Hyacinth Macaws Nutrition And Diet:
Feeing your Hyacinth Macaw
an ideal diet is a bit trickier
than handing them a bowl of food in the morning. Hyacinth Macaws, like many
parrots, have special dietary needs. In order to have the healthiest and
best behaved macaw possible, it’s important to pay close attention to
Hyacinth Macaw Nutrition and Diet requirements.
It all begins with a schedule.
Quick question…what happens to the average person who eats all day whenever
they feel the urge to munch? They gain weight, right? The same thing happens
to your Macaw if you fill a bowl of food and leave it in front of them all
day.
A fat bird is an unhealthy bird and while hopefully you haven’t experienced
this – an unhealthy bird is typically a grumpy bird. This unhappiness and
discomfort your Hyacinth Macaw is feeling will have a direct result in their
behavior. You may find them nipping more, screaming, and even pulling out
their feathers.
So the first step in optimal Hyacinth Macaw Nutrition is to create a feeding
schedule. If you’re training them, as you probably should be, then their
feeding schedule will also help with training motivation.
For example, if you’re training your Macaw then a training session first
thing in the morning before they’ve had their breakfast will be a bit more
motivating because they’re hungry and motivated for those food rewards.
Before putting your bird on any kind of training schedule it’s important to
understand a few guidelines so you don’t starve your bird or make them
associate hunger pains with you but that’s for a different article.
A feeding schedule is important because it keeps your bird healthy plain and
simple. So find a schedule that works for you. If you’re home during
lunchtime then you can plan to feed them three times a day. If you’re gone
during the bulk of the day then a twice daily feeding schedule will work
best for your Hyacinth Macaw.
What to Feed you Hyacinth Macaw
While the foundation of most large parrots is the same, Hyacinth’s have
different diet needs. In the wild they eat a lot of fatty nuts like
macadamia nuts. In captivity it is okay to feed them nuts as long as they
also receive plenty of fresh fruits and veggies each day.
While an organic pellet diet is recommended for most bird breeds, pellets
are not generally recommended as the base of their diet due to the high
protein content which can cause kidney disease in Hyacinth Macaws. You can
still feed your Hyacinth pellets however it’ll be at a much lower percentage
compared to the seeds, nuts and fruits and vegetables you’re also feeding
them. Before you establish a diet for your Hyacinth Macaw, visit your avian
veterinarian for recommendations.
The key is to emulate, as much as possible, their natural diet. In the wild
Hyacinth Macaws consume hard nuts and seeds, fruits and other vegetable
matter. They are known to have an incredibly strong beak that can crack a
coconut or macadamia nut, two of their favorites.
Snack time
Snack time is a great time to bond with your Hyacinth. Instead of putting
yet another bowl of food in front of your macaw, use snack time as a
training time. If you’re not ready to train and just want to bond with your
macaw then you can hand feed snacks to your macaw and get them accustomed to
taking food from you.
If you save your Hyacinth’s favorite foods for snack time then they will
begin to associate taking food from you as a delightful experience. If your
hyacinth is cautious, fearful, or aggressive then teaching them to take food
from you will be a process that requires patience and confidence on your
part.
How do you know what food is your Hyacinth’s favorite? That’s actually
pretty easy. Choose a mealtime and put just about everything you can think
of in front of your macaw; seeds, nuts, veggies, fruits and perhaps even
some pellets. Watch what your bird goes to first. Animals are not known to
delay gratification and chances are, they’ll go right to their favorite food
first.
They may poke around for a minute or two but you can be pretty confident
they’ll eat their favorites first. It’s like putting a plate of vegetables
in front of a child and then putting three cookies on the plate. Even if
your child knows they have to eat all the vegetables, chances are they’ll
eat the cookies first. Your bird will too.
While it takes a lot of time and attention to keep your Hyacinth macaw
healthy, happy, and strong it is well worth the reward. They are truly
magnificent birds and when properly cared for will live 50 years or more as
a joyful member of your family.
African Greys | Nanday Conures | Blue Fronted Parrots | Cockatiels | Caiques
English Budgies | Military Macaws | Harlequin Macaws | Cockatoos
