Do I have enough time for a macaw?

[IndyColtsFan]

The wife and I have been giving serious thought to adding a B&G to our family, and have been doing lots of research the past few weeks into making sure we have the right temperament, schedule, and environment for a macaw. We have had our cockatiels for several years and also have a re-homed GCC that we are getting to know. I think from the standpoint of patience, tolerance, and a desire to have a larger bird as a companion we are good to go. We have the means to afford everything the bird needs and the space to give it ample room for out of cage play and flight. The question is will we have the time it needs?

We both work pretty regular schedules, out the door by 6:30am each day and home by 4:30pm. After the chores and such are handled we have 3-4 hours to ourselves each evening. We typically spend an hour with our current birds, an hour or two playing on the computer, and another hour catching up on our television shows before going to bed at around 10pm. Everything I've read about macaws tells me that they demand a lot of "face time" with their family, and I am fearful that if I can only spend an hour or so a night dedicated to providing the bird my undivided attention that it may not be enough. I have no problem with having it out of the cage all evening, but I'm worried that perching and playing on a stand falls short of what they need. If the macaw would be content to sit on my shoulder all evening it wouldn't be a problem, but I know they are far more active than that, and that isn't a reasonable expectation!

So based on the above schedule, what do the experts here think? Is that enough time? Should we just realize that a larger bird may be a time investment we can't afford? Or is this a good amount of time for it? As much as I'd love one of us to be a stay at home parent, that will never be the case. At least not for another 20 years and retirement to come around!

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

[Wolf]

To be honest, I do not think that you have enough time for a macaw. But allow me to say that I do not have any macaws, not even of the ones that are considered to be mini macaws. I am thinking that a macaw would be needing 4 or more hours on a daily basis, but as I said, I don't have any of them.

It may sound to you as if I am being facetious with my next statement, but I assure you that I am not. I am being honest and truthful. The best way to find out short of getting a macaw, if you have the time to devote to a macaw that it requires is the GCC that you have. It is a needy bird and if you can keep it relatively happy with the time that you have available then if you have that much time for the macaw as well then I would say that you have enough time. The only experts here on these birds are quite honestly the birds themselves.

[Pajarita]

Well, time is a consideration but there are other things that need to be taken into account.

For one thing, GCCs and macaws don't go together. Both bond VERY deeply to their humans and both are extremely needy in terms of one-on-one time so unless you are lucky enough to have one bond to you and the other to your wife, one of them is going to be getting the short end of the stick and will end up unhappy (and no, you can't 'direct' a parrot to bond with one person and ignore the other, they choose whom they choose).

Another problem is the fact that you both work full time. Parrots are photoperiodic so they need to be kept at a solar schedule and, if you don't, they end up overly hormonal (sexually frustrated and in chronic pain). Now, an overly hormonal GCC can drive you crazy with its screeching but its bites are not going to be too bad (not that they are any picnic, mind you!) - a macaw is another story because their screams and bites are PRETTY bad. Macaws are tropical birds and that means that 12 hours of light put them into breeding condition so, with your schedule, you will end up with a sexually frustrated very big bird in a few years. There is a thread about two sexually frustrated macaws due to an incorrect light schedule here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=15289

Personally, I would suggest you wait 2 or 3 years and see how the GCC turns out before I would consider adding another bird.

[Wolf]

Pajarita's last statement is exactly was I was trying to convey concerning the GCC that ou have just gotten, wait and see how things go with it as it will tell you better than anything that I could say.