Hatch Date: June 8, 1985

Meet Ginger. Ginger is a 39-40 year old male Blue and Gold Macaw. He (who they originally thought was a she, hence the name) has been in the same family his whole life. His original owner passed away, and the wife cared for Ginger for as long as possible, but Ginger didn’t seem her biggest fan. She even had an animal therapist come to help, but they think that Ginger blames her for his owner being gone. So her son took Ginger along with his girlfriend and 2 boys.

Ginger takes turns liking the male and the female of the house, but doesn’t seem to have a preference for either. He loves the 13-year-old son, who easily handles Ginger. Everyone in the house has been able to handle Ginger on their arm and shoulder at different times. It depends on his mood.

He will lunge sometimes, but we are not sure if he would actually bite. He hasn’t bitten anyone so far. He is used to being around cats and dogs, both large and small. He may even “bark” when the dogs bark. He says Hello and he will yell HELP when he is nervous or getting in trouble. He LOVES music and will dance and sing along with you if you sing to him. He has a preference for Stevie Wonder and Motown music. And he has the BEST laugh. We got him to wave goodbye once, so he must have known how to do that at one point, but he is just out of practice.

His cage stays open all day long and he hangs out on the cage door for the most part, and goes in and out. He does not leave the cage area, but that may be because he doesn’t want the dogs bothering him when he walks around on the floor. When the dogs aren’t around, he sometimes takes a little walk around. He has not been destructive of anything in the house.

He does scream occasionally, he is a macaw, but usually because he wants or needs something. In the morning he will scream if he knows that you’re up and about and he hasn’t been fed yet! His screams usually occur in threes. But he is quick to quiet down when he gets what he wants.

He eats a pellet and seed mixture and prefers peanuts and sunflower seeds. He eats all types fruits, but is not a fan of veggies. He also likes chicken, scrambled eggs (especially with cheese!), bread of any kind, and pasta, but his favorite food is PIZZA! If he sees you walk in with a pizza box and doesn’t get a piece…he will scream for it! Only a small bite should be given to him. 

He enjoys wooden toys and his bell toy. He likes to rip apart paper towel rolls, and sometimes he’ll tear up newspaper in the bottom of his cage.

He puts himself to bed at night and will often mumble or even giggle himself to sleep. He enjoys getting a nice warm shower.

Ginger does not fly and has some muscle atrophy in his right wing, which can be worked on. He has been a plucker for many years, so he has a bare chest. Some feathers are trying to come back. It could be his feather follicles are damaged.

He is a really good boy who will be an amazing companion for the right person. His current family doesn’t have the time to interact with Ginger like he deserves.

Ginger has been disease-tested for chlamydia and PBFD.