[craftEcowgirl]

Let me hear from those with Macaws and/or Rose Breasted Cockatoos. I am researching both at this time. Love to hear your experiences with them. I plan to get one weaned that has been handfed. I work part time from home, so they would be out most of the day.

Size cages?
How loud?
Do well with other people at home and away?
Best type of playstand?


Sharonkay
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looking to add a Macaw or RB2

 

[aether-drifter]

I have an RB2, so I will weigh in.

Size cages? I have Flower in a 36" x 24" play top, which is a huge step up from what she was in before I adopted her, but it seems tiny to me. She really doesn't have any room to move around, and I wish I'd gone bigger. She is a bit of a perch potato, so it's okay I guess...but I want to encourage her to be more active. I am looking into getting her a double macaw cage ASAP. Honestly, I would strive for as big as possible. A parrot should have enough empty space in its cage to comfortably flap its wings.
How loud? On a scale of 1-10 as far as birds go, I'd put her at a 5 or 6. She can be loud, but she usually isn't, and even at full volume she isn't deafening. I live in an apartment and haven't had any issues.
Do well with other people at home and away? RB2s tend to be phobic, and Flower can be nervous around new people, but she's getting a lot better. I have actually started taking her around heavily populated places in her harness, and she has let strangers pet her. She is never aggressive toward anybody, she just gets easily spooked, but we are working on that.
Best type of playstand? Flower is terrible about staying on her stand! lol. I have this one for her, but she usually only goes on it to eat. When she's out, she likes to be a clingy pest and glue herself to me and my boyfriend.

 

[carolz]

I have 2 macaws and had one umbrella. Both can be extremely loud. What type of birds have you had before? Macaws are huge birds and need someone with some know how. Rosebreast my friend has one and probably would be much better for apartment living. I have never heard him being loud. Umbrellas again are extremely loud. Hope this helps dont mean to come across negative. lol How about a hyacinth?

 

[CaptainHowdy]

What species of Macaw are you interested in as this will change, cage size noise levels etc?

 

[catalinadee]

Cage size needs to be as big as you can make it if you're looking into one of the big macaws. A bare minimum would be one of the large double cages in my opinion. That or an indoor aviary, still with tons of out of cage time. If you're interested in mini macaws then requirements will be different

A galah can live in a smaller macaw sized cage comfortably, but again, the bigger the better

How loud depends on the species of macaw all together. Obviously the larger macs are going to make a lot more noise. They can be heard from a long long way away. Even the smaller macaws can have one huge set of lungs on them

The galah is, well, a quite quiet cockatoo considering it is one. They remind me of large cockatiels in all honesty. Only a bit more bouncy! They can make some high pitched twitters and screeches but they don't have the RAWK of the white cockatoo

Birds love companionship and larger birds seem to feed off that even more, in a more emotional way. By all means, smaller birds feel it too, but these birds take a long long time to mature and stay babyish for a considerably amount of time. They need a lot of attention. You'll find the galah is probably going to be less needy than the macaw

Java stands with vet-wrap to make sure they're not too slippy Buy a stand and then wrap it up, easy peasy

Although I don't really think the idea of 'starter' birds is a good thought, I do not think that macaws or cockatoos are for the inexperienced. However, the galah is probably the best to start with. Macaw-wise the Hahn's is an excellent choice. I do not want to sound patronizing and if you already have birds then I do apologize, but it has to be said. These birds are not for the faint hearted. A bite from a macaw is something to be taken very seriously. Luckily with the galahs, they have quite a small beak :lol:

 

[aether-drifter]

Just wanted to expand on the noise bit...all parrots are loud, but a large macaw is at least ten times louder than a galah at full volume (IME). My galah has a few outbursts a day, where she shrieks for thirty seconds or so. I have no doubt that my neighbors can hear it, but unless she's doing it right in your ear it's more amusing than anything else.

I fostered a u2 and a bare eyed too very briefly, and that was a different story entirely. Blood-curdlingly, heart-stoppingly loud and awful. The large macaw hybrid in the pet store I used to work at was the same. I love the large parrots, but they are not for those with sensitive ears or nerves!

 

[carolz]

I think it also depends on the birds then wont you all agree. Some macaws are quieter than others. Some are extremely loud. One just never can tell for sure. But we all agree birds are loud no doubt about that. My husband has become extremely sensitive to the birds noises where we it does not bother as much, my only concern of course are the neighbors always.

 

[aether-drifter]

I think it also depends on the birds then wont you all agree. Some macaws are quieter than others. Some are extremely loud. One just never can tell for sure.

I would definitely agree with this as far as frequency of vocalization (as in, how often). But actual volume? I think that's pretty consistent within a species. in my opinion, everyone should listen to their species of choice scream at full volume for at least a couple of minutes straight before deciding to bring one into their lives.

I find galah screeches and tantrums to be amusing and adorable, but that's also because they don't tend to carry on for very long.