Unlike many other species of animals, Macaws don’t breed often. A typical pair of Macaws may breed once each one or two years, lay two to four eggs, and have 1 to 4 hatchlings, depending on the number of eggs laid, and the health and feasibility of those eggs. The average number of hatchlings is 2.

What this suggests for you is that you find a breeder, and you get on their waiting list. When there are hatchlings, and those hatchlings are prepared to leave their nest (generally about eight months of age), when your name comes up on the list, you’ll be called.

Therefore , since the number of Macaws is so limited, the majority select their Macaws long before they are born, by viewing the parents of the forecasted hatchlings in their parrot cage. Hatchlings usually take on the appearance of their elders, and many or most of their personality characteristics as well.

The other consideration when choosing the mother and father of the anticipated Macaw is the breeder. Not all breeders are good breeders or even good Macaw owners. With luck, the breeder in question will live in driving distance, so you can actually visit with the breeder, see their aviary, and start to know their breeding practices, as well as how they handle and socialise their hatchlings.

Obviously, you want to make sure that they run a clean aviary, that the birds are healthy, and the birds are also contented and well adjusted. If you cannot visit the breeder in person, you should ask for references that actually have visited the breeder in the flesh, and make it a point to talk with those references.

As you can see, Macaw selection starts long before the bird is actually born, or even conceived, unless you are buying an older Macaw. Note, that the term older doesn’t necessarily mean ‘old. ‘ It simply means the bird has already been acquired or adopted by someone else, but now, for any number of reasons, that owner must now look for a new family for the Macaw.

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