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From: mep@cbnewsd.att.com (mary.e.pasternak)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Pet Macaw Questions
Message-ID: <1991Apr29.224802.5569@cbnewsd.att.com>
Date: 29 Apr 91 22:48:02 GMT
References: <1970001@hpgrla.gr.hp.com>
Distribution: usa
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 68

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.
>
>    Hyacinth:    +Mellow,+Intelligent,+Puppy dog like temperment,
>                 -Price
>    Green Wing   +Mellow,+Intelligent,-Easily frightened,
>                 -Needs lots of attention
>    Scarlet      -Nippy with strangers,-Family oriented bird,-Noisey,
>                 -Susceptible to personality problems,
>                 -Needs lots & lots & lots of attention
>    Blue & Gold  Reference with which above +,-'s compared to

I'd also add -Needs lots & lots & lots of attention to the Hyacinth
and add -Noisy to all of them.  (Until you've had a macaw scream in
your ear, you don't know what noisy is :-)).

However, I'd also add that some of these attribute seem to depend
on the bird.  Just like people, dogs, cats and any other
intelligent creature, birds have different personalities -- not all
the personality differences can be attributed to species (although
it's a good place to start).

Regarding cage size:  we've had a miligold macaw for about 3 years
now and she spends daytimes (when we're at work) and sleeps in a 
48" wide x 28" wide cage.  Her tail feathers are in good condition
-- not perfect, but much, much better than many of the macaws I've
seen.  My vote would be for as big a cage as you can afford and
have room to keep.  

Also, when shopping for a cage, there are a number of
considerations (a recent issue of Bird Talk goes into many of
them), including:

	- what's the cage made of?  if it's steel, what's it coated with?
		powdered-coated paint and nickel coatings seem the
		best.  make sure that whatever it's made of, the 
		coating/material is non-toxic.  cages get plenty dirty 
		from food and droppings, so I'd go for an easy-to-clean
		material.  if you can afford it, go for a stainless
		steel cage.  

	- does the cage breakdown (e.g., needs assembly)?  this can
		be a disadvantage (if you're not mechanically
		inclined) or an advantage (you can get a bigger
		cage into the house because you're not limited to
		the width of the doorways, you can take it apart to
		clean it on the back port or in the bathtub, you
		want to travel with your bird, so it'll fit in the
		(large) car.  if you can't tell, I vote for cage's that
		breakdown.

	- is the door big enough to easily get the bird in and out
		-- especially important with a bird as big as a
		macaw.  it's amazing how many large cages are sold
		with tiny doors.

	- how much time will the bird spend in it?  one popular
		option is to have a playpen on top of the cage,
		making the cage double as a playing area.


Mary Bamford