Average Size: There are several species of Macaws that they range from 12" to a 4 foot wingspan.

Lifespan: 35 to 55 years

Hygiene and Health: Do not feed avocado as it may be toxic to birds.

The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Weekly you should wash all the perches and dirty toys, and the floor should be washed about every other week. A total hosing down and disinfecting of an aviary should be done yearly, replacing anything that needs to be freshened, such as old dishes, toys and perches.

Behavior: In captivity most pet macaws are more likely to interact with their owners through physical contact, and often use vocal mimicry for attention.
   Macaws make excellent pets. They have very nice temperaments and are very playful. A hand reared macaw is usually gentle and easily handled.

Diet: Macaws are a very high energy bird and for good health they will need plenty of good foods rich in oils and calories. In the wild the larger Macaws eat a variety of palm nuts while the smaller Macaws eat seeds, nuts and fruit.

Foods available for Macaws include formulated diets, either pelleted or extruded, seed only diets, and parrot mixes which offer a mixture of both. There are pros and cons to feeding only a formulated diet as well as feeding only a seed diet.
A formulated diet provides a good nutritional base so does not require the addition of vitamins, however it does not contain the phytonutrients (antioxidant pigments) that are found in vegetables, fruits, grains, and seeds. Phytonutrients are believed to boost the immune system, help a body to heal itself, and to prevent some diseases. Also, parrots can become bored with it due to the lack of variety.

A seed only diet offers much more variety but requires additional vitamin and calcium supplements. Macaws need not only nutritional requirements met but also variety for psychological enrichment. A Macaw diet consisting of a good parrot mix which includes formulated foods, a variety of seeds, dried fruits, and nuts is generally regarded as a suitable base to provide nutrition and variety. Along with this, provide a daily supplement of fresh fruits and vegetable.
Each macaw, depending on its size, will eat about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of parrot mix and about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of fruit and vegetables.

Supplemental foods include all types of fruits such as apples, pears, plums, cherries, grapes, oranges, bananas, mangos, papayas, and even berries such as strawberries and blueberries are enjoyed. Many vegetables including carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, dark green leafy veggies, many garden vegetables, and even dandelions and chickweed are good.

For treats offer nuts for treats, such as macadamias, walnuts, pecans, almonds, and filberts. For proteins, additional proteins, sprouted legumes and cooked chicken or meat does them well.

Habitat: Macaw cages must accommodate a very large bird. Provide the largest bird cage possible. A macaw must be able to fully extend its wings without touching the sides of the cage. The largest macaw, the Hyacinth Macaw, has a wing span of 3 - 3 1/2 feet. Macaws must also be able to move freely between two perches or muscular dystrophy can occur which will render it unable to fly.
   Another very important consideration is that macaw cages be very durable. These birds are very strong chewers. Macaws are also very good at opening cage doors, so be sure the cage has locks or escape-proof latches.

Provide perches that are fresh fruit tree branches, they are great as your bird will love to chew on them, of course they will have to be replaced regularly. The branches need to have some areas that are about 3/4" in diameter, and even bigger diameter areas for larger macaws. A playpen is ideal for playtime outside of the cage. Playthings can be such things as climbing ropes, chains, bells, parrot swings and wooden or other bird toys.

It works best to have the dishes hanging from the side for feed and water. Try to place the perches away from dishes so the food and water dish do not become soiled with bird droppings. Do not use plastic because your bird will chew and break the plastic and it can become hazardous.

Taming, Training and Handling: A well socialized macaw is a pet that will be enjoyed in lots of situations and by many people for years. A young macaw should be socialized with as many people as possible. They also should be exposed to lots of situations such as new cages, visits to a veterinarian, handling by friends, and having their wings and nails clipped.
   Socializing a macaw and providing it lots of experiences are the keys to a great pet. Doing these things will develop a well rounded bird that doesn't become frightened of new things. It will also prevent too strong a bond with only one person developing. Macaws and children can mix very successfully if the child learns how to interact with the parrot. Children and macaws should be supervised. Macaws and other pets can also get used to each other and learn to accept each other. Again, however, be very careful to monitor all groupings of animals.

Macaws are excellent for taming, and relatively easy to train. They are very intelligent, and though fair to poor talkers, they can be taught many tricks. This ability to learn and perform tricks makes them a favorite bird for use in shows all over the world.

Generally, as with any parrot, you should give a new arrival a few days to get used to you, your voice and it's cage before trying to handle it. A handfed baby will not need much taming and can often be handled right away, as it is use to human attention.
A word of caution in handling these birds, a handfed macaw and even captive raised macaws have no natural fear of humans. A bite from a macaw can be extremely painful and there is a guarantee that you will need stitches if this is a fully grown parrot.

Taming proceeds in steps. Your first goal is to get the parrot to accept a treat from you. This will lead to it allowing you to gently scratching its chest.
   Next is hand taming, where your macaw will climb on your hand and allow you to carry it around. You can accomplish this by offering it treats from outside the cage until it is comfortable with your hand. As your macaw becomes comfortable with taking treats from your hand, you then open the cage door and repeat the same process but now you are reaching into it's cage with the treat. Once you've earned it's trust, your macaw will begin climbing on your hand and allowing you to pet him.
   Depending on the tameness of the bird, these two steps can be instantaneous as in a handfed baby or take several weeks or longer for an untamed bird.

Once your Macaw has gotten over its shyness, then you can work on speech and trick training. Although a macaw is not as good a talker as the African Grey or even the Amazon Parrots, they often will respond because of their desire for attention and affection. Repetition and frequency are the keys here. They can be trained to do tricks from riding bikes to doing balancing acts.

As macaws grow into and through adolescence they become more boisterous, mischievous, and difficult to handle. They must be handled with confidence during this time to keep their respect. Never allow bad behavior to develop. Otherwise they can become untrustworthy as a pet. This is often non-reversible and they will then need to be reserved for breeding rather than as a pet.

Loner or Groupies: A macaw should live in solitary as the responsibilities of training are hard enough.

Additional Info: The largest of all parrots is the impressive Hyacinth Macaw at 36" in length and weighing up to 1550 grams. The smallest of the macaws is the Noble Macaw.

Large macaws are brilliantly colored while the smaller macaws tend to be predominantly green. Brilliant variations of the normal colors is achieved through hybridization or cross-breeding rather than the mutation of a species.

macaws are very loud, the amount of noise and the closeness of neighbors should be considered when determining where to keep you bird. Macaws are very social and inquisitive, so the room you house your pet in can be a room that gets visited frequently by the family. Place the cage at eye level in a quiet sunny area away from drafts.

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