# Macaws



## Rainbow-Serpent (Jan 10, 2009)

Hi!

I have a couple of questions 

* What is the average price of a Macaw in the US ?
*Is it legal to ship a bird from America, to Australia?
*What is the average shipping price?

I have applied for a Bird license of some sort, and i am positive that it includes macaws.
Instead of paying $7,000 + for one in Australia, I thought it would be cheaper to buy one from America, and get it shipped, but if its illegal i'll forget it.


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## Kirby (Jan 10, 2009)

rainbow__serpent said:


> Hi!
> 
> I have a couple of questions
> 
> ...



1) ALOT less. 
2) YES. 
3) i dunno, its alot less from some places in Africa.  lolololol.


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## shane14 (Jan 10, 2009)

Um some places are selling macaws. I have been looking 4 one for 3years and only ever found one in WA which was $4000


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## froglet (Jan 10, 2009)

What sort of macaw do you want?
Hahns macaws are awesome and dont cost anywhere near as much as a blue & Gold


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## Kurto (Jan 10, 2009)

I hope you plan to take care of it for at least 50 years.


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## shane14 (Jan 10, 2009)

Hacitha (not sure exact name but something like that) the blue macaws are fairly cheap.


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## funcouple (Jan 10, 2009)

there a couple of hundred dollars in the us. dont think they will import any live birds in to australia since the out-break of bird flu. if you could import a bird im sure it would end up costing you more than a bird bred here in australia. dont know about other states, but in nsw you dont need a licence to keep any of the macaws


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## abbott75 (Jan 10, 2009)

You are "allowed" to import them, however getting the permits is difficult.


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## amazonian (Jan 10, 2009)

Your licence is only valid for native birds such as Rosellas, Black Cockatoos etc.
No licence is needed for exotics in Australia. As for importing you will have to try AQIS http://www.daffa.gov.au/aqis IMO it is not worth it when you look at the risk of death in transit, the costs involved, quaruntine, and the amount of paperwork and fees. No doubt the final result will be a bird costing equal or even more than if you purchased from a local breeder. And I believe it is hard to get approved for importation anyway. JMO


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## draqonfly (Jan 10, 2009)

careful if importing birds from anywhere really. best to see it before you buy it as there are stories on the net of purchasers recieving ill treated money munching bird dealers.


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## missllama (Jan 10, 2009)

you wont get a macaw anywhere but aus
u shouldnt buy from interstate unless u know that its legit and i dont mean just speaking to them on the phone there are way to many parrot scams around someone on gumtree posts them everyday for the blue and golds and african greys and i always reply a post with a scam warning
u can get them for around 4 thousand my friends got there last young male for 3.5 but thats only because they were friends with the breeders
alot of people dont realise the bird can and alot of times they do outlive the owners but ur a youngin so i wouldnt be worried lol
blue and golds need ALOT of time... and i mean alot.... my friends one is gorgeous but they spend all day with it take it to work etc so that he is occupied all the time


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## missllama (Jan 10, 2009)

oh btw just coz its "located in ur state" doesnt mean its safe to transfer the money, best option, cash on pick up or delivery

especially dealing with those sort of dollars


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## Camo (Jan 10, 2009)

Not to mant people realise just how many macawas are actually being bred her in Australia. Why import something from the states when you can get a locally bred one.

You require a licence for a macaw.

shane13 - The macaw you are talking about is the hyacinth macaw and it is pure dark blue with a yellow highlight on its head. They are a very expensive bird and i have only seen a handful actually here in Australia.

The blue ones that are cheap would be the Blue & Gold variety and they generally go for around the $5 - 6000 mark.

There are also a few other macaws available like the scarlet.

They are like little children and require alot of time and effort but it is all worth it.


