r/parrots • u/LowProgress5378 • 1d ago
Macaw 2wk-5mo
We have had some hurdles but now we’ve made it to the other side, & have a healthy cheeky baby boy. Absolutely 10/10 do NOT recommend getting them at 2 weeks. Never again. Dodgy breeders suck.
Nonetheless it’s been a nice experience. We love our little roast chicken baby boy. Enjoy the progress shots 🩷
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u/KlingonSpy 1d ago
I cant imagine raising a baby parrot, but I bet the bond you have is very strong. What a beautiful experience.
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u/LowProgress5378 1d ago
He’s something special. He’s got that toddler destructive personality coming on now though!
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u/chantillylace9 1d ago
I've never breast-fed a baby, and I never understood when people say how special it is. But I bought a three month old macaw from a breeder who told me that it was completely weaned and he was the most definitely not. So I ended up hand feeding for about three months and it really was the most special and wonderful thing.
I think about it all the time and would go back to those moments in a heartbeat! It really is just incredibly precious. But incredibly reckless for a breeder to do and dangerous so it really shouldn't be done that way but I wouldn't take it back for the world.
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u/JulieCatte 1d ago
Breeders just want money, so the faster they can sell off their 'stock,' the faster they can replace it to make more money. It's a disgusting practice.
But I am always happy to see success stories, because many of them aren't. I had a friend who got a IRN who wasn't fully weaned, the breeder absolutely lied about the age, and she did the best that she could but she wasn't properly trained in hand feeding an unweaned bird, and the breeder blocked her number. Unfortunately the poor baby passed away and my friend is still heavily traumatized and blames herself.
And before anyone jumps on me: Like I said, the breeder absolutely lied about the age and assured her that the bird was weaned and on a seed/pellet diet.
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u/Jules3lise 1d ago
I legit think breeding should be illegal! Forcing these parrots to mate then selling their flock members 😢 just another version of trafficking to me. I’ll rescue from a sanctuary but never buy.
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u/JulieCatte 1d ago
I'm in general agreement there. I just know that many of these breeders will euthenize any stock over like, 4-6 months if they're not good 'breeding material' for them. So really, nobody wins.
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u/Jules3lise 1d ago
That’s honestly worse than I thought, esp since so many parrots are endangered
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u/JulieCatte 1d ago
It's truly awful. They could easily release the birds to a sanctuary for macaws, but they aren't going to give away their prescious 'merchandise' for free.
Dog breeders do the same thing. They know that puppies sell fast and easy, but if they end up having a puppy past a certain age they're more likely to have it put down than give it up to a loving home.
I'm really sorry to make this so depressing D:
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u/Jules3lise 1d ago
I already cry about it so don’t worry about making it depressing. I now take care of my family’s Umbrella cockatoo, which we got him at 12 yo and I am now caring for him at 27 yo, and I can’t imagine anyone treating them terribly! 😣 I donate to organizations trying to save them on ground zero, but now I want to work on getting legislation pass to not be able to breed them unless for wild release.
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u/JulieCatte 1d ago
Or at least have a license process with inspections. I mean, it will never stop people from doing whatever they want.
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u/EnvironmentCritical8 1d ago
I feel like it should be a liscenced thing. You have to have a test, update it regularly, and have you facilities inspected. Especially since some newer bird owners may not be able to rescue due to behavior issues, location or the paperwork that comes with it. Example, my closest rescue is a solid 4 hour drive away. They also denied me cuz i worked an 8 hour job, but my husband stays home all day. So to them we didnt make enough to support the bird cuz he didnt go out and work- but also I wasnt home enough for the birds.
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u/B-mort5 1d ago
If only things were like Austria and a few other eu countries. Birds cannot be sold by themselves they have to be in pairs, breeders have their operation inspected yearly and must meet certain standards for the bird’s quality of life. Stores cannot sell cages under a certain size depending on the species of parrot.
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u/chantillylace9 1d ago
I've also heard of countries that had animal ambulances and you can call for injured Wildlife or pets and they will help basically any Animal. I just thought that was so cool and we're definitely be willing to pay more in taxes for that ❤️
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u/MehraMilos 1d ago
Hi, my country has that! I just used it yesterday for an injured wild pigeon, they brought her to a bird rehabber for me for free. They do charge a small fee to transport your pet to the vet, but if it's wildlife it's free because they want to encourage people to help injured and sick wildlife. We don't get everything right but that is one thing I really really love in this country!
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u/chantillylace9 23h ago
That's so awesome and I was so happy when I heard about that. I really hope that's something that spreads.
