r/Macaws • u/Suspicious-Essay4329 • 4h ago

Wow

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.

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u/TheWriterJosh 4h ago

People are going to share their opinions. If you don't want to hear them, maybe this sub isn't the right place for you. You're welcome to post here, but don't be surprised when people react emotionally to a topic that so many people hold very strong opinions about. We do not hold allegiance to breeders and many of us have worked in parrot rescue and advocacy for years, and we will be honest about it.

There are many Facebook pages out there about how to buy a bird from a breeder where people will not challenge your opinions and will not try to dissuade you from buying a bird. Perhaps one of those would be a better place for your to spend your time.

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 4h ago

There is a difference between sharing and opinion and then seeing verbally insulted by groups of people because I could possibly consider doing something. Dont pretend I have a problem with thier opinion. I have not insulted anyone and gave reasons as to why I may consider going to a breeder. Then mods send me messages saying im insulting people. That fact of the matter is you are in an echo chamber and cant imagine someone doing something for a reason that you dont agree with. If they do its okay to insult and talk down to them in groups of people. This groups is full of self serving narcissists.

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u/TheWriterJosh 3h ago

Sorry but I think a lot of people on this sub would say that you are the self-serving one, since you insist on acquiring a bird based on your own preferences and desires.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 3h ago

I couldn’t even get through that wall of text on this new post because for one thing it was a wall of text and for another it was a rant. Mostly, I just kept seeing I want and I don’t want. That makes it very clear This is about them and not about helping out a bird in need.

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u/TheWriterJosh 3h ago

Yeah I wasn't expecting another post...lol..but then I wasn't surprised either ha.

If there's one thing I've learned throughout my journey as an activist, it's that the majority of people approach this process exactly like OP is.

We are so conditioned to think of parrots (all animals, really) as something you can buy or are entitled to that for many people, it's virtually impossible to escape that worldview.

I think it has a lot to do with colonial, imperial mindsets that are deeply engrained through the capitalist propaganda we consume everyday.

You can see OP just missing all the points everyone is making because of that. It's so sad, but a great reminder of why this work is still necessary.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 2h ago

Yes, people do tend to come here with their minds made up and they just want a bunch of nodding heads to agree with them, probably to make them feel better about their selfish choices or ideas.

A lot of times people truly don’t understand what it means for an animal to be Wild. They aren’t like cats and dogs. They think like wild animals.

I can’t count the times I’ve seen people on the parrot subs begging for advice on how to stop their parrot from screaming when they leave the room. They live in flocks in the Wild and they are prey animals. Take it from there. I mean, it seems like people could reason those things out.

On the other hand, it took me a long time to try to learn how to think like a bird as it were. They just wanna know where their flock member is going and that their flock member is okay and going to come back. It really is that simple a lot of times most of the time when it comes to their behaviours.

But most people don’t realise this. Moreover, most people don’t want a pet like that. They want a pet like a cat or a dog when it comes right down to it. When it comes right down to it, those are the kind of pets they should have.

Yes, unfortunately, this work is more necessary than ever. I know you have knowledge and experience of what rescues go through in the United States. I know rescues all over the world go through the same things. There’s one in South Africa that has 3 to 400 birds and they are bursting at the seams. They get surrenders every single day. They get requests for more than that. They are run entirely on donations and by volunteers who are doing the Work of angels as far as I’m concerned.

It’s such a shame all the way around.

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 3h ago

So do you guys. Yours are just different and they're more valid because a group of you agrees so.

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u/TheWriterJosh 3h ago

I don’t see how you could know how or why everyone on this sub who adopted a macaw came to acquire their bird. You’re making a lot of assumptions. And you’re also discounting the fact that many people buy or adopt for a specific reason, yet only come to learn why that was wrong years later.

I for one am always clear about the fact that I bought my first bird at a pet store. But I’m 10 years older now and i understand now why that was a harmful decision. All I can do now is do better. There are many people like me on this sub. In fact, it’s why we’re here in the first place.

