Hi, we have a B&G who definitely picked us.  We were planning on getting an African Gray but baby Dude stepped right up onto DH arm and snuggled right into him. Dude was only 18 weeks old but he knew that he wanted to go home with us.

 

The Bad  --  (1) B&G's are very noisy.  At dusk, Dude yells his lungs out, and there doesn't seem to be a way to stop him -- he is calling out to his flock.  (2) the mess  -- if Dude isn't interested in eating it -- it gets flung out of his bowl which means onto the floor, onto the walls, etc.  We perch and cage trained so we don't have a problem with him pooping everywhere.  If he is on our arm he lets us know he has to go (he does a kind of poopy dance) and we put him up on his perch.

 

The Good -- Dude is unbelievably snuggly -- he loves to hang out with us on the bed or couch.  He will crawl under blankies to get to my hubby.  He is also perfectly happy to chill on his perch when we are all in the same room. 

 

Unexpected Problem we fixed -- we have homes in NY and FLA -- we were used to flying between them but Dude is too big to go in a carryon and I refuse to let him fly in cargo  -- so now we drive back and forth so that we can take Dude with us.  He travels in a dog carrier in the back seat and we stop every 2 hours so that he can step up and do his business outside.  He eats pellets and juicy fruits like grapes or cantalope -- its not an ideal situation but it works for us.

 

 

Maya, 16 week B&G, isn't that noisey at all. He has his moments but is mostly on the quiet side. LOves to be on the floor hanging out with the family and the dogs, ( I believe he thinks he's a dog). His favorite spot is the front window just watching everything outside and he'll sit there literally for hours, I put paper towel on the floor for his accidents. When it's bedtime he puts himself in his cage and goes to sleep. We are all totally amazed by this as we didn't teach him this.Tells me when he's hungrey by following me into the kitchen and sitting on my foot! He is also trying to say hello! I haven't run into any problems yet. He doesn't throw food and is quite the entertainer. We are truly enjoying him and love him so much!

 

As you can see I share my life with a Beautiful and very Loving 'Hyacinth Macaw and her name is"HulieAzul"she just turned 5 years old she has been my Blue Baby since she was 10 weeks old.I have found that the Hyacinth Macaw is unlike any other parrot I have had in our family and I have raised feathered family menbers for 25 years! but raising HulieAzul has been like starting all over with very little experence,not that she would outshine my other feathered family menbers but her kind and gental manner from the very begaining she hopps all over and loves to play on her back with her wings in the air and she likes walking everywhere she goes with her 2 foot tail draging behind her. I can hold hernext to my chest and she wraps her very large wings around me like a blue angel! she loves to eat Macadannian nuts all the time which is a big part of her main diet.I have to order them 25 pounds at a time and I get them sent over from Hawaii! that is also HulieAzul's first home , and where I first flew over to pick her up (Kona Hawaii) that is where she got the first part of her name "Hulie"it means "Spin" in Hawaian,and boy can she Spin! (Ha,Ha) Hope you enjoyed hearing alittle bit about my Blue Angel!   Kristi & HulieAzul 

 

 

 

 

I have been owned by a B/G for approx 2-3 yrs now. Cookie was an owner surrender at a pet store (now I work at that same store) and we kind of picked one another.  She was a almost 2 when she came to the store.  We (hubby and I) were going to the store every night to visit his cockatoo who was still being hand fed baby food (I did not work close enough to home to feed her lunch so we we had to keep her at the store until she was no longer taking baby food lunch) when Cookie came in ... her owner gave her up because his girlfriend was moving into his apt and she was afraid of Cookie.  So it was her or the bird ... the guy made the poor choice of the chick!  But his loss was my gain!  By the time I put Cookie on layaway, she could be held by anyone but if she heard my voice as I came thru the door, She was looking for me over their shoulder!!  I didn't believe it until I checked it out and saw that she actially looked for me and fussed until I got her.

 

Bad .... the mess ... but then again, Cookie is no more messier than my 4 cockatiels .... I think the worse thing about "her" is the price of her toys!!!  And they go thru wood toys quickly!  Sometimes Cookie can be loud but so can any of my other birds.  But when people learn how many birds I have, they find it hard to believe that my home is quieter than most people's home that has two toddlers in it!!  The only "bad" noise levels from Cookie is 1) If you have food and refuse to share it with her!  2) If she feels that her buddy, Zeus, our Umbrella Too is being harmed, she sends out a warning scream until we reassure her that Zeus is fine.  3) When she hears mom and dad up and cannot figure out why she is not out on her perch yet!!

 

Good:

Wow ... where to start with this ... free entertainment ... a snuggling partner that you don't have to worry about losing half your closet too when they move in!! ... someone to laugh with or at! ... you now have a royal taste tester!  LOL ...

 

I would not give Cookie up for the world. In fact I love the B/G's so much, we are adding another B/G to our flock!  I would never tell anyone not to buy a B/G.  If you have researched enough to know the basic feeding and activity of a parrot, then you are good to go.  B/G's are the way to go!!

 

Smiles!

 

Kristi

 

 

I'm loving your posts, Kristi!  Welcome aboard!

Brittney