I might be getting a parrot!

[cali]

well basicly my best friends, friends mom need to rehome her animals one of these animals is a parrot, from my friends descripion it dounds like a macaw, she was willing to give my friend the parrot cage and all for free, and since I am looking for a bird my mom said if the lady is willing to give me the bird cage and all I can take him/her! I will be getting some more info tomorow as my mom also wants more info on the dogs so she can pass it on. it one of "those" situation where the lady is moving in with her boyfriend and cant take her 5-6 dogs, her parrot or her cat, but because she is trying to rehome then fast I just might have a parrot real soon! :D

[cali]

update lol its 4 dogs I am getting info on them for my mom, a toy poodle, a rottie, a Borzoi and a Rotti cross, my mom has connections so she will probaly be able to find homes for all of em lol and my friend is going to get me more info on the parrot tomrow, I just talked to her on MSN and asked her to get me more info lol

[Giselle]

Wow, you're extremely lucky!

Do you know what kind of macaw? Also, are you honestly prepared for a macaw? I don't mean to sound negative, but I could never, in my life, be able to cater to a full blown Macaw. Their diets deter me straight away because I know they have to have certain nuts, like the Brazil nut, which I can't even find in the grocery store!:p They also need macadamia nuts, which I can barely buy for myself, ha. I love this link:
http://www.avianadventuresaviary.com/baby.html

Also, how old is the macaw? If it's less than 2 years, be aware my friend. The Terrible Two's are approaching.;)

[cali]

lol I dont know age or sex or even type of parrot yet, my freind is going to ask her friend tomorow, so I shall find out then lol I will do some research as soon as I find out what kind of parrot this is exactly so I know care, I have raised birds all my life so I know general care, and I have won many birds over before lol there is a reason I have always been the primary caretaker of birds in this house, other like having them to look at and to talk to, but I have always loved actually taking care of them, talking to them, playing with them, learning about them etc.. lucky is right! parrots are soooooo expensive! and to find out someone is willing to give away a parrot and I have connetions to the person the very day we start looking for a bird.. lol its just weird!

EDIT: thanks for the link! my freinds description of the bird sounds exactly like a blue and gold macaw!

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Macaws are a lot of bird. I personally wouldn't recommend taking it. They need a ton of space and attention. They are VERY VERY VERY loud birds. Most people can't keep them in their house because of the noise level. They are also very messy. They chew everything, and I mean everything, you can't let them out of your sight. Toys are very expensive and very important. They get bored quickly and need a variety of toys to keep them busy. They destroy their toys very quickly and will need new ones regularly. If they don't get the proper attention and proper toys they will become bored and they often feather pluck. Macaws need a wide assortment of seeds, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. They are much more time consuming and expensive than a dog.
I don't mean to be negative either. I just want you to be sure this is what you want. Please don't rush into anything, read and get as much information on macaw care as you can before you bring him home. Also meet him and spend time a good amount of time with him before agreeing to take him on.

[Fur&Feathers]

Originally posted by Giselle
Also, how old is the macaw? If it's less than 2 years, be aware my friend. The Terrible Two's are approaching.;)

Ah, the Terrible Two's. Something I wish Dante would hurry up and get out of! ;)

[cali]

lol thanks for the info, remeber, I dont actully know what kind of bird it is, blue and gold macaw simpley fits the COLOUR description I was given by a friend who knows absolutly nothing about birds, blue and gold macaw is just a wild guess, my friend is getting me more info on the bird today including what kind of bird this is exactly. I could handle 2 border collies, a rabbit, 4 guinea pigs and 5 gerbils just fine on my own when I had school, and now I have finnished school, I am not going to collage, I currently have no job so I have nothing to interfere with a birds adjustment, both my mom and I are looking up lots of info, on specific types of parrots so we know how to care for em etc.. :)

[Suki Wingy]

Good luck! I read that Blue and Golds are the most affectionate of the macaws. Wow, she's rehoming a borzoi that quick? Can you get the name of the breeder or rescue they got it from because I don't think the borzoi has hit the byb market yet so most likley the breeder or rescue will take it back and that is just one less animal to have to deal with finding a home for.

[cali]

no idea, my friends friend was nit at school today so she could not ask him, but I looked up a page full of types of parrots and we went to every link until she recognized the bird, it is NOT a blue and gold macaw, its not a macaw at all actually its a sun conure, my friend colour descriptions were rather wronge lol

[lute]

how exciting! if it is a macaw i advise you, if you can, to go to a friend's house that has a macaw or a rescue just to go hang out with one. so you're not intimidated by him/her when you meet it. i went to my friend's house that had a macaw when i planned on getting a macaw and i'm glad i did. it kinda scared me at first and i learned how to hold it and act around it.

[buttercup132]

thats so col your lucky i want a cokatoo but i thinking it might be too expesive to actualy buy the bird but ill keep dreamin lol or a african grey parrot(drools)sun conure are really really pritty and look to be one of the smaller parrots wich is cool what ever it is i hope you get it and i wish you good luck!

[cali]

thanks! my friend said the bird look almost exactly like this one :

http://www.petbirdpage.com/images/sun.jpg

its perfect, its not to big, it already lives with several dogs so that wont be a problem, it does need trained, my friend said its very noisy, but the sites I looked at said that sun conures can be trained to be quiet, they are playfull and easy to train, wont eat us out of house and home lol and best of all sooo pretty!:D

[Suki Wingy]

If I was ever to get a bird Ithink it would be a sun conure!