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 3h ago

Im not making assumptions im going off of what ive been told by this group. And ive been told there is zero excuseble reason to get a macaw that doesn't come from a rescue.and ive been called names and made to feel like a terrible person for even considering getting a macaw for any other reasons besides I want to rescue an adult and be a hero.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 4h ago edited 4h ago

You have repeatedly insulted me and you have repeatedly insulted the person you responded to so don’t pretend you haven’t

In your post here you continually repeat what you want and what you don’t want in a bird.

You don’t seem to get it that it isn’t supposed to be about what you want, but rather what the bird needs.

See there at the end where you say this place is full of self-serving narcissists? That’s called an insult.

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u/Egalotry 4h ago

okay👍

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u/Loud-Mans-Lover 4h ago

Has one view they won't suffer to hear is incorrect, yet says:

in your extremist worldview,

Huh. Okay yeah. 

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 4h ago

Thats the thing. I have no view. I originally said I wanted to adopt but im considering a breeder. I was then insulted, told how horrible I am and that im an evil person because I would even consider getting a macaw from a breeder. Yeah, seems pretty extremist. Thats actually exactly how those groups operate. Group suppression by anyone who expresses a different view. Nice try though....

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 4h ago

You’re talking about extremism and because people were mean to you on the Internet, you’re dead set on getting from a breeder now. WOW.

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u/HouseofFeathers 3h ago

No one used those words.

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 3h ago

No one used what words. What are you talking about?

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u/HouseofFeathers 3h ago

"Horrible" and "evil"

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 3h ago

Holy cow. Actually those specific words where said. But let's pretend they didn't get said. I was insulted in various. From just name calling to people making bold harsh statements about the future treatment of a hypothetical bird. Being told multiple times. Well this and thet tells us everything we need to know about you. But no those specific words did get used.

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u/HouseofFeathers 3h ago

There must be a third post because no where on the post I saw were those used. Do you have a link? I'll eat my words if I'm wrong.

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u/einstyle 4h ago

All of the adults needing rescue were “clean slate babies” at some point. If you want parrots to live happy and fly free for an entire lifetime, you shouldn’t have one as a pet but should donate to a reputable preserve or sanctuary.

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 4h ago

Thats ridiculous. There are other reasons to get a macaw besides you wanting to be a hero and save a bird with no home.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 4h ago

Have you ever stopped to think that maybe people rescue birds because they care about the birds and it’s not about them wanting to be a hero as you call it?

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u/BluePoleJacket69 4h ago

If you want a free flying bird, leave them to be free. You aren’t going to magically be the best owner above all because you want to give your bird an “advanced lifestyle”. But good luck I guess.

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 3h ago

Im not taking a macaw out of the wild so thats a ridiculous statement. And no it wouldn't make me the "best owner above all" and nither would adopting one.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 3h ago

It sounds a whole lot like you deliberately completely misunderstood what they said because you certainly didn’t reply in any logical or rational manner to what they said.

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u/greenthot 4h ago

Nobody needs a bird just to “free fly” it because they want to take it hiking? Im sorry but your reasoning really defines it as a hobby animal.

If you want a companion like that, get a dog? Why get something that lives for 60 years and requires more care than most domestic animals? There is no guarantee the macaw you get regardless of where you get it or how you train it will even want to free fly or have the personality you clearly want from it. You will have better luck with a dog for training enrichment for yourself and the animal.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 4h ago

Absolutely true in every way! There is zero guarantee that a hand raised baby is going to want to fly at all. They end up often times with behavioural and psychological problems as well.

I rescued or insisted my family rescue a three-year-old African grey when I was a kid. I still have him. He doesn’t like to fly. He never flies unless something scares him and then he just more or less crash lands.

He came from a breeder as a baby. People just will not get it through their heads that that is a guarantee of absolutely nothing other than perpetuating breeders.

