 6, 3 and a golden retreiver and of course our Coco)! I was told that if we were to add a feathered friend we should do it within 1 year and 1/2 from getting our first. I want to put all chances on my side and so we went for it :) I know they may never be buddies but if they can tolerate each other and not want to attack each other I can live with that!

I would love to hear all about the Blue and Gold and about your experiences, stories, any " NO NO's" and how to really make my baby happy. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on and have been trying to become informed as best I can on the eclectus as well as the macaws and parrots in general. I want to be as prepared as one can be when our B&G comes home. I'd like to try and not make any mistakes that could jeopordize the happiness of our family members :)

I know I'm taking on alot but I guess I love the action and wouldn't have it any other way :)

[keepsmiling]

Hello and welcome. This will be a daunting task. Let me first say, that your baby may or may not be weaned mid July. Not all birds wean exactly at the same time. If the breeder is telling you he will, I would find another breeder. A bird should never be force weaned. He should be abundance weaned. Even so, be prepared for him to possibly regress. Will he be kept flighted, allowed to fledge? Those are important steps for a young macaw. Without them, you will have a bird that has problems with confidence, and later issues. He may go through a nippy stage, and macaws are very beaky. You will want to gently teach him how much bite pressure is ok, and what is not. Remember he doesn't have mom or his siblings to teach him, so you will have to be ready for this role.You will need a very large cage, a double macaw is best. Create an environment for success. Having a lot of area for them to play will be important. So playstands, rope roadways, atoms, boings, things like these that expand their habitat away from their cage. Do as much reading as you can about both diets, they are quite different. I would also suggest you start stockpiling toys. A healthy and happy macaw should go through a lot of toys. Do you know for a fact he is a male? Are you willing to go the long haul when he eventually becomes a full adult, and goes through hormonal changes every year?
How will you handle having a macaw around your children? Something to think about now. Big beaks and little fingers don't mix, so they will need to learn how to give him the proper respect and not be poking in his cage.

[plax]

Hello, and welcome to Precisely Parrots, Dulphinz :D

Acquiring a new Macaw family member is always an exciting experience :). One thing additionally that I would warn against is to be sure your new Macaw has no physical contact with your Golden Retriever. Even if your dog is sweet-natured, all it may take is a fright for him to snap at and seriously injure, or even kill your bird. Such tragedies can and do in fact occur at times, unfortunately :(

[Honesty]

Hello Dulphinz and :pp_welcome:You have been given some good advice so far. Do you have any pics to share with us?

[Dulphinz]

Keepsmiling- The breeder did not guarantee that the baby would be weaned she said it should be weaned in mid July. I have read a lot and have a TON to read through still as I do intend to try and make our new bird fit into our family :) I intend on having a cage 40 X 34 X 75 for him/her (not sexed yet). I have seen a lot of different training that I would like to look into more in depth about the whole pressure of the beak and other behavior issues that some have had. I know about the toys and that they need lots of them to destroy, forage, keep them busy and I do intend on getting just that. As to the children, they are doing very well with our eclectus and we continue to have them interact as often as possible (ALWAYS supervised) and teach them to respect our Coco. We will continue this with our Blue and Gold and as I said they is always supervision. If we can't be around, then no bird time.

We also do watch our Golden Retriever who is just a sweet heart and will walk away rather than be around the bird :) I understand that this is a lot of work but in the end so worth it:) Our little eclectus has been wonderful and although I know it might not always be this great...I'm mentally ready (3 kids...)haha All of your advice and input is greatly appreciated. I'd love to hear your stories if any of you have a busy household like mine (kids, dog, bird...) and have a macaw.

Thanks again!

[Blancaej]

Welcome Dulphinz!

I have 2 kids. A 3 & 6 year old. I've had my CAG for 13 years. I've taught my kids to respect the beak! But even with that they both have been bitten. Warning bites but bites none the less. You can tell them until you are blue in the face but until they are bitten they don't really grasp what you are trying to warn them about. We just adopted a gw macaw a few weeks ago and the kids no better and respect the beak after experiencing a bite from Quincy my CAG! My concern for you is they learn the really hard way with a macaw bite first. Please please please be sure to supervise your kids around your macaw until you know for sure they understand the pain he/she can cause if they are bitten by him/her!

Every dog is different but when by border collie was alive she stayed far away from Quincy. She feared the beak! Quincy knew it too! Little stinker!

