Care & Feeding Hyacinth Macaw For Sale

The right owner for a hyacinth macaw is someone who has either kept many birds successfully before, or someone who has done a lot of research, has consulted the experts, and knows exactly what they’re getting into. Still, the Hyacinth is not a great first bird simply because it can be a handful.

Hyacinth macaws need a very specific diet. In the wild this bird’s diet consists almost wholly of palm nuts from two specific types of palm tress. Hyacinths harvest the nuts from the trees in the wild, though the bird also has a very characteristic way of finding the nuts already stripped of their tough, fibrous outer coating: Hyacinths forage in cattle lands looking for dung containing the nuts, which are indigestible to the cattle, but easier for the hyacinth to open — the cow has done most of the work. The hyacinth macaw’s diet is very high in fat, and though you may not be able to find palm nuts (especially those predigested by cattle!), you can substitute Brazil nuts, walnuts, almonds, macadamias, coconut, pistachios and cashews. Lafeber macaw foods address these dietary needs. Avi-cakes, Nutri-Berries, Parrot Pellets and more contribute to a healthy diet that also encourage foraging for pet Hyacinths.

You will probably never see an obese hyacinth macaw — they seem to metabolize fat very easily and, in fact, need to be encouraged to eat anything else, such as fruits and vegetables, which should be fed daily. Of course, a good seed and pellets based diet can be offered as well.

This large bird needs an exceptionally large housing area. Be willing to devote a large part of their home to this bird. A “regular” cage isn’t appropriate in this case. Not only are most commercial cages too small, the hyacinth macaw can easily break out of them. A custom cage or one of the very largest commercial cages would do, though a full room, patio or other safely enclosed, bird-proofed area is better. All birds benefit from flying, and this bird will need a lot of room if it’s going to enjoy this important exercise. Even a hyacinth macaw with trimmed wing feathers needs plenty of room to flap and clamber around.

Hyacinth Macaw For Sale can be very destructive and need lots of wooden toys and branches to chew. A sturdy play gym is a must, though even the sturdiest commercially built play gyms will have a hard time withstanding the hyacinth’s strong beak. Large, safe, replaceable play trees are a good bet, too.

This bird, like all parrots, needs a lot of free time daily to play with its humans or just hang out. It is a social bird, usually seen in pairs or in small groups in the wild. They are not “loners,” and will languish without company. Also, confined hyacinth will become cranky and neurotic, and can begin to self-mutilate and scream excessively. They will get along with other birds, particularly New World parrots, but individuals should be introduced early.