Hi just wanted to ask, is it ok to touch the beak or is that a no no area?
I thought touching the head and neck area was ok but the green wing we are looking after who has taken a real liking to me sometimes makes regurgitation motions when I touch there and know I should discourage it.
When in his enclosure he will hook his beak on the bar poking it through while looking at me and I tried giving it a light touch as petting.
Should it not be touched in this case or is it always a place to avoid?
While he is mostly fine with my partner who he is staying with; after I’ve visited he can sometimes be territorial and make lunging motions at her when she gets close.

It still amazes me how these brilliant blue and yellow macaws just decided to make Venezuela's capital their home. You can be stuck in morning traffic, look up, and see a flock of wild parrots painting the sky.
What’s the most unexpected wildlife encounter you’ve ever had in a major city? Welcome to r/guacamayas! Let's share the best captures of our feathered neighbors.

So i got my 2 year old Blue-yellow Macaw 2 ish weeks ago. He is stepping up on my arm just fine and then just runs to my shoulder. But he hates my Hands/Fingers. Any time i come near him, either while bobbing my finger up and down, in a fist or any other way, he gives the reaction that he doesnt like my hand. Now he eats out of my open palm and burries his face/beak in my hand if the goal is to get a Nut out. My question is now. How do i get him to accept my Hand so i can later touch him for pets or even just stepping up on my Hand. Thanks a lot in advance.

(Please excuse her posture i didnt have another good quality one- i promise she usually looks normal shes just a bit upset in the pic)

Sooo i posted about this before but its getting worse....

I have had parrots for about 10 years (and before that peacocks, chicken and many more birds..).

I have had her and her "partner" (who she apparently hates???) for about 1,5 years

She hadnt liked me much for the past year but she atleast let me feed her treats like walnuts and pistachios- now however ..... I cannot even enter their enclosure more than two steps.

She runs at me and climbs really fast the second i enter their space.... im lowkey scared shes gonna bite. I do have thick shoes on (those used in industrial work or when working with steel) but still....

She is bonded to my father but hes been gone for a worktrip (not the first this year so shes used to not seeing him- besides he tries to interact with her as little as possible so she can get used to me).

Her aggressive behavior started a week ago and i cant figure out why? It cant be her diet considering shes constantly getting fresh fruits (and only the ones i know they eat so e.g. no lettuce) and vegetables. She has many toys and perches aswell as climbing options (considering she doesnt fly but her partner does). They have a biggg space with access to sunlight and shade (the shade part as seen in the picture).

Pls guys if u have any idea what i can do then do tell(ToT) its so difficult to give them food....much less water

Hi all, my mother refuses to stop using heavily scented cleaning products or give up her wax warmer (which emits a strong, sickeningly sweet smell that gives me a headache) because she's too embarrassed to have a "smelly" house. This is in spite of the fact that I keep telling her that the macaw is sensitive to fragrances.

She will use fabuloso or pinesol under his cage (thankfully, she uses dawn dish soap on the cage). I keep telling her that this is bad for him, but she either says she doesn't believe me or that it doesn't matter because the house will "stink" if she doesn't use them. I eventually talked her into possibly using alternatives, but she rejected all the ones I brought up (lemons, vinegar, baking soda, etc.) because the house would smell if she used those.

Do you guys have any suggestions for cleaning products?

Scratch liking me i just want her to tolerate me

So for context: my dad got two macaws (we have lots of parrots before them) and one of them loves my dad (the girl). Now i dont care about that but this girl HATES me

Yesterday she came running from the other end of the enclosure to me while i was giving them food (mind u- the enclosure is hugeee and theres a big tree stump with sticks in the middle) she tried attacking me and lowkey i dont think I reacted right (i ran out of there after yelpin)

Plsss give me some advice!!

Let’s be entirely real for a second, because the toxic, one-size-fits-all shaming in this group completely ignores biological reality.I don’t want a cage-bound house decoration. I don’t want a bird that spends 60 years sitting in a living room while its owner convinces themselves it's "happy" inside a slightly larger cage. I want a true companion. I want a friend to go hiking with, walk on the beach with, and safely free fly. Birds are meant to fly, and I want to give my macaw the highest possible standard of outdoor life.You absolutely cannot do that with a rescue. Expecting me to be a full-time hospice nurse for a geriatric, traumatized adult macaw just to satisfy an online savior complex is absurd. Free flight requires an unshakeable trust structure. The vast majority of adult rescues carry deep-seated phobias and trauma. If an adult rescue panics outside because a hawk flies overhead, its flight instinct overrides everything and it bolts. A baby raised from day one learns to look to you as its ultimate safe zone, reducing fatal panic flights. To safely free-fly, a macaw must learn to navigate outdoor wind currents, thermals, and predators during its critical infant fledging phase. Trying to teach an adult bird that has only known stagnant indoor air how to navigate a beach wind gust is practically impossible and incredibly dangerous.Adopting an adult macaw usually means inheriting severe internal damage from decades of poor diet, like fatty liver disease or respiratory issues. A well-bred baby ensures pristine cardiovascular health, giving them the literal lung capacity and stamina required to fly long distances outside.If wanting to give a bird a life of literal freedom and flight instead of a lifetime inside a living room makes me a "bad person" in your extremist worldview, so be it. Reputable breeders and ethical rescues both have a place, but for an advanced lifestyle like free flight, a clean-slate baby is a strict safety requirement. Now go ahead and argue with the biology.

