Sunny

This is what we know:

Sunny is a 19-year-old male Blue and Gold Macaw who has been with the same family since he was a baby.

He came into rescue because his owner’s husband became seriously ill, and doctors felt having a large parrot in the home was making his breathing problems worse. This was not a bird anyone wanted to give up — it was one of those awful situations where health forced the decision.

Sunny has spent his whole life as part of a family. He is used to being out of his cage most of the day, talks quite a bit, enjoys interaction, and once he knows you, he likes being handled and will even try to preen you.

He does take a little time to warm up to strangers, which is pretty reasonable when you’re a macaw with opinions. From what we’ve seen so far, Sunny also seems to have a soft spot for men.

One thing you’ll notice immediately about Sunny is his beak.

His previous owner told us that when Sunny was young, a veterinarian trimmed his beak with bolt cutters and that the damage started from that injury. Dr. McDonald has examined him and said that, had he not been given that history, the appearance of Sunny’s beak is also something he would commonly associate with fatty liver disease.

Dr. McDonald trimmed the beak back significantly and shaped it as well as possible, but Sunny’s beak will always look different. His diet has now been corrected, and if fatty liver has been contributing to the ongoing beak changes, we should see those symptoms slow significantly with better nutrition. See below images in his profile to see what his beak looked like when he arrived.

Sunny does just fine being Sunny. His funky beak is part of the package — it does not make him any less handsome, and it certainly has not interfered with his ability to have opinions about everything. 😂

He loves toys, swinging, hanging out with his people, and sleeping on his rope swing.

He also has one very important boundary:

Baseball hats are bullshit.

Sunny is looking for a home that understands large macaws, gives him plenty of out-of-cage time, and is willing to let him build trust at his own pace.

He’s social, funny, affectionate once he knows you, and very much accustomed to being part of the household rather than simply living in a cage.

Age: 19

Sex: M

Prefers: Males, although did love the previous family’s daughter too.

Other Bird Aggressive? We haven’t allowed this bird to interact with other for their safety.

Cage Aggressive? No.

Adoption Fee: $1000

Cage Available: Affordable used cages available to purchase starting at $100-to 250 up to 1000.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Will need regular beak maintenance with a veterinarian.

***Information that is universal to every bird:

1) Birds are typically not family animals. They usually choose a favorite and at best you can expect them to tolerate everyone else.

2) Birds are not great with kids, dogs, other birds, and are not cuddly with everyone, nor can they really be trained to be. Birds are flock animals, who are social creatures that need to be in a communal area where they can see the rest of the family, or you may eperience serious vocalization and behavior problems. We’ve never met a bird who is great with kids, but we have met kids who are respectful of birds.

3) Birds bite. But, you shouldn’t “take the bite”. If you’re getting bit, you haven’t earned the trust of the bird, and are pushing the bird past his/her limits. You must figure out what the bird needs, and make what you’re asking of the bird more attractive than what they are already doing.

4) Birds are not “dominance” based creatures. Your only option for birds is to earn their trust. If they are, say…on top of a cage and don’t want to come down, that is where they feel safest, not a dominance thing. They are not trying to exert dominance, they just don’t want to come down. Your job as a parrot owner is to figure out what you can do to help them trust you, and whatever you are asking to be more attractive than what they are already doing.

5) NEVER send money over the internet for adoption with any individual or organization for the adoption of an animal you have not met in person. That is almost always a scam.