differences between macaws?

Hey Betsy,

I emailed you my answer, but for the sake of argument here, I just want to say to all of those who insist that macaws aren't to be had unless you pretty much live in a vacuum...without children:

Common sense, and training people. If you've got a good lot of common sense, and are committed to training your bird, it will make a world of difference in your birds behavior. If you keep up your end of the bargain: training your bird, and teaching your children the difference between right and wrong you'll have a much better go at being able to doing both.

I have three small children and right now, two macaws. I have a Military Macaw - Rio and a Greenwing Macaw - Katie. They do great with my kids and my kids know better than to attempt to handle the birds in my absence or if I'm in another room of the house.

Will they ever get bitten? Yep. Will they ever mess up and do something they're not supposed to? Yep. Will they learn from that mistake? Absolutely. Will it be the end of my bird relationships when it happens? NO.

Do my birds know not to bite? Rio does. Katie's a baby and working on it.

Do my birds get to ever interact with my kids when I'm not in the room? No. Absolutely not.

Would I ever rethink my decision to both parent and parront? HELL NO. I love my life, and I love all my kids and fids.

It can be done, and I'll advocate until the end of my days that it can be done. If you're a good parent that teaches your child the meaning of the word no, then you can love your parrots just as well.

I have had my Blue and gold Macaw since he was 4and 1/2 months old. He is now 2 and 1/2 years old. He is a very loving and sweet bird but I don't think Macaws would make very good birds for children. They can get very possessive and territorial. And his large beak can be very dangerous. If I had small children living in my home I would think twice about a bird of this size although they are one of the friendliest large birds. Try a cockatiel for a first bird. They are better for youngsters. P.S As for good with other animals, not a good idea unless very very will trained. And still that's not a given.

Their is no such thing as a Great Greenwing Macaw. Their is only just Greenwing Macaws. He is trying to pull the wool over you. It is best to never buy from a Pet Shop or Store. You are better off in buying one from a breeder that breeds Greenwing Macaws. It sure would be a lot cheaper and at least you would know where the bird came from.

The Mini Macaw referred to above is called a Hahn's Macaw, they're very pretty...Green w/a red stripe on their head and are about 12 inches tall.

Overall the Blue and Gold is usually the best with children, very loving and affectionate. Also they're not too large.

The Hyacinth Macaw is the largest of the Macaws (around 42 in.) and aren't so great with the kiddo's.

I have found that the Blue and Gold (hand-raised) have the best personalities - they are very sweet. I'd still be careful with any large bird around children though. Most birds tend to gravitate to just one person and see all others as competition. A blue and gold has enough square pounds of pressure in it's mandible to bite through a chain-link fence. Do you have experience with birds? They really require a lot of attention and can be very noisy.

oooh, there are these mini macaws that are pretty cool, they are green, and i forgot what they are called though... but those green ones arent the only mini ones. but by mini, i mean mini for a macaw, which is like 10 inches for a body or somthing.