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## fatfrog (Jan 10, 2009)

a macaw im america is around $1000-$3000 just like an african gray witch is around $6000 here but $1000 in america i did the reserch when i wanted a bird i got an eclectus parrot for $800 its the best $800 iv ever spent my bird is great.
in america you can get a green three python for $1000us witch is bull---- 
ill try to find the website its got alot of australian reptiles for cheaper then us australians can get them and they sell bearded dragons for more then frill necks


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## fatfrog (Jan 10, 2009)

i found a web sit called www.reptilesncritters.com it dosent have gtp or frillys but it has lots of frogs and reptiles from all over the world for cheap as dirt like and emrald tree boa for $400us whitch is basicly a gtp but cheaper in amarica...................we cant buy any but its nice to see how good the americans have it when it comes to reptiles


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## DA_GRIZ (Jan 11, 2009)

fatfrog said:


> a macaw im america is around $1000-$3000 just like an african gray witch is around $6000 here but $1000 in america i did the reserch when i wanted a bird i got an eclectus parrot for $800 its the best $800 iv ever spent my bird is great.
> in america you can get a green three python for $1000us witch is bull----
> ill try to find the website its got alot of australian reptiles for cheaper then us australians can get them and they sell bearded dragons for more then frill necks


 

i've seen gtp's in the us on youtube from reptile expos as cheap as 5-600


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## -Matt- (Jan 12, 2009)

You do not need a license to keep any exotic birds in Australia, a license is only needed for native species. Its not worth even trying to import from overseas as it is extremely difficult and expensive plus the bird has to spend time in quarantine, its difficult enough for zoos to do let alone the public. Buy local and remember that a macaw will live for over 50 years and it is like looking after a 2 year old child for that whole time!


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## melgalea (Jan 12, 2009)

my friend just brought a blue and gold macaw from NSW. and paid $6500. she is stunning too.


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## BJC-787 (Jan 13, 2009)

you will find if you lok hard enough it is illegal to import birds into Australia since the mid nineties there was a few years in the early nineties that you could and then they stopped it. if it was legal don't you think every one would do it as there are so many birds people would import that we don't have here yet and also to get new blood into the species we have here.


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## fatfrog (Jan 13, 2009)

i know this sites for reptiles but what is an umbrella cockatoo iv seen them for sale in america and the uk but not here is it an american name for a pink cockatoo or what cos they go for $10000 and up in america?


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## -Matt- (Jan 13, 2009)

An umbrella cockatoo and a pink cockatoo (Im assuming you mean Major Mitchell's Cockatoo) are two completly different birds. You would be hard pressed to find an Umbrella in this country but I know that they do exist but only a handful of dedicated breeders keep them.

There is really no point comparing US prices with AUS prices because like with everything there is gunna be a great different and variation between the two countries.

Things are always much cheaper in the US...lucky buggers lol


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## jessb (Jan 13, 2009)

fatfrog said:


> ...and emrald tree boa for $400us whitch is basicly a gtp but cheaper in amarica...................


 
:shock::shock::shock::shock::shock:


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## bfg23 (Jan 13, 2009)

one of the old choc's at work has homing pigeons and he enters them in comps and all the rest of it.
well anyway he paid $30,000 for some elite homing pigeon to come from the US. (alot for a bird, but apparently it flew all the way to amsterdam and back to america) and its been sitting in Australian customs for over 6 months now, and he does'nt even know if its still alive, so be careful if you get a bird from overseas.


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## xander (Jan 14, 2009)

shane13 said:


> Hacitha (not sure exact name but something like that) the blue macaws are fairly cheap.



Hyacinth Macaws? Cheap? No way....


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## fatfrog (Jan 15, 2009)

Mattsnake said:


> An umbrella cockatoo and a pink cockatoo (Im assuming you mean Major Mitchell's Cockatoo) are two completly different birds. You would be hard pressed to find an Umbrella in this country but I know that they do exist but only a handful of dedicated breeders keep them.
> 
> There is really no point comparing US prices with AUS prices because like with everything there is gunna be a great different and variation between the two countries.
> 
> Things are always much cheaper in the US...lucky buggers lol


 they dont get aussie animals cheaper an australian board-tailed gecko is $1000us


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## froglet (Jan 15, 2009)

I just found a site that has galahs for $1500 ea or $2750 pr


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## Justdriftnby (Jan 15, 2009)

fatfrog said:


> i did the reserch when i wanted a bird i got an eclectus parrot for $800 its the best $800 iv ever spent my bird is great.
> 
> I would totally have to agree,I got my sisters Eclectus and since we have had him his speach has really come along, you can almost have a conversation with him, but they squark really loud when the want too.


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## ambah (Jan 25, 2009)

Let's not forget that having a companion bird is like having a child.. you're only 11, too young to have kids IMO.


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## scorps (Jan 25, 2009)

Kurto said:


> I hope you plan to take care of it for at least 50 years.



