Just hatched 3 baby Scarlets Macaws!!

[MacawBegin]

Hey guys!

New to the online bird forums and groups and was wondering if anyone is in any good macaw breeding groups, specifically scarlet macaws?

I have had many macaws over my hobby as a bird lover from blue and golds, scarlets, and greenwings.

I currently have a Scarlet Macaw pair that laid three eggs this year after the summer/fall breeding season. I hatched them about 1-2 weeks ago and have been following online guides and forums to the best of my ability but would love to find more information and mentorship on raising baby scarlet macaws.

Also parents have been breeding mad this year, got another egg this season. Praying it comes out fertile!

 

[Shezbug]

@Kay3 might be of some help. I am not sure the tag will work as it has been a while since they have been online..

 

[MacawBegin]

@Kay3 might be of some help. I am not sure the tag will work as it has been a while since they have been online..

thank you so much! and beautiful blue and gold!!

 

[Kay3]

What would you like help with?
I’d firstly recommend removing the wood shavings to avoid them ingesting them. Replace with paper towel or washable non slip mats or washable towels!

 

[MacawBegin]

What would you like help with?
I’d firstly recommend removing the wood shavings to avoid them ingesting them. Replace with paper towel or washable non slip mats or washable towels!

Will do. I had some paper towels/mats in there but the constant feces smearing across their body and feet seemed a bit too dirty so I had thought some wood shavings to absorb it up.

 

[MacawBegin]

What would you like help with?
I’d firstly recommend removing the wood shavings to avoid them ingesting them. Replace with paper towel or washable non slip mats or washable towels!

I have nothing in particular but I guess just I guess some tips on raising baby macaws. Some things to look out for, etc.
Maybe any special things in regards to the Scarlet species.

This was my first fertile eggs from my pair and was able to get them hatched so I am a complete beginner that is just reading from different sources and trying my go at it

 

[Kay3]

Unfortunately you’ll just have to replace their bedding constantly and wipe them down with a warm damp cloth, just saves you from problems with them ingesting the wood shavings..

What formula are you using? From my knowledge they do better with a higher fat content. Should be feeding 10% of their body weight every feed. I also added natural or home made nut butters to the formula to help compensate for the fat intake. Also as they get older it’s good to add steamed and mashed veggies or baby food to their formula as they do get bored of the taste. Just make sure you do your research on what’s safe and healthy to be adding into their diet, plus also take into consideration you’re going to be watering down the formula by adding things into it.

are you weighing them daily to make sure they’re putting on sufficient weight?

I personally found their wasn’t a lot of information online for raising macaws and had to wing most of it

 

[MacawBegin]

Unfortunately you’ll just have to replace their bedding constantly and wipe them down with a warm damp cloth, just saves you from problems with them ingesting the wood shavings..

What formula are you using? From my knowledge they do better with a higher fat content. Should be feeding 10% of their body weight every feed. I also added natural or home made nut butters to the formula to help compensate for the fat intake. Also as they get older it’s good to add steamed and mashed veggies or baby food to their formula as they do get bored of the taste. Just make sure you do your research on what’s safe and healthy to be adding into their diet, plus also take into consideration you’re going to be watering down the formula by adding things into it.

are you weighing them daily to make sure they’re putting on sufficient weight?

I personally found their wasn’t a lot of information online for raising macaws and had to wing most of it

I totally agree on the limited information. Been looking everywhere and even trying to access different sources in different languages to try to find a great guide.
Will definetely personal message you with questions and responses sir.

 

[MacawBegin]

@Kay3 might be of some help. I am not sure the tag will work as it has been a while since they have been online..

thank you so much for tagging Kay!

 

[flyzipper]

Welcome to the site!

Will definetely personal message you with questions and responses sir.

It's better to have these discussions publicly in the forum so others can contribute and benefit.

@BrianB is another good resource.

 

[Kiwi's Dad]

Yes @BrianB breeds Macaws and Conures and

 

[BrianB]

Such cute babies, and welcome to Avian Avenue! I've never raised scarlets but it isn't any different from other macaws. I keep them in a brooder so I can control the humidity and temperature. I use puppy pads under the babies. Washcloths and hand towels can be dangerous if they snag a thread and get it wrapped around their toe or something. The puppy pads get changed at every feeding or during the day if I notice they are soiled. It's a lot of waste, but better for the babies in the end. I also wipe off their feet if I notice they have droppings on them. It can be corrosive to the skin so keeping their feet clean is important. Once they move out of a brooder and into a small cage then I use wood shavings under them because they are less likely to eat it. I keep a chart of their growth. Just a simple spreadsheet with the date and their morning weight before the first feeding. It's a quick way to keep track of their weight gain from one day to the next. I used to keep track of how much they ate at each feeding, but I figured as long as they are gaining weight each day, keeping track of the amount they eat isn't that important. It's roughly 10% of their body weight anyway.

What are you feeding them? Macaws and a few other parrots need a higher level of fat in their diet so make sure you're using a formula for macaws. There are several good brands and we have our favorites. It just depends on what's available to you locally. Keep us updated on their progress. We love to see babies grow and flourish.