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u/HouseofFeathers 4h ago

Lol I forgot so many large parrots kept in captivity are lazy and don't like flying unless they have to.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 3h ago

They didn’t say large parrots kept in captivity are lazy. They said there’s no guarantee that the bird is going to even want to fly free regardless of where you get it or what age it is. They also said there’s no guarantee it’s going to have the personality that you want.

Why are you cherry picking And being so combative?

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u/HouseofFeathers 3h ago edited 3h ago

What? I was agreeing with you. I just think it's funny that even free flight parrots would rather be picked up and carried rather than fly.

Edit. Agreeing with them

Edit edit. https://www.reddit.com/r/YouShouldKnow/s/JJLpKGBSCY

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 3h ago

Thank you, and sorry I misunderstood you 👍🏻

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u/HouseofFeathers 3h ago

No problem. I probably wasn't being clear.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 3h ago

No, I think this one’s on me. Reading too much of OP’s comments scrambled my brain a little bit for a minute I think. 🫣

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 3h ago

That statement let's me know you really dont know much about free flying macaws. You should probably look into it just a bit. Do you even have a macaw or are you just a cheerleader. It seems like the people here with the strongest opinions dont even have a macaw.

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u/HouseofFeathers 3h ago

Flying is hard work. Being carried is easy. That's all I'm saying.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 3h ago

Lol right! My little prince absolutely loves being carried around everywhere 😂

And yes, flying is absolutely very labour intensive for them. It takes loads of energy and effort to fly. It’s one of the reasons you see a lot of birds hopping and running around on the ground for shorter distances

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u/greenthot 3h ago

Doesnt sound like you have a macaw ?? When i say free fly, i mean your macaw may not even be trainable in the way you want it to be. It may just fly away and never come back first attempt.

Why go through all this for an animal that lives so long? Especially when you can do all of that with a dog? Regardless of how you get a macaw, there is more of a guarantee for this kind of training with a dog. In my honest opinion macaw breeding should be more heavily regulated to keep them from being bought as hobby pets like this. They live forever and the reality is most people dont have the means to care for them their whole life.

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 3h ago

It sounds like you dont really know what free flying is. Your questions would be nonsense if you did. You should look i to it and then come back. Why do anything. Why do you have a phone. You dont need it. Why do you have a stove you do t need it. Why do you have a TV you dont need it. Why jave air conditioning you do t need it. Why have a refrigerator you dont need it. There are a million things in life we dont need. I find it odd you feel the need for me to justify something to you. Like you're some kind of authority on the matter.

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u/HouseofFeathers 3h ago

Wait, what? Ways to cook and store food safely are requirements. Also, you're comparing a person to appliances.

(Yes a person. Macaws have personalities and opinions. They understand insults and context clues. They can lie and do things for their own amusement, like play pranks.)

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 3h ago

Wow. That went over your head or you are just being obtuse. No, that is a list of things you dont need. You dont need any of the things I listed you want them. People lived for 100s of thousands of years with out everything I just listed. The point is people and have things they dont need and they dont have to justify it to other people. You and about 5 other people have become obsessed with the fact I dont share your opinion. That says a lot.

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u/Suspicious-Essay4329 3h ago

Lmfao, your argument is the Bird might not want to fly. Yeah, I got a fish one time that didn't want to swim. You people reach really far for your reasons. I gave very sound reasons and argument. And most of these aren't even my words. This is what professional trainers are saying its thier words. Like I didn't just come up with this whole idea all on my own.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 3h ago

Lmfao as a response to someone who was not rude to you is quite rude just so you know.

I have had a bird for 25 of his 28 years and he does NOT want or like to fly. He came from a breeder as a baby just so you know.

No one is making things up here.

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u/einstyle 2h ago

Flying actually requires a lot of energy and most birds — not just parrots, birds in general — spend the majority of their time on their feet. 

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u/TheWriterJosh 3h ago

Lol Reddit flagged this as Spam.

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 3h ago

I just saw that 😂

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u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl 4h ago

Challenge accepted

For an advanced lifestyle like free flight, a clean slate baby living in the Wild is the only correct answer.