Hi all! Nice to finally find such a great site to chatter with other parrot enthusiasts. We are the privileged companions of a wonderful Blue and Gold named Maple. Maple is a sexed female, and about 8 years old. She was re-homed to us just over a year ago from an aging family member. She is just an absolute joy...so curious and gentle...a real Mama's girl!

This coming Monday we are anticipating the arrival of our 2nd Blue and Gold. (Pending a vet exam, but he seems in wonderful health so I am not concerned). He is unsexed...but is quite a bit larger then Maple with a well defined head and beak. So we think he may be a male...we will get him sexed later on. Anyway he is also a re-home. His name is Harley and he's about 1 1/2 yrs old. The birds have seen each other and seem every interested and excited.

Harley is quite a bit more energetic and "spunky" then Maple (who is the macaw who broke the mold...quiet, calm, and gentle). Anyway the point I am getting to is we need any and all advice we can get about introducing the two, and dealing with such a young bird. Maple was quite a bit older then Harley when we brought her home, so we aren't too familiar with this age of bird. We are very confident with our abilities to handle the birds...Maple has come a long way since she arrived, but any advice on bringing baby home would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Welcome to Parrot Chatter! Kudos to you for taking in birds in need of new homes. I look forward to hearing more about your blue and golds. we LOVE photos here! My baby isn't due to come home for 3 more months so I can't advise, but i know many here will be able to!

Welcome to PC and Congrats on your new addition! How wonderful that you're opening your hearts and home to birds in need. I don't know much about introducing 2 parrots, but I'm sure you'll get some great advice!

Welcome to parrotchatter.

Hi everyone, thanks so much for the warm welcome!

Emily, my husband is obsessed with hyacinth's! His total dream bird. He is totally jealous of Ivy. In fact, we had considered a pair of hyacinth's (also in need of a new home), but decided that same specie may be better for Maple. She always comes first!

And thanks everyone for the kudos on taking re-homers. Maple was a gift, in more ways then one. And when we thought (long and hard) this time about adding another to the family we really went back and forth on whether to get a new baby or a re-home again. When it really came down to it, and we thought about all the wonderful times we have had with Maple, we decided the more responsible thing to do was go with another re-homed bird. There are so many out there that end up in rescues and that other families just can't keep, especially the big birds, that it just made sense to do our small part to make sure each and every one finds the loving home it deserves. These birds don't ask to live in captivity, people do that to them...so the least we can do is make sure they have the most wonderful life they possibly can have.

Harley is simply adorable and comes from a family who just maybe got in a little over their heads with such a large bird, and such a large commitment. He is quite rambunctious and will need tons of TLC, but I have the distinct privilege of being a full time homemaker and getting to spend hours on end showering our "fids" with love and affection! Monday can't get here fast enough....

For those of you interested I just posted my first album of Maple, and will be posting an album of Harley just as soon as he gets home!

Wecome to PC Rob & Kris.
Now, we are all going to start bugging you to post pics so you may as well get started.

Hi Kris.... I'm glad you mae it... I think your the one I know from facebook, I'm glad you read my post.... if your not, then welcome anyways!!!

Yup you know me from Facebook! Thanks for the welcome!

awwwww heeheehee! yeah, a hy was my dream bird too so i just went for it it's always best to think of your other animals first, though. good for you!

and i can't agree with you more on adoptions. if i ever get any more birds, they will be adopted. so so many homeless ones.

I only have one macaw -- a 2-1/2 year old B&G male named Cooper. So I can't say I have any experience with introducing macaws to each other. But I did go through introducing 2 greys together and my caiques. I lucked out in each case and they took to each other well and are good friends.

After quarantine is completed, I would suggest placing Harley's cage within sight of Maple's cage. You can start out with them being a fair distance from each other and gradually moving their cages closer together. You should be able to tell whether there is curiosity from each about the other and try to guage how they are reacting. Once you are certain they are acquainted enough through their cage bars, I would try placing them together on a large playstand and be prepared to intervene if necessary. Are your birds flighted? If so, it will be easy for one to get away from the other if he or she feels the need.

As for the difference between bringing home a baby macaw (and 1-1/2 years old is still a baby for the macaw species) as compared to an 8 year old, I think you may likely notice a difference in how Harley plays with his toys. Cooper is almost 2-1/2 years old and he stills prefers to chew up cardboard over wood. He is just starting to catch on to the joys of chewing wood!

Also, I'd be sure to be very sure to find out what Harley's diet has been so far and then try to mimic it when you first bring him home as much as possible so that his adjustment goes smoothly. If you determine that his diet has been insufficient, I would make gradual changes and not huge ones since he's coming to a brand new home.

Are you getting a new cage for Harley or bringing home his existing cage? I have always brought my birds home in the cage they were used to. In a couple situations, I later upgraded to a bigger cage. Again, I just think there is value in familiarity. For that reason, I would also recommend you bring home with you as many of Harley's favorite toys as you can.

There will probably be others who come by with some more advice. This is what I could think of at the moment.

Congratulations! It sounds like you have been bitten by the B&G bug! I can't say that I blame you. Here's a photo of Cooper:

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