 

[expressmailtome]

Welcome! If you are going to be breeding a species of large macaw, then I would highly recommend that you purchase a copy of The Large Macaws: Their Care, Breeding, and Conservation by Joanne Abramson, Brian L. Speer, ... . It is expensive, but is considered to be the best book ever written on captive macaws, and has a very large amount of information on both breeding and raising baby macaws.

 

[MacawBegin]

Welcome to the site!

It's better to have these discussions publicly in the forum so others can contribute and benefit.

@BrianB is another good resource.

Got it and I apologize for that. Will keep discussions public so it'll be good knowledge for all

 

[MacawBegin]

Such cute babies, and welcome to Avian Avenue! I've never raised scarlets but it isn't any different from other macaws. I keep them in a brooder so I can control the humidity and temperature. I use puppy pads under the babies. Washcloths and hand towels can be dangerous if they snag a thread and get it wrapped around their toe or something. The puppy pads get changed at every feeding or during the day if I notice they are soiled. It's a lot of waste, but better for the babies in the end. I also wipe off their feet if I notice they have droppings on them. It can be corrosive to the skin so keeping their feet clean is important. Once they move out of a brooder and into a small cage then I use wood shavings under them because they are less likely to eat it. I keep a chart of their growth. Just a simple spreadsheet with the date and their morning weight before the first feeding. It's a quick way to keep track of their weight gain from one day to the next. I used to keep track of how much they ate at each feeding, but I figured as long as they are gaining weight each day, keeping track of the amount they eat isn't that important. It's roughly 10% of their body weight anyway.

What are you feeding them? Macaws and a few other parrots need a higher level of fat in their diet so make sure you're using a formula for macaws. There are several good brands and we have our favorites. It just depends on what's available to you locally. Keep us updated on their progress. We love to see babies grow and flourish.

Thank you @BrianB and this is my first journey with fertile eggs and hatching my first round of scarlets. Got 3 eggs, and all three were different sizes, hence the huge size difference in the three babies. They are 3 days apart but the oldest was indeed the biggest of them all. I have been using the baby macaw formula by Kaytee with omega 3 and have been taking daily progress pictures and weighing them. I heard from @Kay3 about adding additional fats within the formula and was wondering if and what I should add to the formula if I am missing that extra fat content.

I haven't taken the extra step to calculate out their daily weight gains and mostly have been eyeballing in regards to feeding. Not eyeballing so severe that I am just feeding randomly, but in the sense that I feed them until their crop is full and they seem not want anymore food from a syringe or spoon. All three put of significant weight daily and their growth seems normal and healthy.

I need to get some of the those doggy pads and will switch from towels then. I just want to state that the only reason I used woodchips was I thought it was beneficial and sanitary for the bird and also helped to keep splayed legs from forming. Will need to order some non-slip mats with the doggy pads. It was just sad and frustrating to see at least one of the 3 chicks to step in feces or have the stomach flopping on it even though I would chance the paper towels literally every 15 minutes. I will definitely update you guys as I find and switch out the towels.

 

[MacawBegin]

Welcome! If you are going to be breeding a species of large macaw, then I would highly recommend that you purchase a copy of The Large Macaws: Their Care, Breeding, and Conservation by Joanne Abramson, Brian L. Speer, ... . It is expensive, but is considered to be the best book ever written on captive macaws, and has a very large amount of information on both breeding and raising baby macaws.

Thank you so much and will be adding that to the wish list.

 

[Shezbug]

Thank you so much and will be adding that to the wish list.

You will have to search for it- they are only available second hand and not many come up for sale- last I looked there were 2 for sale and they both were over $400 for a second hand copy.

If you have macaw specific formula it should have the right amount of fat and protein in it for baby macs.

 

[MacawBegin]

You will have to search for it- they are only available second hand and not many come up for sale- last I looked there were 2 for sale and they both were over $400 for a second hand copy.

If you have macaw specific formula it should have the right amount of fat and protein in it for baby macs.

Yeah I saw that the second hand books were that expensive! Gonna browse some more and honestly, might just buy one for the invaluable information.

I currently am using Kaytee’s Baby Macaw Formula with omega 3 added. Feeding every session has been great. Substantial food intake every session and noticeable weight gain and change for the baby macaws.
I admit I am not going all out and working out the daily maths of how much they grew daily or their food intake but I do record their weight after every night feeding and it is substantial weight gain daily.

 

[MacawBegin]

You will have to search for it- they are only available second hand and not many come up for sale- last I looked there were 2 for sale and they both were over $400 for a second hand copy.

If you have macaw specific formula it should have the right amount of fat and protein in it for baby macs.

Missed the little one feeding but got the 2nd and bigger one. They put on over about 1 oz a day on average. Bigger one is hitting day 20 and he/she is opening his/her eyes more and more every day! (First 2 pictures is the big one, day 20—last 2 are of the second one, day 17)

 

[BrianB]

The formula you're using will be fine then. Sometimes people use the wrong formula because they just don't know the difference. There is no harm is holding the little one and running warm water over the feet to loosen any dried droppings. As long as you dry them and make sure they don't get chilled they will be fine. The puppy pads I use are changed several times a day. I had just one baby greenwing in the brooder but now I have 2 baby red-fronted macaws in there with it. Three babies are messy and you'll constantly be cleaning up after them. It sounds like everything is on track for you.