Do you plan to tace care of all of your snakes for at least the next 25 years


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## Moreliaman (Jan 25, 2009)

I'm amazed we've got birds over here that sell for £1000's & you guys shoot them as pests !



fatfrog said:


> emrald tree boa for $400us whitch is basicly a gtp but cheaper in amarica.



You dont want caninus, they get really ugly with age, they are very simular to viridis though....in the way that you have to prod them every now & then to make sure they havent died on you


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## 2287Casey (Jan 25, 2009)

Im sorry but no i was looking for a macaw and shipping anytime of bird to australia is not allowed trust me!


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## Specks (Jan 25, 2009)

in america albino burese pythons are sometimes like 500 bucks i will find the link in a sec ok then u can look at there cheap prices


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## Specks (Jan 25, 2009)

here it is

http://www.oodle.com/sale/pet/reptile/-/pet_breed_burmese_python/


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## fpvmatt (Jan 25, 2009)

Mattsnake said:


> An umbrella cockatoo and a pink cockatoo (Im assuming you mean Major Mitchell's Cockatoo) are two completly different birds. You would be hard pressed to find an Umbrella in this country but I know that they do exist but only a handful of dedicated breeders keep them.
> 
> There is really no point comparing US prices with AUS prices because like with everything there is gunna be a great different and variation between the two countries.
> 
> Things are always much cheaper in the US...lucky buggers lol


 
A Umbrella Cockatoo is not a Major Mitchell if is a different breed altogether and someone else talked about Hyacinth Macaws they start around $60k if you would like a Macaw pm me and you can also look at look at the site petbirdbuy.com.au


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## Rainbow-Serpent (Jan 25, 2009)

Thanks for all the help guys, ive decided not to go with a Macaw for our first bird, so we went to the petstore hoping to buy a parrot of some sort, but came home with an adorable baby budgie! He is already learning how to say Hello! =)


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## Moreliaman (Jan 25, 2009)

fpvmatt said:


> Hyacinth Macaws they start around $60k if you would like a Macaw pm me



What ?? blimey.......http://www.adoos.co.uk/post/3822395/hyacinth_macaw_for_sale

this ones even cheaper.....no wonder people take the risk to smuggle them!
http://www.ukclassifieds.co.uk/hyacinth_macaw_for_sale_to_a_lovely_home-o636827.html


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## -Matt- (Jan 26, 2009)

fpvmatt said:


> A Umbrella Cockatoo is not a Major Mitchell if is a different breed altogether and someone else talked about Hyacinth Macaws they start around $60k if you would like a Macaw pm me and you can also look at look at the site petbirdbuy.com.au


 
I didnt say they were the same...I said they are completely different.


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## RipCurl (May 17, 2009)

rainbow__serpent said:


> Thanks for all the help guys, ive decided not to go with a Macaw for our first bird, so we went to the petstore hoping to buy a parrot of some sort, but came home with an adorable baby budgie! He is already learning how to say Hello! =)


Be careful with budgies i had them for years trust me they die easy, i remember the fright of a Chicken Hawk would kill them so i guess monitor them outside


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## bredli-sli (May 17, 2009)

if you trans port in from over seas it need mon ths in qurentine


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## stuartandconnie (May 17, 2009)

dont no rule of tumb if u hav to ask u cant afford it it is illeagel to import bids in2 aussie


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## scorps (May 17, 2009)

rainbow__serpent said:


> Thanks for all the help guys, ive decided not to go with a Macaw for our first bird, so we went to the petstore hoping to buy a parrot of some sort, but came home with an adorable baby budgie! He is already learning how to say Hello! =)


 

So you where planning on a macaw (basicaly a top of the range bird and needs alot of exsperiance to keep) and instead you went a budgie, where you ever seriosuly going to get a macaw?


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## Barno111 (May 17, 2009)

maybe the thread should have been about budgies! I like how it went from a top line bird to a nothing bird!


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## PhilK (May 18, 2009)

shane13 said:


> Hacitha (not sure exact name but something like that) the blue macaws are fairly cheap.


Hyacinth macaws are actually exceptionally rare and very expensive.


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## Crystal..Discus (May 18, 2009)

PhilK said:


> Hyacinth macaws are actually exceptionally rare and very expensive.


