Should I get my Macaw a friend? + VERY long story

[Vogel]

Well, I am new to the forums, only posted a couple of times. I just adopted a Green Wing Macaw from this awful "rescue". I went to the bird show, near where my fiance lives, to pick out some nice cheap toys for my birds I currently have. I also really love walking around looking at all the beautiful birds that one day I would LOVE to own. We had adopted a female Eclectus prior from the newspaper, but she was very aggressive, and I gave her to a friend for free. She has a TON of birds like B&G Macaws, ect. I had planned on getting another bird next year, by then I would own a house. Also, to mention, I don't plan on having children, so the larger parrot would be basically my child, not that my smaller birds aren't already. Anyways, there we were looking at all the birds, and I saw a table owned by a women who claims to rescue birds. They had this beautiful Eclectus, and I was still upset about losing my other one, that I stuck around. I was listening to this women and her conversation about how she gets these birds. Basically, if she doesn't think the owner should have the bird, she won't give it back. Anyways, I said lets go, and my fiance fell in love with the Green Wing. My jaw dropped, I said we aren't ready for this bird, I rent still. On top of that, when I said "big bird" I ment an Amazon or Ekkie. Realize this is a commitment, ect, ect. He wouldn't budge. Don't get me wrong, Skittles is a VERY well behaved bird, and he said that how are we going to ever find another bird so well behaved already? In the end, we threw down $1000 to this women who I knew very well was doing the adoptions for a way of profit. I couldn't also give him back, because he was filthy. He smelled of smoke, and his featers were very raggity. So, we brought him home, and he was an angel! He is very attached to me. I still was wary of having him though. Returning him is NOT an option, however. I called her after the show, to ask a little more about him. She told me to feed him a lot of salt and double cheeseburgers from McDonalds! McDonald's isn't even good for humans! Also, I don't want to put him back into a smoking home, and I'm quite attached to him now. He is very quiet, and VERY careful not to hurt me lol.

ANYWAYS, my question is, what makes a good friend for a Macaw? I do not plan on getting another bird for at least 1-2 more years. I also am going to look to adopt first. I don't think I could handle a Cockatoo, so I think that might be out of the question. Would an Ekkie be a good friend? I still really want one. Even though my other Ekkie didn't work out, I was crushed that I had to give her away.

[Greycloud]

Being that you are renting, I would hold off. Amacaw can be very loud. Adding another lg bird increases the noise level. Just enjoy your bird for now and wait a couple years before deciding on another. Eclectus and macaws do not co habitate in the wild. Another macaw or mini macaw might be the better way to go. JMHO!

[Vogel]

Originally Posted by Greycloud

Being that you are renting, I would hold off. Amacaw can be very loud. Adding another lg bird increases the noise level. Just enjoy your bird for now and wait a couple years before deciding on another. Eclectus and macaws do not co habitate in the wild. Another macaw or mini macaw might be the better way to go. JMHO!

Yea, I am going to wait until I have a house, before getting another large parrot. I mean, does my Macaw realllly need another friend? I know the lady had him with a Military Macaw, so that is what got me thinking about it. Should I get a male or female? He is DNA sexed male. I do NOT want babies though, or aggressiveness.

[kellywess]

First of all I think its great that you threw down the ransom money and took this bird in. Secondly seeing that you have other birds in the house... doesn't matter what kind/size is company enough, once quarantine is over. As long as they have another bird to call to, will keep them company. My main focus would be getting the bird on a healthy diet. It sounds like you are on the right track. Good Luck with everything and congrats on the new baby! Keep us posted... got pics?

[Vogel]

Originally Posted by kellywess

First of all I think its great that you threw down the ransom money and took this bird in. Secondly seeing that you have other birds in the house... doesn't matter what kind/size is company enough, once quarantine is over. As long as they have another bird to call to, will keep them company. My main focus would be getting the bird on a healthy diet. It sounds like you are on the right track. Good Luck with everything and congrats on the new baby! Keep us posted... got pics?

I posted some in the "show off your bird" thread. Right now I am mainly focused on trying to get him a good diet, like you said, and getting him a ton of toys. I had bought some wood toys for him but he demolished thoes. I am going to the birdy shop next week to pick up some good seed for him, as well as a bunch of toys.

[kellywess]

Just go to the hardware store and buy a couple of boards of "untreated" pine and some sisal rope. Drill some holes in the boards and then cut into squares and string up on the sisal... you can tie knots in between the pieces. A whole lot cheaper! They really do not care if the wood is colored as long as they can wrap their beaks around it. Just a buck saving suggestion.

As far as diet, don't forget to add some fresh foods into his/her diet. Fresh Food is very important stuff!

[Vogel]

Oh trust me, he gets a ton of fruits, veggies, eggs ect. I feed him Mash at night, fruits in the morning. He is somewhat of a junkfood junkie though. The only fruit he likes so far is grapes. Today I gave him some Pomegranate and he looked at me like "what do you want me to do with that?"

[jjones1719]

Vogel, My name is Joe and own a 1 year old Green wing Macaw named Neleno and a 3 year old SI Male Eclectus named Guapo. I hand raised both birds. They are the best of friends but it depends on the Birds. I would never say that Eclectus and GW always get along but if they are very easy going birds, they should not have an issue with eachother. At times they do compete for my Attn. I live in a Condo and so far have not had any complaints maybe it's because my neighbors are very old and hard of hearing, lol. My boys eat, bath, play at all the same times. They talk to eachother while I work from Home.
I would also advise you take your Macaw to a local bird club where members bring their birds to meetings so you can see how your GW reacts. Best of luck Joe

[Emmilyy]

WOW! i'm so glad you got this bird. i mean, come on. salt and cheeseburgers? Some people are clearly insane.

[Vogel]

Originally Posted by jjones1719

Vogel, My name is Joe and own a 1 year old Green wing Macaw named Neleno and a 3 year old SI Male Eclectus named Guapo. I hand raised both birds. They are the best of friends but it depends on the Birds. I would never say that Eclectus and GW always get along but if they are very easy going birds, they should not have an issue with eachother. At times they do compete for my Attn. I live in a Condo and so far have not had any complaints maybe it's because my neighbors are very old and hard of hearing, lol. My boys eat, bath, play at all the same times. They talk to eachother while I work from Home.
I would also advise you take your Macaw to a local bird club where members bring their birds to meetings so you can see how your GW reacts. Best of luck Joe

Thanks! I plan on joining one next year when I move. I personally think he will be great with any bigger bird, because he is very loving. I just didn't know what limitations there were. I also haven't gotten any complaints about my birds, though when I move out, people are going to say "holy cow you had a macaw in there?". He never screams, only talks. In fact my cockatiel is noiser than he is lol.