What kind of dog are you?

[OperaTenor]

His name is Beemer(how pathetic, named after my favorite motorcycles). He'll be 19 in May, and I got him when he was 8 months old. I say "him". although we don't know what sex he is. He acts like a boy macaw, and I've batted 1,000 on my macaw gender prognosticating(7 for 7).

I had a huge round cage for him up until ~6 months ago when I built this open habitat for him. He loves it! The branches are all manzanita, and the chew toy is eucalyptus, both of which are relatively hard woods.

Selma, not only were those branches longer, but there used to be more of them. since I built this perch, I've had to rebuild/augment it ~5 times. Macaws, as well as other parrots, chew wood to keep their beaks worn down. They're made of keratin, and grow just like a fingernail or a hoof. We have to use hard woods, otherwise it's no challenge for him whatsoever. Large macaws have a bite pressure of up to 3 tons per square inch, except for hyacinths, who can get up to 5 tons per square inch. Fortunately, they do not bite indiscriminately, and will bite at full strength only when extremely provoked. the rest of the time it's just to play or discourage.

Training is really much the same as any other animal, just takes more perseverance and consistency. Repetition and reward. I find it pretty cool to just let him be himself.

Oh yeah, healthy macaws usually live to be ~100. I hope Altoid likes him....

<small>[ 02-14-2005, 03:52 PM: Message edited by: OperaTenor ]</small>

[OperaTenor]

Originally posted by Selma in Sandy Eggo:

Was it gremlins?

Speaking of gremlins, has anyone heard anything about the problems with the BBB? They may have mentioned e-mail, but no word on the BBB. Still no replies to my e-mails. Guess I''l have to call...

[Serenity]

He looks lonely; it's Valentine's, go get him a girlfriend.

Has he had any altercations?

[piqaboo]

Cant get him a girlfriend. Macaws are too biblical. He'd stop being a good pet and start being a p-i-t-a.

[OperaTenor]

I don't know how you get "lonely" out of the expression on his face, but I guess I'll take your word for it.

Nope, no altercations. Animals so far have had the good sense not to bother him. People, on the other hand....

[mmichaelson]

for some reason, macaws REALLLLY like to carry on conversations with me. The girl who works in the lab down the hall has one named Marcell (mainly yellow) and she talks to me like I'm her best friend. Does Beemer talk a lot?

[Serenity]

You should toss some rubber fingers at the bottom of his cage, just under the Beware of Pet sign.

<small>[ 02-14-2005, 04:09 PM: Message edited by: Serenity ]</small>

[OperaTenor]

He has his moments, usually when he knows someone's around but not in the room - it's his way of asking for attention. Macaws aren't particularly good talkers - that's the domain of African Greys.

The one you mention is a Blue and Gold. Beemer's a hybrid - half B&G and half Green Wing.

At one time I had aspirations of becoming a macaw breeder. My ex, her mother, and I had nine large macaws, as well as a few smaller birds, in a 900sf two bedroom home for a couple of years.



<small>[ 02-14-2005, 04:10 PM: Message edited by: OperaTenor ]</small>

[mmichaelson]

HMM> Maybe hers isn't a macaw. (all birds look alike to me) It's mainly yellow. She really likes to talk to me. You can hear her all the way across the building when I get her going.

[OperaTenor]

If it's huge, has a bright yellow breast and undersides of wings and tail, and predominantly blue on the top, white face with lines of little black feathers on it, it's a B&G. Oh yes, and huge black beak. They're the most gregarious of macaw species.

If it's any other bright yellow bird, it'll be a very small one. To get an idea of macaw size, Beemer's ~3.5 ft stem to stern, ~2 ft of it being tail. Wingspan with fully grown out flight feathers(we keep them clipped): ~3 ft.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

<img src="http://www.operatenor.100megs24.com/randomo1.jpg" alt=" - " />
That should be a picture of Beemer at the Spreckles organ pavilion with Random, last summer. If I managed to paste the URL correctly.

<small>[ 02-14-2005, 07:02 PM: Message edited by: Selma in Sandy Eggo ]</small>

[OperaTenor]

Never mind....

<small>[ 02-14-2005, 07:03 PM: Message edited by: OperaTenor ]</small>

[haggis]

How do they taste fried????

[hal 9000]

Wow! Nice spacious thread. I like it. Not as confined as your standard pre-fab thread. How much does it cost for the extra square-pixels?

:p

[OperaTenor]

Originally posted by Haggis:
How do they taste fried????

More or less like chicken, but not nearly enough meat - barely an appetizer.

[BigJon]

And how's my favorite McCaw today? Wearing the tartan proudly, I hope!

BigJon

[hal 9000]

Yes, this is a nice sized room, but checkout my New Pad!

[Trumpetmaster]

Originally posted by Serenity:
You should toss some rubber fingers at the bottom of his cage, just under the Beware of Pet sign.

ROFLMAO

[Trumpetmaster]

Originally posted by hal9000:
Yes, this is a nice sized room, but checkout my New Pad!

I checked it out and got lost in the Vortex

[mmichaelson]

Got directions for that place??