Its nice to be back:) and have a few questions please

[BaileyBoy]

Hello!!! Im so happy to be back. You all helped me through my first hatching of 30+ little chicks a few years ago... and now Im back. This time, with Macaws! An exotic Tropical parrot (and yes... these beautiful creatures are legal to breed/hatch)



So... above is a scarlet Macaw. Fertile eggs cost about $40 per egg, so i would only order about 4.

First things first... and incubator. What incubator should I get/should I need for this. I was doing a bit of reading but so far have come up basically empty, but from what I did learn, the avg temp is about 98-100 degrees or something. If any of you guys know, I would appreciate it.

Second, COnditions. This is one thing I know I have to research, but for about 2 hours of looking already, I wasnt able to find any specifics. I emailed a bunch of people from parrot forums and stuff, but am coming to you now. Does anyone know the specifics? Ie: days 1-13- X temperature, rotate eggs 2 times a day, x humidity. I would really appreciate this as all i have to go off is this http://beautyofbirds.com/incubationmacaws.html which says the incubation period is 25-27 days.

I would really appreciate the help .
Also, yes i am well aware that I wont be able to handle 4 Large parrots, a few of these will be for family and family/friends.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I don't have experience with incubating them other than by the parent macaws. I do have experience with macaws though. Incubation is 28 days. 3 months to fledge. Hand feeding baby Macaws is not recommended for a novice. They are difficult, and a more problematic bird to hand-feed from an early age. They are also somewhat more difficult to wean. A clutch is usually 1 to 3 eggs.
It's best to have the parents feed them for the first couple weeks but that won't work for those that come out of an incubator. To that end, I can offer you this.
http://animals.mom.me/care-newborn-macaw-chicks-7045.html

I often shudder at the thought of someone hatching Scarlets.
They are strikingly beautiful, intelligent, inquisitive and have excellent memories. Habits, both good and bad, are very difficult to change.
But in my experience, hatching and feeding hatchlings is only the beginning of your problems. Fertile eggs are cheap but properly housing and feeding one is expensive. They need a huge cage and an even larger playpen. Appropriately sized cages run approximately $2,000.
They're loud and if you have close neighbors or live in an apartment, you'll get complaints.
Are you prepared to give the bird at least 3 hours of exercise outside its cage, every day - for the rest of your life?
Are you prepared to interact with the bird for long stretches petting, cuddling, preening, every day - for the rest of your life?
Are you prepared to wash the food and water dishes every day, wash the perches, toys and floor every week - for the rest of your life?
Are you prepared to completely hose down the aviary every year - for the rest of your life?
I don't think anyone can live long enough and be committed enough to properly care for a Scarlet. It may be a different story if humans lived to be 200 years old but we don't. Macaws mate for life so if you only have one I hope you realize that you will be their lifelong mate. They will become so attached to you that if you have to give it up, you are messing that bird up. If you have to go away for any length of time, like college, military service or an extended job, you won't think it is the same bird. It will hate you for abandoning it for the rest of its life. Then they will outlive you, then they'll likely outlive your children. Even if you are committed to caring for them the rest of your life, after you're gone, your beloved pet will become despondent, angry and miserable the rest of its life.

My best advice is STOP THINKING ABOUT IT.
If you must have a macaw, get one that only lives 20 years.

I worked in the tropics at a Scarlet and Great Green breeding and rearing facility preparing birds for release into the wild. It took at least 10 years to get them to the point of release.
We had at least 200 of each species. About a third of those were breeding pairs.
Most were rescues from hotels, makeshift zoos and people's pets who could no longer care for them. Most of those that had been pets had severe anxiety. Some were extremely human aggressive. Trust me, you don't want one to attack you. You will lose. We had a breeding pair that were 90 years old. We had one that was so psychotic it was completely bald except for its head because it continuously plucked itself. I've seen the aftermath many times over of birds that should never have been considered as a pet in the first place.















Below is a released macaw flying along the ocean. That is how they were meant to live.

 

[BaileyBoy]

Thank you so much for the response! I plan on handing all of them over to well educated and appropriate owners after about 3 months. I guess I'm kind of getting into the breeding seen. You said eggs are relatively cheap? Where on earth do I go about getting those? Also, do you think I could pm you? I know I'll have questions later down the road

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I mean eggs are relatively cheap - relative to the cost of properly housing and caring for them.
You said you could get fertile eggs for $40. That's cheap in my mind for a bird that may only lay 3 eggs at the most and can cost hundreds or thousands as adults.
I sell hatching eggs for $2 ea., chicks for $10 and mature trios for $250. So that makes $40 eggs relatively cheap.