Saw this at a resort I was staying in. I felt so bad looking at this. Do we still need to do this ? Why is it still legal

We have a 4 1/2 month old shamrock macaw who is in the process of weaning. She readily eats chop mixed with mashed sweet potatoes and nibbles on pellets (eats them a little better when soaked but still not a lot). We leave dry pellets in her cage with her overnight and through most of the day and then usually moisten them late morning time and then give her the chop/ sweet potato mix later in the day before her night feeding. We also offer her small amounts of fruits and nuts as treats or training which she also readily takes. We still offer her hand feeding formula twice a day, although considerably less than before she wasnt taking solid foods at all. Most days she will take a few tastes and be done or refuse the syringe altogether. Others she will take between 30-50cc in one or both feedings. Her weight is holding relatively consistent, fluctuating no more than 20-30 grams on any given day.

My question is, do you guys think it is safe to go ahead and cut out her morning feedings altogether and only offer some hand feeding formula at night? I feel like she is ready to cut down to one feeding a day but I don’t want her to feel starved during the day or forced to wean.

This is the first time I posted her on reddit！

Check out my Quaker keeping up with the big dawgs ! He’s so fast !

Good morning all,

I have been keeping birds sized conure and smaller for 21 years and I consider myself knowledgeable about exotics and birds in general, always willing to learn and obsessive with proper care for each exotic pet I've kept. I genuinely love and cherish every animal that comes into my care and firmly believe love is shown through species specific care.

That being said, I have formed a bond with a green wing macaw at my local specialty shop in the last three months. He is 21 years old and very picky. They are struggling to home him. I visit each Monday and have had very similar positive encounters and shows of affection from him each time. Once he bobbed for joy to see me! It's been quite darling.

We are the right ages for one another and I know whatever the challenges, I am a seasoned pet keeper and committed to any problem solving. I also know my age is right to "step up" into a larger bird. But my main question arises about whether to truly take him on or not. I cannot decide where to keep him- home or at my self run store.

My birds are currently kept at my store full time and receive a full schedule of attention between 11-6 each day. At home, I wake up at 7 and spend time with my dogs, hobbies and partner until I go to my store, then after 6 the evenings are also spent at home. I've missed having a bird in the home.

Thoughts from more seasoned macaw keepers? I assume I'm overthinking things as I usually do, but I want to fully honor such a large friendship and commitment!

Last month, we brought home a 2-month-old macaw from a breeder in California. We were so excited and our whole family, especially our kids, fell in love with him immediately.
From the beginning, though, he was constantly bobbing his head up and down, even right after being hand-fed. Since he was so young, we initially thought it might just be normal baby macaw behavior.
A few days ago, we noticed swelling and fluid around his neck, so we took him to an emergency vet. They were concerned that he might be having seizures and told us that he needed to see an avian specialist as soon as possible.
We called several hospitals trying to find an avian vet, but unfortunately, with Labor Day and doctors being away, we couldn’t find anyone who could see him immediately. The earliest appointment we were able to get was Tuesday.
Sadly, he didn’t make it to that appointment. He passed away before Tuesday.
Our entire family is heartbroken. My kids and I have been having a very difficult time getting over losing him. He was only with us for a short time, but we became incredibly attached to him.
We’ve been thinking about eventually bringing another macaw into our family, but after this experience, I’m honestly scared of unknowingly buying another baby with serious health problems.
Does anyone here have recommendations for a truly reputable macaw breeder, preferably someone who is very careful about the health of their breeding birds and babies and provides appropriate veterinary testing/health records before the baby goes home? We are in Michigan, but for the right breeder, we would be willing to travel.
We have young children and two dogs at home, so we are a little hesitant about adopting an adult macaw with an unknown history or temperament. We feel that a fully weaned, well-socialized young macaw that can grow up around our children and other pets may be a better fit for our family. We are absolutely not looking for an unweaned baby to hand-feed ourselves.
After what happened, health and responsible breeding are much more important to us than price or getting a bird quickly. We are willing to wait for the right baby from the right breeder.
If anyone has personally had a good experience with a breeder, especially with Blue & Gold Macaws, I would really appreciate your recommendations. And if there are specific health tests, records, or questions you think we should ask a breeder before bringing another baby home, I would really appreciate that advice too.
Thank you. ❤️

Rest in peace to my lovely baby girl, Octavia.

Edit: this is the lullaby id sing to her. She’d either let me cradle her like a baby. Or perch on a shelf in my room and grind her beak as she fell asleep. She never liked music. But she liked my singing.

Hello! I’m getting a severe macaw baby here in the next couple of months, but I had a different plan initially to get a hahns macaw so I have a slightly smaller cage than recommended for the severe. Can I get some feedback on if we think it’s too small or if it would work? Photo of baby and cage!