How to Breed a Pair of Hyacinth Macaws

Macaws make fantastic pets, but can be notoriously difficult to breed.

Hyacinth Macaws are the largest type of parrot in the world, and are one of sixteen types of macaws. They are typically large and intelligent birds, weighing around three pounds, and are usually a deep cobalt blue in color. They are often described as having a child-like behavior, and can easily learn to talk and respond to conversation. They make stimulating and fascinating pets, and many owners wish to breed their Hyacinths. Unfortunately, they can be difficult to breed, which is one of the reasons numbers are steeply declining. It is possible to encourage mating in these macaws, however.

Instructions

1. Take your macaws to the veterinarian to be checked over. Breeding pairs need to be in the best possible health, so a thorough check up is necessary. This will also alert you to anything you should change before you attempt breeding, such as vitamin deficiencies.

2. Clean the macaw housing. Once the young have been born, you may startle the macaws by entering their cage, so cleaning beforehand is essential to ensuring good hygiene and cleanliness. The macaws should have room to fly and play in their enclosure, and have housing where they feel safe.

3. Check that the macaws' diet is complete. Ideally, it should include seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables and pellets. Most avian vets also recommend a calcium supplement for the female, too. Almonds are a good source of this calcium, and can be fed with the normal diet.

4. Monitor the birds. They may take some time to display interest in one another. Allow both birds time and do not try to force them together. Macaws will not breed while stressed.

Tips & Warnings

• If your birds have been together for over a month without showing any interest in each other, consider consulting your vet again.

• Breeding macaws is both time-consuming and frustrating at times, as the birds are unpredictable and breed slowly. Most pairs will eventually breed, so be patient.

References

• Breeders Website
• "Macaw Breeding Basics"
• "The Parrot: A Guide to Selecting, Housing, Care, Nutrition, Behaviour, Health, Breeding and Mutations; 2003."

Resources

• Pictures of Hyacinth Macaw Babies