Congratulations and good luck with your new baby! :D
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[Dulphinz]

Thanks Blanca! You make me feel a little less insane...it seems as though I've been getting more discouraging answers since I'm new to the bird world :) Believe me, my children are never alone with our eclectus and will not be alone with our macaw when we get it. I would die if anything happened to them! Birdie time is supervised at ALL times :) I do know how powerful these little creatures are and in no way shape or form take this lightly. I am reading all I can and am a little OCD from the get go so I'll probably end up reading way too much and be even more confused lol...I want to make sure I do things the right way (or as much as humanly possible) :) I know this is a life long investment and I want all of us (children, birds, dog, husband) to enjoy each other's company:D

[Turquoise]

Hi Dulphinz, welcome to the forum. I am excited for you waiting on your new baby B&G. I am very partial to macaws, they are my favorite parrots. I have 3 so I better love them! I don't have a B&G, rather I should say a full one. I have two brother Catalina macaws which are Blue & gold/scarlet. My youngest & he is 20 months old now is a total clown. He loves to act silly & is a total sweetheart with an impish gleem in his eye. He does try doing things he knows he shouldn't just to see what I will do or say. Then he will give a cynical laugh about it. They are wonderful birds to own & I have never regretted getting them.

I just got my dream parrot home this past Monday. That would be my Green Wing macaw Ruby Jewel. She took almost 8 months to wean & GWs are famous for taking a long time to wean.She is settling in & will be just fine. I do have a female Eclectus & she is the Diva of my flock, do I know a bit about what it's like to have a varied flock, plus I have a green cheek conure & 10 budgies. Yep, I have dogs too & a few other various critters, but no small children. My only child is grown & married & lives a long way from home. I think you will be great as a new expectant macaw parront. Good luck & when you have baby pics to share, please do.

[CrazyBirdLady]

How exciting! I love my Blue and Gold girl. She is awesome! I don't have children, but have a large flock. She is pretty easy to take care of.

I would recommend a larger cage, though. 34" is not very wide since their tails are so long.

Here is my girl, see what I mean? :)

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[Blancaej]

Dulphinz - With all warnings aside, I did want to make sure you knew it is possible to have large birds with young children. Educating them is most important. My kids absolutley love my birds! Quincy is a bitter, if you haven't figured that out all ready :rolleyes:, but the kids still are able to give him snacks and enjoy his company. My new gw is very gentle and the kids hand feed her with no issue. Every bird has a different personality. I am hopeful your b&g will work out well and fit right in! Good luck!

Turquoise - cant wait to see pics of your new gw!

Crazybirdlady - beautiful b&g!
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[Dulphinz]

Thanks you for the encouraging words! I know it might be a little difficult at first but I seem to be doing good with raising my kiddos so I'm guessing it'll be ok ! Lol. Crazylady- your B&G is beautiful. Thanks for the input on the cage size. I'll definitely look into a bigger one :). They have some nice corner ones. I just got two books written by Sue Matten I think her name is ...Guide to a companion parrot and Well behaved parrot. They seemed to have great reviews. Hopefully I ca get a lot from these. I'll definitely keep fishing through the forum for any bits and pieces I can find :). Thanks again for all your help!

[roxynoodle]

I would also recommend a larger cage. I don't think I'd put a B&G in anything less than a 48" wide one. A double macaw cage would be even better as Carole suggested.

I'm sure you can keep large parrots with small children depending on the children. We all know some listen to advice better than others (and some just have to see for themselves, unfortunately). But, yes, a large macaw can do some serious damage to little fingers or faces so the children do need to be educated. I don't have children myself, but I'm guessing it is something you need to talk to them about at least daily for awhile if not a few times a day to make sure they really understand. Heck I was a high school teacher and there were things I needed to tell some teens pretty much daily, lol!

[Dulphinz]

I'm guessing that I will be repeating thing s about 1001 times a day to my kiddos since I like to make sure they remember:) but that's what I do now so nothing new! Haha. I definitely like to be on the safe side with everything so this will be no different.

[Pinkbirdy]

Harlow was my first big bird. I have a busy household too :) My birds are in my living room[ I have a double livingroom] I have 2 entrances and block them both off when I have the birds out. I take no chances.What I was worried about is getting her back in the cage before work . Not having her grab on to the side and whip herself up on top of her cage and not come down. So I put a perch on her door . When she was good on stepping onto it ,I gave her a treat . [This did work for me ] . Harlow comes out in the morning and right when I get home.She plays until dinner then eats with us. She goes back on a playstand [or me] until late evening . I think her schedule works well [shes a great bird] I think shes easy [such a joy ] . If she does her Macaw call [I dont ignore her] I yell hi Harlow and she switches to talking . I think the first most important think with your bird is building your bond. :)