Conference 7.286::pet_birds

	I am afraid that Macaws like to scream....however,
	there are things that you can do that help....

	1.  Usually they scream for a reason....

		- Want attention
		- Want out
		- Want what you are eating
		- There is noise and they want to be part
		
	2.  If you can figure out the reason, you can often
	    solve the problem at that time...

		For attention...they are always kids and 
		unfortunately like a LOT of your time.

		If you have a play gym and the cage is in
		the area where you are, they can play for
		hours with toys and be happy...

		Eating is obvious....

		Yelling at a macaw usually adds your noise to
		the problem...and they are getting the attention
		that they wanted in the first place.

	3.  Covering the cage works occassionally when things
	    get entirely out of hand.

	4.  If you can move the cage...put the bird where
	    you are, rather than in a room by itself...

	5.  As far as a water bottle goes,  Macaws are real
	    bright....if you show it the bottle/water gun you
	    can usually avoid actually shooting the gun...

	    On the other hand, if you are out of the room, and
	    you come in and spray the bird, you are doing JUST
	    what the bird wanted you to....has you trained well!

	-dick

We have been considering wheeling Bishop's floor cage into the living room and
leaving it there. That way he would always see us. I have been reluctant to do
this because he can get noisy even when with us, but that may be the price to 
pay to keep it at an acceptable level. I think he knows I've been talking about
him, he was a perfect angel last night. But then, I made a conscious effort to
have him out and go up to him every once in a while. So maybe a little change on
both our parts will settle things...

    Large birds like Macaws and Cockatoos are LOUD.  This is a fact 
    of life.  They also demand a considerable amount of attention.
    They are social birds and when they are domestically raised and 
    bonded to human's then you are considered part of their flock.
    In the wild, they scream to locate other members of their flock.
    
    I feels like you may be feeling that you got more than you bargained
    for.  Blue and Golds are strikingly beautiful but you can't treat them
    like a canary or a finch.  They do require a lot of your time and they 
    are always noisy, some more than others.  This is a reality that we
    must accept.  Many people view a screaming bird as having behavior
    problems ....... actually they are simply saying "I am happy to be
    alive".  

	Jim is 100% right....Macaws like noise, Avalon can
	have a blast screaming along with the radio...he loves
	the new Moody Blues Album...but somehow I don't think that
	they would be flattered if they heard him...

	Friends have asked on many occassions how we can live
	with an animal that makes that much noise...I don't have
	an answer...you either can or you can't..

	The attention factor is also important...I spend about
	2-3 hours a nite with my Macaw...its great during the
	football season....except he is a patriots fan :-)

	-dick

    I have to agree with .5.  Years ago, we had a yellow naped amazon for
    about 3 months.  His noise absolutely drove my husband NUTS!  I sold
    him on consignment (took about 6 months) via a reputable breeder.  She
    made sure the bird was matched up with the "right" person.  I was very
    happy to see my bird go to a home where he would be loved and accepted
    for all he was along with all his noise.
    
    Maybe a Macaw just isn't for you.  I can certainly understand.  It
    took my husband over 5 years to let my have another bird.  This time I
    went with cockateils, finches and budgies and we just love them.  For
    some of us, bigger is not better.
    
    I must admit though, you can't beat the wonderful colors of a big bird. 
    Too bad they didn't make "real" mini macaws, like cockateil size!
    
    Ah, such dreams!!
    
    
    Jeanne
    
    

>    I must admit though, you can't beat the wonderful colors of a big bird. 
>    Too bad they didn't make "real" mini macaws, like cockateil size!

They do, check out a Noble or Hahn's...  I'd recommend either.


However, back to the subject...  My b&g yells a lot too.  We can normally talk 
to her and get her to shut up, but sometimes we just put up with it.  My wife
has threatened to serve her as a main course several times, but she (my bird)
isn't impressed.  I leave plenty of manzanita in her cage to chew on, and a few
other toys.  She's destroyed most of them, so I've learned to get toys that last
not necessarily the ones that look the best.  She's started playing with what
were less desirable toys now that she's destroyed all the nice ones.  If it's a 
boy, I'd be happy to give it a home if you wanted to *give* it away, but I'm
sure you have lots of offers like that!

Ed

    

    The problem is solved! (At least from our perspective) We shipped
    Bishop via American Airlines to my parents in Philadelphia, who already
    had a conure, a cockatiel, and two other small parrot-types. 
    
    My mother was very excited about it. My dad was also very enthusiastic,
    although a little more reserved about it. So far everything has worked
    out great. It's like they have a new child in the house, so Bishop gets
    LOTS of attention. He wathces TV with them, keeps an eye out while they
    are in the kitchen, and sits with my dad in his study. They say he has
    not yet had any screaming fits, although he has let loose a few times.
    They may just be a little more tolerant, though; they say the conure is
    noisier than Bishop. So we're happy (no feathery murder on my hands),
    they're happy, and Bishop is happy. My mother teaches at a Montessori
    school and is looking forward to taking him in. The kids are very
    excited about it, too. Bishop will probably be in hog heaven with all
    the attention. Fortunately, he is very gentle even with strangers, so
    we shouldn't have any missing digits.
    
    Incidentally, if you need to ship a bird cross-country, it's neither
    cheap nor convenient, but it can be done. American requires a health
    certificate that's less than 10 days old, an airline-approved carrier
    (typical plastic dog/cat carrier of appropriate size), and will only
    transport the animal (any species) if the temperature at source and
    destination airports (and I guess any layovers) is between 45 and 85.
    You have to get there at least one hour before the flight with two
    copies of the certificate, written feeding instructions, and a bag of
    food. The carrier has to have attached food and water containers (we
    used the kind of bowls that attach to the bars). 
    
    The health certificate cost us $35 at a local avian vet. We already had
    the carrier, cost about $40-50 for the size we used. The cost for the
    flight depends on the weight and size; Bishop and carrier weighed 13
    pounds (Bishop probably accounted for 2-3 pounds). The fare was $116
    from Dallas-Fort Worth to Philadelphia, using American's Priority
    Parcel service, where you just show up with bird in hand and buy a
    ticket. They also have cargo service with 24-hour advance reservation
    for about $30-40 less. The only thing you have to worry about is
    whether or not conditions will be acceptable for the flight. 
    
    It's a pain, but we were glad to be able to do it for Bishop. I suspect
    he spent the entire time with a death grip on the bars of the carrier
    door, but he was none the worse for wear once my parents got him home.
    We had shipped his small cage the day before via UPS, about $40, so he
    had a familiar home ready to move into.
                                                                        

	I believe that we all accept a major responsibility
	when we get a "big bird", and when it does not work
	out, it is nice to know that the owners worked out
	a solution that was as viable for the bird as for
	the humans.

	congratulations...but I am sorry that it did not
	work, they are wonderful companions....

	-dick

Well, the good news is that my parents live in Philadelphia, close enough to
drive to for a weekend visit. I did that a couple weeks ago. Bishop is in
bird heaven! My mother goes around with him on her shoulder all the time. 
During meals she holds a little cup for him to eat out of while she eats. He
loves orange juice, but most of all sweet potatoes. My mother is actually 
cooking him meals. She took him in to the school where she teaches, and over a
hundred kids handled him. There were only two he would not go near, and my 
mother says he has good instincts about people. She also made sure to remind
everybody that not every bird is as friendly as Bishop, and that B&G's can 
snap a broom handle with their beaks. So this is certainly about the happiest
ending we could have hoped for. He still screeches, but not nearly as much.