(Topic ID: 198227)
Humble, TX
Congrats -- a blue and gold macaw. As long as you know what you are getting into with a parrot like that, it will be one of the best companions for the rest of your life. I had a green-wing macaw (I hand reared; use to work in a parrot breeding a store long time ago). Amazing creature and the only "pet" (hard to call them a pet) I still dream about 30 years later. Best thing you can do is to have him/her with you all the time -- they need a lot of attention and things to do. Worst thing you can do is leave them locked in a cage, alone for most of the day. Like people in solitary confinement, is can really mess them up (I still feel horrible for leaving my bird at home when I had to go to school). I gave my bird to the manager of the store when I left for college, and she is still doing great.
I have so many great memories of my bird. One of her favorite things to do was go for drives with me. She'd sit on the head rest of the passenger seat and at every stop light, she would lean down to look out the window at the person in the car next to us. Then she would cat call, and yell "Hello!", "How are you cutie?" repeatedly. I would watch the driver of the other car first get annoyed and ignore us, then eventually turn to face the caller. Their expression would transform from anger, to astonishment, to enjoyment when they realized it was a parrot. More often than not, the driver and my bird who chat back and forth till the light turned green, and we would all drive off with a smile.
This is a Caninde, a Blue Throat Macaw. It is smaller than a Blue and Gold but sweeter and ,I think, prettier. It is my third parrot. My first was a Greater Sulfer Crested Cockatoo that went totally nutso at about a year old to the point that it would hurt mimself when anyone came near him. I had to give him away to some people who kept him in a large area away from people. My second was a Harlequin Macaw that I had for 10 years that I took to work with me every day and some POS that I wouldn't sell to because he had very bad credit stole him when he was on the patio of my office. I offered a $5000 reward that I couldn't afford for him and I never saw him again. I saw a blue throat at the zoo and I thought he was so beautiful that I located this. I now have a second cage at work that he can be in or on and supervised.
Years ago my mom raised birds of all kinds. She had several parrots I liked and one I didn't.
One she had rang just like the phone. Sometimes I would get up to answer the phone and sometimes someone would say why didn't you answer the phone because I thought it was the bird. Barked just like the dogs too. It would pick which dog it wanted to bark like. She still has a couple. Very smart and live a long time.
Quoted from spiroagnew:I've come across some huge birds here on Pinside, but this one takes the cake!
Happy 50th!
Actually he is tiny. He is smaller than a blue and gold. He's a little cutie pie. My son and daughter and little grand daughter love him. He has been with us for 4 days and he is already spoiled.
We had an African Grey for 20 years. She would make an alarm beeper sound when the door would open and when we were alone in the house we always thought someone snuck in. She would sing, make phone sounds and have a one way conversations like on the phone. My friends would teach her to cuss. Thankfully she never did. She'd call the dogs names it was hilarious. My parents gave her to some people when they couldn't pay her enough attention. She still doing great. In all those years I never held her on my hand. I was too afraid of being bitten
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