How to Adopt a Hahn's Macaw in the United States | PetzLover

Why adopt a Hahn's macaw instead of buying a chick?

• You can hear it first. The Vet Desk calls the Hahn's extremely vocal, especially at dawn and dusk. With an adult you know exactly how loud this bird is.
• You see its temperament. An adult's habits around strangers, hands and other pets are already visible, where a chick's are not.
• It costs less. Rescue fees are well below the typical $800 to $2,000 breeder price.
• It still has years ahead. A bird of 10 or 15 can live well into its 30s by the World Parrot Trust's figure of 25 to 40 years.

The Hahn's is the smallest macaw, about 12 inches and 130 to 170 grams, but VCA Animal Hospitals still gives mini macaws a minimum cage of 3 feet wide, 3 feet tall and 4 feet long. Make sure you have that space before you apply.

Where can you adopt a Hahn's macaw in the US?

• Parrot rescues: Phoenix Landing places birds in Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina and the Jacksonville area of Florida. Foster Parrots, a Rhode Island sanctuary accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, runs an adoption program, and Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue in the San Francisco Bay Area adopts only within California.
• Shelters and humane societies: they sometimes take in mini macaws; staff may know less about the bird, so ask more questions.
• Owners: people who can no longer keep their bird often list it themselves, with the cage and history.

On PetzLover you can find Hahn's macaws for adoption near you and save the search to hear about new listings. Rescues serve set regions and may have waiting lists, so contact the ones near you early, or post a Hahn's macaw wanted ad saying you would adopt an adult.

How does Hahn's macaw adoption work?

1. Read the rescue's requirements and fill in its application: household, housing, schedule, birds kept before, cage and avian vet.
2. Take part in a phone or video interview.
3. Attend any care class the rescue offers; Phoenix Landing includes a free one in its process.
4. Allow a home visit or a video walkthrough of where the cage will stand.
5. Meet the bird, ideally at its loudest time of day, and handle it under the owner's guidance.
6. Expect a foster-to-adopt period with some rescues; Phoenix Landing's process takes at least a month and includes a two-month foster period.
7. Sign the adoption contract and pay the fee.

Some rescues set noise rules. Foster Parrots, for example, does not place large or highly vocal parrots with people who rent or share walls, so ask how a rescue treats a mini macaw if you live in an apartment.

How much does it cost to adopt a Hahn's macaw?

Phoenix Landing says its fees do not begin to cover its adoption program costs. Ask whether the cage, play stand and carrier come with the bird; a cage of the right size can cost more than the fee.

What should you ask about an adoptable Hahn's macaw?

• Age: is it known from a band or paperwork, or estimated? The World Parrot Trust describes young Hahn's with a green forehead and a green bend of the wing, where adults have blue and red, which gives a rough clue to age.
• Subspecies: is it a Hahn's, with a dark gray beak, or a larger noble macaw, with a horn-colored upper mandible?
• Sex: is there a DNA certificate? VCA says macaws show no obvious external sex differences.
• History: why was it given up, and how many homes has it had?
• Behavior: when is it loudest, does it bite, and does it step up for strangers?
• Feathers and skin: has it ever plucked or chewed itself? The Vet Desk lists self-mutilation among the species' problems.
• Diet: pellets and vegetables, or mostly seed? The Vet Desk does not recommend a seed-based diet.
• Records: when did an avian vet last see it, and were tests done?

If you would rather start with a weaned young bird, see how to buy a Hahn's macaw.

How do you help an adopted Hahn's macaw settle in?

1. Book an avian vet exam within 7 days, as VCA advises, and keep the bird away from your other birds until it is cleared. The CDC notes birds can carry psittacosis without looking sick.
2. Ask your vet about proventricular dilatation disease, which Merck says mainly affects macaws, conures and African greys.
3. Keep its old food and routine at first, then move it slowly toward pellets, vegetables and fruit.
4. Give it time out of the cage every day; The Vet Desk advises at least 2 hours, and 3 to 4 is better.
5. Expect it to be quiet, loud or nippy for a few weeks while it learns your home, and let it come to you.
6. Plan for the dawn and dusk calls: cover times and room placement matter more than scolding.

If you ever have to place the bird yourself, how to list a Hahn's macaw for adoption explains how to do it carefully.