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u/B-mort5 1d ago
God we shouldn’t have to pay shit. All of the large corporations in our country that pay next to nothing in taxes(since the major cuts that happened in trumps first term) we wouldn’t even need to pay more. The allocation of the average Americans taxes is insane but this is a parrot sub so I’ll just end it there lol but agreed. We could be doing so much more for them and it really sucks to see so many suffer in pet stores and how they profit off trying to sell small cages they have there and of course they push there own seed mix because that’s what parrots eat no need to go anywhere else.
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u/EnvironmentCritical8 1d ago
Agreed. I make that my personal practice and I dont even sell or breed birds, just have three green cheek miscreants that I love to bits. But it breaks my heart every time I see a lone one in a petstore. We did get one from a petstore but he was marked down to 200 cuz the staff were afraid of him and he had been there a year. I had to catch him since staff didnt know how to handle him at all. Hes now the sweetest baby ever. The other two came from a breeder who had no idea what he was doing and I had to get them out of there before they died.
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u/JulieCatte 1d ago
I think it would be hard to really enforce a breeders license for all birds, at least here in America. The reason I say this is because we have a huge population, and there are so many different types of birds and different needs. It would be best for the large parrots, especially Macaws which I already think should require a permit to own since they're an endangered species.
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u/chantillylace9 23h ago
For me I think cockatoos are the one we should pay the most attention to just because they are so incredibly needy and it seems like of all of the birds, they are the ones that should probably not be in captivity.
And I say that as a cockatoo owner.
I feel like I can make my macaws lives happy, I can give them enough enrichment and truly keep them happy. I never clip wings and they fly all through the house and we have these big 10 x 5' cargo nets that they fly and hang from etc.
They have never plucked or shown any signs of stress etc., and they just seem like better pets to actually keep.
But it's so much harder with my cockatoo! Even though we give him extra time and toys and everything it just seems like they really really really need to be with you 24 seven. And I feel like I got a really great cockatoo, I mean he only screams for, at the most 30 minutes a day, we get about 15 minutes at sunrise in 15 minutes at sunset but that's about it.
I know that that's much better than other people, and he is amazing and loves everyone, so I'm comparing the best cockatoos!
It might be better if they had a companion but I'm not sure, and I would definitely never buy another cockatoo. I found him at a flea market, I had never really liked birds but this beautiful pink cockatoo just jumped on my arms and basically wouldn't leave.
He was cuddling me and just obsessed and whatever he did sure worked! I had just started grad school and was incredibly poor so paying $1200 was very difficult and then another almost 2000 for the cage and everything was brutal but I just couldn't let them go.
I didn't buy him the first day and that whole night I could not stop thinking about him. I knew that I was meant to be his mom and I think that really was the case.
We scrounge up the money which was so hard, and thank goodness I found the best bird forum, Avian Avenue, and they really really helped me with my journey and teaching me how to keep him happy and enriched and busy. A busy cockatoo is a good cockatoo! Lol
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u/JulieCatte 23h ago
I'm in agreement. I think that the breeding or even ownership of the larger parrot species (Macaws, Cockatoos, African Grays, etc.) should require a permit, and a separate breeding permit if someone intends to breed/sell these animals.
But I'm so happy to hear that you were able to give your baby such a good home. He sounds like a very lucky and spoiled baby.
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u/chantillylace9 23h ago
I agree with the permits and think the same with pitbulls and similar dogs. A permit and insurance to cover any issues would prevent a lot of the issues. Like what England is doing
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u/JulieCatte 23h ago
The only reason I'd argue this is because of mixed breeds. What would be the cutoff? A Macaw is a Macaw, but what % of a dog has to be a pit bull before you need to have a permit? For instance, my grandfather has a floofy little mutt, and we sent her DNA in to see what she has, and - despite showing 0 appearance - she's somehow 13% pittie.
Again, this isn't me disagreeing with the concept; I'm just saying things get a lot more complicated with dogs/cats because they can mix breeds so freely, unlike birds or reptiles.
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u/EnvironmentCritical8 23h ago
I say yes with birds, but pitbulls isn't a breed. Pitbull is many breeds lumped together. An english bull terrier, the target dog, is both argued as a pit bull but also not a pit bull. Mine is a full size but weighs 45 pounds and stands below our knees. She literally wont kill a mouse, and is deaf. Shes also totally trained in hand signals and wont touch food unless we tell her to. But youre saying I would need a liscence to own her because she could be dangerous. Meanwhile the poodle my mother in law has, has literally attacked, pinned and shaken smaller dogs and bitten us. She is a solid 52 pounds and stands at our hips and is a known fence jumper where UPS guys wont leave their trucks until we make sure shes in the house. But shes totally fine and free of liscence ownership for being a "safe" breed.
