Macaw parrot: types, rules of keeping and breeding

Macaw belongs to the feathered family of parrots. These are rather large birds, a distinctive feature of which is their bright plumage in reds, blues, yellows and greens. Such pets are very popular in home keeping, however, caring for them has many subtleties and rules that you should know before deciding to buy such a bird.

About everything that concerns the macaw parrot, we can say "very-very". And in fact, it is the largest bird of the parrot squad, the most brightly colored beautiful feathered, the owner of the strongest beak of all who live on its mainland and even on the planet, and besides, it is one of the most hardy birds in the world.

By the way, this behavior fully corresponds to the peculiarities of the internal organization of this beautiful bird - the ancient Indians used this ability and kept the macaw as guards. The parrots endowed with high intelligence knew every inhabitant of the village or village well and raised a loud cry when they saw intruders.

You can talk about the beauty of these birds for hours, but nevertheless let us dwell in more detail on some of the characteristics of birds of this species. On the sides, the head has no feathers, the same applies to the areas around the eyes. The end part of the wings is rather strongly elongated and pointed at the ends. The tail is wedge-shaped, and it is much longer than the body of the bird.

The beak is sharp, hooked, laterally compressed.As evidenced by the data of ornithologists, it is incredibly strong, sturdy and powerful - no other bird can match it in hardness, so you should carefully weigh the pros and cons before introducing such a strong man in houses where small children live. The macaw can crack fruit bones and the hardest nuts in a matter of seconds.

These birds have very keen eyesight - in terms of the speed of viewing frames per second, the capabilities of the macaw are much superior to that of humans. For comparison: in humans, this figure is 24 frames, and in parrots - 125. The macaw is distinguished by monogamous vision and can use its eyes independently of each other.

Birds of this species have the ability to heal themselves. Living near muddy shores, they eat particles of clay, thereby cleansing their body of harmful substances that come along with rotten spoiled fruits. In addition, the viscous substance is a source of microelements necessary for the macaw organism.

In total, there are about 15 varieties of macaw parrots. Several of them are most common.

• Chestnut, or, as it is also called, chestnut-faced. A distinctive feature of such birds is the reddish-brown or yellow iris of the eye. The frontal zone is dark, the beak is almost black, the cheeks are slightly feathered, painted white. The paws are of a deep gray shade, the nails are almost black.

• Red. This species is known in science as arakanga. An adult has a pale yellow beak, and at its base there is a pronounced dark spot. The mandible is black. The beak itself is curved, very strong, its shade is yellow. The cheeks are featherless and have a creamy tone with small reddish spots. The tarsi are dark gray, almost black, with two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward.

• Green-winged... A bird with a large wide head, a very large, powerful, black beak. The iris of the eyes is light yellow, the area of ​​the beak is pale pink, the lower beak is dark. The cheeks have rare plumage with burgundy thin feathers. The paws are gray.

• Bluehead. This is a mountain macaw with a dark gray periobital ring, which is distinctive for this species. The beak is strong, black. The iris is yellow with a noticeable red edging. Fawn paws, unremarkable.

• Sinegorly. A parrot with a light yellow iris, the cheeks are rather small, almost naked, covered with very thin blue feathers. The beak is very large and black. Paws are dark gray, the tail is elongated, there is a pronounced narrowing at the end. Feathers on the forehead are deep blue. The same color is present in the plumage of the bird's neck and throat.

• Red-bellied. A parrot with a small black beak, whitish-yellow cheeks, bare. The paws are painted in dark blue, overwhelming the color of the plumage is saturated green, the double feathers and the forehead are blue, there is a pronounced brown-brown spot on the abdomen.

The macaw is a large exotic bird with its own behavioral characteristics and physiological needs, so keeping it in captivity requires certain knowledge and skills. However, this bird feels quite comfortable at home and almost never experiences anxiety and stress. Before buying a macaw parrot, you first need to prepare an aviary for it, the minimum permissible the dimensions of which should correspond to 2 meters in width and 1 meter in length, the height is desirable at least 2 meters, optimally - like the walls.

Placing an animal in a cage of a smaller size is allowed only if the birds are in the aviary only at the time of feeding and for a night's sleep, and the macaw spends the rest of the time in free flight around the house or apartment.

