Blue & Gold Macaws

Bred & Raised

A Bird Clubs Of America Species Support Page

Ara arurauna, called the Blue & Yellow in their hone countries from Panama to Southern Peru and Bolivia. It's 33 inches long, half of it the tail. There are some color variations (Abramson), metallic, aqua-blue, pastel blue back and yellow breast. One Way Of Care*   Winter: all macaws housed in same flight. Fed mix of seeds, nuts, bread, pasta, as well as usual cereals, fruit, veggies, cheese and chicken bones. Pairs sometime switch. Placed in cages 10' x 8' x 6' high in March. May breed in smaller cage but there may be a danger of egg binding. Nest box- horizontal 3' x18" x18"fill with pine shavings. Eggs: 2 day intervals, 2-4 eggs.   True pairs seldom squabble. If birds don't produce much over the years, it's not a real love match. Winterflight with other B&Gs for new pair bonding might be the solution. Weights Of 5 B&G Siblings  Age  1  2  3  4  5    Day 1  22g  24g 22g   22g  20g  Week 1  44g  64g 50g   56g 34g   Week 2  156g  218g  206g  186g  154g  Week 3  388g  426g  400g  400g  328g  Week 4 623g   704g  601g  671g  579g  Week 5  771g  856g 866g  926g   806g  Week 6  936g  1063g  949g  1047g  909g Work of Barrat Watson: #s 1,3, &5 hens All chicks fed a watery formula, hence a lack of weight Abramson would rather see. Mechanical incubation of eggs might be necessary if the hen cracks them. Move chicks to brooder upon hatching, let them dry, then touch the umbilicals with iodine. After a few hours, give cool boiled water, and feed every two hours with a hand feeding formula or mix. Feed from Day 1. At 3 weeks, they are banded, and placed in plastic cages at room temperature. Feeding time becomes playtime, tug of war, flight practice and voice testing (loud noises). Wear earplugs, if necessary. Flight with crash landings and speech possible in 73 - 90 days. Feeding is 2-4 times a day now. On weaning at 3 months, they were moved to a aviary where they can play a lot. At 6 months, the only difference is the young have dark eyes. Some Ideas From "The Macaw Lady"**   Joanne Abramson says they probably can breed at 3-4 years old, perhaps as early as 2 1/2 years. Easiest of the large macaws to breed. Babies need a vast amount of care from parents or surrogate parents (humans).   Only the best stock should be bred. Captive-bred seem to be better breeders than wild caught. Discards from others, poor quality birds or birds bought cheaply, should give you concern. Sometimes a macaw from a couple in a small house with a new baby because of the loud noises is a good deal. Quarantine all new birds from your other birds. Joanne (in California) suggests an 8' x 12' x 8' high outside flight.The indoor portion is 4' x4' x8' high with the breeding box container in this area. Pet birds can evolve into breeders as a natural outcome.   B&Gs begin to perch at 55-60 days, fly at about 85-90 days, wean at 14- 16 weeks. Backs and sides of             cages near the nest box should be shielded from human traffic. In the flight cage, there should be perches or ledges for the bird to sit on, hanging rings, larger branches, ladders to the floor from platforms, crocks to bathe in, an interesting place to live. * Adapted from Parrots Winter 1994 pg 48-50 "Hand-rearing B&Gs" about Barrat Watson ** An essential book about details and problems of B&Gs and other macaws is The Large Macaws, Care, Breeding & Conservation by Joanne Abramson, Brian Spear, & Jorgen Thomsen. Raintree Publications, 1995 1-800-422-5963 $170 + $10 S&H

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