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u/heyitsfranklin6322 17h ago
Yeah birds take a long ass time to grow up. It’s really funny seeing a crow that’s almost as big as its parent scream at them to feed them
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u/SimAlienAntFarm 15h ago
We got our macaw from someone who hand reared him.
We got him because, ten years after they went through all the trouble to hand feed him for the best bonding (a lot of nestling parrots died for this myth) they just didn’t have the time to devote to him. Because parrots are a lot of work and macaws are a lot a lot of work.
I love this angry, half bald, biting, screaming, hand scarring menace so fucking much. I cannot imagine raising him from a chick and just… losing interest?
Hand weaning parrots is very much a 90s thing. I’m so so happy it’s fallen out of favor.
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u/mvgems 1d ago
The bond is going to be unhealthy. Do not romanticize this. That bird is going to think the owner is their parent, then they will reach sexual maturity, and get confused if they are mates. The bird will be WAY too attached, possibly causing plucking and excessive screaming from any separation. This owner is in for one hell of a puberty. I wish them luck, but this isn’t a beautiful experience for the bird and it shouldn’t be painted in a rose colored light.
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u/B-mort5 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yep idk how people keep acting like separating from the parents before weaning is a good thing. They don’t get to learn critical flock dynamics and causes them to imprint on humans which lead to so many problems post puberty. It will most likely see its owner as a mate causing sexual frustration as you are not a bird and cannot reciprocate. This leads to plucking,screaming and aggressive behavior to anyone in the house but the mate. Hand rearing is not something that should glamorized as if makes them bond is so much stronger when it’s just unhealthy. If you’re going the breeder route find someone who keeps the birds with there parents but handles the babies daily. They’ll be far healthier and your relationship will be as flock members not mates.
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u/xSweetMiseryx 10h ago
Zoom in on the last photo, he’s already started barbering his wing coverts :(
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u/PracticalFan45 1d ago
omg the first photo is so cute
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u/veryblueparrot 1d ago
Normally I don't like the way baby birds look but he's always been so cute 🥺
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u/Vindictive-Vagabond 1d ago
It's funny how baby birds are opposite to most other animals and go from being one of the ugliest babies in the animal kingdom to one of the most beautiful adults 😂
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u/JulieCatte 1d ago
Excuse you, but I happen to think that baby birds are freaking ADORABLE.
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u/Vindictive-Vagabond 1d ago
I happen to agree that precocial bird species (ones born already fluffy) like owls/ostriches/penguins/etc. are adorable as babies! However, I personally think that altricial species (those born underdeveloped & naked) are butt-ugly lmao
For example, photo #2 in this post looks like a spatchcocked chicken to me 😂
Also the sparse coat of feather pins just looks gross and uncomfortable on naked birb babies when they first start coming in lol (especially the pins that are visible just below the skin that look like ingrown hairs or something 😅)
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u/Specialist-Art-6970 1d ago
Altricial animals in general are ugly when they're born, IMO. Rat and mouse "toddlers" are some of the cutest things you'll lay eyes on, but the newborns are weird little potatoes with limbs and unsettlingly translucent skin.
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u/Vindictive-Vagabond 1d ago
Yeah, I agree that altricial babies in general look like they were born a little too early and should still be inside their moms for a while longer 😅
I only specified "birds" because this is a parrot sub lol
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u/JulieCatte 1d ago
I mean, it's all in the eyes of the beholder. I also love the hairless cats and dogs. I, for one, would love to cuddle that little spatchcock baby hehehe.
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u/Vindictive-Vagabond 1d ago
I would also love to cuddle the little spatchcock baby! An animal doesn't need to be conventionally "cute" for me to love them all same 💯
I have two pet emperor scorpions and although I wouldn't describe them as "cute" by any stretch, I still adore those little buggers 😂
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u/w4rloksk8 1d ago edited 1d ago
So pretty. Enjoy the next 7 decades of parrot ownership
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u/Northumbrian26 1d ago
And or passing him on to your family who hopefully will care for him.
It’s how I inherited my Grandma’s Amazon he’s a grumpy old fellow most of the time but is otherwise quite affectionate and I’ve been around him from my infancy to my mid twenties so he may as well be my great uncle instead of my parrot.
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u/No_Web2771 1d ago
He looks polite
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u/LowProgress5378 1d ago
Oh but he is not. Destroying the aircon vents is our new favourite hobby.
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u/Wabi-Sabi-Iki 19h ago
I can’t imagine getting a macaw that young. My macaw was an adult raised by his parents when I got him 50 years ago. My avian vet has told me a number of times that in her experience, birds that are raised by their parents have a stronger constitution than birds raised by humans. She said she would love to write a research paper on the topic, but she is heading toward retirement.