The cage should be equipped with high-quality locking devices, better locked with a key. Please be aware that Standard latches and simple hooks for birds with such a high intelligence as the macaw are not suitable - the pet will open them at the first opportunity.

The pallet under the aviary should be retractable - this will help to better clean the cage and timely remove all waste products of the bird.

Be sure to consider the presence of perches, toys, and tree branches in the aviary. Macaw is a bird that is extremely demanding on the attention of the owner, therefore, so that the pet is not bored in the absence of the owner, it is worth equipping the aviary with all kinds of ropes, ladders, labyrinths and puzzles.

Keep in mind that the macaw loves to hang upside down, so place toys and vertical structures higher so that the bird does not hit the bottom of the enclosure. Do not forget that these parrots are big lovers of water procedures, so you should definitely equip a small bath in the cage.

All feeders and drinkers, perches and toys should be kept clean and tidy. They should be cleaned at least once every 2 days, if possible daily, the cage itself is washed once a week, and every 4-5 months the aviary is deeply disinfected using chlorine-containing agents. As needed, outdated accessories should be removed and replaced with new ones, of better quality and always environmentally friendly.

The nutrition of parrots deserves special attention. In their natural habitat, macaws feed on nuts, exotic fruits, juicy fruits, corn and seeds. Animals kept in apartments it is imperative to give fresh juicy fruits: banana, apples, soft pears, as well as grapes and mountain ash.

To meet the need for vegetables, usually offered to feathered corn, cucumber and carrots with pumpkin... Be sure to include in the menu juicy greens - young shoots of fruit trees, sprouted cereals, beet and carrot tops, as well as dandelion, Swiss chard and garden celery leaves.

70% of the macaw's diet should be grain fodder - oats, millet, and also flax and canary seeds, nuts (hazelnuts, peanuts and pumpkin seeds). The food can be purchased at the store, or you can make up the grain mixture yourself, but in this case it is necessary to additionally introduce vitamin and mineral supplements that help maintain the health of the bird, its full growth and development.

Please be aware that in nature, parrots eat rather heavy food, but do not forget that in natural habitat the bird has the ability to quickly and efficiently consume calories. In captivity, there are no such opportunities, which is why the inclusion of walnuts and pine nuts in the diet should be rare and strictly dosed.

In addition, cereals can be added to the diet of birds. It is best to boil them in water without oil and sugar. Usually, pets are treated to buckwheat, millet rice porridge, as well as pea and chickpea. From time to time, the menu includes egg yolks and crumbly curd.

But coffee beans, avocado, parsley, onions, garlic, herbs and sweets in all forms should be excluded from the diet of a bird.... It is also not recommended to treat macaws from your table, especially if you eat fried, smoked, salted, fatty and pickled foods.

The macaw nesting period usually begins around April - at this point, the parrot becomes overly excited and sometimes even aggressive, therefore you should be patient and treat your bird calmly and sympathetically, avoiding any negative emotions.

For the successful breeding of a macaw in captivity, it is necessary to create suitable conditions for the pet:

• maintaining a constant temperature regime at about 20 degrees with a humidity level of about 70-80%;
• 15-hour daylight hours - in addition to natural lighting, it is necessary to resort to additional illumination, for this they buy fluorescent lamps, but the most ordinary ones will also work;
• the size of the aviary should be at least 1.9x2x2.5 m, while the floor should be covered with a layer of river sand, and sod should be placed on top;
• the nest is located in the upper part of the cage, it is best to use ready-made containers measuring 70x50x50 cm, optimally - wooden;
• the size of the round taphole should be about 150 mm, the height of its location relative to the bottom - about 20-30 cm;
• it is advisable to use medium-sized sawdust or wood chips as nesting litter.

Please note that as soon as the female macaw lays her eggs, she should not be disturbed. Constant noise and loud sounds should be avoided - a quiet and calm atmosphere should be maintained around the bird. Otherwise, the bird may abandon its offspring or even destroy it.

Only birds from 1 year old, healthy, with brilliant plumage are allowed to breed. Usually mating of parrots is preceded by mating games. At this time, the birds begin to carefully touch the feathers on each other's head, as well as on the neck and near the tail.