[Giselle]

OMG. A Sun? Wholey macaroley. Now I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but Suns have ear shattering screams. I am not kidding. More than half the Suns who are purchased are usually returned due to their pitch level. It's not that they're noisy. They just have a uniquely, high-pitched scream. It is literally ear piercing. Just so you don't go deaf, I highly suggest you never forcibly cage the bird unless it's bedtime. Aratinga conures, in general, have ear splitting screams (which is why my future bird is going to be a Patagonian conure). ;) Update us, and, again, the ear plugs are your friend.

Also, Suns go through vengeful Terrible Two's. How old is this baby? I suggest the book Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot by Mattie Sue Athan, too. It tells you how to cope with the TT's and how to prevent it. Good Luck!

Edit: Is that picture from The Pet Bird Pages? If so, Mattie Sue Athan's book will be at the top of the website :)

[cali]

lol ya I read about the scream! I am told that this particular bird screams, which I plan to work on, I am very used to very loud noises, I have yet to go deaf spending 10 hours in a small echoy building with 500 dogs barking in my ear lol I am around so many activitys that I have gotten really used to extremly loud noises, after 10 minuts they tend not to bother me to much lol it just makes going outside REALLY quiet all of a sudden :p my dads reaction was funny he was like "I would not trust Blair with a bird" ok, what differnce does it make? the bird will be in my room, Blair is not allowed in my room lol Ripley and perky have extremly low prey drives and really dont care, Misty is not intrested in any other animal uless it looks like a sheep)last I checked sun conours did not look like sheep lol) and Happy is not a problem, she loves birds, my last bird and Happy were best friends, we could pry those to apart for feeding time, and would always kiss eachother through the bars, she would love to have another bird friend, she is kind of lonsome since casey passed she has no intrest in befriending other dogs. my dad figgered my dogs would scare the bird.. the bird lives with a borzoi, 2 rotties and a toy poodle for heavens sake , not to mention Happy and Misty would be the only ones allowed in my room when the bird is out in the first place, and probably neither for the first while.

[Giselle]

Oh I have no qualms about the dogs and the birds. I really don't worry about a dog/bird situation unless the dog is a Terrier or Hound. I can sympathize with you and the noise level. After my years of bird ownership, I've completely gotten used to the noise and I now understand what "deafening silence" means. ;)

Have you gotten the Guide to a Well Behaved Parrot yet? It really is a priceless book. You could just check it out from the library if you don't want to buy it. It's really cheap and soooooo worth it!

[cali]

have not been to the library yet lol but I will definatly check out the book!

my dad was worried because perky and Ripley ARE terriers dont kniw why on earth he was worried about Blair though lol perky is a JRT but I would worry about Ripley before I would worry about perky, she is terrified of all my critters anyway lol

[Fur&Feathers]

Good luck with quieting him. It's never worked with Dante.

[animal_rescue]

Good Luck! Our Parrot, Sunny, loves making noise! Her favorite is when we play love songs she'll sing" I Feel Good, I Feel Good" over and over. It's so cute!:D

[cali]

lol well apperntly the bird is a double yellow headed amazon wich makes no sence at all since my friend said this bird has almost no green at all, but double yellow headed amazons exept for the yellow head are entirly green :confused: I am not sure what is going on the birds name is Dante and is very loved, his owner really does not want to give his baby up(its his mom getting rid of the animals) but if he has no choice in a matter I may actually be a VERY good choice for homes as my best friend is just starting to date the guy with the bird lol so if I got the bird he would still be able to visit his baby lol

[Giselle]

Who gave these numbskulls this bird? I can't believe one doesn't know what species their bird is, and to point a Sun Conure out in a textbook when the bird is in fact a DYH?! How smart is that? LOL!

Cali, you should go over to their house and take a picture. It's not that hard to specify what species the bird is. I mean, come on! First, a B&G Macaw. Then a Sun. Then a DYH. What's it going to be next? "OHHHH Ooops! It's a rat afterall!" ROTFL!

[cali]

lol believe me I want to meet this bird more then anything now, its driving me crazy I mean a DYH Amazons dont exactly look like sun conures :confused:

[flamepony12]

Originally posted by Giselle
"OHHHH Ooops! It's a rat afterall!" ROTFL!

LMAO! :D

I've been reading through this thread... is there a chance you'll be able to go and see for yourself what type of bird it is anytime soon? Hopefully then it'll be cleared up, and expect the enexpected.. like she said, It might as well be a rat! ^_~ hahah

[cali]

lol I am starting to give up hope on this bird, his owner really does not want to give him up, and if his mom forces him too he might give him to another friend of his :( if I dont get Dante I will be getting a budgie or 2, I would just love to have a parrot, so this seemed so perfect. however my mom wants to see the toy poodle and the borzoi lol she is trying to justify taking in a little poodle "it would not eat much" etc.. etc.. lol and she was like "a Borzoi would be a really neat dog to have.." in her considering the dog type tone lol

[salamander]

WOW!! Parrots are great birds!! One of my friends has 2 parrots, Jesse and Mo. Jesse is a female red parrot. And Mo is a male and he has blue and red and green colors....

Parrots take ALOT of responsibility though!!! LOL