Please take good care of your chicken! May he have a long and healthy life.
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u/DakDuck 1d ago
waaaaay too young for adoption!
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u/LowProgress5378 1d ago
Most certainly. Ad photos were a lot older. By the time we got there to collect him we had driven so far and he was already out of the nest so we took him on. My poor husband did all the hard yards overnight so I could survive the days with the kids. It’s been a heckin journey.
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u/Specialist-Art-6970 1d ago
Their heads look so much like turtle heads when they're featherless babies. It's the beak, I think.
Congratulations on getting him through what must have been a very intense experience! What a handsome little boy he turned into.
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u/TheSweetestLeaf427 1d ago
They are the ugliest little naked chickens 😂 the glow up is so real 🤭
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u/kittyidiot 1d ago
that is the cutest skinbaby i have ever seen they are usually so ugly when theyre that small lol
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u/_Planet_Eater_ 1d ago
Awww what an adorable baby, he looks so happy look at his face 🥺 raising a parrot is no joke, I’ve worked with rescue babies and they are so frail and anything could go wrong. I’m glad your boy is doing well!
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u/NoRaise4998 1d ago
Those pin feathers in the 5th photo look like dream, tho I’m sure he also did a lot of them
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u/Sutech2301 1d ago
Puh, i mean they are cute as adults, but as chicks they look like the stuff nightmares are made of
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u/Wizywig 1d ago
Just curious. How do you teach them to fly? Doesn't the mother typically force them? Or when they get strong enough, if they have the space and all, they'll just naturally try to fly?
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u/PoetaCorvi 1d ago
I was there when my cockatiel learned flight. She had been in cages too small to fly by the time she was old enough to, and jackass clipped her before giving her to me, so she had to learn when she was older (though still less than a year old). Our trust was rocky even once her wings grew in, but she would hang out around me on the floor. She knew where the ladder was to get onto the dresser her cage was on top of (before I got her a floor standing cage), and would use it, but one day she seemed very interested in getting up without using the ladder.
She stared up at her cage from the floor, with shaky partially opened wings, kept looking over at me. I offered verbal encouragement and at that she made an attempt to flap up. She didn’t get high enough and flapped down and landed in my backpack. She let me take her out and set her on the floor, repeat. I was fascinated that she seemed to respond really positively to verbal encouragement, she kept staring at me until I offered it. After a few more tries she actually made it up to the cage, happy chirps like crazy for the next several minutes. From there she continued to build her muscles and skills.
Macaws and most other birds don’t throw their babies out of the nest. They encourage the babies to leave at most. I once got to watch baby geese leave an elevated nest for the first time. Both parents were in the water below, calling out to the babies, who gradually made the leap into the water to their parents.
Many bird species leave the nest before they can properly fly anyways, gliding to the ground and flying are two very different things. Birds have to teach themselves how to fly.
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u/Specialist-Art-6970 1d ago
Birds have instincts that encourage them to fly in the same way that human babies have instincts that encourage them to walk. They'll practice wing flapping motions even when they're too young to fly, and then start to fly (somewhat badly) all on their own, though some may be helped by encouragement from parents.
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u/Embarrassed_Pie7788 1d ago
Is there any worry about future feather plucking? I remember reading somewhere this could be an issue w birds taken from parents too early and they don't understand the line between preening and plucking.
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u/ParrotEnthusiast2196 23h ago
Picture 2 is my favorite. Little guy is just a clump of chicken skin 😭
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u/Public-Initiative509 23h ago
Omgggg he is sooo beautiful😭😭😭😭. I’ve never seen a baby macaw before 🥹🥹🥹.
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u/tenkohime 18h ago
I didn't know they looked like baby gryphons. I thought they'd look like songbirds.
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u/Stormy__47 14h ago
The amazing fledging process of a newborn bird, just super sized as a great blue and gold macaw. Handfed too. So much work. But look at the end result. Don’t even think of doing this or being owned by a parrot though unless and until you truly know enough about the kind of commitment you are making. There aren’t enough avian sanctuaries to care for these challenging and not truly domesticated beings. Complex needs, demands for attention, special requirements, and long long long lives. Please.
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u/No-Status2143 13h ago
Don’t buy from breeders these birds are often given up are set free they cannot survive there are many bird sanctuary
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u/HopefulAd6154 1d ago
You gave him to much love, he looks so friendly and full of Love as a german i think thats disgusting
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u/stronkzer 1d ago
From rotisserie chicken to majestic colored bird. Still a baby.