Sexual Maturity in Blue & Gold Macaws...

[Nailrep]

Everything I've read seems to vary in this department. Some people say as early as two years old and as old as seven year old. Most I've read says 4 -6 years old. What are your thoughts for you b&g parronts?

 

[Billie Faye]

I have had both wild caught and domestic Macaws....
I have found the wild caught Macaws come into maturity much later....15 years plus and this is what my CAV told me would happen 20 years ago....
As for the domestic...I see them coming into maturity much earlier...starting at 2 but more like 4-6 to really get going....
I can not explain the difference....

 

[Nailrep]

This gives me hope that Elvis is reaching maturity and still loves me. He turned 4 years old this week.

 

[Nailrep]

Thanks alot for the info!

 

[MacDaddie]

I personally have seen captive bred B&Gs sexually mature at 2, Scarlets at 4, and GWs about the same, Hys are around 12. I think there are many reasons for this... the diets we feed our birds is perhaps the biggest reason--our birds are getting more food than their wild counterparts. Look at children today, the average sexual maturity age has dropped in our species as well...

 

[WenM]

I think I've heard that body fat ratio/content has a lot to do with hormones. I'm guessing that could have something to do with it as stated above?

Ray is 5 this year and I have noticed hormonal behaviors since last fall and again this spring.

 

[Bokkapooh]

I believe reaching sexually maturity varies due to many factors at home.

Gra my scarlet macaw (passed away Sept 2009) was showing "nesting" behavior at 3years of age. I have come to the assumption that birds go through a "adolescent" hormonal stage, meaning they go through not true hormones, but go through a "experimental" stage.

Opa my 2y.o baby male umbrella cockatoo, started "humping" things at 8months of age. It wasn't full blown "humping" as he'd get distracted and fly off and go play. Now at 2 years old he still humps things occasionally, lol.

 

[Arachloroptera]

I have had both wild caught and domestic Macaws....
I have found the wild caught Macaws come into maturity much later....15 years plus and this is what my CAV told me would happen 20 years ago....
As for the domestic...I see them coming into maturity much earlier...starting at 2 but more like 4-6 to really get going....
I can not explain the difference....

This I have not heard before.... are you saying that in the jungles wild macaws don't mature for 15 years? Or are you saying wild birds brought into captivity don't mature untill 15 years? I would think that 15 years is a little long for wild pairs to reach maturity and for the species to continue to populate the flock. In Captivity wild pairs may not settle and breed succesfully for fifteen years but certainly 5 to 7 years would be the average for most Large macaws to be able to reproduce. IMO

 

[crzybrdldy]

Domestically bred parrots tend to become more hormonal because they do have better diets, they don't have to fly for miles to find their meals. We make it readily available too them.

We shower them more and on top of that and unfortunately a lot of people don't think this plays a big part on inducing early sexuality, but we stroke our birds down the back. In the wild this means you are my partner and it is time to copulate.

It is black and white to them. I was right there with a lot of other people that said "I don't think so". But having done a lot of reading and attending parrot classes and now volunteering at a rescue. I then understood why my little love bug was humping my hand and regurgitating for me and attacking anything that came near me. These guys are domestically bred they are not domesticated.

So if anything they are becoming sexual earlier than they should. OK getting off my soapbox. Just my.

 

[waterfaller1]

That is odd, my friend who breeds large macaws says she does not do so until they are 12 years of age. Even redfronts.

 

[MacDaddie]

That is odd, my friend who breeds large macaws says she does not do so until they are 12 years of age. Even redfronts.

That in my opinion is a breeder that cares for their birds! Nice to see nowadays! While macaws can, and often do reach sexual maturity at a younger age now, it does not necessarily mean they should be bred. If I was a breeder of the more common species of macaws, I would easily wait until they were 7 or 8... just because an animal can reproduce, it doesn't mean they're ready.

 

[waterfaller1]

I spoke with her again today and talked about this thread. She said almost all of her breeder friends here do the same. She compared it to a young girl, able to...but would the baby be healthy? She said in most cases the too young bird will lay infertile eggs.

 

[Bokkapooh]

That in my opinion is a breeder that cares for their birds! Nice to see nowadays! While macaws can, and often do reach sexual maturity at a younger age now, it does not necessarily mean they should be bred. If I was a breeder of the more common species of macaws, I would easily wait until they were 7 or 8... just because an animal can reproduce, it doesn't mean they're ready.

You are awesome and I wish more people and breeders were like you.

 

[daria]

All I know is that this year's very cold weather in Fl. created havoc with my macaws. I only have hens to avoid issues and this year has been a nightmare. Littlebird tried to lay that egg after 17 years and I can't put the b&gs in the aviary together with my hybrid- They attack each other viciously after over 10 years of peaceful co existance.All three have been building nests. I think weather is a huge factor in hormonal behavior.