You can PM me. I don't consider myself an expert, I've just had a lot of experience with the birds, just not as pets. The biologists I worked with were experts.
All I did was maintain the facility from cages, roosts, feed troughs, electricity, plumbing, cutting up fruits and vegetables twice a day for feeding and training volunteers to care for them.

 

[BaileyBoy]

These birds will be sold... but what do i do in the event that I cant sell one. As much as I would like to keep one, I dont have the rescources and cant commit to 80 years of a parrot. I live in the san fernando area in California, are there any bird shelters?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Prematurely considering a bird shelter is your proof that you shouldn't incubate one.

Whether or not there is a shelter as a backup isn't the point. This species shouldn't be a human pet. It would be analogous to owning an elephant - tut worse.

 

[donrae]

These birds will be sold... but what do i do in the event that I cant sell one. As much as I would like to keep one, I dont have the rescources and cant commit to 80 years of a parrot. I live in the san fernando area in California, are there any bird shelters?

I don't have any experience with parrots at all, but from this post I can't imagine why you would consider breeding them. Why would you breed an animal that's going to be miserable all it's life? I'm sure any shelter would advise you not to incubate, I'm sure they already have plenty to manage without the added responsibility of your bird for the next hundred years.

 

[lazy gardener]

If you're anxious to incubate again, you might consider getting involved with one of the many heirloom breeds of chickens that are on the endangered list. That would actually provide some chicks for you to sell, (while helping to keep a worthy gene pool from becoming extinct) Breeding and selling Scarlet Macaws is surrounded with many ?able ethics, not to mention the requirement of being skilled at hand feeding, and all of the issues regarding providing adequate housing and care of a very loud and very difficult species to maintain.

 

[bruceha2000]

Thank you so much for the response! I plan on handing all of them over to well educated and appropriate owners after about 3 months. I guess I'm kind of getting into the breeding seen. You said eggs are relatively cheap? Where on earth do I go about getting those? Also, do you think I could pm you? I know I'll have questions later down the road

I am very sorry but I can't even be nice about this. You want to hatch Scarlet Macaws so you can sell them at 3 months old? And you have these "well educated and appropriate owners" all lined up? And you want to know where there is a shelter to take them when you and these people lose interest?

You should not do this for all the reasons ChickenCanoe stated. There are PLENTY of challenges you can take on that will not result in animal abuse.

 

[Blooie]

A long time ago when I was raising, training and showing dogs, a mentor of mine had a litter of puppies due any day. She really wanted this breeding to take, and it was tough to get all the ducks in a row for it regarding the owner of the stud dog, plans with the vet, show schedules, conditioning her female, stocking up on supplies, etc. I was kidding with her and said, "Well, look at it this way.....the pups will be ready for new homes the end of November, so you've at least got some Christmas money coming."

She absolutely bristled. She said, and none too kindly, "You're rather green at this so I'm going to excuse that statement based on your newness, but I'm going to give you a lesson I hope you always remember. If you are doing this for the right reasons, and if you are doing the best you can for the breed, your dogs and their puppies, you won't even come close to breaking even. So if you want to make a profit, I suggest you stick to bake sales and leave living, breathing creatures out it completely. I have to be prepared to take any of these pups back if they can't stay in their new homes and raise them for the rest of their lives."

Um, yeah. I never forgot, even when mine finally had one of the nicest litters ever a few years later. I thought long and hard first and had a lot of breeders helping me choose just the right lines and choosing the right dog for my girl. She was right. I didn't even break even. But I placed those pups in good homes - homes that had been on the waiting list for this breeding for 2 years - after they were vetted and approved - and I lost my shirt between dog show expenses, hunting exhibitions, vet care, learning to properly groom, housing, the best food, and time. Please don't do this on a whim. You're excitement is palpable but your inexperience is apparent or you wouldn't be here asking such elemental questions and already preparing for the risk of having to put them in shelters. Even when a knowledgeable person tells you the facts of raising and breeding these magnificent birds, your first question out of everything posted was to wonder where you could get eggs that cheap, which tells me you didn't even absorb Chicken Canoe's advice past that line.