 

Exactly. The thing about the exotics bird market as well is that more than 75% of ads on websites are fraudulant. They ask for a deposit on an egg, and assure you that by doing so you'll be able to purchase the bird for under a grand. Importing from the US is illegal, but you're better off buying a bird from a national breeder anyway. I've already started a savings account for one  I hope to get a Blue and Gold by the time I'm 30. 

And budgies are beautiful rs, but most of them are little *insert expletive*'s and are way too hyper for my liking.


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## Reptile_Boy (May 18, 2009)

my mums friend had the red and green i think and the blue and golds. the reds were only 3g each the golds she picked up for 10g.


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## Asharee133 (Aug 5, 2010)

shane14 said:


> Hacitha (not sure exact name but something like that) the blue macaws are fairly cheap.


hyacinth


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## D3pro (Aug 5, 2010)

I believe a breeder of Black and gold macaws in at the sunshine coast... it will cost u over 7000


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## Pythoninfinite (Aug 5, 2010)

Gee, I've never seen so many people who haven't got a clue offering so much advice.... Black & Gold Macaws... Hacintha (???) Macaws being cheap... red & green Macaws cheaper than Blue & Golds... What a huge lot of crappy advice...

Legal imports of macaws and some other species were allowed from the UK (only) in the 1990s, and because the quarantine for birds operated on an 'all in, all out' basis, it was only economical to bring in many birds at once because the facility at Spotswood in Vic was tied up totally until that shipment was cleared (45 days). The three large species allowed in were Scarlets, Greenwings and Blue & Golds. Hyacinths have never been legally imported, although there are a few around, and they are VERY expensive.

The large red Macaws (Greenwing, Scarlet) are currently in very short supply, and often command around $15k each as weaned babies, Blue & Golds are cheaper because they are generally easier to breed. You might get one from around $4k, but high quality birds from legit bloodlines still fetch around $7k. This would include a full vet workup at around $450 including bloodwork. As with anything, you get what you are prepared to pay for. Very cheap birds are often poorly fed during raising, and come from breeding stock which reflects poor nutrition. You could be buying a heap of trouble.

You do not need a licence in NSW for Macaws, but you do in WA. In WA you need an import permit to bring a Macaw into the state, but you don't need an export permit to send one out! Go figure! If you import a Macaw into WA, it must be photographed at the airport before it is released to you, the photos are emailed to DEC to verify that it's not an African Grey in disguise (AGs are illegal in WA), and the Ag Dept officer is advised that your B&G Macaw is actually a B&G Macaw by DEC, and away you go...

What a load of bollocks...

J.


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## hypochondroac (Aug 5, 2010)

Pythoninfinite said:


> Gee, I've never seen so many people who haven't got a clue offering so much advice.... Black & Gold Macaws... Hacintha (???) Macaws being cheap... red & green Macaws cheaper than Blue & Golds... What a huge lot of crappy advice...
> 
> J.



Hahahaha.


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## Kristy_07 (Aug 5, 2010)

Pythoninfinite said:


> What a load of bollocks...



So glad you spoke up, Jamie :lol:

RS - good on you starting small and going from their. Owning a big parrot is a bit like having a 2yo child for the next 50 years or longer. They are demanding, noisy, destructive, they get attached, they get jealous, they throw tantrums. Could you really commit to that sort of behaviour for that long? Budgies are nice, and nowhere near the hassle


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## -Matt- (Aug 5, 2010)

Do you guys realise just how old this thread is?


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## Kristy_07 (Aug 5, 2010)

No - I didn't 

I blame Asharee :lol:


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## Pythoninfinite (Aug 6, 2010)

Haha... me neither, but it's still useful to pass on valid info... I think...

Kristy_07 is dead right, the large Macaws are definitely NOT pets to consider casually. They are all the Kristy has described and more - like a 2yo with a chainsaw if left unsupervised in your house. They can be intelligent, gorgeous, affectionate and responsive pets, but need an extremely firm hand when raising/training, and you need to understand that they are a 50-70 year commitment. They bond with one person, or with a family, and can suffer a broken heart when moved on after forming such a bond, because they become unsuitable.

I would very rarely suggest that they be kept as single birds, because they are just too demanding. The best approach to Macaw keeping is to keep them as a pair or a group, in a large aviary outside, where they can rely on each other for company, and they can engage with the outside world to reduce boredom (the biggest cause of antisocial behaviour...)

Jamie


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