Parrots invariably accompany their actions with loud gurgling sounds, after which the male begins to dance slightly. Such call signs act on the female - she sinks to the bottom of the cage and falls on the back, playfully fighting off the male flying up to her. These actions are repeated several times, after which mating occurs directly - the parrots retire in the nest or on the perch, turn towards each other with their tails, and then touch the cloaca. Usually this is repeated several times a day.

3-4 weeks after mating, the female lays the first egg, then all subsequent ones with an interval of 3 days. As a rule, there are 2-3 eggs in a clutch.... Immediately after the appearance of the first of them, the female moves to the nesting house and begins to incubate them. At this time, the future father assumes the provision of her food, who is always nearby and brings grain in his beak.

Incubation normally lasts about 24-25 days. At first, newborn chicks are completely dependent on the mother - she feeds them with goiter milk with fragments of crushed pieces of food. The birds acquire independence only 3-4 months after birth. Grown up birds stay with their parents, expanding the flock and strengthening relationships between pets.

The macaw parrot is a very active, extremely inquisitive creature, it is always willing to make contact with the breeder.

Parrots of this species require continuous attention from the owner; they are intelligent birds, which in character are more like a small child. They quickly tame and easily find contact with any person.

Macaw is a bird with a very high intelligence, therefore it quickly learns new words and can easily and correctly use them to communicate with its owners. Such creatures can ask their owners for a drink, eat, play, they are able to greet their master when they meet and say goodbye when parting.

The macaw has a rather harsh voice, it is unpleasant for the human ear, but the bird rarely cries for no reason, because the sound always serves as a signal of a problem.Having eliminated the cause of the discomfort, you can quickly return the bird to a good mood.

Keep in mind that for many family members and even neighbors from another apartment, such sounds can be simply unbearable, therefore it is better to keep the bird in detached cottages and apartment buildings with good sound insulation.

Ara always remembers well her ill-wishers and offenders. The bird is able to take revenge on them, while the bites of such a pet can be very painful and even injure. It is best to immediately stop with the bird in a position of friendship, but you should not encourage the habit of pinching and biting, otherwise the parrot will use this trick as the main method of drawing attention to itself.

Macaw parrots are brave and very daring birds. If they are attacked, they fight back. But by nature, these birds are quite friendly, they treat people and other pets well.

It should be noted that the reviews of the breeders about these birds, as a rule, are only positive - the parrot becomes attached to its owners, but people also feel in return the connection that has been established between them and this amazing pet. Some breeders even assure that these birds eventually begin to feel like a full member of the family and behave accordingly - it sometimes looks very amusing.

There is an opinion that it is better to acquire an adult, which has been growing among its relatives for a long time, since the human fosterling will demand unremitting attention. In the conditions of modern life, this is usually not possible.

If you treat your macaw with warmth and tenderness, then be sure - he will definitely answer you with the same coin. You need to react to any noises from a bird exclusively with calmness. If you intend to wean your pet from any pleasant habit, just ignore it, making it clear that you do not intend to follow the birds' lead, and all games will begin only after it changes its behavior.

If, in response to his loud cries, you also raise your voice or give some kind of sedative medicine, the effect will be the opposite. The macaw perceives your cry, like the drug, as an encouragement to such an action and later you will not be able to wean the bird from the addiction.

The mental and physical health of the pet is seriously affected by the sensitivity of the owner. Of equal importance are the conditions of detention, the diet and the feed used. Birds of this species quite often have such unpleasant problems as severe peeling of the skin, coordination dysfunction, general weakness and swollen joints.

Beautiful and showy macaws are prone to sinusitis and allergic bronchitis. With such diseases, they have difficulty breathing, mucous nasal discharge and swelling of the sinus area. The fact is that the bird is very sensitive to air quality, so it would be useful to use ionizers and household humidifiers in the room.

Very often, birds show all signs of self-plucking - this often happens if the animal experiences psychological discomfort in the absence of attention from the owner or his rude treatment.

Of viral infections, macaw most often becomes a victim of papillomatosis. In this case, the process of defecation is disrupted, problems arise when swallowing food and a cloaca may fall out. Dangerous for birds and psittacosis, leading to damage to the respiratory and central nervous system.

All about the macaw parrot breed, see below.