ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry) (04/29/91)
In article <1970001@hpgrla.gr.hp.com>, robertm@hpgrla.gr.hp.com (Robert Moss) writes: > I am thinking about getting a macaw and am interested on any feedback from > other macaw owners. I plan on getting a baby, but I am not sure whether > I should go for a 5 week old, or a 3 month old (partialy weaned) bird. Some > breaders think one imprints better on the younger birds, others will only > sell weaned birds (they seem to care more about their health). I have limited > my search down to 4 varieties, but need help in pruning my list. First off, there are so many dangers associated with a first time bird owner hand feeding a baby, that would preclude me recommending you get a 5 week old. These dangers include not only the obvious problems with possible aspiration of food, but proper sterilization, inherrent diseases that a novice may not notice until it's too late, etc. etc. Also keep in mind that many parent passed diseases result in no symptoms but death of young birds. It's heartbreaking to handfeed your baby for weeks and/or months just to have it drop dead. I'd much rather see you purchase the 3 month old on 2 feedings per day. Purchasing a weaned bird really won't hurt your imprinting. For the first few weeks, the bird may be looking for the person who fed it, but after that, you will become "mommy" and the bird will love you just as much. > Hyacinth: +Mellow,+Intelligent,+Puppy dog like temperment, > -Price The other - to a hyacinth is that they CHEW like crazy and CAN eat your house. Another important thing to consider is that they are highly endangered, and keeping one for a pet rather than breeding him/her may create many people who will push you to breed your "child", thus losing many of the pet qualities you desire in a bird. There are more hyacinths in captivity than there are in the wild. > Green Wing +Mellow,+Intelligent,-Easily frightened, > -Needs lots of attention ALL macaws need lots of attention. It's not just a - with the greenwing. Also, I wouldn't consider a greenwing to be easily frightened. Greenwings are my favorite pet macaws. > Scarlet -Nippy with strangers,-Family oriented bird,-Noisey, > -Susceptible to personality problems, > -Needs lots & lots & lots of attention Not just nippy with strangers....scarlets can be nippy with anyone! I would rule this one out, although, as you know, every bird is different and some people have wonderfully sweet scarlets. I'd never buy one as a pet, however. > Blue & Gold Reference with which above +,-'s compared to I also really enjoy blue and golds. They are pretty mellow, intelligent, they need lots of attention, but they may not be quite as loving as a greenwing. I'm raising a baby blue and gold now. I'll have more to report later. > I think the Scarlet's have too many disadvantages to remain on the list, but > am welcome to suggestions (some breeders say a hand feed macaw is a handfed > macaw, when it comes to temperment). I think those breeders are wrong. > Also, I am questioning cage sizes. Some cage manufacturers sell 24" x 36" > macaw cages, while others say 36" x 48" is required to keep the tail feathers > in good shape. The median is on the order of 28" x 44". So what is the real > scoop (I know bigger is better, but what is a realistic size). My macaw cages are approximately 5 feet by 6 feet. Keep in mind, however, that if you are looking at a hyacinth, you will need to invest in a larger, and much heavier cage. My personal opinion is that it would be absolutely abominable to keep a macaw in a 24x36 cage. That is barely big enough for an amazon!. 36x48 is also too damn small. If you are going to keep your bird in the cage for most of the day and overnight, keep in mind that the cage is the bird's home for probably the rest of its life. Buy the largest cage you can afford. If you can't afford more than 36x48, wait and don't buy the bird until you can. A bird in a small confined space is under stress, and very unhappy. Mikki Barry
thomason@cgl.ucsf.edu (John Thomason) (05/02/91)
>In article <1970001@hpgrla.gr.hp.com>, robertm@hpgrla.gr.hp.com (Robert Moss) >writes: >> I am thinking about getting a macaw and am interested on any feedback from >> other macaw owners. I plan on getting a baby, but I am not sure whether >> I should go for a 5 week old, or a 3 month old (partialy weaned) bird. Some >> breaders think one imprints better on the younger birds, others will only >> sell weaned birds (they seem to care more about their health). I have limited >> my search down to 4 varieties, but need help in pruning my list. > So far the respones about your inquiry to purchasing a macaw has only been related to the "Large" macaws (Hyacinths, Scarlets, etc.). While these are all very special birds another group of Macaws has not been discussed, the miniature macaws. These include the Noble, Yellow Collar, and Severe Macaw (also sometimes referred to as the Red Wing Macaw). The Severe is the largest of this group (10-11 inch body length, 10-11 inch tail length) and the Nobel is the smallest (~6 inch body length, ~same for tail). The Yellow collar is just a little bit smaller than the Severe. There are several advantages to the samller Macaws. Primarily, everything about them is smaller, cage size, feeding, play area. This is important if you like to take your bird places with you. We have a 1-year old Severe. We take "Zola" on trips with us when we go to see the family. She can easily, and comfortably, travel in a small travel cage that fits under the seat of an airplane. This is important because I would not trust Baggage handlers to take care of her at all. A large Macaw needs more care and room when you travel and is a little more difficult to prepare for. Also, because they are not as well known, the minature hand raised babies are often less expensive than the large ones. Severes, at least in the bay area, run $850-$1000, nobels run $450-600. While price may not be a factor for you, you may want to consider your experience with birds versus price. Experience counts for a lot in keeping a bird healthy and knowing when it is sick. Birds do not show illness well. And often times when they do it may be to late to save them. I hate to put a monetary value on a pets life, because they are invaluble. However, if you are stretching to get a large and/or your experience with them limited you may not want to spend as much and opt for a smaller bird. As for personalities, I think the miniatures have every bit as much as the large ones. They can become bonded to one person or become a member of the "Flock" (ie family) depending on how they are raised. They chew, squawk and can talk just as much as the other macaws. In fact I have read several sources which say that Severes tend to be the best talkers of the macaw family. Indications from Zola are that this may prove to be true. Miniature macaws have not been as popular as the large ones probably because of their size. The big ones are more showy and command more presence. However, the small macaws do make just as good a family member as the large ones. I have heard rumours that the miniatures are the more popular in Europe. Can any one confirm this or not? Anyways, I am not putting down the large macaws at all. They are magnificant birds. But so are the small macaws and they deserve just as much attention. Depending on where you live it may or may not be hard to find a breeder who has minature macaws. Look in the back of a BirdTalk magazine and call around. Whatever bird you decide on make sure you are able to spend some time with it before you purchase it. When you do get at least, a thirty day "health certificate" and then take him/her to a REPUTABLE bird vet. I cannot stress this enough. When we bought Zola, we bought her from a reputable breeder, at a bird show in San Francisco. We took her to the Vet and everything seemed to be OK with her. Unfortunately, about three weeks later she became sick and it turned out she had Pisticossis (sp?). It turned out she probably got it from the show. Anyways, just be careful when you buy. Good Luck, JT