Macaw Care Guide: Diet, Housing and Breeding

Diet

The foundation should be a quality pellet made for large parrots, topped up every day with fresh vegetables, some fruit and cooked legumes. An all-sunflower-seed diet leads to obesity, fatty liver disease and vitamin A deficiency.

Unlike most other parrots, macaws need more fat: in the wild they eat energy-rich palm fruits. Unsalted walnuts, almonds or macadamia nuts make a good supplement, especially for the hyacinth macaw, whose natural diet is almost entirely fat.

• Never feed avocado, chocolate, coffee, alcohol, salt, onion, garlic or apple seeds.
• Provide clean water every day in a bowl the bird can't tip over or break.
• Remove fresh food after a few hours so it doesn't spoil.

Housing

A standard household cage won't do. A large macaw needs a cage of at least about 90 × 120 × 150 cm with heavy-gauge bars, and ideally an aviary where it can fly or several hours a day out of the cage in a bird-safe space.

That beak destroys wood, plastic and cables in minutes. Avoid galvanized metal and paints containing zinc or lead, which cause serious poisoning when chewed.

• Natural perches of varying diameters to keep feet healthy.
• Destructible toys (wood, cardboard, natural rope), replaced often.
• No nonstick (Teflon/PTFE) cookware in the home: the fumes from overheated pans can kill birds within minutes.

Health

Birds hide illness until it is advanced. Fluffed-up feathers all day, sleeping more than usual, a tail that bobs with each breath, changes in droppings or discharge from the nostrils all call for an urgent visit to an avian vet.

Diseases to watch for: proventricular dilatation disease (avian bornavirus), psittacosis, which can also spread to people, and psittacine beak and feather disease. An annual checkup with bloodwork helps avoid surprises.

Behavior and enrichment

Macaws are highly social and get bored easily. A macaw left alone without stimulation screams more, bites and may start plucking its feathers. It needs several hours of interaction a day, foraging toys and positive-reinforcement training.

Screaming at dawn and dusk is normal and can't be trained away: it is part of the species. Living in an apartment with close neighbors is usually a serious problem.

Breeding

Macaws nest in tree cavities. In captivity they need a large wooden nest box and a well-bonded pair; many don't breed until they are 4 to 6 years old. A clutch is usually 2 or 3 eggs. Breeding macaws requires permits in many countries and prior experience with large parrots.

Legal status and responsible buying

All macaws are protected under CITES, and several, such as the hyacinth macaw and Spix's macaw, are listed in Appendix I, the strictest level. Always ask for CITES paperwork and a captive-bred certificate, and check the law where you live: in much of Latin America, keeping native wildlife is a crime. Consider adopting a bird from a rescue before buying one.

Frequently asked questions

How long do macaws live?

A well-cared-for macaw lives 40 to 60 years, and the larger species can live even longer. Owning a macaw is a commitment for the rest of the owner's life, sometimes beyond it.

What do macaws eat?

A macaw should eat pellets for large parrots as the base of its diet, plus fresh vegetables daily, some fruit and unsalted nuts. Macaws need more fat than other parrots, but must never be given avocado, chocolate, coffee, alcohol or salt.

Can a macaw live in an apartment?

It is difficult. A macaw needs plenty of room to move, and its daily screaming is extremely loud, so keeping a macaw in an apartment with close neighbors usually causes problems. An aviary or a dedicated bird room is ideal.

Is it legal to own a macaw?

Whether it is legal to own a macaw depends on the country and the species. All macaws are protected under CITES, and some, like the hyacinth macaw, are at the strictest level. Owning a macaw requires CITES documentation and a captive-bred certificate.