How to Breed a Hyacinth Macaw
Breeding your hyacinth macaw may be an attractive option if you love their socially interactive tendencies and their appearance. If you're interested in breeding a macaw, however, you'll need to keep in mind that macaws form very strong bonds with their mates, which is advisable not to break at a later stage. Breeding pairs can live for more than fifty years, so remember that breeding macaws is a serious commitment.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Challenging
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Cage, 8 feet wide by 12 feet high
- Large food bowls
- Large nesting box or log
- Macaw pellet food
- Nuts (macadamia, filberts, walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts, coconuts)
- Fruit
- Vegetables
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Prepare Housing for Your Macaws
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Know that macaws need special housing due to the size of their mandibles. The larger the structure is, the better it will be for your hyacinth macaw.
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Measure your space to make sure that it is suitable. For a pair of macaws, consider a space that measures at least 8 feet wide by 12 feet high.
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3
Purchase food bowls that are 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Macaws like to be choosy about their food, and thrive on picking out specific treats.
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4
Provide a large nest box for your macaws. Be sure that the one you purchase is built to accommodate macaws.
Feed Your Macaws a Special Diet
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Prepare for breeding your macaws by offering them a varied, healthy diet.
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Provide an ample amount of macaw pellet food in your parrots' cage, and change it daily. You can purchase this pellet diet at any large pet store or parrot supply store online (see Resources).
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Purchase specialized foods for your hyacinth macaws. They eat nuts and require more fat and carbohydrates and less protein in the wild. Macaws like eating macadamia nuts, filberts, walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts, and coconut pieces, and should be offered a variety of each daily. The total of nuts and pellets should amount to about 100 grams per bird.
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4
Supplement your hyacinth macaws' diet with fruits like apples, pears, kiwis and bananas, as well as vegetables like carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. Aim to feed each hyacinth macaw 300 grams of fruit and 30 grams of vegetables daily.
Breed Your Hyacinth Macaws
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Be sure that you have provided adequate nesting materials for your hyacinth macaws. Without them, they won't flourish and will become unhappy.
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Watch your female hyacinth macaw carefully. She will lay two eggs, with the second following the first by two days. Expect the incubation time for your hyacinth macaw to be about 28 to 29 days.
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Don't worry or meddle. Your hyacinth macaws will feed the chicks once they hatch, and you must concentrate on providing adequate food and water supplies for their needs.
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Know that the macaw chicks will begin to leave the nest in about 100 days.
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Expect your hyacinth macaws to be fully mature in 7 to 10 months.
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Tips & Warnings
It isn't unusual when one chick hatches and the other dies. While cases have been reported in which two chicks were raised, it is not common.
